I'm going to Chicago for three days on a low budget. What should I see/do?

1. museums, specifically, adler planetarium, museum of science and industry
2. nightlife: lincoln park and/or rush street
3. restaurants: ginos east for pizza, pizza due, giordanos in hyde park, harry caray’s on hubbard; shaw’s crabhouse, flatop grill across from harpo studios, houston’s…
4. sites: navy pier, sears tower (now willis tower), north michigan avenue; hyde park, bronzeville, gold coast, john hancock, water tower shopping

The Museum of Science and Industry is fantastic, and you are in luck. Both the 15th and 126th are free admission days.

The architecture of the city is fantastic. If you want free, consider some of these Self-guided walking tour routes. Take your camera.

The lakefront is a must. Here is a map. The Navy Pier is cool and there are a bunch of other options in that area.

If you are a fan of art, go to The Art Institute. It is free Thursdays from 5 P-8P.

Chicago offers great cuisine and wonderful neighborhoods. I can’t remember, lefteh, are you veggie?

Knowing that you are a big baseball fan, do you plan to take in Wrigley Field?

@charliecompany34 Shouldn’t you offer to cook for the guy?

@Marina yeah, that would be cheap! offer extended…

@charliecompany34 Awesome, thanks! I will check all those suggestions out.

@Marina Thanks for the info…I’m psyched that the 15th and 16th are free admission days at the Museum of Science and Industry! I am not a veggie, and I will definitely be checking out Wrigley (especially because it is right next to the gay district).

@lefteh ok, some of those sites mentioned are pricey, but marina said it best. i do cook a mean cuisine outside “iron chef” on food network though.

@charliecompany34 Food is the one thing we’ve decided we are willing to spend some decently big bucks on, so those places sound great! We’re food lovers :)

Also followup question…I need to park somewhere between Thursday morning and Saturday afternoon/evening. I know I’m going to have to shell out some cash for this…but any ideas where the best/cheapest place for this is?

@lefteh OK, if your are not veggie, make sure to check out a classic Chicago dog. Jimmy’‘s Red Hots are great.

Chicago is known for its steakhouses. Pricey but good is Gibson’s, which is very Chicago.

Actually, knowing you, I think you might find this list of restaurants of interest to you.

Don’t forget to have some deep dish. Chicago’s Pizza is a great one.

Also, if you like jazz, Chicago has some great clubs.

Now, I want to go too! This is an excellent time of year: not too hot or too cold.

Great list @Marina! Thanks!

@lefteh Travel R Us. No problem.

Re parking, what part of the city are you staying in?

Hyde Park first night (current plan there is U of Chicago hospital garage for $20 for 24 hours) and Grant Park area the next night.

Grant Park covers a lot of territory. It looks like it will cost about $30 for 24 hours of parking. This place is the biggest player downtown
http://millenniumgarages.com/

@lefteh, travel 177 miles West and come to the Quad Cities where I live. Chicago is not the sort of place anyone with half a brain would visit let alone live. Of course, this is just my opinion, and if you like big cities, then Chicago is the place to be. Or Milwaukee. Or NYC. Etc. Not my kind of place; too big, too many people, too noisy.

@lefteh food? that’s all you have to say…

1. shaw’s on hubbard
2. andy’s right next door
3. harry carrays
4. harold’s chicken on the south side at 87th and the dan ryan
5. al’s beef in the river north area
6. garett’s popcorn
7. “catch 35”
8. “houston’s” (see some celebrities)
9. wrigleyville
10. chinatown around 22nd street
11. greektown around jackson and halsted
12. “little italy” around taylor
13. fried shrimp at “lawrence’s” near the river
14. diner-type dishes like comfort foods in and around roosevelt road just south of chicago loop; stuff like corned beef, polish sausage, pork chop sandwiches; the diner district, etc.
15. pershing road around halsted for the REAL diner experience. breakfast in this area is a must!

The Oriental Institute Museum in Hyde Park is one of my favorites. It’s where Indiana Jones would keep his stuff.
Small but spectacular collection of ancient art from Egypt, Persia and parts in between.
1155 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
Admission is Free (Suggested Donation: $7.00 for adults, $4.00 for children under 12)
http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/

I can’t tell you any more about the food than has been mentioned before. I would also add emphasis to the museums, the Shedd aquarium, the zoo (either Lincoln Park, which is right downtown, or Brookfield, which is more out in the suburbs). And speaking of the suburbs, if you’re driving and headed toward the West or just want to take a day trip, you may want to check out Historic Route 66, which started or ended (depending on which way one was headed) near Grant Park in Chicago, and goes down to the Southwest, through Joliet, toward Springfield….

(sings)
Well it goes through St. Louie down to Missouri
Oklahoma City looks oh so pretty.
You’ll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona,
Kingsman, Barstow, San Bernardino.

Oops! Sorry, I got a little carried away!

Awesome answers guys, thanks so much! This is gonna be a great trip.

@lefteh You’ll have a great time. I was born in the area, and Chicago will always be my favorite big city.

eat at “sammy’s” right off cottage grove on university of chicago hospital campus near DECAM, across from dusabe museum. salty fries, gyros, buffalo wings, fried polish with onions, greasy cheeseburgers, great aroma, pizza puffs, savory greek salads, etc…

Seconded on the Oriental Insitute. Also, the Museum of Contemporary Art is also pretty neat.

I wanted to comment on two of @charliecompany34 ‘s food recommendations:

Al’s Italian Beef – Yes! The original Al’s is actually on Taylor street in little Italy between the U of I Circle campus and the big cluster of hospitals on the near west side. I didn’t know they were in River North too, but the sandwiches are to die for, and try the handcut fries as well.

Garrett’s popcorn – another whole hearted yes. Expensive and unhealthy, but junkfood ambrosia. It’s intensely flavored, so you can get away with small bags, but you’ll probably wish you had gotten more once you taste it. Try both the cheese corn and the caramel corn. True believers get both mixed in one bag. There are Garrett’s scattered through downtown, there’s also one at Navy Pier and even one in the O’Hare airport.

If you don’t have access to “real” Gyros in your hometown, I would also be on the lookout for that. By real, I mean the kind where they carve the meat off a large roast on a vertical spit with flames on one side. Here in Eugene, gyros are prepackaged slices that get heated just before serving – not the same, so gyros is always on my want list when I go back to Chicago to see family.

The Chicago Cultural Center downtown is free and worth a look. http://www.chicagoculturalcenter.org/
They have the worlds largest Tiffany stained glass dome in the world, and rotating art exhibits. Also, music and theater performances also with free admission.

Navy Pier is another spot to consider checking out. The shopping is not that great, but it’s a fun place to hang out and enjoy the lakefront, there’s fireworks on the weekends, a ferris wheel, and if you want to splurge, you can rent bikes or segways or take a short cruise onto the lake.

And if you’re an architecture buff, try to get out to Oak Park, a near west suburb for a tour of the world’s largest collection of Frank Lloyd Wright structures.
http://www.oprf.com/flw/

(sings) Going to Chicago, sorry that you can’t take me…