help me plan a trip to chicago. (Evanston, Lincoln: rentals, hotels)

[semidevil]

So I plan to be in Chicago on 9/26, 9/27, and drive back to michigan on 9/28.

Here are some things I was thinking of doing, but want to get your opinion. I will be travelling with my girlfriend who will be in the U.S for the first time, so our main thing is to do all the touristy stuff, take pictures. I will have a car with me, so I'm not restricted to just downtown.


I want to do:
Sears tower, walk magnificent mile, shopping in chicago, millennium park, navy pier, Northwestern university (evanston)...

What do you guys think? Is there anything else that I should try to get to? Is this enough for 1 full day + 2 half days?

Question:
1. I"m guessing I want to do Navy Pier at night right? What is it anyways? Is it like a carnival?

2. She also wants to visit a U.S campus. Walk around, see the buildings, take pictures. Is Northwestern on Evanston a good choice? Are there certain areas in campus that we need to go to?

Any ideas or suggestions on how to plan order of the activities?

Also, as for hotels, what do you guys think? I dont mind living outside of chicago and taking the subway to downtown. any suggestions?

I'm thinking of doing an odyssey dinner cruise too.

[chicagobear]

Art Institute and architecture boat tour are worthwhile. I think the University of Chicago has a more impressive campus than Northwestern.

[It'sAutomatic]

Navy Pier is a pier with some bad stores and restaurants. There's nothing worth doing there except the ferris wheel if you like that sort of thing. UIC isn't a great campus but it's an interesting example of modern architecture from the middle of the century, and it's very close to downtown. Depaul isn't really much to see, but the area around it is pretty nice.

[Threegoofs]

Navy Pier is a touristy carnival. A borderline attraction, IMO. Night is good, I think they may still have fireworks Wed and Sat nites. Consider renting a bike and biking down the lakefront. You can go a long way both North and South, and the bike path beautiful.

I second the archetecture tour. If you like the water, consider Kayak rentals on the river. Waterriders are a good one. Very cool perspective. They run architecture tours too... from the kayak!

Consider the Hancock instead of Sears/Willis. Better views because you are next to the lake. Want to just go up to say you went? Save money and go to the 96th floor lounge of the Hancock and have an overpriced beer. Same views, no observation deck charge.

Virtually all the hotels are clustered near River North. If you want to save money, you can go somewhere else, but its nice to be able to walk home instead of take the El. I've heard of people getting great deals on hotwire/priceline.

Like Zoos? Theres a free one in Lincoln Park. Nice place, too.

Eat well while you're here. Preferably outdoors if the weather cooperates. For a great view and a drink, go up to the Trump Tower terrace bar on the 16th floor. Although it pains me to even type "Trump", its one of the best views in the city.

[marothisu]

My suggestion is to park your car somewhere cheap and not downtown, or get a parking deal. You don't really need a car in Chicago. Most of things you're going to want to see you will be walking to or taking the train or something.

My advice is to take an architectural boat tour. Also, the view at the John Hancock Tower on the 95th and 96th floors is better than the Sears tower IMO.

[Kevin J]

I agree with the opinions expressed above that Navy Pier isn't worth going out of your way to visit. But the Odyssey dinner cruise departs from there, so if you do the cruise you can judge the pier for yourself. Everyone likes boat cruises and it is a good way to see the skyline from a unique perspective. Be warned that the food is average and the entertainment leans toward the cheesy (e.g. Motown cover bands). But there is no narration on this cruise, so if you're actually interested in learning anything about the buildings you see and the city in general, Odyssey offers nothing there. If you want a guided tour on the water, then go with the Architectural Foundation architectural boat tour that others mentioned above.

90% of what you will want to see in Chicago on a two-day visit will be downtown, so it would be easiest to find a hotel there. You didn't give a budget, but you should be able to find a decent hotel room in Priceline or one of the other discount hotel sites for $100 a night. If you want to park your car nearby, that may end up being a hefty additional charge. You can save money by staying near O'Hare or Midway or a neighborhood on the north side and taking the train downtown, but that may be more hassle than it's worth.

The two traditional college campuses in the are University of Chicago and Northwestern. Most of U of C's buildings are gothic revival and the big feature is a central campus square. There is also an eclectic collection of modern buildings by some architects of renown, although many of these buildings are of questionable quality. If you or your girlfriend care, the Hyde Park neighborhood that U of C is in is also where President Obama is from and his house is a tourist attraction in and of itself (note, though, that it can only be viewed from across a busy street because of round the clock police protection).

Northwestern's campus is larger, more meandering, and borders Lake Michigan. It's oldest buildings are gothic revival as well, but the majority are more modern. The town that Northwestern is in, Evanston, is lively, has some decent restaurants and street life, and has some great old houses outside of the campus area.

Your list of suggested activities is plenty for two days. I would second the recommendation that weather permitting, you rent bikes for a ride along the lakefront. Bikes are available for rental both at Navy Pier and Millennium Park.

[Jandur]

Navy Pier is pretty meh to be honest. At night it's not bad though, and I think there are still fireworks going on Wednesdays and Sundays.

A walk up the lake is nice. The view of the city from North Ave or Fullerton beach at night is pretty solid.

Some people like to try and get away from the tourist-dominated areas. Take the Red Line (or 151 bus from Mich. Ave) up to Lincoln Park or Lakeview and just check things out if you feel like it.