Need help please!

Hi, I%26#39;m planning on traveling to Chicago from the 5th Aug for 7 days. As I%26#39;ve never been to the area before I was wondering what attractions there is for fellas in their early 20%26#39;s.

I%26#39;d hope to take in a game, basketball, baseball, hockey whatever, but I think I might be out of season for that.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Need help please!

Baseball will still be playing here during your visit. Visit cubs.com and whitesox.com for schedules and ticket information.

Please take a look at the introduction to Chicago section on this web site. Also look at metromix.com. You can enter the dates of your visit to see what%26#39;s going on here during your visit. You can also do dining searches there.

Public transit information = transitchicago.com

A CTA visitor pass might come in handy for your visit. You can order them ahead of time.

Feel free to ask more specific questions. We%26#39;ll be happy to help.

Need help please!

The only major league sports team in town during your visit will be the White Sox. You can still buy tickets online to any of those games, but if you wait till the day of the game, and buy tickets at the gate, the game might be sold out or no good seats available.

You might want to take a look at the promotion schedule for the White Sox to see what kind of promotional event is going on that night. For instance, Friday and Saturday nights both have a fireworks show after the game. …mlb.com/schedule/promotions.jsp…

No promotion is listed for Thursday night, but if you buy tickets online for that game and use AON for the ';Promotions and Special Offers'; code, you%26#39;ll get half off $35 and $16 tickets.

Very easy to get to the stadium (US Cellular Field). Take the red line from downtown directly to the ballpark (Sox/35th stop), it%26#39;s only a 10-15 minute ride.

Youngandfun, are you looking for activities as well?

If you like to golf, you might be interested in the Sydney R. Marovitz (aka Waveland) Golf Course, which is situated right on Lake Michigan (at Waveland on the northside). See their website for details.

Do you like sailing? You can rent sailboats from Belmont Harbor - either with captain or without if you are seaworthy.

Your crew could always rent bikes from Navy Pier or Millennium Park for the day and bike through the city. Or go on a guided bike hike, such as Bobby%26#39;s Bike Hike. Bobby%26#39;s has both day and nighttime bike hikes. NOTE: All CTA busses are equipped with bike racks, so if your will is more optimistic than your body can bear, you could always take a bus to the starting point instead of having to peddle all the way back.

Perhaps you%26#39;d like to kayak or canoe the Chicago River?

If you want to get out of the city for a day:

If you were renting the bikes for a day, you could also take them on Metra to the stop for the Chicago Botanic Gardens. NOTE: Not all areas of the Gardens are accessible to bikes but it is a really nice way to see the place.

If you would like to try whitewater rafting or kayaking, you can even do that in the Midwest - at the East Race Waterway in South Bend (Indiana - where Notre Dame University is located as well) See their website for details. You can take the South Bend and South Shore Railroad (see NICTD website for timetables and fares) out to the South Bend airport and either rent a car for the day or take a taxi.

If you wish to walk along the shoreline of Lake Michigan on beaches, climbing sand dunes, hiking nature trails, you can take the same South Bend and South Shore Railroad to the Dune Park station (in Indiana) and walk to the Indiana Dune National Park and Indiana Dune National Lakeshore.

Are you interested in the ponies? Thoroughbreds race at Arlington Park Race Track, which is easily gotten to by Metra.

And now for some not so active suggestions:

For those with open minds, the Northalsted Market Days will be happening when you are in Chicago. Take a look at their website for details of performers. NOTE: I think that Saturday is a better day to go than Sunday, but it does depend on whose performing on the stages.

Since the Cubs are ';on the road';, you could take a tour of historic Wrigley Field. Take a look at the Chicago Cubs website, and look under Wrigley Field tours for details. If you want to do this, I would recommend that you make advance reservations for this as they do sell the tours out.

Last, but not least, do try to go on the Chicago Architecture Foundation%26#39;s River Cruise when you are here. I highly recommend you%26#39;re trying to do it as soon as you arrive as I think the impact is greater - but anytime is great.

Have fun when you are here!