Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
39
enters Chicago fr om the w est along the
Stevenson Expressway, and in the opposite
direction it pr ovides an outlet to the
Southwest. I-57 originates in southern
Illinois and forms par t of the interstate
linkage to Florida and the South, connect-
ing within Chicago on the w est leg of the
Dan R yan. I-94 links D etroit with Chi-
cago, arriving on the Calumet E xpressway
and leaving the city via the K ennedy
Expressway en route to the Northwest.
Here ar e a fe w appr oximate driving
distances in miles to Chicago: fr om
Mil-
waukee,
92; fr om
St. Louis,
297; fr om
Detroit,
286; fr om
Denver,
1,011; fr om
Atlanta,
716; fr om
Washington, D.C.,
715; from
New York City,
821; and from
Los Angeles,
2,034.
most convenient. But many trav elers still
prefer it to flying or driving.
For tickets, consult your travel agent or
call
Amtrak
(
&
800/USA-RAIL
[872-
7245]; www.amtrak.com). Ask the r eser-
vations agent to send y ou Amtrak's useful
travel planner, with information on train
accommodations and package tours.
When you arrive in Chicago, the train
will pull into
Union S tation
at 210 S.
Canal, between Adams and Jackson streets
(
&
312/655-2385
). Bus nos. 1, 60, 125,
151, and 156 all stop at the station, which
is just west across the river from the Loop.
The near est E l stop is at Clinton S treet
and Congress Parkway (on the Blue Line),
which is a fair walk away , especially when
you're carrying luggage.
BY TRAIN
Rail passenger ser vice, although it may
never approach the grandeur of its heyday,
has made enormous adv ances in ser vice,
comfort, and efficiency since the cr eation
of Amtrak in 1971. As in the past, but on
a reduced scale, Chicago r emains the hub
of the national passenger rail system. Trav-
eling gr eat distances b y train is cer tainly
not the quickest way to go, nor always the
BY BUS
The
Greyhound Bus Station
in Chicago
is at 630 W. Harrison (
&
800/231-2222
travel information; www.greyhound.com),
not far fr om U nion S tation. S everal city
buses (nos. 60, 125, 156, and 157) pass in
front of the terminal building, and the
nearest E l stop is at Clinton S treet and
Congress Parkway on the Blue Line.
2
6
MONEY & COSTS
ATMS
ATMs in Chicago are linked to a national
network that most likely includes y our
bank at home.
Cirrus
(
&
800/424-7787;
www.mastercard.com) and
PLUS
(
&
800/
843-7587;
www .visa.com) ar e the two
most popular networks; check the back of
your ATM card to see which network your
bank belongs to. Use the toll-free numbers
to locate ATMs in Chicago. When you ask
for dir ections to an A TM, Chicagoans
may point y ou to the near est “Cash S ta-
tion,” our local term (Cash S tation is the
biggest ATM network in the city); almost
every machine labeled “Cash S tation” is
part of the Cirrus or PLUS network.
Be sure to check y our daily withdrawal
limit befor e y ou leav e for y our trip. And
note that many banks hav e begun to
impose a fee for transactions, and that fee
can be higher for international transac-
tions (up to $5) than for domestic ones
(rarely mor e than $2). I n addition, y our
own bank may also charge y ou a fee for
using ATMs fr om other banks. To com-
pare banks' ATM fees, use www.bankrate.
com. Visitors from outside the U.S. should
also find out whether their bank assesses a
1% to 3% fee on charges incurr
ed
abroad.
