What Gundy said. Nobody I know likes getting bumped into and having their drinks spilled by drunken fratboys all night.
First off, lets be clear that you are planning on being in Chicago, and not in the burbs. They are two different worlds, and using the burbs as your home-base for sightseeing will be more hassle than its worth IMHO. The money you’d save wouldn’t be worth it.
It’d help to know what you primary interests are. If its partying and shopping, or if its upscale dinners and architecture.
Not to be too pissy, but I disagree with alot of what Tim R. Mortiss suggested. The shopping part was right, but skip Rush street unless you’re realling into young suburban lushes getting totally wasted. I’m all for lewd drunkenness, but you might as well find a place that consists of locals and seasoned polite drinkers.
Also, I’m not sure what he’s thinking of regarding Clark street. It passes through the Loop, Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville. Wonderful neighborhoods, but not exactly ethnic.
I’d recommend hitting one of the big three Pizza places, Giordano’s, Gino’s East, or Pizzaria Uno. They’ve become chains and are a little touristy, but frankly they are good, still traditional, and are at least consistent and reliable. There are plenty of places that are more neighborhood oriented, but the odds are about 50-50 if they’ll be any good.
Assuming you’re here for more than a few days, you’ll definately want to take in all the museums, some of the very best in the world. Check out the Art Institute, and the Aquarium. Visit the Hancock and Sears Tower observation decks, yeah its trite, but its also pretty unique, especially if the highest you’ve been is the Guiness Brewery’s rooftop bar.
I can’t think of much reason to leave the city, and based on your “100 mile” radius comment I assume you’ve considered renting a car or something. Chicago is a truly massive expansive city by European standards, but unlike West Coast citys a car is far from a necessity. I’d save your money and use cabs and the L. The transit sucks by central european standards, but it gets the job done for most tourists since there’s a serious effort to accomdate them.
There’s a million suggestions, but it’d be easier with more data. How long are you staying? Do you guys think you’d want to go to any sporting events?
As for a hotel recommendation, I really like the Omni Hotel on Michigan Ave.
If you want to use public transit, Chicago is the place to go - they have both bus and train systems. I think everywhere mentioned so far is accessible by bus or train, including the Brookfield Zoo in the suburbs and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (which will be extremely cold in February, being, as the name implies, right on the short of Lake Michigan.)
I lived 15 years in Chicago and 8 of those I had no car and no access to one - and it wasn’t a problem. Trains and buses go to both airports. Downtown in the Loop a lot of bus stops even tell you which museums the buses go to, although the print is sort of small.
You will, as people have said, need warm clothing. That means a hat that covers your ears, gloves, and good boots. Good boots are those that will not soak through with the first touch of water. You see, they salt the roads in winter to keep the ice off, which means there are frequently puddles of slush on the street corners. They do sell these rubber overshoe things that might be helpful. You want to keep your feet DRY. Should you find a need for anything such as long underwear, socks, hats, or whatever many stores will be happy to sell them to you. I recommend shopping on State and Wabash streets because the prices are much cheaper than Michigan Avenue’s “Magnifient Mile” (It is magnificant - both the towering buildings and the prices) Watertower Place and Chicago Place are both indoor shopping malls. I prefer the food courst at Chicago Place over Watertower’s. Actually, there are several other indoor malls on that stretch, just not as well known.
As for where you stay - anything right on Michigan Avenue is expensive. Anything with a view of Lake Michigan will also be higher priced. But, truthfully, the view from the 50th floor looking over the Lake is spectacular and many pay the extra money for it. But if you stay a few blocks west of Michigan Avenue, or slightly south of the Art Institute, you might save a few pennies. The alternative would be to stay near the airport and commute into the shopping districts. Your choice.
Just a note - the ice skating is no longer on State Street - it moved to the new Millenium park last winter, right on Michigan Avenue next to the Cultural Center and just north of the Art Insitute. And it’s an outside skating rink.
Thanks for all suggestions and I am taking them all on board. Just going to answer some of Omniscient’s questions.
Well my primary interests would be upscale dinners, shopping and architecture.
I plan to check out Hancock and Sears Tower alright.
And luckily enough I have been in a taller building than Guiness Brewery’s rooftop bar!
We are staying a week and I would definitely like to take in a sporting event - any suggestions? I will be there in mid Feb.
OK, for upscale dinners, Icould run down all the big names like Charlie Trotters, Everest, Tru, Les Nomades, etc. but check out www.chowhound.com and go to the Chicago board; lots of good info there by some serious foodies.
Shopping is easy, there is Oak Street, North Michigan Ave, and State Street all within fairly close proximity to one another. For Malls, (indoor!) I would check out Oakbrook Mall, its about a half hour W of the city but nice stuff. If bargains are your thing, there is Gurnee Mills an hour and a quarter N of the city but I have never really liked it much-However, my German friends who were here on holiday loved it so YMMV.
Architecture will be tough as it is so cold. The Chicago Architectural Society does walking and boat tours but Im not sure of the schedule in February. They have a bookstore downtown with some good books you could use to do your own self guided tours. I’d be happy to get you more info if you want, I may even have some of those books packed away from when I was in school.