Interesting! This couple really could walk everywhere on their list, even to the zoo! Not sure what’s up with the taxis but I would think you could get one from any hotel to at least start your day.
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There were NO taxis waiting outside the hotel during our stay. A bizarre situation for me to see after being used to this as a given in the Before times. The hotel issued an urgent pleading warning our friends in from out of town to order a car service to get to the airport at the end of their stay. They just had a guest who missed a flight because no taxis or ubers were available for their early morning departure.
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Holy cow! This is good info to have. Yikes.
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That was also my experience in mid-May. An Uber from O’Hare to Hyde Park was $80 so I opted for a taxi; by the time the journey ended, the cost was $85 plus tip!!! very, very expensive no compared to a year ago.
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Also my experience in May. Ubers, if available, were expensive. Did not see a lot of taxis. Blue line/L from City to OHare: $5.00. 45 minutes.
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Ubers have gotten very expensive here as have Lyfts. I can also confirm taxi traffic is way down. But there are plenty of buses running along with other forms of public transit.
I love Lou’s for deep dish but Gino’s and Peaquods are great too! Someone mentioned Pat’s and I would say my kids who live in Lincoln Park would agree!
Hopefully the rain will stop and they will enjoy their weekend- and I would encourage a walk along the lakefront.
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Nice re the Fairmont, just make sure they know it’s sort of off the beaten path East of everything) but it’s a gorgeous hotel.
Giordano’s, Lou’s or Uno’s/Due’s are the best pizza in Chicago. If they’re that far East I would stick with Uno’s (long wait usually) or Giordano’s. Walking to the Lou’s on Wells is not that ideal and there isn’t much else touristy around there.
They should definitely do the Chicago Architectural Boat tour, or my son always liked the Sea Dog which was a ride on Lake Michigan up and down the coast which left from Navy Pier. I remember going on that with him when he was maybe 6 and I was pregnant with my now incoming college freshman. Had a blast!
Park Whiz is the app to use for cheap parking here and you can usually find promo codes. We just used one for downtown and got a $9 spot on a Saturday instead of paying $50. But parking over 24 hours anywhere downtown is expensive. If they don’t need a car I would not take it. Or, park it somewhere else for the weekend and take a train in.
There are a shortage of Uber drivers these days mainly because there have been a lot of carjackings by Midway airport so people are just not driving. Also taxis just have not come back either. We had trouble getting a ride home recently from the airport after we had reserved a car. We have a late night return in July where we will have the same issue and will either drive ourselves to the airport, or park at a hotel because I’m not sitting there without a ride home again at midnight.
Rain is expected for part of the weekend but hopefully it’ll clear up as we have definitely been catching up on our lack of it.
Also, they definitely should try to get a Chicago hotdog! A real Chicago dog. Don’t let anyone tell them that Portillo’s is the way to go for that either. Find some dive like Gold Coast dogs, or another dive place that is a hot dog joint but that’s a must, or for some (not me) Italian Beef is a big Chicago thing.
Expect it to be crowded wherever they are. A lot of towns have cancelled fireworks so people will probably be trekking downtown for stuff to do.
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By “reserved a car” Do you mean an Uber or other “ ride share” service? We use a real car ( limo) service now for reliability. But it is pricy.
Also while The Fairmont used to feel “ off the beaten path” now with the rise of Lakeshore East, Millennium Park and the Riverwalk it feels more in the heart of things to us
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We had a taxi reserved since we live in the suburbs as a lot of the limo companies are also out of business, but that’s also an option to consider as a lot of people in my suburb use private drivers and I may have to consider that. The worst feeling was literally thinking I may be stuck at the airport when we only live 20 mins away. We had already gotten delayed for hours at one airport before we connected then barely made our connection so by then just wanted to get home.
Yes, agree about the Fairmont, but as far as shopping on Michigan Ave I guess to me it’s always a little out there :). I used to live on Ohio/Columbus and it is amazing how many things have changed in the years and while traffic was bad back then, how much worse even now it is. Because one thing that is unfortunately back, it’s traffic! 
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So agree about traffic. It’s gotten nuts. The car service has been the best for us even though it could also be in the “outrageous purchases” thread. Lol. But worth every Penny to us. Always on time. Highly professional drivers.
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Two of my kids are still here when we come back on that flight so I could try to get them to pick us up but I’m not thrilled with the idea of them picking us up at the airport and sad to say I probably have to bribe them to do it that late. One of them is not at all familiar with all the tolls etc either. But it may still be cheaper than other alternatives! Lol
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My D just ubered home from ORD last week and had no issues with getting an uber and at the usual price.
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At late or busy times the price can shoot up dramatically.
It was morning Friday rush hour. Maybe she just got lucky.
Doesn’t seem to be a normal rush hour anymore. Especially not on fridays when even fewer people (in this hybrid at most world) go in to the city.
We drove downtown on Tuesday night for an 8pm dinner reservation and even then there was traffic and it took us an hour! Normally it’s maybe 35 mins from our house. Ridiculous for a Tuesday night.
Traffic definitely is back up to pre pandemic levels.
Yep. The busy times are no longer so much morning rush hour but evenings when everyone is going into the city for fun all the time. And ALL day on the weekends.
Giordano’s was bought out by an equity firm a few years ago. It’s not the same anymore. The crust taste’s like cardboard.
I love the butter crust at Lou Malnati’s!
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I don’t dread the days when my children come back and live here after college or for internships, but I do dread the days they live in the city and want us to drive downtown to see them all the time. My husband on the other hand would move to the city in a sec. I guess that’s what I get for marrying someone who grew up in NYC!
There is also a lot of construction all over the place again I noticed. Yesterday I got stuck in a bunch when I went to Woodfield. Luckily I had no where else to be so it wasn’t a big deal and after covid I wasn’t so impatient, but I’m sure that will come back soon enough.