I tend to walk a lot on vacation. That means that I tend to be pretty curious about the areas I stay in so I know whether I need to walk quickly and pack a bazooka or if I can stroll leisurely whilst consuming tea and scones. When I visit Chicago (September) I am staying at the url="http://majestic-chicago.com/]Majestic Hotel in the areas of W Brompton Ave, W Addison St, and Lake Shore Drive. Call it a bit more than a stone’s throw east of Wrigley Field.
I mainly plan to walk to and from Wrigley and then mainly in the areas along Lake Michigan with lengthier trips down the the waterfront to the Lincoln Park Zoo and Shedd Aquarium areas.
Are those areas decent neighborhoods? Secretly run down and dangerous? Normal?
I’ll have three kids below the age of 7 tagging along if that matters in any way.
That’s one of the nicest parts of Chicago. You’ll be safe, and you’ll have a great time. September should be gorgeous; with luck, our string of 90s weather will have died out by then!
Some recommended walks: south along the lake in Lincoln Park, south along Broadway and/or Clark Street, and anywhere in or around the LP Zoo. You could even walk all the way to the Zoo, but it’s a bit of a poke, especially with youngsters. You could also just mosey around in the area around Wrigley. If there is a game going on, the entire neighborhood feels like a giant block party.
The Shedd is way too far to walk. If you have a car, you can drive and pay a fortune to park. Or take a bus (actually, probably several buses), but it’s probably just as cheap to take a cab if you have a group.
Yes, walk a few steps east to the corner of Brompton and Lake Shore and catch the 146 bus. After a 40-minute ride down Lake Shore Drive, Michigan Avenue, and State Street, you’ll be at the door of the Shedd Aquarium.
This bus runs every 6 to 10 minutes most of the day. If you have a smartphone, this URL will tell you exactly when the next bus is arriving at Brompton: http://www.transitchicago.com/diydisplay/?s1=1064
If you don’t have a smartphone, text “CTABUS 1064” to 41411 for the same info. This number is also posted on the bus stop sign.
[Tangent]You know, I just moved to Chicago little less than a year ago, and I can imagine what it was like it the days before bus tracker. I can bring it up any time and go, “Ok, bus is four minutes away, time to leave my apartment.” Every once in a while the tracker goes down. Those are the days where I end up walking everywhere.