My husband will be taking us with him to his next business trip in three weeks and I wondering if any of you can reccomend some must see/do things for the family. We will be going to the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. Also any kid friendly awesome places to eat, other than just the regular chain restraunts. Chili's, Fridays, Perkins etc...are all ok, but when on a mini vacation, we like to try non-chain places to eat.
My second question is, has anyone heard if they ever caught that shooter (January maybe) that walked into a Lane Bryant store and killed six shoppers in Chicago? It won't affect me and the kids not going, but just curious if he/she was ever caught.
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The museum of science and industry is fun too. :) My family likes China town. I have heard that they have a great Greek section too. Once you get there finding a non chain place is not difficult. It is a fun city :) Enjoy it!
There are so many wonderful places to eat that are absolutly not chain restaurants. I love Gino's East pizza it is fun and yummy. The shed aquariam is great and very big with alot to see.
As far as the shooter; he was not caught as far as I know but it is 1 1/2 hours south of Chicago.
Have lots of fun.
I agree...Navy Pier! It's "one stop shopping" for you. A little touristy, but still a great family spot. Have fun!
lou malnati's deep dish is TO DIE FOR. i miss it since we left chicago.
where are you staying? downtown?
if the weather is nice, go check out grant park/millenium park. the big shiny bean is pretty cool. if it were really nice weather there's these big screens that are water fountains and kids are always splashing around in them.
dick's resort is fun, but only for teens/adults.
Hi Cheri,
My husband and I went to the Italian village which is a regular haunt for families in Chicago. Our Lonely Planet guide book recommended it. It is so much fun! It is I think one of the oldest Italian restaurants in Chicago and it is so cool. You can reserve a special booth which have different themes. Call ahead for those. It is a must for kids! Here is the website http://itallianvilliage-chicago.com. One last note, there are three Italian restaurants in the same building. The kid friendly must see one is called "the Village". The food was excellent too and not too expensive.
Have fun!
Cheri,
I just moved here from Chicago only 5 months ago and I lived there my entire life. I would totally take them to the children's museum located at Navy Pier. You'll never see anything like it. HUGE, would take days to get through it all, no joke. Also my kids love the Museum of science and industry it's more hands on the the others you mentioned and they have a real full size airplane, steam engines to go inside and see how they work. Also a huge train table, like the size of a football field!! Your boys are the perfect age for that. Eating might be tricker, most of the places in the city can be more swanky, we usually stayed with the chain places when we went into the city with the kids, just because it was a safer bet on the family friendliness. Good luck. Chicago is awesome! And NO they never did catch that shooter. :(
The killer was never caught and that shooting happened about 30-45min. south of Chicago, same town I grew up in and my family is from scarry!
I would actually recommend the Science Museum over the Field Museum. My daughter 5 at the time last year LOVED it as did I.
There are alot of cool restaurants downtown Chicago. Gino's East is the best pizza I have ever eatin in my entire life. You can write on te walls, tables, cups etc. It's a fun place to eat.
I love Chicago! Definately go to the Science Museum. I still remember watching the baby chicks hatch when I was about 3. There is also a really cool model train that your sons will love and a fairy castle that is amazing!
Ed Debevics is a very fun place to eat. It's a 50s style dinner and the wait staff takes pride in their rudeness. (It's all in fun!) They dance on the lunch counter, make you do the bunny hop back to your table, and do other crazy things.
There is always the zoo too. The really tall building someone else mentioned is the Hancock building. It's a great view of the city both day and night. If you stay up there late enough you can watch the fireworks that they shoot off over Navy Pier (that may be in the summer only).
Look into purchasing the Chicago City Pass. It's a book of tickets that gets you into the aquarium, the planetarium, the Field Museum, The Science Museum, and the Hancock tower for about 1/2 the price of purchasing tickets for each individual museum. http://www.citypass.com/city/chicago/now.html
Hi Cheri,
When we were in the Denver area we went to a fabulous place called White Fence Farm and I heard there is one in the Chicago area too. You can Google White Fence Farm and find the Illinois location.
It's a restaurant that is a great place for families. Lots of things to do. You can read it all on their website.
Have fun!
We don't bring the kids when we go to Chicago but 15 years ago I went to this place on a class trip and it was corny but fun.
Ed Debevic's http://featuredfoods.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/a-store/e...#
There is also Dick's Last Resort near Navy Pier but that might not qualify as rated "G". http://chicago.dickslastresort.com/index.php
Have a great time!
There is a place downtown that is called Boogies Diner. Really good food (I hope it is stil down there) All the other places mentioned are great too. Downtown has a ton of place to eat and see. If you have Girls there is an American Girl store down there. There is also the art muesum and beautiful parks. I used to drive down there often as I lived about 2 hours away in WI. Lots to see and do so have fun!
