Chicago Trip - Need Help Planning Details

I don't have recommendations on where to stay, but the Shedd Aquarium is a must see.
Giordano's Pizza is my favorite!

Have fun!

I live in the city on the north side. I'm about a mile from Wrigley Field.

I would suggest looking for a boutique hotel around River North or the Gold Cost. That puts you close to the main touristy stuff, but away from Michigan Ave prices. You'll still be in the middle of great dining and shopping.
Staying in the burbs doesn't save you much, and then you have to deal with getting the Metra in and cabbing around.

Museum campus = great, pretty.
Navy Pier = mostly under construction, not much to see there anyway honestly
Millennium Park = big pretty park, cool fountain, and bean. Not much else to do.
Michigan Ave = all the shopping you could want.
Beaches = if you're coming outside the summer...don't bother.

Downtown has great steakhouses and lots of restaurant chains.
But, get out into the neighborhoods for the best food and to get a feel for the city. Wrigleyville, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and Bucktown are your hoods closest to downtown on the north side. You can get there by the eL or cabbing. Just walk around, wander into bars and restaurants.
If you need restaurant suggestions, feel free to PM me. I can give you some ideas. For a Saturday night, I'd suggest reservations if you can get them.

The "scary" neighborhoods are far west and far south sides. Honestly you'd have to go looking for them to get into them.

As far as pizza goes, Giordano's is the best for Chicago Style.

I'm happy to get more specific if you'd like. Just message me.

We took our kids to Shedd Aquariam and Adler Planetariam. Our kids were too young for the planetarium, but they got something out of it. They loved the Shedd. We got there when it opened, as that was the recommendation I got online. My husband laughed at me, as there were only about 10 people in line when we arrived. I could tell the place was getting more and more crowded throughout the morning. We left around noon, and the line to get inside was about 90 minutes long. Definitely get there early!!! We also went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Love that place! It's not on the Museum Campus. It's further south, I think.

I live in the Springfield area, so I'm about 3 hours from Chicago and only know a little bit about the area. Love MandA M's suggestions.

I lived just south of Bucktown in Wicker Park for 7 years and I have to (not so...lol) respectfully completely disagree with MandA M - Lou Malnati's is the best pizza!!!!!!!!!!!

Other than that I agree with everything she says!

Gino's East is the actual "original" Chicago deep dish pizza restaurant - it's at 162 E. Superior St Chicago, IL 60611 ###-###-####
http://www.ginoseast.com/our-story
It's a pretty cool restaurant with graffiti on the walls and a nice history. It's also a few blocks from Water Tower Place (the "mall" at the north end of Michigan Ave, so it's in a nice location.

I would stay away from the suburbs - unless you are doing a suburb trip, which can be a great trip- there are some fabulous places to visit. However, they are 2 different experiences, so it depends on why hubby is going there. You will probably want to stay wherever he is going to be. If you only have a couple days just do one or the other. I'm assuming you will be downtown.

Cabs are very safe, buses and the "el" are very safe. Chicagoans will be helpful if you ask them, but won't generally stop and help you just because you look lost :-)

Not sure what your price range for hotel is..... I booked a meeting once at the James Hotel and it was fabulous. It's also right there off of Michigan Ave, on the north end.
I looked on the TripAdvisor top 30 Boutique Hotels in Chicago - and most of those are a bit south in what's called "the Loop", which is the financial district. That's a great area - but not much shopping. If you stay on Michigan Ave you can just hop on a bus down the museums (as mentioned). at the "museum campus" you have your choice of Field Museum, Adler Planetarium or Shedd Aquarium. You can also see Solider Field (where the Bears play).

I looked at your past posts to see your kids ages and it looks like 15 & 11 - those are GREAT ages for a trip to Chicago.

If you're going to be there when there is a game I would suggest getting tickets to see the Cubs. The redline "el" (elevated train) takes you right to Wrigley Field.

Any of the "architectural tours" are great. You can just google and pick what sounds interesting.

Restaurants - food! Yum! something Chicago is known for.
The best well-known restaurants that I would suggest are:

"CHEEZBORGER" Billy Goat Tavern (no coke, pepsi!!! no fries, chips!!!) - this is the restaurant that John Belushi parodied on SNL as the "Olympia restaurant"
https://screen.yahoo.com/olympia-restaurant-000000640.html
http://www.billygoattavern.com/legend/
The original location is Near Tribune Towers and Wrigley Building
430 N. Michigan Ave at Lower Level
It's kind of hard to find and the food isn't actually all that good (lol) it's just the experience is worth it!

Al's Italian Beef http://www.alsbeef.com/
I personally don't like Italian Beef - but my sister loves it. And it's well known in Chicago.

I prefer Portillo's - downtown location. You'll see many of Chicago's finest here if you go during lunch. They have great hot dogs, fabulous chopped salad and the best chocolate cake ever!
http://www.portillos.com/locations/chicago/

Now - for restaurants that are fabulous, but not as well known - here are my favorites:

**Orange - for brunch and have the frushi. I love the steak and eggs benedict. It's the best!

**Ann Sather - you get a free cinnamon roll that is HUGE when you order anything else to eat. let me repeat that. free. cinnamon. roll. huge.

**Cafe Ba-Ba-Re-Ba - on Halstead. This is a great Tapas restaurant.

**Las Tablas - steakhouse on Lincoln Ave. It's a Colombian steakhouse. Order the "Picada Colombiana" platter and some appetizers.

**Italian Village - in the loop. http://www.italianvillage-chicago.com/
I prefer the upstairs restaurant, but that's just personal preference as it's all fabulous.

If you like theater and have time, Chicago is known for great theater. You can go to one of the big theaters, but Chicago is known for smaller, *in the round* venues.

HAVE FUN!

I highly recommend going up in the john hannock and using the women's bathroom to the restaurant-best view of the city.

Stay on the magnificent mile. Check groupon. You can sometimes get a hotel for a reasonable amount, It costs more to stay on Michigan, or near it, but you can get around easily. Not sure how old your kids are, but the architect tour is fabulous. The Shedd is brilliant, and the field has tons of great stuff-including a Viking exhibit. And he art museum is my favorite to visit just with hubby.

I prefer Dues pizza. It's my favorite Chicago style.

Skip the burbs, just boring middle America. Chicago has so much to do, don't waste your time.

My favorite restaurant is Saigon sisters. Amazing food for a reasonable price. I know a few teens that like it, but you have to be adventurous. It's tapas style, so food comes out as it's prepared for sharing. You need a reservation. It's a small, cosy place that please vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

Have fun!

ETA: I just saw Julie's post on Saigon Sisters. A GREAT way to sample a lot of awesome Chicago food is at the Chicago French Market. Saigon Sisters has a stand there. Delightful Pastries has pierogis. And now I'm making myself hungry :)
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I've lived in the city and now in the suburbs and would say, absolutely stay in the city. If you're in the suburbs, you could be in the suburbs of any major city. They are pretty much all the same with the same big box stores, etc.

One of our favorite places to stay is the Sheraton on Water Street. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/... It's set back from Michigan Ave, right on the river. Some of the rooms have lake views as well. The indoor pool is great for kids, especially when the weather is unpredictable. It's walking distance to downtown or Michigan Ave shopping. Lots of bus routes nearby and the L and subways are a short walk or cab ride away.

There are so many restaurants nearby, it really depends on what types of food you like. One of our new favorites in the south loop is Eleven City Diner. The Moshe Cristo is a calorie splurge but worth every one. http://www.11.elevencitydiner.com/home

You got a lot of great info. I will chime in on a couple things:

First, stay out of the burbs. You will not get the Chicago experience. Naperville is very nice and we go there often BUT you will have to take the very early train with all the business people and trying to get a parking spot at the station is hell. If you stay in the burbs, send PM's and we can give you a list of stuff to do and restaurants.

Second, I hate Giordanos pizza, it taste like vomit lol. Lou Malnatis is excellent and I don't even like pizza. Portillos is a fantastic place, go there for lunch. There are soooo many amazing restaurants, and people below posted great ones. If you want more, feel free to PM me. Yelp is very helpful.

Shedd is amazing, all the museums are amazing and worth every penny.

Since you don't have much time, my suggestions are:

Any museum
John Hancock, just for the view and it's free unless you get drinks etc
Sears Tower
Cubs game
Buckingham Fountain
Botanical Gardens
Navy pier, boat ride on Lake michigan

BTW be safe, our magnificent mile has seen quite a bit of muggings

I'm sure Chicago area moms will reply soon! We went several years ago and had a fantastic week, but it helped that I was pretty familiar with the city (having gone to college nearby years ago). If possible, I would stay in a good hotel in the city center rather than out in the suburbs; the time you spend going in and out of the city will eat into your already short sightseeing time. And the need to take the El (their subway) and possibly a bus or two to and from a suburban hotel would mean you'd end up leaving the city too early each day (to avoid rush hour, or to avoid going back to the hotel late at night). Or you'll go into town late each morning to avoid morning rush hour, and will lose sightseeing time. I admit a bias toward spending more to stay in a city center, rather than spending less but having to factor in transportation time every day, especially for a trip as short as two to three days.

We recently took a trip and used AAA to do the bookings and got a city center hotel in Santa Fe, N.M., for $110 a night -- a really nice Hilton. You can't get even a cheapo hotel for that rate if you do it on your own or even via some web sites like Trip Advisor; we got it because AAA gets consolidated hotel room rates. If you're AAA members you can get your hotel through them, probably not for quite that little in Chicago, but see what they can do for you.

How old are your kids? The Field Museum is fantastic for kids of all ages, and so is the Adler Planetarium for older kids. Both are in an area where a Chicago friend told us to be sure to go first thing in the a.m. and not to hang around too late. But that was several years back so things might have changed somewhat. Plan to spend a full day at the Field Museum, most likely. And be sure to get a real Chicago deep dish pizza--locals, who does it best these days?

Ha I have to respectfully disagree with comomom lol. The suburbs are great. If you stay in naperville there is a train that goes into the city every day about every 45 mins and will cut the cost of your hotel in half. naperville is about a 35 min train ride to chicago and the town of naperville is a wonderful day in itself. but back to what to see and do

gino's east and or lou malnati's both are amazing pizza.
the art institute is great
the lake shore has a bunch of the museums right together
the field, shedd aquarium and the
here is a link to the city pass. might be something that will help you. if nothing else it will give you info on what is available and where its located.

http://www.citypass.com/chicago?mv_source=rkg&utm_sou...

Make sure you get some Garrett's Popcorn.

What about the new Maggie Daley park?

Just walking the lake front is a beautiful experience.

Definitely stay in the city. Much more of the Chicago vibe.

Have fun!

We stayed at the Best Western, parking there overnight was included which was a big plus. The hotel itself wasnt that amazing, but it was walking distance from tons of restaurants and shopping. My kids loved the big aquarium, the Shedd. What they were most impressed with was that you could see a double decker McDonalds out our hotel window. The Rainforest Cafe is really fun, and of course the Cheesecake Factory is delicious.

Museum of science and Industry is a must! Willis Tower too if it's a nice day. Google top 25 things to do in Chicago. Navy Pier is terrible. Nothing there and is under construction. Plenty of good restaurants. What one person may like another won't so I won't recommend any. Have fun.

We love Ed Debevic's. It is a 50s style diner. The wait staff prides itself on being "rude."

Gino's is an iconic Chicago style pizza place.

The Science Museum is great. Shedd Aquarium is fun. The Field Museum is fun. We liked Navy Pier. Lincoln Park Zoo is fun. A Cubs game at Wrigley Field is really fun. Even if you aren't a fan. The Art Institute is amazing.

Parking in the city is really expensive. I'm comfortable with using the El. My husband isn't. I'd rather do that then pay for parking. Just be sure you get reliable directions from someone who knows what they are talking about. That isn't necessarily the woman working at the El ticket booth and it definitely isn't the woman on the street who asked for drug money. (Yes, there is a really long story from my college days to justify that advice. It also involved a ride to the science museum from some really nice undercover cops who called us idiots.)

I love Chicago! One of my favorite things is to find little ethnic neighborhoods to explore. Definitely look to see if there are any neighborhood festivals going on.

Have fun!