Recommendations for Chicago

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

The wife and I are planning a trip to Chicago in the spring... Got any good suggestions as far as must see places, eats/drinks, that aren't tourist traps?

Good suggestions in this thread. I'd remind you that most of the city is a tourist trap, so really you want to make sure that the number of planned attractions doesn't exceed the number of days of the trip by much. Easiest way to ruin a Chicago vacation is to plan to do too much.

Within the city, keep in mind that your lunch and dinner meals are almost tourist attractions to them, and the selection within the downtown area can be mind-numbing (two quick favorites: cheesecake factory and any of the deep-dish pizza places Unos or Lou Malnatis). Keeping geography in mind is a must. The quickest, easiest way to cross the town is through public transportation/CTA/EL, so if you are going the rental car route, keep to a single area for the day. Otherwise, you'll at least have a fun travel story to tell us all. But that's a full recommendation for public transportation, it's an excellent intercity travel system, and if you fly into O'Hare, you're connected to the whole city through it (the other airports are a little more complicated).

Navy Pier is underrated as a touristy area, where as the Sears/Willis Tower is highly overrated, and usually a disaster. The museums are all near each other (behind Soldier Field) which is a major plus, but I think they are just museums. Then again, I'm 22, so what do I know?

Knowing the seasonal entertainment schedule for Grant Park should help you narrow down the week you want to go. That, like Navy Pier, is a must-visit tourist attraction that isn't a people consumer like the observation skydecks are. Water-tower place is near the magnificent mile, which kind of centralizes tourist shopping, a plus since that place is strongly people-infested in the spring.

And of course, know when the sports teams are playing. Chicago is a great baseball town, although Wrigley is an overrated facility. I wouldn't recommend against seeing any game while you're in town, no matter what team/sport it is. You have two baseball teams, two hockey teams, an arena football team, and a basketball team all in season in the spring.

If you plan from your meals out, and you do everything with transportation in mind, Chicago is a really good tourist destination in the Spring. Happy planning!