What can i do for 14 hours at downtown chicago

Question

me and my friends (4 all together including me) wanna go downtown from 7:30 to around 9:00. and we want to have a blast! so what should we do and where should we go? oh! we definetly wanna go to the beach and the hershies factory. but what else is there to do? oh and i only have $40 and my other friends have $10. and we all start from la salle st station.

Answer 1

Well, I went to Chicago with nearly the same amount of money, and was in the city for about 6 hours. I'd recommend that you try to bring a little more cash, just for safety purposes, and also, as you said, you want to have a blast. Everything fun cost some money. But here are my recommendations.

If you get off at La Salle St, I would head West and go check out the Sears tower. It is West 3 blocks, and North 2. It shouldn't be that hard to find considering it's the tallest building in America. It is $12.50 per person to visit the observation deck. I'd really recommend this because just looking out over the most beautiful city in America is priceless. You get the whole vibe of the city, and you can stay atop for as long as you please.  Im very into making my own fun. So if you can't afford the Sears Tower, why not still head to it, and look straight up from street level. It gives you a reel rush, for real. That's also priceless, not to mention free. If you have a camera, take some pictures! Have some fun with it!

Once you've had enough of that, I'd still head West a couple more blocks until you meet the Chicago River. If you in Chicago, this is a must see. It is very beautiful. I recommend heading North from there along the river. I'm not sure about the South part of the river, but once you hit the intersecting part of the Chicago river, start head East on West Waker Drive (I know that sounds Ironic). Once your there, there is something called the River Walk, were you can walk literally right next to the Chicago River. There are also some cool boat tours that depart from that part of the river, though it does seem out of your price range (Cost $22 a person).

If you get bored of that, your right next to Michigan Ave, the street that makes the city. If you want to do some shopping, head North on Michigan. I know you don't have the cash to shop, but why not take a look around. Michigan Ave. has about every store imaginable, and why not take a peek, you do have 14 hours to blow. Make your own fun. Why not you and your friends try on the wildest outfit at the fanciest store. Take pictures! Be creative! Have Fun!

Once your done with Michigan, another really fun thing to do, not to mention a must see, is Millenium Park. Once again, it's just priceless fun just to walk around and check out the people/ skyline. You said you wanted to go to the beach, but depending on what day your visiting, it will be extremely crowded (Especially on Weekends- don't count on getting a spot). So I'd recommend bringing a couple towels, and sitting out in Millenium Park. Why not? There are many spots where there are no people to be found in the park, and also spots where it's very crowded. You can take your pick of what location you want.

I would not recommend Navy Pier, because for one, it is very crowded, and two, don't expecting on doing anything fun unless you have $.

Also, if you want to cross Lake Shore Drive, why not walk along beautiful Lake Michigan? I have never been to city where you can totally escape the city, like you can in Chicago. Along the lake, it is so beautiful and peaceful.

For lunch, because I think you'd be rather hungary by now, there is a little stand right long the lake where you could buy a $2.50 hotdog, which is easy on the wallet.

If you keep heading South along the lake, cross LSD again and go to the spetacular Buckingham Fountain. Such a pretty sight.

There are many other things to do in Chicago, some of them costing no money at all, and some being very expensive. Just remember to make your own fun, I'm mean, C'mon, it's the 3rd biggest city in the country. You'll have things to do. I hope you have fun and I hoped this helped!

Ps- These are some recommended items to bring:

A backpack or large purse (to carry your items)

A paper map of the city

A couple bottles of water (to save money, and trust me, if your walking your going to get thirsty)

A Camera

Some Beach Towels

Extra Money just in case

Obviously a cell phone

Depends what your into, but when I went to Chicago for the day with my cousin, we brought a frisbee to throw in the parks, and we had a lot of fun with that.

Sunglasses

Good pair of walking shoes

Answer 2

The top of the Sears Tower is a good start. Then the Museum of Science and Industry, then the Field museum. This is going to take up the 14 hours. If you have 14 days I can tell you much more!

Answer 3

Okay for $10 and your respective $40 you should each invest $5 on a 24 hour CTA unlimited ride pass.  The pass will get you to the city beaches and the Hershey Store (not a factory, it's near Water Tower).

You can throw museums out the door on your budget...however, the city museums have free days which you can find here: http://www.chicagotraveler.com/chicago-p... Keep in mind they're mostly not free during peak tourist season (now).  

So what's free in Chicago besides the beaches?  Lincoln Park Zoo, the Chicago Cultural Center, Millennium Park, Grant Park (Buckingham Fountain)...

There's also a free trolley http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webpo... in the city which will take you as far north as Water Tower, as far west at the Sears Tower, south as the Museum Campus and east as well the lake.

I would invest some serious time checking out the CTA's trip planner: http://tripsweb.rtachicago.com/ and tell your friends to get some extra cash because they're going to live off of McDonald's dollar menu that day.

Answer 4

Go  to the Museum of Science and Industry, and the zoo.

Regards,

Dan

Answer 5

You're not going to have a "blast" in Chicago for 10 bucks. h**l, if you ride the bus from downtown and back, that's about four or five bucks right there.

Look for free things. There's Millennium Park which may or may not have a free concert in the park depending on what time and day you get there. You can do some window shopping on State Street. There is a free art exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center at Randolph and Michigan. The Art Institute of Chicago is free on Thursday and Friday evenings from 5 to 9 p.m. (http://www.artic.edu/aic/visitor_info/pa... There's no "Hersey factory" here in Chicago, there's a Hersey story, which is no big whoop, unless you like looking at boxes of chocolate. Everything else in there costs money (http://www.hersheys.com/discover/chicago... You can visit Niketown, which is like a Nike museum with artifacts from famous athletes. Or you can wander around the Apple store and s***w around with the computers and stuff. Both are on Michigan Ave.

From here you could walk east to Navy Pier. It's sort of fun to hang out in, lots of stuff to see (boats, shops, performers) that is free. But they try to get you to spend money. It's very tempting.

Further down Michigan Ave is Water Tower Place, a big verticle shopping mall. Again, you can window shop, but it's a pretty expensive place.

Next door is the John Hancock building. There's an observation deck where you can see all over Chicago, but that costs money to visit. Instead go to the south side of the building and go up to the Signature Lounge. It's a bar and restaurant, but you don't have money for that. Instead pretend you're looking for someone and wander around and steal a few looks at the view. If there are girls in your group, send them to the ladies room; supposedly the best view is in there . Tell them to take photos. The guys will have to stand around and pretend they are waiting for them. Don't sit down, or they'll make you buy something and the drinks and the food is expensive.

Come out of the Hancock and catch the 151 Sheridan bus that stops right in front (or near it). This will take you to the Lincoln Park Zoo which is free. This is probaby the only really cool thing you can afford to do.

If you like, walk out of the zoo and over to the lakefront/beach. You cal walk along the bike path back to Michigan Ave

Like I said, you can't realy have a blast with $10 in Chicago. I guess if you pool your money you'd have $70 so you could all do something with that, but $70 split four ways isn't that much if you include transportation on the bus.

Chjeck out Time Out Chicago's website. They list all of the things going on in the city, including all of the free things that a lot of folks don't know about. it might come in handy. Just select the day you're going to be here and see what's up.

http://www.timeout.com/chicago/section/m...