Solo Chicago recommendations

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I’m sitting here in my hotel at Hubbard and Wabash, having plumped for $10/day for high-speed Internet access. Since I’m in the home of the Dope, I figured I’d ask the locals for some advice.

I’m here until Wednesday, the 12th, for the Print01 convention/trade show. There’s another guy from my company here, but he’s staying in a different hotel and I don’t know how much time we’ll spend together outside of show hours. My days are pretty much taken up with meetings and things, but I expect my evenings will be my own. I also don’t have anything scheduled for Sunday, except that I have bought a ticket to the Braves-Cubs game at Wrigley.

So if you were pretty much limited to the downtown area, and were hanging out by yourself in the evenings, where would you go/eat and what would you do? I’m more of a film/theatre/museum/bookstore sort than a club-hopper, but I do like blues and rock provided it’s not someplace where I have to impress a doorman in order to get in. Without some decent recommendations, I may have to hang out with the same vendor types I’ve been seeing at these shows for the last dozen years.

2

Both the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art are open until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays. If you like architecture, you may also want to check with the Chicago Architecture Foundation for one of their tours.

3

Well, if you’re not interested in moving from the downtown area, I would think your best bet for blues is Blue Chicago/Blue Chicago on Clark. Two blues clubs you can get in for the price of one ( I think it’s http://www.bluechicago.com, but it’s far too early to link it all pretty-like). If you dig jazz at all, The Green Mill can’t be beat at all. A little further from downtown, but a cheap cab ride, no worries. Plus, it stays open until 400a. I don’t consider either of these places pretentious in the least, and they both do some great music.

I also like the CAF that Philistine mentioned, and dig the Field Museum as well. They have Sue there. She’s a big-ass old dinosaur, that’s for sure. :slight_smile: Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum are all in one area, so that’s a full day (and then some) right there.

Let’s see…what else?

If you even possibly get a chance during the week, go check out the Chicago Board of Trade. As boring as I thought it would be, watching the trading floor was incredibly fascinating. I took my mom and some friends there and we all stood for an hour just in awe. It’s only open from 700a (?) to 200p, though.

My favourite bookstore is Myopic, but that’s in the Wicker Park neighborhood. Not that far, especially if you’re comfortable taking the El. It’s at the Damen stop on the Blue Line.

http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Tourism/Downtown/ is an interactive downtown map. Might be of some use for you.

Plug any of the above stuff into google.com and it’ll kick back all kinds of info. Promise. I checked. :slight_smile:

If nothing else, put a thread in SIMS. There’s a dozen ChiDopers that get together regularly, but we’re pretty much a MPSIMS crowd. MikeG practically considers himself a tour guide, I think. Between all of us we can find you something to do, and maybe take you out for a beer in the process.

I also have tix to the Cubs Saturday AND Sunday. Here’s to hoping we don’t get rained out!