Visiting Chicago
 

A few of my girlfriends and I are flying to Chicago for the weekend, July 9 through July 11. We're all between the ages of 21 and 25. Are there any places you all could suggest that will help us get a feel for Chicago in the couple of days we're there?

-What are some 'hot spots'?

-What sightseeing should we do?

-Is it better to take public transportation or rent a car?

-Where are good places to shop/eat/stay, etc.?

-About how much do you think we'll need for the fee? (our flight only cost $130)

Any suggestions would be lovely.

Check out metromix.com or city-alert.com for ideas on where to go and what to see.

Whether or not you rent a car depends on what you all will be doing here. If you are planning to stay in the downtown area, you should be fine either walking or cabbing it and if you need to get to museums and some of the other nearby attractions, you can take the shuttles and public busses that go from downtown very frequently. I would suggest visiting the Museum of Science and Industry, the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, all of which are in nearby vacinity of one another. Of course, you must to the whole Michigan Ave. shopping spree. An H &M just opened on Morth Michigan and it's really nice. There are lots of malls in other parts of the city if you plan to stay elsewhere, but for those, I would recommend renting a car because depending on which ones you want to visit, they can be pretty spread out.

All of the clubs are downtown and to tell you the truth, I am not even sure about many of them because they open and close anc change management so frequently I can't keep up! But, as she said, metromix and city alert do a good job of advertising the best clubs and events so I would start there. Hope this helps and enjoy the Chi.

Thank you both!

There are also a lot of art museums, the Art Institute, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Terra Museum; all of these are downtown as well.

Dusable Museum is in Hyde Park, and a friend of mine always includes it in her tour of black Chicago, followed by a trip to Harold's Chicken.

I think that you might be too late for the Taste of Chicago, but if it is still going on it's always a good time (lot's of good food and people watching.) Besides that, there is always something going on in Grant Park during the summer.

Also, there are river tours that you can take from Navy Pier. They have a few different kinds at a few different price ranges.

Since I'm a city worker
 

I suggest you check out the City of Chicago's website www.cityofchicago.org. If you click on the link that says "Things to do" You'll get a lot of ideas about what's going on in the city.

If you all are staying downtown it may be wise to use public transportation or take cabs.

As everyone stated Michigan Ave. and State St. or good places to shop. You also might want to check out the Water Tower Place Mall since its downtown as well.

I'm not sure what you all are into as far as night life. If you like jazz you might want to try out the Green Dolphin. I've never been, but I've always heard that the Shark Bar was a really nice club. Going to the Navy Pier at night can be fun as well. Sometimes they have fire works at night and the view of the city and the lake is awesome.

Checking out the metromix and city alert is definitely a good idea.

Since I don't usually go out to clubs that often, I'll ask some of my friends about the "hot spots" and I'll get back to you.

Clubs you might want to consider.

-Martini Lounge
-Red Line
-The Estate

I've only recently heard about the Red Line. My personal favorite is D'Vine. :D