Chicago Things To Do
Vacation Ideas

There is tainted glass museum. They are very beautiful with lights. You can appreciate many minute details in the glass works.

At the Navy Pier There is a small cruise like boat in which you can go in the lake. We did a similar boat elsewhere and so we did not go in the boat but the boat looked awesome.

Another of the popular Chicago things to do is the Museum area. There are 3 main attractions here; Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and Shedd Aquarium.

All of them are big enough that you can spend about three to six hours in each depending upon your interest. We went to all three.

My daughter likes science and liked the Planetarium very much. It was educational for me too. I learned about the US trips into the space, Mars Rover, a piece of a real rocket, etc, etc.

Shedd Aquarium has a lot of good collection of fish. There was a dolphin show for which you do not get a separate ticket but the seats are given on a first come first serve basis. We went there at 2 PM so we did not get a seat there. At the counter when they said that I can get an admission ticket for the aquarium but I cannot see the dolphin show. I could not decide immediately whether I want to buy the same. It was $ 20+ per head but I think I spent too much without the dolphin show.

Field Museum has lots of sections. We liked where they kept the artifacts in a place like real life. We took lots of photos there since the artifacts were so colorful. It was fun.

Millennium Park is recently built. It has an open ice skating rink, a huge stage, big spacious park-like area where one can sit and relax. Such a big place is rare in downtown. The main feature we liked there was the Millennium bean made of steel. Cool.

Sears Tower - One of the tallest building in USA with 100+ floors and there is a place where you can stand on a protruded glass and below there is directly the ground. It was a terrifying. Other Chicago things to do we tried were the Fountain (one of the big fountains in USA it seems).

Some suggestions from our experience:

• Hotel in downtown is costly. We stayed in Naperville. Yes, it costs a little extra for gas but it was worth it. Even when you book a hotel downtown, check how much the hotel charges for a parking spot and whether you are okay with it.
• Parking in downtown is costly. Chicago has a good public transport system. So we drove to a train station just 15 minutes away from downtown where the parking was only a couple dollars per day. You can check parking spots and rates online. Just Google it.
• When using the public transport system, it would be advisable if you get a 24 hour ticket. You will save money because if you buy tickets for each trip you will end up paying $3 per trip multiple times.
• Downtown traffic was too heavy for me. So I liked the remote parking and public transport idea.
• Get a visitors guide. It is free. It has a lot of good details.
• There is something called a Chicago Pass. You can enjoy many Chicago things to do using the card. The card is cheap if you will visit all locations there. I believe Sears tower was not on the card.

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