<p>We plan to fly into Chicago (Midway) and attend an afternoon information session at Northwestern and then stay overnight and attend an afternoon information session at the University of Chicago. Does anyone have suggestions on how to orchestrate this visit? Should we drive to Northwestern? Should we stay in Evanston or Chicago? We have to visit Northwestern first and then Chicago. Is there anything we should do on our night there?</p>
<p>Midway is closer to UChicago - you might want to reverse the order of your NU-UChicago visits.</p>
<p>Deep dish pizza! – Half a dozen fabulous places. If the
Cubs or White Sox are in town you might want to take in a
game. FWIW</p>
<p>.02 David</p>
<p>We have an appointment scheduled on the second day at UChicago, so we can’t reverse the order of our visit. Where should we stay? Finish at Northwestern and head to Chicago - perhaps in the UChicago area?</p>
<p>I am not a local, rather a visitor to Chicago - parent of a student there - I recommend Chicago as a good choice of a place to attend university. I will offer a few tips from perspective of a visitor, not a super-all-knowing local:
Taxi from Midway to Evanston will surely run into some $, that surely is quite a distance to undertake across the metro area, maybe someone knows…
We always fly to O’Hare to get over to NU. Though I have taken the El in Chicago, I have not used it from O’Hare to NU since that involves going around two sides of a triangle, with time/luggage factors instead I have taxiied it. (For some things, when time is money, taxiis are the way to go.) I have not rented a car; parking seems costly, for one thing.
I don’t know the timeframe for your visit, but hotel availability may be an issue with grad happening soon (Stephen Colbert is commencement speaker at NU!), IF you are trying to stay close to one or the other of the universities, although one could stay in downtown Chicago/River North and take the El up to Evanston easily, walk right over to the campus in 3 min. (sorry I don’t know how easily El accesses U Chicago, I assume it would also be easy to do heading south from the Loop) Walking in River North is also very nice -walkable city (you won’t get that if you stay at an airport hotel, for example-)
yes, there are a lot of hotels to select from in Chicago region, but during certain times many are booked. Staying in Evanston (there are two really convenient hotels with great service right there) and walking around Evanston and NU campus (lakefront, see variety of architecture) would be very enjoyable to do for parents and prospective student. Evanston has lots of great restaurants, too, students are always out and about.</p>
<p>I see I probably gave the incorrect idea with my hasty sentences - I am a parent of a student in the CITY of Chicago, Evanston more precisely – at NU (not U Chicago-)</p>
<p>If car rental is an option for you, then I think I’d suggest you look into renting a car at Midway, driving it up to Northwestern, staying at a hotel in/near Evanston where you can park the car overnight, driving it to UChicago the next day, then returning the car at Midway when you fly back. Public transportation is possible (El, maybe switching in the loop) but the public transportation logistics will be a challenge with your baggage – some long walks, I think. And cab fare would be very, very high. Just my two cents. Hopefully UChicago and Northwestern will provide parking options for you while you are visiting their campuses; you will have to arrange this with their admissions offices in advance.</p>
<p>That sounds great. Any hotel/restaurant recommendations for Evanston? We will be going in July.</p>
<p>LaurenTheMom, I hope some Northwestern student or recent alum will jump in here with hotel/restaurant recommendations. I have little recent familiarity with specific hotels/restaurants close to the NU area, so I hesitate to make recommendations – but I know there are plenty of nice places to stay in Evanston and in the surrounding suburbs that should be convenient and have overnight parking available. Enjoy your visit!</p>
<p>The Orrington is the best place in Evanston, just one block from campus. There is a Best Western but apparently it has seen better days. There are tons of restaurants within walking distance.</p>
<p>Do yourself a favor - since you have the time and it will be nice weather, do take the time to drive from Evanston on Sheridan Road, which turns into Lake Shore Drive, into downtown Chicago and past till you get to Hyde Park. It will take about 45 minutes non rush hour but will give you a real feel for how it all works together.</p>
<p>Can you fly into OHare and out of Midway or are the flights not changeable?</p>
<p>A few years ago we visited both schools on the same trip. We flew into O’Hare, drove to Evanston, walked around the NU campus and did the NU tour in the afternoon, then drove to Chicago in evening and stayed in Chicago, next morning drove to UChicago and son did a half day event at UChicago. I agree the drive from Evanston to UChicago along the lake is easy and does help you orient where you are in Chicago (it’s also very pretty along the lake). Renting a car makes this trip easy. If you stay in Evanston, I’d recommend either the Hilton Orrington or the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Evanston (the Orrington has a slightly better location but the Garden Inn rooms have been more recently updated; I’ve stayed in both in the last two months). There are many restaurants which are a short walk in downtown Evanston from either hotel - Pete Miller’s (classic steak place), Stained Glass (bistro), Flattop (stir-fry - kids love this), Koi (Pan-Asian), Bat17 (burgers/pub), Celtic Knot (pub fare) and more. Make sure you walk around the lakefill/beach area of NU (since this is a July visit!)</p>
<p>Since we have two kids in college, and we live outside of Boston (so we also have to pay for flights), we have to be thrifty. Evanston hotels can be pricey; depending on when you visit, the rates can vacillate greatly. You also have to pay for parking at most of them. Our solution? We stay at the Comfort Inn in Skokie. It’s about 3 miles from the Northwestern campus - a ten-minute drive at most. They have a very ample, free breakfast, the rooms have microwaves and refrigerators, and they are clean. They also have an indoor pool. Parking is free.</p>
<p>In Evanston there is a nice little Italian bistro called Trattoria Demi. I think it is right on Sherman Street.</p>
<p>My daughter is at NU and one of her best friends is at UChicago. Both are very happy at their respective schools. NU seems to be filled with students who want to be involved in a million EC activities. Chicago seems more cerebral. Both schools are filled with students whose credentials were almost identical when they applied. </p>
<p>PM me if you have any specific questions (or ask them here, but I don’t check in that often).</p>
<p>Since you are visiting in July, you should be able to find a reasonable rate at an Evanston hotel. I suggest the Orrington as it is closest to campus and all the activity of downtown Evanston. Staying there will give you a great feel for Evanston and you can walk easily to campus and familiarize yourself with the area. Clarke’s for breakfast or lunch is a great spot and it is next to a popular shop for purchasing anything Northwestern. There are many dinner options available in every price range. Check out Andy’s frozen custard right around the corner from the Orrington. Also, for pizza - Lou Melnati’s is delicious chicago pizza- also a quick walk from campus. The campus is lovely and the lake is breathtaking- there is parking on campus, but you will need to feed the meters or park in a designated lot, or get lucky with a spot. I advise you to leave your rental car at the hotel. The other hotel I would recommend is the Hilton Garden Inn, a bit further from campus, but the rooms are significantly larger, not as nice, though. I would choose the hotel offering the best rate. Both charge for parking. The Garden Inn has a lot that you walk to, the Orrington offers valet, which is convenient.
Renting a car is the best option and the most economical. Although you could take public transportation or a taxi.
When visiting UChicago, we stayed in the city and took a cab to the university & we drove our rental car when visiting Northwestern. Since my child chose Northwestern, I am familiar with Evanston. You can pm me if you need more info
go wildcats</p>
<p>^^^
Yes, go Wildcats!</p>
<p>If we were to stay in Evanston again and not rent a car (see my post above about Skokie), I’d stay at the Orrington or the Hilton Garden. And do go to Clarke’s for breakfast (served all day) and don’t expect to eat for a week afterward.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would find a hotel more centrally located, either near the Magnificent Mile or the Loop. You will have a long day your first day there, so you will enjoy Chicago more if you stay in a fun part of town and have a nice dinner after your flight and NU visit. This will also give you some time to sightsee or shop the next morning before you head down to UC and then back to Midway. There are plenty of nice hotels in all price ranges in downtown and summer is a good time to find bargains. Also, as previous posters have said, there are plenty of great restaurants, including Italian, upscale Mexican and steaks. Lastly, definitely rent a car and make sure that you drive down Lake Shore Drive on the way to Evanston. Londondad.</p>
<p>EnoughAlready, have you tried Walker Brothers Pancake House in Wilmette for breakfast? If you haven’t, highly recommended, not far from campus. The Dutch Baby pancake was incredible. I was full for days! (I finally got to try Walkers a couple of weeks ago).</p>
<p>No, but I’ve heard about it from my daughter. We’ll try to get there the next time we visit, but I fear it won’t be till next May. When we “visited” over Parents Weekend in the fall, she had to work on a fall dance performance, so we got to see her for a total of 4 hours over 4 days. We’ll wait for the spring when we can see her perform.</p>
<p>I concur that the Evanston Best Western has seen better days but the Orrington is pricey. Both are in a great location to see downtown Evanston and an easy walk to the campus. So it depends on what you’ll spend your time doing. As we were back for move in, the Best Western worked for us since all we used it for was storage, sleeping and bath facilities. </p>
<p>We toured NU in the rain in July. When we went back in September, after I helped S with move in, I spent a few hours just walking the campus by myself. The setting with the lake in wonderful fall weather was just spectacular. The neighborhood adjacent to the south part of the campus seemed nice, too. </p>
<p>As for airports … Southwest (with bags fly free, still) only flies into Midway. If you are just traveling with a small on board roller bag, you could consider taking the El to NU. But as for getting there to UC, we haven’t tried that. Our S has relatives in Oak Park and has had no problems taking the El from NU to that location (during non-peak times, it requires a transfer in downtown Chicago, as the purple line only goes that far into the city at peak times.)</p>
<p>As for dining in Evanston, it is considering part of the North Shore, so there are some very nice and pricey places around. For something more reasonable, check out the archives of the Daily Northwestern on Google. IIRC, they have a listing of a goodly number of eateries in Evanston.</p>