Visiting Chicago in October-will I need a rental car? (Rio: hotel, neighborhoods)

[karuna95]

Hi - I am attending a conference in Chicago at the beginning of October, at the Hotel Intercontinental. I'd love to explore the local museums and sights a bit, as time permits. Should I get a rental car, or is public transportation available?

Any suggestions on nearby sights not to be missed would also be very appreciated. Thank you very much for your advice.

[jwaiter]

You don't need a car.

[chet everett]

North Michigan is walking distance to several art museums. Public transportation is good to other tourist sites.

Car is not needed, in fact would be a costly hassle to deal with.

[jdiddy]

Chicago Transit Authority

[karuna95]

Wow - such fast responders!

Thank you jwaiter, chet and jdiddy. I am really looking forward to this trip. I love Chicago's architecture.

Last time I visited Chicago (5 years ago), the very nice cabdriver gave me a tour of Cabrini Greens, on the way to my hotel . We ate at a Blues Brothers themed restaurant, where the waiter yelled at me -- quite a shock for this southern girl . My colleagues from New York and New Jersey had no problems screaming right back, but I was slightly traumatized . Have a little more time to explore the city this time

[Lucasjj]

I just spent the previous weekend in Chicago, and getting around with public transportation was no problem. One bit of advice though is if you are able to map where you are going before getting a cab it will keep you from getting ripped off. I have a Blackberry and used that for directions so I could keep cab drivers from taking me the long way around.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Lucasjj

I just spent the previous weekend in Chicago, and getting around with public transportation was no problem. One bit of advice though is if you are able to map where you are going before getting a cab it will keep you from getting ripped off. I have a Blackberry and used that for directions so I could keep cab drivers from taking me the long way around.

This is good advice. Lots of cab drivers hope you either don't know the area or aren't paying attention, and will try and stretch as much as possible out of your fare.

Also, I think you should be able to find this at the CTA terminal at either O'Hare or Midway, assuming you'd be taking that downtown, but this might be helpful as well, at least for the tourist sites downtown.

http://www.transitchicago.com/assets...eing_Guide.pdf

[chigaros]

DO NOT RENT A CAR! PERIOD! for many reasons.
first of all, the price of meters downtown went up to 1.00 per hour. ther added sumptin like 30,000 more parking meters in the past few months. parking garage prices r ridiculous. and unless you know the expressways fairly well, i do not suggest driving through most of the neighborhoods.

you could take trains and public transportation EVERYWHERE in the city for fairly cheap.

so, do not rent a car unless u live there, like i do.

unless, however, your convention is in the suburbs, like rosemont.

[Drover]

Bear in mind the cost of parking a car near where you're staying is about $20-30 a day. And that includes in your hotel's parking lot -- it's not even free for hotel guests.

Also, the "stretching out your cab fare" thing is a bit of a myth. The way cab fare is structured where they charge you just to sit in the seat before even driving you anywhere, their margins are the highest the second you hop in the cab and the margin grows smaller the higher the fare is. Cabs make more money by picking up more people, not by giving longer rides. They want to pick up as many fares as possible. A cab driver's ideal fare is a short distance, preferably to an area where he's likely to get another fare very soon -- such as just about any tourist destination. It has been my experience that if a cab suggests a different route, it is to save time by going around traffic rather than run up the fare. The net result might in fact be a fare that's a buck more, but the cabbie is not after that extra buck, what he wants is to get you out of his cab ASAP.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Drover

Bear in mind the cost of parking a car near where you're staying is about $20-30 a day. And that includes in your hotel's parking lot -- it's not even free for hotel guests.

Also, the "stretching out your cab fare" thing is a bit of a myth. The way cab fare is structured where they charge you just to sit in the seat before even driving you anywhere, their margins are the highest the second you hop in the cab and the margin grows smaller the higher the fare is. Cabs make more money by picking up more people, not by giving longer rides. They want to pick up as many fares as possible. A cab driver's ideal fare is a short distance, preferably to an area where he's likely to get another fare very soon -- such as just about any tourist destination. It has been my experience that if a cab suggests a different route, it is to save time by going around traffic rather than run up the fare. The net result might in fact be a fare that's a buck more, but the cabbie is not after that extra buck, what he wants is to get you out of his cab ASAP.

That hasn't been my experience. They usually seem quite content going down routes that are always backed up or far from the most efficient unless you tell them different. Either they don't know the city that well despite driving it for a job, or they prefer a running meter to an empty one waiting for the next fare.