Chi town for a weekend!

[outdoorman]

As a person that grew up in San Francisco
I really do hate to hear it called
"Frisco". Tells me your an outsider trying to
sound hip.
No one I knew growing up ever called it that.

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I do believe many / most folks who head to San Antonio absolutely are going SPECIFICALLY for their River Walk, and that by definition makes it a "destination" so I guess that also makes it "#1 River Walk Destination"...


Chicago has done a nice job of improving access to the whole "river front" and the portion that is now active with shops & restaurants is certainly not going to ever beat out other parts of Chicago for dining / nightlife/shopping BUT if somebody is already downtown it makes sense to swing by the "river walk"...

Chicago and San Antonio's Riverwalks are night-and-day different. San Antonio's river walk is the city's focal point (with the Alamo) and is incredibly quaint with bars and restaurants (many of them chains) lining the river. The river is not very wide (30' tops?) and the only traffic on the river are small tourist boats. For much of the walk, it's a shaded, peaceful respite. To be fair, there are also some very jaded/touristy portions, but overall, it's pretty cool.


I struggle to define it but Chicago's river walk is almost a wholesale new attraction, set below the hussle and bustle and din of the city. It's not quaint or tree-lined, but more like a new vantage point among the skyscrapers next to a pretty imposing river. Each section (between bridges) almost forms a "room" and most of these rooms have some sort of dining or drinking option. Also, Chicago's rivewalk is situated on one bank of the river (south). It's touristy, but Chicagoans (esp. daytime inhabitants) have embraced it. The riverwalk is filled in summer at lunch with office workers from the Loop.


They're both cool areas, very popular and very different. I'd be hard pressed to say which is more attractive, but would ultimately probably choose Chicago only because I'm an arhcitecture nut.


EDIT-- to the OP, sorry for off-topic talk, but based on the discussion, it's apparent the Riverwalk is worth a visit (as well as architecture tours by boat and by foot, AIC, Field, Michigan Ave. Randolph St., neighborhood tour(s), etc., etc.)