With so many family and friends coming to visit us and/or the city of Chicago this summer, I thought I would take time to list our favorite places to take our guests when they are here. We seem to have a routine in the summer!
First, the food. Now dinner spots could be a whole new blog entry as Chicago is home to many wonderful restaurants so we will stick with the lighter fare.
- Breakfast - Lou Mitchell's Restaurant & Bakery - Old fashioned diner (since 1923!) with gruff waitresses, milk duds while you wait for a table and ice cream at the end of every meal! How can you go wrong?
- Lunch/Snack - World Famous Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (MI Ave location!)- Look up "dive bar" and you will find a picture of this place. Located under Michigan Avenue, this is the tavern that inspired the famous Saturday Night Live skit with Bill Murray and John Belushi. A must visit for any SNL fan. Just make sure you know what you want when it is time to order, those cooks won't wait around for a decision!
- Snack - Garrett Popcorn Shops - A Chicago tradition since 1949, some of the best caramel, cheese and air popped popcorn I've ever tasted! People line up for this stuff, it's that good! Make sure you try the "Chicago Mix" of cheese and caramel, delicious! It's making my mouth water just thinking about it!
Okay, now that we've stuffed you, what should we do?
- Water Tours - We have found that this is one of the best ways to see the city and learn more about the history of the wonderful buildings surrounding you. There are several tours operators in the city but our favorite has been the Shoreline Sightseeing tours. They seem to offer a mix of serious and silly on their tours and have a bar! Their are tours along the Chicago river, tours out to Lake Michigan and fireworks cruises.
- Navy Pier - From the Navy Pier website: "Historic Navy Pier® is Chicago's lakefront playground. And it's the Midwest's #1 tourist and leisure destination, attracting more than 8.6 million visitors a year." If you can't find something to do on Navy Pier, you aren't looking hard enough. With a giant Ferris Wheel, Imax theater, spectacular views of the skyline, several restaurants and plenty of "boardwalk" food booth; there is plenty to entertain. We enjoy hanging out in the beer garden at the end of the pier listening to live music, sipping cocktails and waiting for a spectacular fireworks show on summer evenings.
- Zoos - Like we could have a list of things to do without mentioning the zoo? Chicago is home to two incredible zoos, Brookfield Zoo and Lincoln Park Zoo.Lincoln Park Zoo is located in downtown Chicago and is totally free. Definitely a big perk! This is a beautiful zoo with very modern facilities for their animals. The Brookfield Zoo is located in Brookfield, IL. Also a great zoo (we are members) that has 216 acres o9f exhibit space. Lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, seals, monkeys, etc, etc, etc. If you can think of it, it is most likely there. Keep reading this blog and you will hear a lot about this zoo!
- Museums – Many to choose from but Joanna’s favorite is the Art Institute of Chicago. Bill’s favorite? The Museum of Science and Industry, but this may only be because they had a Harry Potter exhibit there last year! Check out the websites of both to find out the latest events.
Obviously, there is much more to do in the city and suburbs of Chicago then what's listed here and we are still enjoying discovering new things every time we get the chance. And as we learn of more, we will share them with you here!
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