elmhurst to downtown

Staying in Springhill Suites in Elmhurst Fri and Saturday in May and would like directions to get to subway/bus/train transportation to go to downtown locations such as Architecture Foundation Boat Tour, Shedd Aquarium, Musuem of Science as well as the Kendall College Dining Room.

We (2 adults, 2 kids) have a car so we%26#39;re trying to decide to drive and park (any suggestions for reasonable rates around the locations previously mentioned) or take the public transportation. Thanks.

elmhurst to downtown

The only public transportation option is commuter train - you would take the Union Pacific West Line. http://www.metrarail.com/ Adults are $3.45 each way, kids are half-price or free, depending on age.

The Museum of Science and Industry is about 20 minutes south of downtown by car. Go to the museum website or www.transitchicago.com for bus options.

Driving downtown is pretty bad on weekdays, not so bad on weekends. You may want to drive to the MSI on Friday, avoiding rush hours, and spend the day there. You could also visit other attractions in the area: the University of Chicago and its art museums, Frank Lloyd Wright%26#39;s Robie House, Jackson Park or the beach.

On Saturday, park in Millennium Garage and get to the Shedd early. It%26#39;s a little over a mile walk to the corner of Wacker and Michigan for the CAF boat tour. Purchase your boat tour tickets in advance. I assume you want to go to Kendall dining room for dinner - you would pick up you car and head northwest to their campus.

elmhurst to downtown

If you really want to take public transit in the city, you could drive from your hotel to the Forest Park Blue Line station and take the CTA into the city. Parking there is $3 for 12 hours. The train goes down the middle of the Eisenhower Expressway most of the way in before going into the subway. It is especially satisfying to speed past cars stopped on the ';expressway'; during rush hour.

Use the trip planner (http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/) to get directions to the sights you wish to visit. Put in 711 Des Plains Ave, Forest Park, to get transit directions from that station.

Your hotel is about two miles to the elmhurst metra station...If you get on York Rd that will take you into downtown Elmhurst...if I remember correctly, York turns into a one way and you%26#39;ll be directed off of it, but if you keep heading in that direction you%26#39;ll run into the tracks where you can park. I would assume the pringhill suites would also shuttle you there. All of these attractions are not within easy walking distance of Union Station.

Not quite sure how much of a budget you%26#39;re on....driving will cost you 20 each time you park and will take you an hour and a half to commute during rush hour (which is a longer period of time on the eisenhower). Train schedules can be found online for CTA and Metra (metrarail.com and transitchicago.com). A good balance would be to take the metra in then use CTA to get around Chicago....it%26#39;s probably a bit more expensive but much more convenient. If money is no object, then driving and avoiding rush hour would be your best bet.

Thanks to everyone for the all the useful advice for getting into Chicago from Elmhurst.