please critique my itinerary

After much searching on Trip Advisor and a travel book, I have a possible itinerary. Please advise if I%26#39;m over extending.

Monday: arrive, check in, leace hotel Hampton Inn on W. Illinois

John Hancock Center

Navy Pier for Glass Museum, Crystal Gardens, boat trip , Joe%26#39;s Be Bop Cafe for supper

Tuesday:

Museum of Science and Industry

St Michaels

Forth Presbyterian Church

St James Cathedral concert (5:15)

supper

Marquette Building

Wednesday

Buckingham Fountain

Henry Clarke House for 12 noon tour

Chicago Cultural Building

Rookery

supper

Fireworks boat ride at Navy Pier

Thursday

James Thompson Center

Rr Donnelley Building

Chicago Theatre for 12 noon tour

Stained Glass at Marshall Fields

supper

Art Institute 5-8

seeing as much as we can of the above takes priority over great meals. Getting around is not a problem as we are fairly adept at figuring out bus, etc. schedules. Some of the planned buildings will be fairly quick and others we will take time to enjoy.

Appreciate any and all suggestions or criticisms.

please critique my itinerary

You%26#39;ll need to allow a 1/2 day minimum at the MSI. I think you have too much on your plate for Tuesday. You need to allow some commuting time from the far south side back downtown to make your concert on time.

Otherwise, it looks fine to me.

Public transit information - transitchicago.com. A CTA visitor pass might come in handy for your visit.

please critique my itinerary

Thanks Dave, I%26#39;ll look into the visitor pass. Also, we plan on being at the MSI when they open at 9:30 and staying until 1. The concert actually starts at 5:45 with refreshments at 5:15. How much commuting time should we allow for? If public transportation is a problem we might spring for a taxi.

Just checked and the 5 day visitor pass is a good deal for us an can be bought at O Hare when we get there. Should be able to pick up train and bus schedules, too. We won%26#39;t need the 40 bus schedules so can anyone advise which ones we need based on our itinerary? Or all they combined into one brochure?

';Thanks Dave, I%26#39;ll look into the visitor pass. Also, we plan on being at the MSI when they open at 9:30 and staying until 1. The concert actually starts at 5:45 with refreshments at 5:15. How much commuting time should we allow for? If public transportation is a problem we might spring for a taxi.';

You should be able to get maps at the airport train station. You can order CTA visitor passes by mail ahead of time. Free shipping.

At transitchicago.com - there%26#39;s a trip planner section. You can do some pre-planning of commuting options from any of your destinations.

You can go to transitchicago.com to look at what bus routes you need on the larger system maps. Then, once you know which maps you will need, you can go to the bus schedules section and bring up the schedules and route map for each in a PDF file. You can then print those out, if you like.

www.transitchicago.com/maps/bus/bus.html

Bus schedules

Since you seem somewhat interested in buildings, you might want to check out the Monadnock Building at 53 W. Jackson which at the time it was built was the tallest building in the world (I think). Also, the Harold Washington Public Library nearby at 400 S. State is a pretty interesting building. Both of these are pretty close to the Art Institute. Millenium Park is also close to the Art Institute and Marshall Fields (Now Macy%26#39;s).

You might also want to check out the Merchandise Mart at Wells and the River. It is one of the largest buildings in the world.

I might skip St. Michaels as it is kind out of the way and your other places aren%26#39;t especially close and would require bus/train transfers.

The RR Donnelly Building has a pretty good cafe, Stefani%26#39;s where you can get sandwiches, pizzas and salads. Macy%26#39;s also has a pretty decent food court upstairs.

Have a great time.

You should group your destinations more efficiently, unless you really, really like bus rides. Use a site like mapquest or a book like the AIA Guide to Chicago Architecture to plot your destinations - you are coming and going to the same places multiple times. For instance, the Rookery, Marquette and Thompson Center are within a few blocks of each other, yet you are visiting them on three separate days.

I don%26#39;t think the Marquette is open in the evenings, and the Rookery may not be open for casual tours at all. On the day you visit the Rookery, you%26#39;ll want some time to see the rest of LaSalle Street and the Board of Trade lobby.

On Tuesday you have too much (and are missing the chance to visit the rest of Hyde Park%26#39;s many beautiful buildings.) On Thursday, you have too little unless you are planning to leave some unstructured time.

Many, many thanks to all who took the time to respond. I%26#39;ll check out each and all suggestions, and when I arrive in Chicago in 2 weeks

the trip will be fine tuned.