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Getting Around Chicago
Chicago features an excellent public transportation network servicing all visitor destinations. In addition, Chicago Free Trolley serves Navy Pier, Museum Campus and Michigan Avenue.
Getting around Chicago is simple and quick, thanks to buses and the "El," a system of elevated trains operated 24 hours a day by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA; tel 312/836-7000, ). Pick up a CTA System Map, available at most subway stations and visitor centers or from the CTA office on the seventh floor of the Merchandise Mart. Buses run every five to fifteen minutes during rush hours and every eight to twenty minutes at most other times. Rapid transit trains run every five to fifteen minutes during the day and every fifteen to sixty minutes all night. Lines are color-coded and denoted by route rather than destination. The Howard-Dan Ryan is the Red Line; Lake Englewood-Jackson Park is the Green Line; the O'Hare-Congress-Douglas is the Blue Line; the Ravenswood is the Brown Line (whose trains circle the Loop, giving the area its name); the Evanston Express is the Purple Line; and the Skokie Swift is the Yellow Line.
The CTA no longer accepts tokens; instead, riders purchase a transit card (available in all El stations) and add value to it. One ride costs $1.50; another ride within two hours costs just 30¢. If you plan to be on the move, passes good for one ($5), two ($9), three ($12) or five ($18) days of unlimited rides might be a good idea. They're available at O'Hare, Midway and Amtrak subway stations.
Chicago's taxis, despite a recent increase in fares, are more reasonable than those of many other major US cities. Charges are $1.50 at the drop of the flag, $1.20 per mile and 50¢ for each additional passenger. Cabs can be hailed anytime in the Loop and other central neighborhoods; otherwise call Yellow (tel 312/829-4222) or Checker taxis (tel 312/243-2537). A River Bus (April-Oct; $2; tel 312/337-1446) operates on the river during rush hour in summer, running from the Michigan Avenue Bridge to Union Station in eight minutes.
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (tel 773/686-2200), the national HQ for United, American and several other airlines, is seventeen miles northwest of downtown Chicago. It is connected to the center by 24-hour CTA (Blue Line) trains from the station under Terminal 4, which take around forty minutes and cost $1.50. Midway Airport, smaller than O'Hare but used by an increasing number of domestic airlines, is eleven miles southwest of downtown; take one of CTA's Midway (Orange Line) trains, which take thirty minutes, or the #99M Midway Express bus (weekday rush hours only). Taxis into town from O'Hare cost around $25-30 (there's also a shared ride program with a flat rate of $15), and take thirty minutes to an hour. From Midway the fare is about $25 (shared rides are $10) and the journey time twenty to forty minutes. Another option is Continental Air Transport's express bus and van service between the airports and downtown hotels ($20 from O'Hare, $15 from Midway; tel 312/454-7799, ). The highways are often clogged, so allow at least an hour for the trip from either airport.
Chicago is the hub of the nationwide Amtrak rail system, and almost every cross-country route passes through Union Station (tel 312/558-1075) at Canal and Adam streets, west of the Loop. Greyhound and a number of regional bus companies pull into the large 24-hour bus station at 630 W Harrison St, three blocks southwest.
Arriving in Chicago by road, racing towards the gleaming glass towers of the Loop, can be memorable. Bear in mind, though, that traffic on the expressways to and from downtown can be bumper-to-bumper during rush hours. Parking can also be a problem. Meters are expensive (25¢ for 15min) and usually have a two-hour limit. Check street signs for additional restrictions, which are rigidly enforced - violations may result in your car being towed and impounded. Perhaps the best place to leave a car in the downtown area is in the garage under Grant Park at Columbus Drive and Monroe Drive ($13 for 24hr; tel 312/742-7644), close to the east side of the Art Institute.
Chicago is an easy city to navigate: streets form a grid and numbering is consistent, beginning at State and Madison streets. State Street - "that great street" in Sinatra's song - is at zero east and west and Madison at zero north and south. Lake Michigan, which provides Chicago with some of its most attractive open space (twenty miles of lakeshore lie within the city limits), serves as a clear point of reference for getting your bearings - the lake is always to the east of the urban grid. Michigan Avenue is the city's main thoroughfare, running between the lakeside museums and parklands, the densely packed skyscrapers of downtown and the diverse low-rise neighborhoods that spread to the north, south and west. It's here that you might experience the full force of "The Hawk," the nickname given to the strong wind that blows off the lake. The nickname "Windy City" was coined by a New York newspaper editor describing the boastful claims of the city's promoters when pitching for the World's Columbian exhibition of 1893. The Chicago River, which cuts through the heart of downtown Chicago to Lake Michigan, separates the business district from the shopping and entertainment areas of the North Side. The latter include the upscale Near North and Gold Coast neighborhoods and the artists' lofts and galleries of River North, plus the modestly charming area of Old Town, the young professional enclaves of Lincoln Park Wrigleyville and Lakeview and hip Wicker Park.
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