Going to Chicago

Are you going to Chicago? Here are some great things to do and also, what not to do by Molly Fergus

1. DON’T GO TO THE WILLIS TOWER. You’ll pay $18 to wait in line to go to the top of what is now the country’s second-tallest building. Save the money.

INSTEAD: Have a cocktail at the Signature Room. Settling in at the John Hancock building’s 95th-floor bar costs nothing except the price of your cocktail (around $15). Snag a table next to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows if it’s not too crowded, Spy four states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. Ladies, don’t skip a visit to the restroom. The views are among the best in the house.

2. DON’T PUT KETCHUP ON YOUR HOT DOG. This is serious business in Chicago. So much so that Gene and Jude’s, a popular hot dog stand, famously refuses to stock ketchup. (The McDonald’s next store has started selling packets of the stuff to desperate, ketchup-loving chumps).

INSTEAD: Drag it through the garden. This is what you put on a Chicago hot dog instead of ketchup: mustard, relish, dill pickle spear, tomatoes, chopped white onion, celery salt, and sport peppers.

3. DON’T EAT ONLY DEEP DISH. You should try deep dish, yes, but that shouldn’t be your sole Chicago pizza experience.

INSTEAD: Sample thin crust, too. Mom-and-pop pizzerias all over the city serve delicious thin crust—this is the stuff Chicagoans actually eat when they order in a pizza. A regional quirk: These pies are cut into small, checkerboard squares instead of floppy slices. The technique leaves plenty of crust-free middle pieces, and a few crunchy, bite-sized triangles on the edges.

4. DON’T FILL UP ON PIZZA AND HOT DOGS. You could easily spend days wolfing hot dogs and pizza in Chicago, and that wouldn’t necessarily be bad. But you should eat some other things, too.

INSTEAD: Explore the city’s chef scene. Save some stomach space for the city’s serious culinary scene—whether that means sampling Stephanie Izard’s small plates at Girl and the Goat or nabbing tickets to Grant Achatz’s Next.

5. DON’T VISIT WHEN IT’S COLD. Yes, the winters are as bad as you’ve heard. And no, it’s not because of the wind.

INSTEAD: Visit in the summer. Locals embrace the warm weather with the kind of enthusiasm you can only have after surviving months of sub-freezing temps. That means every weekend is packed with festivals (big ones, likeLollapalooza, and smaller, neighborhood-centric fests, too); the beaches are open (yes, you can swim in the lake); and drinking on patios becomes everyone’s favorite hobby.

6. DON’T BOOK TICKETS IN THE THEATER DISTRICT. Save the Broadway shows for when you’re actually on Broadway.

INSTEAD: See comedy. The Second City is the most famous of Chicago’s improv theaters, and rightfully so: It’s churned out the likes of John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, and Tina Fey. But it’s not the only comedy venue in town: visit Zanie’s for stand-up; iO Chicago for more improve; or theNeo-Futurists for Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, where actors somehow perform 30 plays in 60 minutes.

7. DON’T SHOP ON MICHIGAN AVENUE. The Magnificent Mile isn’t all that magnificent in terms of shopping. You’ll find mall standbys (H&M, Nordstrom, Gap) and a big Niketown, but that’s about it.

INSTEAD: Browse in Bucktown and Wicker Park. These twin neighborhoods on the Northwest side have grown up from their hipster roots, and so has its shopping. A mix of indie boutiques, vintage stores, and designer shops make it equally appealing for serious shopping or an afternoon of browsing.

8. DON’T TAKE THE FAMILY TO NAVY PIER. Navy Pier is like the Times Square of Chicago: It’s busy and touristy and, for some reason, iconic, but there isn’t all that much to actually do there.

INSTEAD: Ride bikes along the lakefront path. The city claims 26 miles of lakefront, which residents take to in droves once those nasty winters finally clear. Grab a Divvy bike (Chicago’s new bike-sharing program) from one of the docking stations near Grant Park, and pedal south on the lakefront path. You’ll see Museum Campus, Soldier Field, and Navy Pier—a far better use of your time than lunch at Bubba Gump’s.

9. DON’T GO TO BROOKFIELD ZOO. It’s not thatBrookfield Zoo is bad, it’s just out in the ‘burbs. A trip there will eat up an entire day of your vacation.

INSTEAD: Visit Lincoln Park Zoo. Though much smaller than Brookfield, Lincoln Park Zoo wins for location and price: Admission is free, and the 35-acre space is situated right along the lake, so you can knock out a beach trip and a zoo visit in one day.

10. DON’T TAKE A DOUBLE DECKER BUS TOUR.You can do that in any city.

INSTEAD: Book an Architecture River Cruise. Ditch the bus: The best way to see Chicago’s rightfully famous architecture is by boat.  Book one of the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s tours, which cruise down the river while docents interpret more than 50 of the city’s buildings.

Want More, visit these other pages:

New York – http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/new-york/2013/12/what-not-to-do-nyc-travel

Los Angeles – http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/los-angeles/12/los-angeles-travel-tips

San Francisco – http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2013/12/san-francisco-travel-ideas

Las Vegas – http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2013/12/what-not-to-do-in-las-vegas