Rainy Chicago Weekend (First Time!)

Ampersand

So this upcoming weekend my lady friend and I are visiting the Windy City. She's been a few times but it'll be my first and I want to make the most of it before heading into the abyss that's sure to be my 1L exams.

Given that it looks to be a bit soggy and that we're really only spending Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening in the city.. what should I see?

Note: our hotel is near millennium park, so it and the rest of Grant park will be Sunday. Sometime on Saturday I'd like to get to 826 CHI, but the rest of the weekend is ripe for suggestions.

Thanks!

matt has a problem

Chicago weather is notorious for doing a 180 at the last minute, so be sure to keep checking the weather right up until Friday night.

Improvolone

How do you feel about awesome museums?

Stonecutter

Honestly if you've never been you cannot go wrong with just walking the Mag Mile. Start from your hotel and just walk north on Michigan Ave till you get to the John Hancock building (or further into the gold coast if you like.) You'll pass the lions in front of the Art Institute, get a great view of Trump Tower and Marina Towers from the bridge over the river, pass the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower, and then eventually past the Water Tower. You'll pass hundreds of shops and places to eat and get a great view of the architecture (easily my favorite part of the city.)

Navy Pier can be fun, (giant Ferris Wheel, shops, restaurants, mini golf, etc.) but it's very touristy, and it can 10 degrees cooler out on the pier than it is in the city, cooler if it's windy.

Ampersand

Great suggestions so far, keep it up!

And, for the record, I'm a huge fan of awesome museums - bonus points if they're a bit off the beaten path as there's a fair chance that she's seen most of the big names.

Kosenjou

"Off the beaten path" museums in Chicago?

National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum
1801 South Indiana Avenue
312-326-0270
info@nvvam.org

Arminas

Skip the Sears tower and instead go into the Hancock lounge for a snack/drink while on the Magnificent Mile. You don't technically have to pay to go up, but it's expected that you'd buy something while you're up there. They offer (non-alcoholic as wel) beverages and food at a bit of a high price, but well, for the view and some time to chill - it's a pretty good deal.

http://www.millenniumpark.org/parkevents/ if you're interested. Some events this weekend, take a gander!

Navy Pier is an alright place to just walk around and take it all in, but I personally wouldn't spend too much money there.

While the Art Institute of Chicago isn't off the beaten path, I'd highly recommend it. Check out pricing/hours ahead of time so you can plan it out.

matisyahu

Can't get much more off the beaten path than the Museum of Holography: http://www.centerstagechicago.com/other/holography.html

Kyougu

Participate in a well coreographed but impromptu performance of Twist and Shout?

mrflippy

Yeah there are quite a few awesome museums in the area that you're staying.

I'd invite you to come drink with us at a sci-fi convention in the area, but I'm guessing that's probably not high on your priority list

spacerobot

If it rains you should check out the fantastic museums... There's a lot of them and they are technically within walking distance of each other. If it doesn't rain you should visit millenium park (heck, even if it does rain you should go there), and Navy Pier.

You can go to a Bears game (good luck). You can try to find Obama's house in Hyde Park and drive by (this may not be the best idea, but it's still cool to say that you saw his house).

I think the tootsie roll factory is in Chicago, and I've alway thought it would awesome to get a tour there, but I have never done so and don't even know if it's possible.

You could also go to china town.

MichaelLC

matisyahu wrote: »

Can't get much more off the beaten path than the Museum of Holography: http://www.centerstagechicago.com/other/holography.html

Also the Looking Glass Theater is starting up again, don't know if they're doing any shows this weekend. They're an off-beat theater company; did/do an amazing 'Alice In Wonderland'.

edit: The Tootsie Roll factopry made me think of Vienna Beef - they're just a little outside downtown, though.

Improvolone

The Field museum and aquarium is on the path, but so so amazing.

phoxphyre

I just spent a month in Chicago for work, and can verify most of the suggestions -- when I was there the museum on the Pier had an awesome stained glass exhibit.

I also heard good things about the Science and Tech museum. If it's not raining, try the river-based architecture tour -- I heard they were awesome

The Planetarium was also fun, it's worth paying to see the shows! And the Field Museum has an awesome T-Rex skeleton, and the Ghost and the Darkness lions! (Plus it's ***huge*** I spent 5 hours there, and didn't see half of the museum!)

If you like pizza Pequod's is one of the better places (I loved it!), but it is out of the way.

Improvolone

Regarding Sue, the t-rex at Field, her head is so heavy (since remember, fossils are rocks) that it is kept in a display case elsewhere in the museum. The head on the main display is a cast.

MichaelLC

Oh..oh!

Just thought of another one - The Architecture Foundation has a model city exhibit (model as in scale, not ideal).

Has a mini Chicago, photos, and other bric-a-brac covering the history of the city.