Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
64
The very best parking deal in the Loop
is the
East M onroe G arage
(www .grant
parkparking.com), which charges $13 for
12 hours or fe wer (enter on Columbus
Dr., 1 block east of M ichigan Ave., btw.
Monroe and Randolph sts.). Also r ela-
tively affor dable and super convenient ar e
the remaining public par king lots under-
neath
Grant Park
(including
Grant Park
South, G rant P ark N orth,
and
Millen-
nium P ark
garages) with entrances at
Michigan Avenue at Van Buren Street and
Michigan Avenue at Madison Street. Park-
ing v aries for each garage, but some can
cost up to $25 for an 8- to 24-hour stay .
You'll find higher prices at most other
downtown lots, including
McCormick
Place P arking,
2301 S. Lake S hore D r.
(
&
312/791-7000);
Midcontinental
Plaza Garage,
55 E. Monroe St. (
&
312/
986-6821); and
Navy Pier Parking,
600
E. Grand Ave. (
&
312/595-7437).
CAR RENT AL
Hertz
(
&
800/654-
3131),
Avis
(
&
800/831-2847),
National
(
&
800/227-7368), and
Budget
(
&
800/
527-0700) all hav e offices at O'H are Air-
port and at M idway Airpor t. Each com-
pany also has at least one office downtown:
Hertz at 401 N. S tate St., Avis at 214 N.
Clark St., National at 203 N. LaS alle St.,
and B udget at 714 S. Wabash St. B efore
you r ent, please be awar e that Chicago 's
sales tax on car rentals is a steep 20%.
BY BOAT
Boat transport is a great way to get around
with kids. And boat traffic in Chicago has
been stirring up a bigger wake r ecently.
Shoreline S ightseeing
(
&
312/222-
9328;
shor elinesightseeing.com) ferries
passengers on the Chicago Riv er between
Sears Tower, Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier,
and M useum Campus for rates ranging
from $3 to $13 for adults (depending on
the distance of the trip) and $2 to $7 for
kids. The
water taxis
operate daily Memo-
rial Day to Labor Day from 10am to 6pm
about every half-hour.
If y ou ar e staying in the suburbs and
traveling to the M agnificent M ile, kids
will lo ve a ride on the M etra commuter
train followed by a ride on a shuttle boat
operated b y
Wendella Commuter B oats
(
&
312/337-1446;
www .wendellaboats.
com), which float daily A pril thr ough
October betw een a dock at M ichigan
Avenue, LaS alle/Clark S treet, M adison
Street, and Chinato wn. The ride, which
costs $2 each way (or $3 round-trip), takes
about 10 minutes and is popular with
both visitors and commuters. An all-day
pass is $4. The ser vice operates about
every 20 minutes from 6:30am to 7pm.
BY BICYCLE
I wouldn 't r ecommend tr ying to ride
bicycles on the city str eets with kids.
Although the city of Chicago has earned
kudos for its efforts to improve conditions
for bicy cling (designated bike lanes hav e
been installed on str etches of Wells S t.,
Roosevelt Rd., E lston A ve., and H alsted
St.), it can still be rough trying to compete
with cars and their driv ers, who ar en't
always so willing to shar e the road. If you
are determined to bike with y our kids,
though, y ou might want to take to the
lakefront path or ar ea par ks. M ake sur e
you wear a helmet at all times!
Bike Chicago
(
&
888/BIKE-WAY
[245-3929] or
&
312/729-1000;
www .
bikechicago.com) has four locations,
2
including N avy P ier, M illennium P ark,
North A venue B each, and F oster B each.
The shops rent all sorts of bikes, including
tandems and four-seater “ quadcycles,”
baby seats, in-line skates, and S egways.
Bikes rent for as little as $8 an hour or up
to $40 a day (rates ar e $6 for kids ' bikes,
and $25 for the day). H elmets, pads, and
locks ar e fr ee. H ours v ary b y location
(Millennium P ark's location opens at
6:30am while F oster Beach's doesn't open
until 11am), so check the w ebsite or call.
The
Chicagoland B icycle F ederation
(
&
312/427-3325;
www.biketraffic.org),
