Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Planning a Family Trip
to Chicago
Planning a trip is half the fun—and when kids are involved, planning
is a chance to make them active participants in the upcoming family adventure. Ward off
any potential kid meltdo wns (“I didn 't kno w w e w ere going to do that!”) b y talking
through the activities y ou all can enjo y. In this chapter w e'll look at ho w to find up-to-
date information on those activities, when to go, and ho w to get here.
1
VISITOR INFORMATION
SOURCES OF
INFORMATION
The best source of information is the Chi-
cago Conv ention and Tourism B ureau,
which operates an information line at
&
877/CHICAGO
(244-2246) and a
very helpful and up-to-date w ebsite at
www.choosechicago.com
.
The Chicago
Office of Tourism,
Chicago C ultural
Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL
60602 (
&
312/744-2400
or TTY 312/
744-2947;
www.explorechicago.org
),
will mail y ou a packet of materials with
information on upcoming ev ents and
attractions. The
Illinois Bureau of Tour-
ism
(
&
800/2CONNECT
[226-6632] or
TTY 800/406-6418;
www.enjoyillinois.
com
) will also send y ou a packet of infor-
mation about Chicago and other I llinois
destinations.
The number-one publication for fami-
lies in the Chicago area is
Chicago Parent
(
&
708/386-5555
), a monthly magazine
that has won many awards as best regional
parenting publication in the nation. Con-
tact the magazine to r equest a copy of its
June issue, which is the annual “G oing
Places” guide, a compr ehensive listing of
what to do with kids in the six-county
metro area.
HELPFUL WEBSITES
Aside from official, go vernment-run web-
sites, some Chicago publications and other
organizations hav e wonder ful w ebsites,
some targeted to families. Check out
Chi-
cago P arent
magazine 's w ebsite,
www.
chicagoparent.com
, prior to your visit, for a
look at the calendar of ev ents and ex cellent
features on exploring Chicago with kids.
In addition,
www.gocitykids.com
pro-
vides a w ealth of information, including
current calendars of ev ents for Chicago .
You can sear ch for activities, r estaurants,
and hotels, and see what 's happening in
specific neighborhoods.
Go to
http://chicago.citysearch.com
for the local edition of the national City-
search, which has r eviews of r estaurants,
