Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
70
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THE BEST OF CHICAGO IN 2 DAYS
Use your second day in Chicago to experience spectacular M illennium Park. Then head
over to the countr y's largest aquarium, the S hedd Aquarium, and take in the dolphin
show. Spend the ev ening cheering on the home team at one of America 's venerable old
ballparks, Wrigley Field.
Start:
Red Line to R andolph/State or B us 151 to M ichigan and
Randolph.
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Millennium Park
Chicago's latest and greatest public project
has proven to be a wonder fully interactive
park for kids. E ven the sculptur e is inter-
active—the “bean ” b y Anish Kapoor is
essentially a gigantic 3-D mirr or with its
reflective sur face and house-of-mirr ors
qualities. At the Crown Fountain, another
kid favorite, faces of Chicagoans ar e pro-
jected through the glass blocks and change
at r egular inter vals—watch out, because
water spews from their mouths when y ou
least expect it. I n warm w eather, it 's a
wonderful place to take your shoes off and
splash. The par k's centerpiece is the J ay
Pritzker P avilion, with its F rank G ehry-
designed ribbons of silv er steel; the ar chi-
tect also designed the adjoining serpentine
bridge. See p. 168.
mandatory when visiting Chicago with
kids; there's a carousel and other carniv al-
type rides and lots of boats to admir e, not
to mention the Chicago Childr
en's
Museum. See p. 174.
JOE'S BE-BOP CAFE &
JAZZ EMPORIUM
Owned by the same family that
runs Jazz Sho wcase, one of the best jazz
clubs in town, this Navy Pier cafe offers a
fun atmospher e (with plent y of out door
seating), Southern barbecue, and a g reat
soundtrack. 600 E. Grand A ve.
&
312/
595-5299.
See p. 273.
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John G. Shedd Aquarium
First things first: Make sure you buy tickets
for the dolphin sho w upon y our arriv al.
While you wait for the sho w, walk ar ound
the
Caribbean Coral R eef
exhibit. This
90,000-gallon cir cular tank occupies the
PARK GRILL
Take a lunch br eak at the P ark
Grill (
&
312/521-7275;
www .
parkgrillchicago.com; daily 11am-10:30pm),
an eatery overlooking the McCormick Tri-
bune Plaza ic e-skating rink. Next door t o
the g rill, P ark C afé off ers takeout picnic
baskets, salads, and sandwiches . Parking
is easy , t oo, with plentiful under ground
lots at the bargain rate of $12, one of the
better deals in the city.
Beaux Arts-style central rotunda, entertain-
ing spectators who press up against the glass
to ogle divers feeding nurse sharks, barracu-
das, stingrays, and a hawksbill sea tur tle.
The dolphin sho
w takes place in
the 3-million-gallon saltwater
Oceanar-
ium
, an indoor marine mammal
pavilion that re-creates a Pacific Northwest
coastal envir onment and also happens to
be the largest of its kind in the world.
Soundings,
the r
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Navy Pier
Yes, it 's touristy . Yes, it 's cr owded. B ut
Navy Pier is also full of energy—and if you
stroll all the way to the end, y ou'll be
rewarded with gr eat vie ws of do wntown.
Stopping at N avy P ier is pr etty much
estaurant inside the
aquarium, has a spectacular vie w of Lake
Michigan. See p. 165.
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Wrigley Field
In the ev ening, if the C ubs ar e in to wn,
take the El uptown and catch a night game
