Downtown transportation? (Chicago, Rosemont, Lee: hotel, work, closing)

[Teamfour]

I will be in Chicago next week on business and I have a few questions about getting around downtown. I am staying at the Holiday Inn Express on N. Wabash. My meeting is at MicroTek at 230 W. Monroe.

Is this within walking distance?
Is it safe to walk in this area?
If not, what are my alternatives?

Also, I have a few hours to kill on a Saturday; what would me some "must sees" in this area?

TIA,

Lee

[CarolL]

It is not within walking distance. Not real far, but I'd take a cab. Or ask about public trans at the front desk; you could also probably take a bus or two.

It is a perfectly safe area. (It's downtown Chicago!)

Must-see's downtown: Wow. Where to begin? You're within spittin' distance of Mag Mile, Navy Pier, the Museums, great architecture and shopping...If you have only an afternoon, you might want to go to Millenium Park for the sculpture and people-watching; take in a quick exhibit (if there is such a thing) at the Art Institute...what are you interested in?

[Teamfour]

Carol, thanks for the quick response. I did some more research and mapped out the bus routes I would need to take. Are the buses decent to ride? I only have experience with public transportation in New Orleans (need a gun) and DC Metro (I'm spoiled). I will also be taking the subway from O'hare to downtown.

I like art and museums so I will check out the Park and Art Institute.

[CarolL]

Buses in the downtown area, and most places, actually, are just fine. (You can do a search on citydata for the "bad" neighborhoods, but it doesn't sound like you'll be anywhere near those.) If you're staying in the downtown area, you have absolutely no worries.

Here's a site for the el:
http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/systemmaps.html

Also, check the hotel front desk for shuttles; depending on what's going on downtown that weekend, there could be free shuttles to the different events and museums.

[Kevin J]

FYI Lee, the Blue Line train from O'Hare is going to have a disruption for a three-week period starting today. They're closing the leg of the train from O'Hare to the first stop after that (Rosemont) to repair the tracks. They're using buses to take riders between O'Hare and the Rosemont station. It's a little more hassle, but it's still a lot cheaper than taking a cab.

Also: if you're planning on taking the train to get you downtown after you arrive, the Blue Line won't get you very close to your hotel. If you don't want to take a cab from the nearest station to your hotel, you should take the Blue Line to Jackson and then transfer to the Red Line. To get to the Red Line, you have to walk down a set of stairs that's on the subway platform. The stairs lead to a tunnel that is a block long and leads to the Red Line. Take the Red Line to Grand and it's only about 3 blocks to your hotel, which shoudn't be a big deal if you have wheeled luggage.

[Teamfour]

Kevin, thanks for the heads up on the disruption!!!

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

Kevin, thanks for the heads up on the disruption!!!

I take the Blue line to Rosemont every day for work. Considering that the final portion of the blue line (Rosemont to Ohare) was in such bad shape that the train rarely got above 10 mph anyways, it won't be much of a disruption beyond what the existing state of the tracks provided.

There are shuttle busses lined up that depart every 5 minutes, and they pickup/drop-off at the O'Hare shuttle center, which could be more convenient to get to that the traditional OHare Blue Line station.