June Itinerary

My wife and I will be visiting Chicago for the first time this June and we%26#39;d love a little feedback on how feasible our itinerary is. Here it is:

Sun June 24 - arrive in Evanston (where we%26#39;ll be staying) early morning. Take CAF Boat Tour and possibly the Art Institute.

Monday - Field Museum and Adler Planetarium, Millenium Park and the Cubbies at 7:05!!!

Tuesday - Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Science and Industry, Wicket at night.

Wednesday - Navy Pier, Magnificent Mile, Hancock Observatory. Fly out of O%26#39;hare in the evening.

Are we overdoing it with museums? We just keep hearing great things about all of them. Also, we keep hearing about Portillo%26#39;s, Giordano%26#39;s and Garrett%26#39;s Popcorn. Are any of these places close to any of the museums? Thanks in advance

June Itinerary

That is really an ambitious itinerary.

Depending on how much time you spend at each place, you could do it though.

I would do the boat tour, Millenium Park and the Art Institute at the same time as it will not take that long to see everything at Millenium (an hour at the most to stare at yourselves in the Bean, splash in the Crown Fountain, walk the Serpentine Bridge and the Lurie Gardens) and then the Art Institute is right across the street. Then if you wanted to, you could squeeze in another, but allow yourselves some time to go back to Evanston, rest, change and back on the Red Line to the Game.

I would do Field, Adler and Shedd on the same day if possible because they are clustered together.

MSI is south in the city, so you will have to take a taxi from downtown or get on the #10 Museum bus. MSI definitely takes all day.

You could do Navy Pier, and the Hancock and get some shopping in before your flight back but all of these days would take an early start, a long day, and a late ending.

June Itinerary

There%26#39;s a Garretts at 670 N. Michigan Ave. That%26#39;s near the Hancock.

Instead of the Hancock Observatory you could visit the Signature Lounge. It%26#39;s a floor above and you can listen to live piano music and get something to eat and drink.

There%26#39;s a Giordano%26#39;s just east of Michigan Avenue and north of Millennium Park. 135 E Lake St, (312)616-1200

Visit Garrett Popcorn on your tour of the Mag Mile. It%26#39;s at 670 N Michigan Ave.

I think doing the Field, Adler and Shedd in one day is too much. Pick two of them (the Field has the most to offer). The Shedd has long entrance lines unless you get there early. SInce you have the museums and the Cubs scheduled on the same day, you might want to eliminate the Shedd and start later in the day at the Field. The Adler is nice in the late afternoon/early evening as there are great views to the north. There is also a boat ride to Navy Pier from the area between the Shedd and Adler, so that may cause you to change your plans to a different day.

The Museum of Science and Industry is going to take 90 minutes or more to get to from Evanston by public transportation. Make it your main destination for the day.

Austinminer, you are ambitious but I think you could make it work, if you limit your time at the museums. NOTE: The special exhibits are the stars of the show - make a point to go to them and get the audio tours. IMHO, spending that extra few $$ makes it so worthwhile.

That being said, this period of June is usually one of the prettiest times to be out and about. So, instead of one of the museums, why not go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and enjoy the weather outside? If so, what I%26#39;d recommend is doing it on the day you go to Wrigley Field in the evening.

So, here is my opinion on your schedule with that in mind:

On Sunday: CAF Tour, Art Institute (open until 5 pm) and Millennium Park (afterwards). You could even go to the John Hancock Building%26#39;s Signature Lounge for a (pricey) drink after that.

On Monday: Field Museum - go as soon as it opens - I%26#39;d allow around 4 hours there. Then the Adler - 2 hours. Lincoln Park Zoo (?) for 2-3 hours then go to Wrigley Field. (To get to the LPZ from the Museum Campus - take the #146 NB CTA bus up to Walton - right across from the Bloomingdales building, the stop right after Water Tower Place - and transfer to the #151 NB CTA bus there - or take the free trolley - however, with limited time and a tight schedule, I%26#39;d suggest just taking the bus instead. The #151 stops right at the entrance of the Zoo. To get to Wrigley Field - take a cab for the fastest way or the #151 NB bus up to Addison and then walk west 5-6 blocks or transfer to the #152 WB bus. Actually, that time of afternoon/evening, walking may be faster from Addison.)

Tuesday: Shedd Aquarium as soon as it opens - if you don%26#39;t want to go to the MSI (which would take most of a day to get through) - I would suggest walking along the Lakefront Path - or biking. You could go to Navy Pier at this time, if you wished. There is a Harbor Water Taxi that goes from the Museum Campus (where the Shedd Aquarium is located) to Navy Pier, in fact.

Wednesday: Magnificent Mile - and why not leave the rest of it free to do as you please? If you%26#39;ve missed something along the way, or have seen something you wish to revisit, now%26#39;s the time.

By the way, the Taste of Chicago will be going on when you are here. The best times to go to avoid the crowds are first thing when it opens (at 11 am) and during the mid-part of the day. If the crowds are too big for my taste, I always head over to Buckingham Fountain area, where the cooking demonstrations are held. Less people there, as a rule.

Have fun!

P.S. I just posted a couple of walking tours around town on another thread, in case you have any interest.

Thanks everybody! You all have been a lot of help!