I'm heading to Chicago with the family in June. Any advice on where to stay? And more importantly where to eat? We are seeing 2 games at Wrigley so I would want to be relatively close to there if possible.
Somewhere other than Chicago.
Trust me, it is not my #1 destination pick. But my FIL and I have always wanted to see a game at Wrigley and now is the time.
What's wrong with Chicago? I've never been there but people that have say it was a great city to visit. My wife wants to go there some day so we probably will. If not for her, I'd probably never go more than 10 miles from the house.
Last time in Chicago I was pulling a refer and there was a strike by the dry freight truckers going on, had to watch the overpasses so you wouldn't get a rock or brick through the windshield, It was just luck that kept you from being shot and had to park the truck in a locked and guarded compound to keep it in one piece. Picked your routes carefully with a 13' 6" high trailer because of all of the low overpasses scattered around town. Hauled mostly candy out of the Lief plant to California, enjoy your trip, I will unlikely ever return to the State with no regrets. 1969 or 70 was the last time there.
jud
Chicago is a great city with lots of culture. If you have time, go downtown to the waterfront around Navy Pier.
Eat here. Tell them Jim Belushi recommended it to you.
If you're doing the "downtown" thing, I would suggest taking a cab to the games and back. Night game parking is not cheap or fun. Many many choices for food downtown -ask the hotel staff for recommendations.
If you're not into staying downtown, I would suggest staying west of 355 on either I88 or I90. You would be about an hour drive to Wrigley. Expect $25-$30 for parking. Either way, I would not recommend trying to find eats around Wrigley unless you are looking for a bar scene.
I would also agree that Portillo's is a must. Italian beef with sweet peppers, mozzarella and giardiniera on the side... mmmmm... They have good Chicago dogs too.
Heck, Chicago was a great place to visit for a long weekend......we did our baseball trip there in 2009.
Wrigley is a 15 or 20 minute elevated trip from the loop, so you can stay almost anywhere downtown. The Red Line station is less than two blocks away and costs $2.25 each way (back in 2009 anyway).
We stayed at the Intercontinental on Michigan Avenue, but that's not cheap. I don't know how much you want to spend, we like to travel "above our pay grade".
I start with google to get a sense of what's up, so I suggest googling "Chicago Hotels" and zoom in to Wrigleyville.
There's a City Suites and a Best Western both within ten blocks or so of the stadium.
As for food, North Clark Street is a miles long avenue of ethnic restaurants, that changes specialties to fit the neighborhoods as you drive north from Lincoln Park, from Italian to Mexican to Polish to Vietnamese to Indian, etc., etc. There are dozens of places between Belmont and Addison (where the stadium is). And there are loads of places to eat in the area surrounding the stadium, but they are mostly sports and beer oriented.
We ate at a place called Mia Francesca.......it was great. And there's always deep dish pizza and Italian beef sandwiches at chains and local joints all over.
The Wrigley ballpark tour costs $25, and it's worth it, except in your case, you won't be able to get into the clubhouse on game days.
For non-baseball, visit Frank Lloyd Wright's house and museum. The Loop architectural walking tour was interesting (look for the sign that says "Begin Route 66"), but probably not so much for the kids.....but the Chicago River architectural tour is more fun, about 90 minutes on a boat going up and down all three branches of the Chicago River, narrated all the way.
The John Hancock Building or the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, Millennium Park, Navy Pier, Field Museum, Lincoln Park Zoo, just google "Chicago tourist attractions" and it'll all be there for you.
As a tip, the first thing we do after we get off the plane and check into the hotel is find the Grey Line(or whatever color it is) bus tour, to get an idea of the city, and keep track of places we want to go back to. Usually it's one price, on and off all day, so you can get the lay of the land, so to speak.
Unless you really want to stay downtown, I'd recommend that you stay outside of downtown, especially if you have a car. I stay at the Sheraton Suites Elk Grove Village regularly because I like peace and quiet. It's recently renovated, clean, and inexpensive for Chicagoland. Plenty of good restaurants in the neighborhood. With a car, you are two minutes from the Kennedy (I-90) and twenty miles from Wrigley Field. For evening and weekend games only the best deal in parking is at DeVry University for six dollars with free shuttle service to the game and return for all in the car.
My most recent trip was two summers ago. We stayed at the Swissotel on the south bank of the Chicago River, looking out at Lake Michigan and Navy Pier. Easy access to anywhere in downtown or further north up Michigan Aveune or Lakeshore Drive. Reasonably safe area. Fun to watch the drawbridges work and the sailboats heading to and from the lake. Also recommend the architectural tour along the river, starting at Navy Pier and including a quick spin along the lake shore before heading into the lock to enter the river.
> I'm heading to Chicago with the family in June. Any advice on where to stay? And more importantly where to eat? We are seeing 2 games at Wrigley so I would want to be relatively close to there if possible.
Driving or flying? Well either way I'd stay near the airport (Ohare) in the comfort inn suites, Holiday Inn express, etc. You can take the subway from Ohare (the blue line) and take it downtown where you pick up the red line to Wrigley field. The Red line stops about one or two blocks from Wrigley or you can drive to Wrigley. Chicago is a big city that you can drive around unlike New York. Lots of places to eat and eat well. One chain is "lettuce entertain you" restaurants. You'll find 'em in the yellow pages or pick up a copy of Chicago magazine and they'll list restaurants in there. Another one is Oven grinder pizza company near Lincoln Park Zoo and Gino's East near the john hancock building. Spend time downtown especially the architectual boat tour, Grant Park, the Loop, Lincoln Park zoo, Lake front from downtown to Evanston, Navy Pier.
Tip, stay on the North side. South side is mean streets USA.
I was there last May and stayed near the Swissotel. My wife was there for a medical conference and I was "just along for the ride". The walk along the river and out to the Navy Pier was quite nice. There are SEVERAL good places to eat within a block or two of Michigan Avenue. There is a nice Irish Pub there on the river where I stopped for a Guiness a time or two. If you take your wife along either keep her away from Michigan Avenue or take plenty of money. If she can't find something there to buy she's not a shopper.
Andy
Cab fare is not ridiculous in Chicago like it is in some other major cities. I've always had great cab service there, going back to 1974. The bus and trolley lines are also cleaner than many others.
The Museum of Sciene and Industry and the Aquarium are two favorite places to spend hours.
