Visiting UChicago and Northwestern

JHS
Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:03:47 +0000

The #1 non-stupid tourist thing to do in Chicago is to take the Chicago Architecture Foundation Boat Tour on the Chicago River, if you can. It’s a super introduction to the city. It’s not cheap, though (about $40, and you have to reserve in advance).

For free, go to Millennium Park, see the Bean and the Pritzker Pavillion. (Try to go when someone is performing there.) Window shop on the Michigan Avenue “Magnificent Mile”. Also, at UChicago, the Oriental Institute (if you like archaeology and ancient civilizations at all), the Point (a great view of downtown Chicago across 6 miles of harbor) and the 57th St. beach.

Chicago has world-class museums – the Art Institute, which is amazing, and the Field Museum (natural history) and Planetarium.

There’s a ton of culture, high and low – theaters, concert halls, and clubs all over the city. At any time, there are probably 10-12 plays being mounted somewhere, several classical music performances, and heaps of jazz, blues, hip-hop, and indie rock, as well as big-name stadium type shows. Look in the local weeklies for free performances in the park or in-stores, which are common.

And you can find great cheap food in almost every neighborhood. If you have hours to kill, and don’t mind being nowhere near Northwestern or UChicago, you can go to Hot Doug’s gourmet hotdog stand. That’s really popular, too, and ten times better than deep dish pizza. (Almost anything is better than deep dish pizza, though, if you ask me.)