So my husband and I are headed to Chicago for Labor Day weekend. I'll be getting there late Friday. He will already be there for work. I have never been to Chicago and need tips on where to eat and what to see. We will be staying at the Drake. I'm pretty sure Saturday we are going to a ball game. Need an upscale place to have a good romantic dinner. Sunday I think we are doing the Fields Mus.... We need something to possibly do after we also need a place to eat that night. I'm headed home on Monday morning.

I loved the Art Institute of Chicago. I was there 4th of July Weekend and they had the Obama Portraits, not sure if they're still there. I loved the Field Museum as well, and the Aquarium, tho it was expensive! Do an architecture boat tour (there are several different "brands" all claiming to be the best... not sure it matters.) Walk along the river walk. Go to see the "Bean" in Millennium Park. There's also a Zoo, but I didn't have time for that.

For a restaurant, I don't really have a recommendation as I just looked for places that were close to me. You can go to google and look for restaurants near the Drake and then read the reviews (that's what I always do). You should try to make reservations as a lot of restaurants have closed and some are operating on reduced capacity.

@lizonaplane Thank you so much. We were thinking doing the Aquarium too, but someone told us it would be too much for one day.... What do you think?
We are definitely people that like to make reservations....

Just now, BayougirlMrsS said:

@lizonaplane Thank you so much. We were thinking doing the Aquarium too, but someone told us it would be too much for one day.... What do you think?
We are definitely people that like to make reservations....

I did the aquarium and another museum (the Museum of Mexican Art - very small, but nice) in one day, along with Millennium Park and the Riverwalk. It was a lot, but I'm not in very good shape. I do, however, like to squeeze every minute out of my days off. I think a lot depends of how well situated your hotel is. I don't know where the Drake is, but the name is familiar to me (I used to work in Chicago a lot). I stayed at the Palmer House, which is just a few blocks from Millennium Park. We did end up driving from my cousin's apartment to the Aquarium and then the Mexican Art museum (not sure of the exact name) but I walked to her apartment via the Riverwalk from my hotel... Chicago is pretty spread out compared to Boston, where I live.

I would also get timed tickets to the museums because, for example, the aquarium was totally sold out when we went, but we already had tickets.

if you're into architecture, Chicago is world famous for early 20th century architecture. The Chicago Architectural Foundation has TONS of walking, bus, and boat tours. We've been on several - they've all been excellent.

Art Institute is great if you're into art; Field Museum is great if you're into natural history. We also do a lot of just walking around when we're in Chicago (I live two hours from there, so we do weekends there several times a year).

the Drake is pretty far north in the Loop - north of Loyola. The area around the Loyola campus is nice. But go beyond that and walk down Michigan Ave - so much there.

we've been to so many restaurants, but I can't think of any one particular one to recommend - you'll stumble upon tons just walking around. We usually try to hit ethnic places, usually. Scoot over to some of the other streets that parallel Michigan Ave - there are lots of restaurants over there as well. You could always pick some cuisine and do a search on that. We've been to Colombian places, Argentine places, Turkish places, Middle Eastern places, Cajun places, pizza places, delis, so many.....they really have everything there.

P.S. there's a Nutella Cafe on Michigan Ave. Might want to avoid that one! (it's great but...Nutella - you'll gain 10 lbs just walking in the door!)

Edited August 4, 20214 yr by catwoman7

19 hours ago, BayougirlMrsS said:

Sunday I think we are doing the Fields Mus....

When you go to the Field Museum... the exhibits on the first floor are really good, but check out the gem exhibit on the 3rd (?) floor if that's something you're into. It's quite good. There are other exhibits on the higher floors too, but there's not the clearest labeling about them, so I almost missed seeing that there were higher floors.

When you go to the Field Museum... the exhibits on the first floor are really good, but check out the gem exhibit on the 3rd (?) floor if that's something you're into. It's quite good. There are other exhibits on the higher floors too, but there's not the clearest labeling about them, so I almost missed seeing that there were higher floors.

I second the gem exhibit! That was my favorite !
We did the Field Museum and the aquarium in 1 day and it was no problem for us. They're right by each other.
Perhaps if you spend a super long time at the museum it may be better to do seperate days . We were there a few hours if I remember correctly.
Also , don't forget the Willis Tower!

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Also, it's great you're going to a ballgame. I'm a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan we went they were in town to play the Cubs and we went to the game. The Cubs fans were very friendly as well as the stadium employees, and the stadium has a great atmosphere. It was a lot of fun!

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On 8/4/2021 at 1:17 PM, BayougirlMrsS said:

So my husband and I are headed to Chicago for Labor Day weekend. I'll be getting there late Friday. He will already be there for work. I have never been to Chicago and need tips on where to eat and what to see. We will be staying at the Drake. I'm pretty sure Saturday we are going to a ball game. Need an upscale place to have a good romantic dinner. Sunday I think we are doing the Fields Mus.... We need something to possibly do after we also need a place to eat that night. I'm headed home on Monday morning.

I know this is an old post, as you've already been... but I just wanted to say for the record... do not go to the Optical Illusion Museum. We found it to be a complete waste of money.