Travel to Chicago

We know that traveling can be a hassle, so please don’t hesitate to reach out for any recommendations or with questions about the city. We want to make sure you have a great time in the city that’s second to none!

Things To Do

The Lake! Chicago has 20 miles of lakefront park land and lots of beaches. Some favorites are:

- Hollywood Beach (on the far North side — really lovely and quiet)
- Montrose Beach (on the North Side — very popular with lots of vendors and lifeguards)
- 12th Street Beach (on Museum Island, tucked behind the Adler Planetarium. Also connects to Northerly Island)
- Promontory Point (on the South Side — not technically a beach but the best swimming along the lake)
- The lakefront trail is a walking/biking trail that goes along the lake and is beautiful at almost every point.

Museums! Chicago has some amazing museums with something for whatever your interest may be. You can buy day-passes that include multiple museums, especially good for Museum Island.

- Museum of Science and Industry (South Side at 57th Street) — This building is the only standing structure left from the 1893 World’s Fair and is a really fun time! Tour a German U-Boat, play with weather phenomena, and see a real-life steam engine. Great for kids!
- Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium — These are the three buildings on Museum Island and you can hit all of them in a day. The Field Museum has one of the most extensive natural history collections in the United States, the Shedd has beluga whales and dolphins, and Adler has a great star show!
- The Art Institute and the Chicago Cultural Center — These are two of the city’s brightest gems. The Art Institute is one of the best art museums in the nation and the Cultural Center is jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Nature! In addition to the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago also has:

- The Lincoln Park Zoo — a public (free!) zoo that is fun for all ages. See polar bears, lions, gorillas and chimpanzees, and so much more!
- The Garfield Park Conservatory and Lincoln Park Conservatory – Beautiful greenhouses with lots of beautiful plants to marvel at. The Lincoln Park Conservatory is near the Lincoln Park Zoo.
- The Chicago Botanic Gardens and Forest Preserves of Cook County – Large areas of land that have been maintained and preserved for walking, biking, and general exploring. August is a hot time of year, but the forest preserves and botanic gardens still provide a good amount of shade.

Other Touristy Things: There’s a lot of experiences and sites in Chicago – too many to do in just one trip! Here are the experiences that we think are the best:

- Chicago Architecture Tour: This boat tour along the Chicago river is a great way to see some of our amazing architecture (we have the best skyline in the US!). The tour guides are super friendly and funny.
- Chicago Mahogany Bus Tours: TikTok celebrity and urban historian Dilla organizes tours around the historically Black neighborhoods – it’s a great history lesson!
- Comedy Shows: Everyone knows Second City, but Chicago’s also home to iO Theater, the Laugh Factory, and Zanies.
- FOOD!: If you’ve watched The Bear and found your mouth watering, here are some places that won’t wanna miss:
  - Mr. Beef (River North) – Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches
  - MCCB (Chinatown) – great Sichuan and Canton style food
  - Bar Goa (River North) – good drinks, good food, good vibes
  - Kasama (Ukrainian Village) – go early; the breakfast sandwich is worth waiting for
  - Pequod’s Pizza (Bucktown) – the only acceptable deep dish
  - Demera (Uptown) – great Ethiopian food and atmosphere
  - The Publican (West Loop) – Farm-to-Table – get the bread

Fiya (Andersonville) – amazing veg and nonveg food from the Levant.

Getting Here

If you are flying — Chicago has two airports, O’Hare (on the North side) and Midway (on the South side). O’Hare has the most options, but if you fly SouthWest you’ll probably go to Midway. If you’re flying into O’Hare you can take the CTA Blue Line into the city or take an Uber/Lyft from the airport to your accommodations. If you’re flying into Midway, you’ll need to take an Uber/Lyft.

If you are driving — If you’re coming from the East or the West, you’ll probably travel on I-94 or I-90. If you’re coming from the South, you’ll probably travel on I-55. Once you get into the city, your GPS should guide you pretty easily — Chicago is laid out on a grid with a couple of major arterial streets that make in-city navigation pretty smooth.

If you are taking Amtrak — You’ll probably come into Union Station downtown — you can either take CTA (public transit) or an Uber/Lyft to your accommodations.

Accommodations

We live in the Uptown/Edgewater neighborhood and the venue is in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. We recommend staying in the Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Uptown, or Edgewater neighborhoods — they have a lot to do and they are close to the lake! There are lots of AirBnB’s in these neighborhoods and a few hotels.