Travel CHICAGO! Tips, restaurants and hotel advice!

Oooh what a great thread! I'll be in Chicago June 19-23. Can anyone give some suggestions for nightlife, either clubs or lounges? I'll be there with five girlfriends and we're in our mid twenties. We're staying at the Hotel Sax which I believe was formerly the House of Blues. Is there anywhere close by that we can go to? TIA!
 
I'm planning a surprise (shhh! ;)) trip to Chicago for my BF's birthday in July. I got reservations at Alinea for the special day, but I have no idea where to eat for the other three days. I need some breakfast/lunch places and a couple of dinner spots.

I also trying to figure out what we should do while we aren't eating :upsidedown:. I know there are some awesome architecture tours but there are too many for me to decide on my own.

We are staying at the OMNI and I'm not planning on renting a car (do we need one?), but taking cabs is no issue for us if they are easy to get.

Also, what should we do at night???

So basically, all I've done so far is the flights and hotel and Alinea. I need help with the rest! TIA :flowers:
 
Try scrolling down for info on chicago. If search was working you could find lots of ideas.

The best boat tour for architecture is through the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Reserve ahead, as they are very popular and sell out. The Art Institute is worth a stop and also a stop at Millennium Park to see the "Bean" sculpture. The Omni is a great location for walking to a lot of things. The hotel can give you a route map of the trolley that runs in the summertime. I've never had a problem getting a cab.

Does he like baseball? If the Cubs are in town, ticket agencies would have tickets for a game. Seems like all the games sell out now.

I'll let others recommend restaurants and clubs. That's not my thing.
 
We are looking for a trip for August within 5 or 6 hours driving distance.


Preferably a walking city (like downtown Chicago is)

or if not:

I am trying to convince my bf something like a cabin in the woods or something... he has never been camping before but I am trying to convince him, this is really not camping. A nice cabin near a lake or soemthing would be nice.
 
I am looking for the same thing..5 6 hours from st. louis...don't want to go to chicago because i've been there a million times,but i want good shopping...hopefully someone can help you and me:flowers:
 
I hear St. Paul Minneapolis is gorgeous in the summer. Detroit. Cleveland, Des Moines,
Lexington Kentucky, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cininnati, Traverse City Michigan.
Give a or take 5 hours with some of those. Michigan is awesome in the summer, you can drive around the little towns on the lake, go fruit picking and swimming.
 
Columbus, OH, is interesting. Shopping, restaurants, Ohio State, historical things, German Village, etc.

A cute summer getaway town is Saugatuck, MI--on Lake Michigan, lots of B&B's, art galleries, etc. Very picturesque.

For a smaller town in IL, try Galena. B&B's in town or the Eagle Ridge Resort about 6 miles east of town (golf, tennis, spa, lake). However I don't know if they have been affected by the flooding. I love Galena--fun shops and cafes, not far from the Mississippi.
 
Alinea is an amazing experience. we did the "tour" menu, 24 courses! I would say to get the smaller menu, there were times when I was like "please, don't come out of the kitchen, I can't take anymore food!" it's also like 3 1/2 -4 hours of eating!

For a fun time, I would say check out The Wiener's Circle. It's a little hot dog place, but the ladies that work behind the counter "harass" the guests. It's hilarious. You have to go in the night time. here's a link to my recent trip on yahoo:
http://travel.yahoo.com/trip-journal-1552363-oprah_chicago_yay_;_ylt=At8IkO3bNe3f14omzv15Sa9SfMgF
 
I will be in Chicago in a few weeks for the first time and will be eating at Alinea as well!
Some of the others places we may go are Avec, Takashi, L20, Naha, and Hot Chocolate for desserts.
I was looking into going to the Frank Lloyd Wright house. They have several different tour options.
I will post about my trip when i get back- maybe I will have better suggestions then.