Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
60
Tips
F ree Ride
During the summer, the city of Chicago operates kid-pleasing free trolleys daily
between Michigan Avenue and the Museum Campus (site of the Adler Planetar-
ium, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium); the trolleys
run only on weekends in the fall and spring. Free trolleys also run year-round
between Navy Pier and the Grand/State Street El station on the Red Line. The
trolleys are supposed to make stops every 30 minutes, but waits can be far lon-
ger during peak tourist season—and the trolleys aren't air-conditioned. If you get
tired of waiting, remember that CTA public buses travel the same routes for only
$2 per person.
hours a day. The CTA has posted timeta-
bles on the E l platforms so that y ou can
determine when the next train should
arrive.
BY BUS
Chicago's compr ehensive sys-
tem of public buses means vir tually every
place in the city is within close walking
distance of a bus stop. Other than on foot
or bicy cle, the best way to get ar ound
Chicago's warr en of neighborhoods—the
best way to actually see what 's ar ound
you—is by riding a public bus. ( The view
from the elevated trains can be pretty dra-
matic, too; the differ ence is that on the
trains you get the backyards, while on the
bus you see the buildings' facades and the
street life.) Look for the
blue-and-white
signs
to locate bus stops, which are spaced
about 2 blocks apart.
A few buses that ar e particularly handy
for many visitors are the
no. 146 Marine/
Michigan,
an expr ess bus fr om B elmont
Avenue on the N orth S ide that cr uises
down N orth Lake S hore D rive (and
through Lincoln P ark during nonpeak
times) to N orth M ichigan A venue, S tate
Street, and the G rant Park museum cam-
pus; the
no. 151 S heridan,
which passes
through Lincoln P ark en r oute to inner
Lake S hore D rive and then trav els along
Michigan A venue as far south as A dams
Street, where it turns w est into the Loop
(and stops at Union Station); and the
no.
156 LaSalle,
which goes thr ough Lincoln
Park and then into the Loop 's financial
district on LaSalle Street. If you need a bus
that r uns east-w est, the
no. 66 Chicago
(Ave.) runs through the heart of the Mag-
nificent Mile (a popular place to hop on is
just w est of M ichigan A ve. at Chicago
Ave.).
Pace buses
(
&
312/836-7000
fr om
any Chicago area code, or 847/364-7223,
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm; www .pacebus.com)
cover the suburban z ones that surr ound
Chicago. They run every 20 to 30 minutes
during rush hour, operating until mideve-
ning M onday thr ough F riday and early
evening on weekends. Suburban bus routes
are marked no. 208 and abo ve, and v ehi-
cles may be flagged do wn at intersections
because few of the lines have bus stops that
are marked.
2
BY COMMUTER TRAIN
If you plan to visit suburban destinations,
your best public transpor tation bet is the
Metra
commuter railr oad (
&
312/322-
6777
or TTY 312/322-6774 M on-Fri
8am-5pm; at other times, call R egional
Transportation Authority [RTA] at
&
312/
836-7000 or TTY 312/836-4949; www .
metrarail.com). The Metra ser ves the six-
county suburban ar ea ar ound Chicago
with 12 train lines. S everal terminals ar e
located downtown, including
Union Sta-
tion
at A dams and Canal str eets,
LaSalle
Street Station
at LaS alle and Van B uren
streets,
Ogilvy T ransportation Center
