<p>We are planning to visit U Chicago and Northwestern from Washington, DC. It looks like we could fly into Midway which is 8 miles from U Chicago, spend the day there and then go to NW the next morning. Have others done this? Any suggestions on where to stay? Thanks for any advice you can give.</p>
<p>Midway is definitely more convenient to UChicago than O’Hare – a 30-minute bus ride (or 20-minute cab ride for a LOT more) vs. 2 hours on public transportation or over an hour if there’s any traffic by car or cab. Plus, if you can take Southwest Airlines, it’s usually a lot cheaper to fly into / out of Midway. You can also get to the Loop in about 25 minutes on the El from Midway.</p>
<p>A few spartan rooms are sometimes available at International House on the Chicago campus, and there’s supposedly a motel in Hyde Park that I’ve never seen, but generally when we visit our kids we stay at the best deal we can find in the Loop area, and take the 6 bus or the El down to Hyde Park. Downtown Chicago is pretty exciting – the buildings are great, the lakeside parks and museums are great, the energy awesome – so that’s part of the experience you want to check out as well. (It would be a horrible mistake to go to UChicago or Northwestern and avoid doing anything in downtown Chicago.) Also, it’s pretty easy to get to Northwestern from the Loop, too. Friends of ours have done the UChicago/Northwestern visit staying in the Loop or north along Michigan Ave. and thought that worked fine.</p>
<p>You can buy a three-day bus/el pass at the airport, and that’s a great deal if you are usng public transportation to get around. Which you can. And should – it’s how your kid will get around if he or she goes there.</p>
<p>There was a great thread recently in the Parents Cafe on restaurants in Chicago. Don’t miss a stroll through the Millenium Park portion of Grant Park, with its fabulous modern fountain, its “Bean” sculpture, and its Frank Gehry open-air concert shed.</p>
<p>At the moment, flights from DC to O’Hare are considerably cheaper than Southwest from BWI to Midway. That difference might be enough to offset the longer distances once you arrive. I just booked flights to take my S to NU in September at $159 RT.</p>
<p>Here is the thread that includes a great list of Chicago restaurants. :<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/745625-travel-advice-chicago-october.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/745625-travel-advice-chicago-october.html</a>
I second JHS’s opinion of going to Millenium Park - I was just there a few days ago - truly worth the visit.</p>
<p>We are doing pretty much the same trip in early August. We’re staying at the Affinia and got a good rate.</p>
<p>There are very few hotel rooms around the U of C, and the commute to Evanston the next morning will take an hour or so by car, 90 minutes or more by public transportation. You’re better off staying in the Loop or in Evanston. If you get to the U of C early enough, you’ll have time to spend sightseeing.</p>
<p>Stop by the Oriental Institute Museum (<a href=“http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/[/url]”>http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/</a>) while visiting UChicago, it is right on campus at 58th St. and South University Ave. I love that place. Also check out the Seminary Coop Bookstore at 5757 South University Ave almost next door. I also would recommend staying in the loop, one can often get a great deal with a little comparative shopping.</p>
<p>I second the suggestion to look for the best deal you can find in the Loop/N. Michigan Ave./River North area. Public transportation to both Hyde Park and Evanston is workable from there, and there are better hotel selections and more interesting restaurants and evening walks than either Hyde Park or Evanston. You might consider renting a car. Midway to Hyde Park to the Loop to Evanston and back to Midway is a lot of schlepping by public transportation, so plan in long travel times. Cabbing it all the way will be expensive. A car will cost you the rental fee plus probably fairly stiff parking if you stay in the recommended areas, but probably ends up cheaper than a cab and more convenient as both Hyde Park and Evanston are far enough out that you’ll probably need to call a cab rather than simply hailing one.</p>
<p>If you end up staying in the loop, take the Metra to Evanston. Get off at the Davis St. stop. Otherwise, you can take the El red line to purple, it runs completely north/south, but it will take way longer, although there may be a red line stop near UofC (can a southsider confirm)? </p>
<p>If you fly into O’Hare and thus make NU your first stop, the Pace Bus 250 is the best public transportation option. Take the interterminal train to the parking lot and the bus costs $2 a person, takes an hour and drops you off right near campus at the Davis St. station. Cabs from O’hare to Evanston run about $35-40.</p>
<p>The subway ride to Evanston from downtown Chicago is actually kinda cool for first-time visitors. Once you get out of the downtown Loop (heading north), it’s all above ground and you can get to see the north side of the city, which is much nicer than the south side. So while it’s definitely slower than Metra, it may still be nice to take it.</p>
<p>I second staying downtown Chicago. Hotels are discounting and you can find 4star for 100 bucks a night now. Rent a car at Midway because you will NOT be able to get a cab from southside to loop. Public transportation is a two or three step process from Hyde Park to Evanston. My DD went to jr high in Hyde Park and we live near Loyola Univ. Count on hour on public transportation. There is really only two hotels in Evanston and they keep the prices jacked up. Definitely see the park and navy pier downtown Chicago. IT’s FREE!</p>
<p>There is a Red Line stop that serves the UChicago community – Garfield – but it’s a couple of miles from the university, and you have to take the 55 bus east from the stop to get to the university. Students do this all the time – it’s the main route to the Loop for people who live on the west side of campus – but I wouldn’t recommend it for first-time visitors, because, frankly, the Garfield Red Line stop resembles Hell on Earth. The station itself is smack in the middle of a huge expressway, and when you come out of it you are in one of the least attractive areas of Chicago. It’s not unsafe – the 55 stop at the Garfield station usually has a crowd of people, and you don’t hear stories of bad things happening there or on the bus itself – but it doesn’t give you a warm, cozy feeling. The eastern public transit routes down to Hyde Park – the 6 bus or the Metra – are much more aesthetically pleasing. You see the lake, the skyline, Obama’s house, and you think, “Hey, this is pretty nice!”</p>
<p>We stayed downtown when we visited and used public transportation (bought the 3 day pass at O’Hare). That worked out great. When we went back for move in we stayed at a Ramada Inn near UofC (5 minutes, w/free parking) and rented a car. Not the best hotel (lobby area seemed new, rest of the hotel may have been refurbished since last year) but it served its purpose at the time. Parking in the downtown hotels was around $50/day and anywhere we went in that area was at least $22 to park for a few hours. The best of both possible worlds would be a hotel with free parking near a Metro station. Traffic can be brutal at times. You can also look at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) website and once you have a global idea of where you want to go you can check here and someone might give you fine details about the stops. Smithsonian magazine had an article titled “Chicago Eats” a few months back. (Sorry, there should be a warning for “rambling posts”).</p>
<p>burry,</p>
<p>I’ll echo the other posters. Travel light, fly to Midway and take a cab to the U of Chicago. Mid/late afternoon get a cab to a hotel in the loop (4* Hyatt Regency usually goes for $50-75 per night on priceline). The next day use public transit to Evanston and then back to Midway. Try to fit in some walking (Milenium Park and/or N. Michigan Ave.) if you can.</p>
<p>check out betterbidding and bidding for travel websites to get tips on priceline bidding for downtown chicago. bid on 4 stars in grant park/loop and river north area. staying in downtown is definitely an experience that you shouldn’t miss. visit navy pier. take a stroll down michigan ave.</p>
<p>We recently visited Chicago, just to see NWU. We stayed with SIL in Oak Park. We took the El from Oak Park to downtown Chicago and walked two blocks to the Oglivie station to the Metra. It was a nice Metra ride to Evanston (Davis St stop), above ground once the train has left the station, so you get some views of the area. From the Davis stop (downtown Evanston) it was about an eight block walk to the building that houses Admissions. They scheule it so the info session comes first, followed by the campus tour. It happened to be raining for our tour, which is suboptimal only from the aspect that people need to space out more due to the umbrellas so sometimes it was hard to hear the tour guide, even though he definitely had a voice that projected (engineering major/theater minor.)</p>
<p>We stayed at the Palmer House which is very close to the Art Institute, Grant Park and Millenium Park. Took a cab to UC and the EL to Northwestern.</p>
<p>We had time in the evenings for dinner at Gino’s East (best deep dish pizza anywhere) the night we arrived and we took in the Second City performance the second night. We left the car parked and either took a cab or EL everywhere that we didn’t walk to. </p>
<p>If you want to see the SC performance go online and buy tickets in advance for the “main stage” show. The shows change several times a year but are hilarious, usually profane, definitely not PC and well worth the money if you are not highly conservative or easily offended. There’s a wonderful Mexican restaurant right next store that is very convenient and has terrific food. Seating is not reserved so you’ll want to be in line early for the best seats.</p>
<p>Thank you, thank you for all these replies. I think we will stay downtown since that seems to give a better Chicago feel. A few questions…</p>
<p>How much do you think the cab ride is from Midway to U Chicago or downtown? It sound like getting the 3-day pass is a good plan so I lean towards that. </p>
<p>Does the 3 day pass include the Metra train or is that a different system?</p>
<p>I haven’t done much priceline, but hear that is a good way to go in Chicago. Would I put Loop (or N Michigan Ave or River N or Grant Park) to get something close to the downtown area? Should I put 4 stars?</p>
<p>Great idea for Second City! My son will love that. </p>
<p>I’m thinking of flying in on one day, then we have two college visits to either do in one day or two. Has anyone tried this? We could also fly in and get in fairly early, go to one school, hang out in Chicago, go to the other school the next day and then fly home. Is this enough time to hang out in Chicago, though? </p>
<p>Thanks again to everyone and I await your responses.</p>
<p>While downtown is definitely a must-see, it doesn’t have any neigborhood feel since it’s primarily a business district. Some blocks can be pretty dead at night. One of the most vibrant, popular, and my favorite neighborhoods is Lakeview. It’s probably like 4 miles north of downtown (so closer to Evanston). It got zillions of restaurants/cafes, some of which open 24 hours. This area can be a good alternative.</p>
<p>[Lakeview</a>, Chicago - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakeview,_Chicago]Lakeview”>Lake View, Chicago - Wikipedia)
I stayed at Best Western before. It’s a short-walk to the Belmont station (red-line; Evanston express, which runs during the rush-hour, would take you to Evanston non-stop). It’s not bad. [Chicago</a> hotel | Best Western Hawthorne Terrace | Chicago, IL](<a href=“Best Western Plus Hawthorne Terrace Hotel - Official Site”>Best Western Plus Hawthorne Terrace Hotel - Official Site)</p>
<p>The CTA pass does not cover the Metra.</p>
<p>I paid $50 (with tip) the only time I took a cab from Midway to UChicago. There was a lot of traffic, and the cab took a circuitous route. With better luck, it might have been $35-40. Probably another $5-10 to the Loop, but going from Midway to the Loop I would definitely take the Orange Line El.</p>