Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
GAY & LESBIAN TRAVELERS
While it's not quite San Francisco, Chicago is a very gay-friendly city.
The neighborhood commonly referred to as “Boys Town” (roughly
from Belmont Ave. north to Irving Park Ave., and from Halsted St.
east to the lakefront) is the center of gay nightlife—and plenty of day-
time action, too.
Gay and Lesbian Pride Week
(
&
773/348-8243;
www.chicagopridecalendar.org), highlighted by a lively parade on the
North Side, is a major event each June. In the Lakeview neighbor-
hood, you can pick up several gay publications, including the weekly
Chicago Free Press
(www.chicagofreepress.com) and
Windy City
Times
(www.windycitymediagroup.com/index.html), which both
cover local news and entertainment.
Horizon Community Services
(
&
773/929-HELP;
www.horizonsonline.org), a gay social service
agency with counseling services, support groups, and an antiviolence
project, provides referrals daily from 6 to 10pm; you can also call the
main switchboard at
&
773/472-6469
during the day.
STUDENT TRAVEL
The best resource for students in Chicago is
STA Travel
(www.sta
travel.com). There is an STA office in Lincoln Park at 2570 N. Clark
St., Chicago, IL 60614 (
&
773/880-8051
).
Chicago also has several hostels offering students and other travel-
ers inexpensive, no-frills lodging. The best is
Hostelling International
Chicago,
24 E. Congress Pkwy., in the Loop (
&
312/360-0300;
fax
312/360-0313; www.hichicago.org). Other hostels open year-round
include
Arlington House International Hostel,
616 W. Arlington
Place, Chicago, IL 60614 (
&
800/HOSTEL-5
or 773/929-5380; fax
773/665-5485; www.arlingtonhouse.com), in Lincoln Park, and
Chicago International Hostel,
6318 N. Winthrop Ave., Chicago, IL
60660 (
&
773/262-1011;
fax 773/262-3632; www.hostelinchicago.
com), on the North Side.
6 Staying Connected
INTERNET/E-MAIL
WITHOUT YOUR OWN COMPUTER
To find cybercafes in your destination, check
www.cybercaptive.
com
and
www.cybercafe.com
. In Chicago, try
Screenz,
2717 N.
Clark St., 1 block south of Diversey Ave. in Lincoln Park (
&
773/
348-9300
), a computing center where you can check e-mail, burn
CDs of your digital photos, and print out your favorite pictures.
