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What is the best way to organize a day of shopping in Chicago? |
Travel Info I'm going to Chicago in a couple months. I want to shop the Magnificent Mile and the shops on Armitage Avenue. It seems like a lot to fit into two days and still be able to go to museums, etc. Where should I start on Michigan Avenue, and is it possible to fit both areas into one day? Travel Tips The other answers are very good, but I wanted to add (as an Art Institute junkie) that it is open late on Thursdays (until 8pm) and I think it is free from 5-8pm that night, so if you started at the north end of Michigan and worked your way to Macy's/Field's, you could still manage to take a quick look through the most famous of the paintings at the Art Institute before calling it a day...granted, you will be exhausted! Others Shop Boul Mich, but Armitage? Take a train or cab to Schaumburg and do the big Woodfield mall instead. State Street has some old classic dept stores too. Carsons, the old Fields dept store and others. Check the restaurants and art studios west on Ontario/Grand area west of Boul Mich (Michigan Avenue) . I like Andys for Jazz on Hubbard. Check on the plays and shows at the Oriental or Chicago or Shubert Theaters... South of the River is also some shopping, Millenium Park, Art INstitute, a cab ride to Field Museum, Aquarium, Planetarium. Check out Navy Pier also...shops, entertainment. Consider a dinner cruise on the Lake from the pier. If you go to Sear tower for a look, try a water taxi from Boul Mich to Union Station. I like the view from the 100 story Hancock bldg better. Or better yet, go to the 97th floor for a reasonable lunch or an expensive dinner. start with Macys -used to be Marshall ffelds--you have to see it to believe it--the Macys on State and Randolph. It is near the Art Institutue-just off Mich Avenue. I am not familiar with shops on Armitage but you should be able to fit everything in two days Not sure what other answer means by Boul Mich. And Woodfield mall is just another big suburban shopping center. Stick with the Mag mile and skip the suburbs. It's a little tricky. What you probably want to do is start on the north end of Michigan Avenue - at the John Hancock Building or so - and work your way down. By the time you cross the Chicago River, you'll be heading towards Millenium Park and can stop at the Art Institute. That'll get you the museums and Michigan Avenue in one day. Armitage is a bit futher away, is the problem. You *could* take the Red Line at Chicago Avenue, transfer to a southbound Brown Line at Fullerton, and then get off at Armitage, then reverse the process to get back to Michigan Avenue. To be honest, while Armitage Avenue is cute and gives you a sense of neighborhoods around Chicago, if you want to see the best shopping and best museums, you might as well start at Michigan Avenue and then make a special trip to Armitage on another day. Shop one day and museums the other day. It is a lot to do in two days. Chicago has a lot of great museums. You can spend a day at the art museum, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium, and Adler Planetarium. You need to think about what is the most important to you. Well, if you want to shop on Michican Ave., you should probably start on the south end, near the Tribune tower and the river. Work your way north up the street. There are nice stores on both sides of the street, so you'll probably end up crisscrossing back and forth (for instance, the Virgin Record store and LL Bean are on once side and the Apple store and Niketown are on the otherside). The final place you'll probably want to check out is Water Tower Place. From there, you can probably take a cab over to Armitage and Halsted. it shouldn't cost too much, since Armitage isn't THAT far away. Make sure the cab driver takes Lake Shore Drive, then gets off at Fullerton. Once you get to Armitage, you'll probably just have to walk up and down the streets since there are shops all over. But if I were you, I'd also plan to put State Street on my list. You can check out Marshall Fiel... I mean Macy's. But there are also some decent outlet-type stores like TK Maxx, Filene's Basement, Nordstrom Outlet, H&M, etc. It would take a while to make it through from State Street to Michigan ave to Armitage. It's definitely a two day thing.... Not sure if you can do the museums too. Hitting all the stores alone will take a good chunk of your time. Unless you're a quick shopper who can go into a store, know what they want, get it and get out, you'll be there for a while. My fellow Chicagoans have given great answers thus far but i want to add my two cents also. downtown there are FREE trolleys that are designed to take u major shop to shop. the Carson's on state street is closed as of last week so don't look for it, Marshall fields is now Macy's nothing special there, they don't even go all out with the windows like mf did but that is just my opinion. Also regarding the museums, there is a museum campus so if u manage your time correctly you can do them all; but i would suggest making the decision which ones you would like to visit first. there is also the art institute and others u may not have thought of. FYI: if u know a resident here get them to go to the library and get a FREE pass for you so u don't have to pay for the museums. Just my two cents. Have fun and be safe. o i would also like to add, many of the same stores are on state st as michigan ave, but word to the wise state street is cheaper, michigan ave is designed for travelers spending big money. http://www.sheddaquarium.org/gochicagoca... check into ^ to it is $25 |
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