<p>What weekend? And will you have a car at all or are strictly relying on the L?</p>
<p>That Chicago Greeter program is pretty cool! What a great resource.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion for Giordano’s. When we go, we always go to Giordano’s and Sweetwater Tavern, over by the Hyatt Regency. </p>
<p>I like the aquarium, but it is dark in there and whenever I’ve been it’s been very crowded with kids and not much fun for visiting. If you wanted to do a museum, the Field museum would probably be more fun. The Art Institute sounds like your best bet and is more on the beaten path, though if you go strolling through Grant Park or down the lakeshore you may find yourself in the area of the other museums anyway. We like the rose garden in Grant Park. We always visit the Skydeck at the willis tower, especially now that they have the fun glass overhang you can step out onto. They take you up in an elevator and you can hang out up there just about as long as you want and enjoy the view.</p>
<p>Wow–this is so helpful! Definitely more suggestions here than we can possibly take in but I definitely have a sense as to what to do and what to avoid.</p>
<p>To answer a few questions, the four of us will be coming from CA, KS and AK and, with two non-shoppers, we’ll have to skip the window shopping but I can tell there are enough things to do where we can still visit that that’s not a problem. DH really wants to go to the Art Institute but i’m waiting to hear from our friends as there is absolutely no way we can do it justice, nor would I want to spend a chunk of our time with headphones on which is the way we generally see art museums…I just think it’s best left for another trip. </p>
<p>Also, while we could rent a car, it doesn’t sound like it makes sense…the hotel has a shuttle from/to the airport , we’re within a block from the blue line and everything I read says traffic is bad and parking is both tough and a fortune.</p>
<p>Anyway, thank you again for all the suggestions and for the links to prior threads (not sure how I didn’t find those) --I definitely feel like I have what I need…after visiting our friends and going on the architecture boat tour, my #1 priority is to have pizza at Giordano’s 
Hoping they take reservations but, if not, we’ll just need to wait!</p>
<p>I agree that Second City would be a blast. Chicago has a ton of improv, so there are plenty of options. In addition to Groupon and Living Social, here is a site that offers discount tickets for entertainment.
<a href=“https://www.goldstar.com%5B/url%5D”>https://www.goldstar.com</a></p>
<p>You can get cheap tickets to Blue Man Group, Smokey Joe’s, Second City, etc.</p>
<p>We went to Chicago a couple of months ago and had great advise from the CC people :). </p>
<p>A couple of pointers. The 3 day CTA pass from groupon was the best thing I bought. [Chicago</a> Transit Authority Deal of the Day | Groupon Chicago](<a href=“http://www.groupon.com/deals/chicago-transit-authority-cta-4]Chicago”>http://www.groupon.com/deals/chicago-transit-authority-cta-4) Another thing I did was download a CTA app for my phone. Between that and google maps, we found our way around without much problem. </p>
<p>Things I enjoyed, I do want to say that we live in a small town without many restaurants so ymmv. There was a nice breakfast restaurant at the top of Grant Park called Wildberry Cafe which I enjoyed. It got good reviews on tripadvisor and I thought it was very nice and in a good location. They have these tea cafes called Argo, you will see them on every street corner, I was hooked lol!</p>
<p>I also downloaded the open table app, I was able to get dinner reservations and it was nice. We did eat at Grand Lux Cafe, it’s just a chain and it’s owned by the Cheesecake Factory but they make their own desserts in house and they were very yummy. </p>
<p>Too bad about the Art Institute, it was truly great. Even my H who is not a big museum guy liked it. We did not enjoy the Shedd Aquarium, too busy, too noisy, not a great aquarium IMO. We do love aquariums so we might just be picky.</p>
<p>I asked about the car because there are some great things to do in the suburbs as well. </p>
<p>What kind of food do you like (other than pizza)? </p>
<p>If you are staying in Rosemont, there is a Giordanos there. You can find coupons online.</p>
<p>You can get a cocktail in the Signature Room in the Hancock building and see the views for only the price of your cocktail.</p>
<p>If you are window shopping on Michigan Avenue, Grand Lux is a popular lunch spot.</p>
<p>Giordanos? But no! It has to be Due or Lou Malnatis!</p>
<p>Did someone say ‘great things to do in the suburbs’? What would those be?
(I’m also headed to Chicago next week.)</p>
<p>What suburbs and what do you like to do?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ravinia.org/”>http://www.ravinia.org/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://chicagobotanic.org/”>http://chicagobotanic.org/</a></p>
<p>If you don’t get a car, keep in mind that Blue Line service is less frequent/slower on weekends. It’s not terrible, but be sure to leave ample time to get to the airport on Sunday evening.</p>
<p>Thanks I’ll check those out.</p>
<p>We like biking, kayaking…as for which suburbs – we’ll have a car, so we’re not terribly limited, but I think mostly north/northwest.</p>
<p>I heard today that they are raising the price of the blue line to $5, not sure if there is a different rate for the weekend.</p>
<p>Wow, $5 is quite a bit more than the $2-2.50 it currently runs! </p>
<p>We didn’t drive in Chicago and were glad to be on foot, so we could see more. We had no trouble catching bus and the train everywhere we wanted to go. All together, I think we spent under $40 to get to the hotel from the airport and then around the city for 8 days. We caught the cab back to the airport for another $42 or so (could have caught the train but we were lazy). It’s a very interesting city! We stayed at the Chicago Hilton, so it was very convenient to Grant Park and all the attractions there. We had a special rate of $209/night (plus tax), which we found quite reasonable.</p>
<p>If you will be there during baseball season and the Cubs are in town, watching a game is a nice way to visit while “doing something.”</p>
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<p>$5 fare applies only to trips originating at O’Hare. Otherwise, full fare is $2.25. OP and party can take the free hotel shuttle from O’Hare to their hotel; CTA trips from there (probably Rosemont or Cumberland station) should be $2.25 each way.</p>
<p>If taking the architecture boat cruise, be sure to take the one sponsored by the architecture society of Chicago. The guides are trained docents and very, very knowledgable.</p>
<p>As for the pizza, Lou Malnati’s is great. There is one not too far from the Art Institute.</p>
<p>Have fun!!!</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t bother with Hyde Park. It’s not on any “must-see neighborhoods of Chicago” at all. (I would say the same about Evanston, so don’t think I’m a hater, LOL.) </p>
<p>You’ve got MORE than enough to keep you busy between the Loop / Millennium Park / Grant Park, Michigan Avenue for shopping and dining, and Lincoln Park / Old Town / DePaul area for Second City and other theater. (and Lakeview / Wrigleyville for a Cubs game if you are so inclined).</p>
<p>Another vote for the Signature Room in the Hancock building. Beautiful views of the lakefront that are different from the Willis Tower views.
You will LOVE the architectural river tour. It is by far my favorite thing to do in the city.
Giordano’s vs. Malnati’s, that age-old question! I am a Malnati’s fan myself -“The Lou” is exceptional - but Giordano’s is also outstanding.
Hope you have a great time with your friend - sounds like a fun trip!</p>
<p>Not sure if this was mentioned yet, but on our last trip we picked up some kind of pass that let us use the buses all weekend at Walgreens or something. That combined with an app that had all the bus routes and gps routes to lead you to the stop you need made our last trip ten times more comfortable than my previous trips where we walked absolutely everywhere. Still a lot of walking but much nicer to use the buses for longer trips.</p>