Three Sheets to the Windy City
Or better: a tour of three buzz-worthy neighborhoods. From the art-and-architecture scene in the Loop to edgier Wicker Park (slash the former Real World home) to charming, lakeside Lincoln Park, here are eco-hotspots to check out on your trip. We've got you covered from the time you hit the ground through three action-packed days. Just grab a CTA pass - time's a wasted.
Arriving from O'Hare or Midway:
Skip the car rental (plus doling out $7 in quarters an hour on meters once in town) and help offset your flight with one of three low-carbon rides into town.
Green: Chicago Carriage Cab hybrid, 866-440-TAXI (ask for a hybrid). From Midway to the Loop, $30-$35; O'Hare, $40-$45.
Greener: Door-to-door Airport Express, book online. Midway to the Loop, $22; O'Hare, $27.
Greenest: CTA to the Loop; Midway, Orange Line, $2.25; O'Hare, Blue Line, $2.25.
Getting around the city:
CTA Bus or El Train, Full fare, $2.25/single ride - accepts dollar bills and coins; exact change only on buses. Three-day pass for buses and El train, $14. Find out where to buy them here.
Skip the car rental (plus doling out $7 in quarters an hour on meters once in town) and help offset your flight with one of three low-carbon rides into town.
Green: Chicago Carriage Cab hybrid, 866-440-TAXI (ask for a hybrid). From Midway to the Loop, $30-$35; O'Hare, $40-$45.
Greener: Door-to-door Airport Express, book online. Midway to the Loop, $22; O'Hare, $27.
Greenest: CTA to the Loop; Midway, Orange Line, $2.25; O'Hare, Blue Line, $2.25.
Getting around the city:
CTA Bus or El Train, Full fare, $2.25/single ride - accepts dollar bills and coins; exact change only on buses. Three-day pass for buses and El train, $14. Find out where to buy them here.
Day 1...
Loop Dreams/Near North
Shoot for a night at the cushy Hotel Felix – sleek and modern with the eco-awesome Asha Spa inside (rooms run $169-$249 a night). After you drop your bags, hop the LaSalle/156 bus for a 10-minute ride south to Washington St. Fuel up for a day of culture at Hannah's Bretzel with a biodegradable cuppa joe and an organic, whole grain breakfast sandwich with Gruyere and butter. East along Washington St., take a free, outdoor art tour: the untitled Picasso sculpture in front of Daley Plaza (you can slide down it); Miro's surrealist 40-foot Chicago; and just two blocks south on Dearborn, Chagall's 70-foot sparkling mosaic The Four Seasons at the Chase Building. End at the Art Institute's new LEED-certified Modern Wing, packed with Warhols, Picassos, and Matisses.
After, cross the Nichols footbridge to the world's largest green roof: Millennium Park, home to the get-your-cameras-out Cloud Gate (aka The Bean - see photo); a native plant garden; and Frank Gehry's prawling open-air pavilion. Head north across the river - optional: Pop down the stairs on the northeast side of the bridge for a mini-river walk out to the lake. Then pass the almost-glowing white Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower (trivia: TT's covered with rocks from both the Parthenon and the moon).
Now you've hit the famous Magnificent Mile, which means it's time to shop (or at least ogle). First stop over the bridge: gourmet organic chocolate at Vosges in the North Bridge Mall (we're talking melt-in-your-mouth, champagne-infused truffles). A couple of blocks north, grab butt-flattering organic jeans and organic skincare at the Water Tower Palace's Skinstinct (next to the castle-esque 19th century Water Tower). On the east side of the street, head to the top of the John Hancock Center for 360-degree city views.
Finally, hitch the 147 bus at Pearson down to Illinois St., then head west a few blocks to Naha for a sustainable Mediterranean-meets-CA dinner (the menu changes constantly, but it makes a mean and buttery Great Lakes Whitefish with local wheat berries and squash). If your feet can somehow still take it and it's a weekend, salsa dance and/or just score a mango-ginger VeeV martini at Nacional 27, just three blocks west of the Felix.
On the cheap:
A ticket to the top of the John Hancock Center'll set you back $15, but head up to the 96th floor to the schmancy Signature Lounge in the same building instead, and get a glass of biodynamic or organic vino – like the pepper-meets-cherry Peay Vineyards Syrah - for about the same price - with the same great lake and city views for free.
Map it out:
After, cross the Nichols footbridge to the world's largest green roof: Millennium Park, home to the get-your-cameras-out Cloud Gate (aka The Bean - see photo); a native plant garden; and Frank Gehry's prawling open-air pavilion. Head north across the river - optional: Pop down the stairs on the northeast side of the bridge for a mini-river walk out to the lake. Then pass the almost-glowing white Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower (trivia: TT's covered with rocks from both the Parthenon and the moon).
Now you've hit the famous Magnificent Mile, which means it's time to shop (or at least ogle). First stop over the bridge: gourmet organic chocolate at Vosges in the North Bridge Mall (we're talking melt-in-your-mouth, champagne-infused truffles). A couple of blocks north, grab butt-flattering organic jeans and organic skincare at the Water Tower Palace's Skinstinct (next to the castle-esque 19th century Water Tower). On the east side of the street, head to the top of the John Hancock Center for 360-degree city views.
Finally, hitch the 147 bus at Pearson down to Illinois St., then head west a few blocks to Naha for a sustainable Mediterranean-meets-CA dinner (the menu changes constantly, but it makes a mean and buttery Great Lakes Whitefish with local wheat berries and squash). If your feet can somehow still take it and it's a weekend, salsa dance and/or just score a mango-ginger VeeV martini at Nacional 27, just three blocks west of the Felix.
On the cheap:
A ticket to the top of the John Hancock Center'll set you back $15, but head up to the 96th floor to the schmancy Signature Lounge in the same building instead, and get a glass of biodynamic or organic vino – like the pepper-meets-cherry Peay Vineyards Syrah - for about the same price - with the same great lake and city views for free.
Map it out:
View Chicago City Guide - Day 1 in a larger map
Day 2...
Lincoln Par(k) for the Course
Ready to putt the skyscrapers behind you? New course: Head north from your hotel along the Red Line to Green City Market for locally grown grub (Capriole Farm's rich Indiana-made Old Kentucky Tomme goat cheese = dairy heaven); it's open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 7 am-1 pm, with an indoor version in winter. From there, take a quick stroll east to the lake along the tree-lined and lakeside paths of Lincoln Park itself - the whole 'hood is named for Chi's largest public park.
From La Salle and Clark, hop the 73 bus to Sheffield Ave. to Barker and Meowsky, where pet-lovers can pick up a recycled nylon collar or doggy tee (My owner went to Chicago and all I got…) as a souvenir for your furball. Then sift through a great selection of used designer clothes at McShane's, and pick up a box of recycled paper stationery at Chi-based Paper Source. Then walk east on Armitage and left on Halsted, about a half mile to the Blueberry Moon spa to give your tootsies some love with a nontoxic mani/pedi in a hip eco space – check out the recycled-seltzer-bottle hanging lamps. PS: Across the street is a nice green spot – Oz Park, filled with statues of Wizard of Oz characters.
Walk a couple blocks north to Fullerton and rest your legs on the 74 bus for a quick, under-a-mile ride east to the Notebaert Nature Museum at Cannon Dr., where you can check out the amazing view atop its 17,000 square-foot green roof and Butterfly Haven – a greenhouse filled with 1,000 butterflies. Walk 5 minutes north through the park to the cozy, sustainable North Pond for a posh American dinner – the menu changes often, but if they've got it, go for the sage-roasted guinea hen with grilled peaches and ginger chutney. Up for more? Let the 76 bus drive you most of the way, then walk south on Southport to Webster's Wine Bar fore a glass of organic or bio-dy vino.
On the cheap:
The Notebaert Nature Museum's free on Thursdays.
Map it out:
From La Salle and Clark, hop the 73 bus to Sheffield Ave. to Barker and Meowsky, where pet-lovers can pick up a recycled nylon collar or doggy tee (My owner went to Chicago and all I got…) as a souvenir for your furball. Then sift through a great selection of used designer clothes at McShane's, and pick up a box of recycled paper stationery at Chi-based Paper Source. Then walk east on Armitage and left on Halsted, about a half mile to the Blueberry Moon spa to give your tootsies some love with a nontoxic mani/pedi in a hip eco space – check out the recycled-seltzer-bottle hanging lamps. PS: Across the street is a nice green spot – Oz Park, filled with statues of Wizard of Oz characters.
Walk a couple blocks north to Fullerton and rest your legs on the 74 bus for a quick, under-a-mile ride east to the Notebaert Nature Museum at Cannon Dr., where you can check out the amazing view atop its 17,000 square-foot green roof and Butterfly Haven – a greenhouse filled with 1,000 butterflies. Walk 5 minutes north through the park to the cozy, sustainable North Pond for a posh American dinner – the menu changes often, but if they've got it, go for the sage-roasted guinea hen with grilled peaches and ginger chutney. Up for more? Let the 76 bus drive you most of the way, then walk south on Southport to Webster's Wine Bar fore a glass of organic or bio-dy vino.
On the cheap:
The Notebaert Nature Museum's free on Thursdays.
Map it out:
View Chicago City Guide - Day 2 in a larger map
Day 3...
Wicker (Park) Witch of the West
There's no place like home, but here's a close second: Chicago's indie-designer capital, Wicker Park and nearby Bucktown. Just catch the Blue Line El and head west to Damen Street. Chow your breakfast (veghead chorizo chilaquiles, anyone?) at the Earwax Café. Around the corner, there's a rare lush space – Wicker Park proper – which has farmers markets on Sundays (spring through fall) and a pretty fountain to boot.
Next, shopping: Hunt for used gems at Myopic Books and Reckless Records (the inspiration for the film High Fidelity); scour Connect Chicago for a solar-powered bag or organic hoodie; browse one-of-a-kind, local DIYer-made wallets, tee shirts, and stationery at Renegade Handmade; and pick up Chi-made Chapter One Organics kid threads at Grow. Shopping makes us hungry, too: Try the Midwest's first certified-organic restaurant, Crust, for wood-oven-fired, thin-crust pizza before heading north on Damen to Bucktown. There, don't miss Shebang's everyday totes made from reclaimed upholstery fabric, then hit Grasshopper 510 for CTA-token cufflinks (great souvenirs) and recycled-aluminum bowls.
Before dinner, browse art (and gain culture points) at galleries like 360See (art made from reclaimed material), Around the Coyote for works by emerging artists, and the second and third floor studios in the triangular Flatiron Arts Building. Then fill up on SOL (sustainable, organic, local) treats, such as fennel-flavored French bean soup and Chocolate #1 (soufflé with salted caramel ice cream – need we say more?) at Hot Chocolate. Wind down at the speakeasy-inspired Violet Hour for a citrusy, sweet Vodka Cobbler mixed with sustainable, Wisconsin-made Death's Door Spirits – it'll make you melt.
On the cheap:
Check out Grasshopper 510's sale section for everything from vintage teacup candles to flowery organic bubble bath.
Map it out:
Next, shopping: Hunt for used gems at Myopic Books and Reckless Records (the inspiration for the film High Fidelity); scour Connect Chicago for a solar-powered bag or organic hoodie; browse one-of-a-kind, local DIYer-made wallets, tee shirts, and stationery at Renegade Handmade; and pick up Chi-made Chapter One Organics kid threads at Grow. Shopping makes us hungry, too: Try the Midwest's first certified-organic restaurant, Crust, for wood-oven-fired, thin-crust pizza before heading north on Damen to Bucktown. There, don't miss Shebang's everyday totes made from reclaimed upholstery fabric, then hit Grasshopper 510 for CTA-token cufflinks (great souvenirs) and recycled-aluminum bowls.
Before dinner, browse art (and gain culture points) at galleries like 360See (art made from reclaimed material), Around the Coyote for works by emerging artists, and the second and third floor studios in the triangular Flatiron Arts Building. Then fill up on SOL (sustainable, organic, local) treats, such as fennel-flavored French bean soup and Chocolate #1 (soufflé with salted caramel ice cream – need we say more?) at Hot Chocolate. Wind down at the speakeasy-inspired Violet Hour for a citrusy, sweet Vodka Cobbler mixed with sustainable, Wisconsin-made Death's Door Spirits – it'll make you melt.
On the cheap:
Check out Grasshopper 510's sale section for everything from vintage teacup candles to flowery organic bubble bath.
Map it out:
View Chicago City Guide - Day 3 in a larger map
Plus...
Packing Tips
While Chicago's nickname is likely due to its bragging politicians, not the weather, you can still use a windbreaker in the fall and spring. Winter'll freeze your nosehair, so you'll want extra warmth head to toe, and in the hot and muggy summers, you'll basically want to be as close to naked as possible at all times. Here, some green must-brings for Chicago's changing weather.
Stay warm/dry with:
- Vaute Couture - winter travelers, cozy up in a glam coat made in Chicago with vegan materials like recycled fleece ($145 and up).
- Norrøna Bitihorn Aero 60 Jacket– for spring and fall, try this wind- and moisture-resistant zip-up jacket, made from recycled polyester; comes in black, green, or blue ($100).
- Nature Conservancy Recycled Umbrella - be prepared for Midwest thunderstorms with this green and white umbrella made with recycled plastic; 10 percent of purchase price goes to the nonprofit's work ($25).
- Mohop Sandals – the city's really flat, so go ahead and pack summer heels. Bonus points with the locals if you wear Chicago's own Mohop wedges, made with recycled-rubber soles, faux leather, and sustainably harvested wood ($148).
- Recycled Wonderland Swimsuit - summer temps can be extreme, so pack a swimsuit like one of these handmade, recycled picks for a quick dip in Lake Michigan (prices vary).
- ICU Eyewear – Chicago's got an average of 84 sunny days a year (actually 10 more than Miami), so take along a pair of shades - these trendy, unisex sunglasses (including a pair reminiscent of Ray Bans) are made from scrap plastic that would otherwise end up in landfills ($22).
- Chicago Bike Map– even if you're walking or driving, these easy-to-read, free maps are super-detailed and show suggested bike routes if you're game.