Travel | Chicago News & Travel

Christkindlmart: Chicago’s Biggest Holiday Attraction

Christmas Markets are thought to have originated in Germany, since they’ve been a tradition there for hundreds of years. If you can’t imagine yourself going to one in Germany, then look no further than Chicago! Christkindlmarkt is held throughout Daley Plaza in downtown Chicago every year, usually running from the first Saturday after Thanksgiving up until Christmas Eve on December 24^th. The Chicago Market is styled after the Christ Market in Nuremburg, Germany, which dates all the way back to 1545.

Christkindlmarkt’s first big event is the lighting of the big Christmas tree in Daley Plaza, which usually occurs either on the first day of the market or during the first week in December. This is one of the most popular and best-loved Christmas traditions in Chicago and usually draws large crowds.

The market provides bystanders with good food and hot cider as they wait. Both international and local German merchants and restaurant owners provide numerous German delicacies to try, such as sausages and potato pancakes, complete with Gluhwein, a tasty sauce made from red wine. The shopping experience at Christkindlmarkt is like no other, offering attendees a large selection of traditional German gifts, such as wood carvings and textile and blown glass items, among other things. If you’re in the mood, there’s even a building where you can purchase beer.

If you have children, take them to see Santa in Daley Plaza. He appears there daily throughout the length of the market and can be found in a cottage by the Christmas tree in the center of the plaza. Nearby is a large model train exhibit, so if you have a budding engineer in your family, be sure to stop by and check it out.

Admission to the market is free every day. Since it is Chicago, be sure to dress appropriately for the weather. All of downtown in festive during the holiday season, so if you’ve got some extra time, wander around and see some more of the holiday sights.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Christmas market

Tips for Visiting Chicago

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Are you traveling to Chicago for business or vacation? This wonderful metropolis is home to the Sears Tower, the Chicago Bears, Wrigley Field as well as some Chicago food favorites — deep-dish pizza and the Chicago dog.

There are so many venues and attractions in Chicago you might have a hard time trying to decide on what to do and even where to stay during your time in Chicago. You may also want to make the most effective use of your time traveling to everything you want to see and do.

How do you go about finding information about all that is Chicago? It’s relatively painless procedure. Just try to plan in advance so you’ll have plenty of time for planning before traveling.

There are numerous websites out there that provide information about places to stay and visit in the city. Many of these websites will also mail you brochures and literature for additional information.

There are also national travel sites that can provide you with local information, as well as travel accommodations. These travel agencies will often be able to provide a full itinerary for you. They can plan a central lodging option that can get you to your chosen events or attractions for timely arrival at your business function or to make sure you can take in all the attractions on your vacation.

Area chambers of commerce are also a wealth of information for visitors or even people who are considering a move to Chicago. You can find out all kinds of information from socio-economic statistics including the average weather during a particular time of year. This kind of informatin will help you pack the appropriate clothing for the time of year you’ll be visiting.

It’s not hard to plan a trip to this wonderful city. Just spend a bit of time and planning and you’ll be sure to have a great time.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Willis Tower, Wrigley Field

The Taste of Chicago Food Festival: 2011 Information

For ten days every summer, Chicago’s Grant Park morphs itself into a food lover’s paradise for the Taste of Chicago Food Festival. The festival, first held in 1980, has become the city’s most popular event, bringing in over four million people every year. Some of the information for this year’s festival has been made available. Here’s some of the basic stuff, just in case you’re planning to check it all out.

2011 Festival Dates/Times: 6/25 – 7/4; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., except on 7/3 when the festival closes at 7 p.m. and on 7/4 when it closes at 6 p.m.

Location: In Grant Park, between Balboa Drive, Monroe Avenue, Lake Shore Drive, and Michigan Avenue.

Getting In: The festival is free to get into, but you do need to buy tickets to be able to eat and drink. Twelve tickets will cost you $8. How many tickets you pay for food or drink will be dependent on the size of the food portion. To be fair, most vendors offer a sample-type plate for minimum tickets.

Public Transportation in Chicago: You can get to the festival in Grant Park a few different ways. The red and blue line subway stops are a few blocks away, and the 145 and 151 buses stop near Grant Park as well.

Parking: As far as parking goes, you can make use of the numerous parking garages around Grant Park. There is no parking right at the festival site. You also have the option of parking farther away and taking one of the public transit options to get to Grant Park.

Filed Under: Dining, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Taste of Chicago

Chicago for Families

Chicago is one of the largest cities in the United States, and as such, it offers many activities and places of interest for singles, as well as families. If you’re thinking about taking a family trip to Chicago, you’ll have plenty of options to keep the trip centered around your family. Depending on when you’ll be visiting Chicago, there will be different events to attend and other things to see. The list below offers some of the best-loved family attractions in the city.

Taste of Chicago: For ten days every June, this huge food festival takes place in the beautiful Grant Park. Starting in 1980, the festival was meant to be a one-day thing, but was immensely popular, attracting far more people than was anticipated. Today, nearly six million people attend each year. Over 70 local restaurants participate, so you’re sure to find something for everyone in the family.
57^th Street Art Fair: Held in Chicago’s Hyde Park area, this three-day fair is held every June. This event has been showcasing the work of local artists for over 60 years and was first held in 1948. The area is even family friendly, with a playground located right in Hyde Park.
Christkindlmarket Chicago: If you’ll be in Chicago between Thanksgiving and Christmas, this is almost a must. Held in Daley Plaza, this is a four-week-long market showcasing nearly everything German—cuckoo clocks and handcrafted Hummel figurines and other ornaments. You can listen to (and sing along with) German music and songs and learn German.
Garfield Park Conservatory County Fair: Held on the west side of Chicago in mid-September, there is a petting zoo and farmer’s market among other things. If you want to showcase something special, you can. This event is only held for one day, though, making a little hard to plan for.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, United States

Plan Your Chicago Experience

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It doesn’t matter if you plan to visit or you are looking for Chicago apartments so that you can live there, Chicago is a city full of history, culture and everything to see and do. From fine dining to arts and history, you can find it all in the fine city of Chicago.

Many people know that Chicago is a star in the culinary world. You can enjoy a food lover’s paradise and it doesn’t matter what type of food you like, you can find it all in Chicago. Any food found around the world can be enjoyed in Chicago and you don’t have to travel halfway across the globe to get the same fine cuisine you’d find there. Food such as Italian, Greek, Mediterranean, Indian and many more can be savored and if you are looking for some of the world’s best pizza, you’ve come to the right city.

After you’ve had your fill of delicious cuisine you can enjoy many other things to do in Chicago such as visiting the Shedd Aquarium, which is world famous. There is also the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, and the Museum of Science and Industry to explore. If shopping is your thing then you’ll love the Magnificent Mile where you can shop at 460 stores available. Don’t forget the night life where you can enjoy the Chicago Symphony Orchestra one night and laugh at a comedy club the next. For theater there is Broadway in Chicago with hit plays and dance productions right out of Broadway or enjoy Cirque du Soleil at the Chicago Theater. There is literally something for everyone to experience and enjoy.

Everything you’d ever want in a city can be found in Chicago and whether you want to visit or live there you can do it all in one of the world’s most famous cities.

Filed Under: Travel

Touring Chicago with Kids

Everyone loves the odd vacation, but for those with children, planning one isn’t always an easy task. If you live in the Midwest (and even if you don’t), the city of Chicago offers many attractions that your children are sure to enjoy. From museums to numerous activities at the lakefront, you and your children will have a great time. Take a look at the list below for some simple ideas to keep your children happy while on vacation.

The Shedd Aquarium: This is a popular place with kids. Why? Because of the dolphin show and the amazing Beluga whales exhibit (they’re even white). There is also the “polar zone” where your kids can pretend to be penguins. If that isn’t enough, learn how to be a trainer, and if you’re okay with it, your children can even spend a night at the aquarium and learn more about the animals that are housed there.
The Adler Planetarium: The sky theatre here will allow you to see the stars during the day. You and your children can learn about constellations, the Milky Way, and the solar system in general. Eating at Galileo’s Café offers a beautiful view of Chicago’s skyline, too!
The Field Museum: This is another youngster favorite because of the completely reconstructed Tyrannosaurus Rex, named Sue. The museum offers numerous exhibits and specific learning opportunities, such as discovering how bugs can live underground. Children can also participate in numerous activities in the museum’s playlab.
Navy Pier: Depending on what time of the year you’ll be visiting Chicago, you may be able to see one of the spectacular fireworks shows at Navy Pier. There are also boat rides, and the pier houses the Chicago Children’s Museum as well.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Chicago

Navy Pier A Great Place To Relax After A Fast Day In Chicago

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The Navy Pier in Chicago East Downtown has been a popular landmark for close to a century now. The Pier was opened as a combination of shipping and recreational facilities. Hence, the idea of spending a relaxed day is as old as the Pier itself.

It was a popular venue for concerts, exhibitions and other events. The Pier lost its utility and was not used very often by the end of the 80′s. That is when the State decided to come up with a joint venture with the city administration to redevelop the Pier. The ownership of the Pier was transferred and a detailed plan was set up to restore it to its old glory.

This time, the Pier was redesigned to make it a completely recreational facility. As on date, it is a popular venue for events, concerts, shows and other public meets. There is no shipping done on this Pier any more. This means that the entire space of the Pier is used for recreational facilities alone. The waterfront happens to be the most popular spot and is surrounded by restaurants, shops, recreational facilities and other venues for holding exhibitions. As the venue became very popular, it attracted more and more crowd and is a must see in the travel plans of each and every tourist.

The combination of the waterfront with numerous eating outlets, shopping outlets, gardens and promenades makes it a great place to spend your time. People love relaxing here on sunny days and is a great, romantic spot where young couples can spend time with each other in a romantic setting of lights, sounds, waves and water. There are numerous boat rides that can be used to get a lake side view of the city of Chicago. There are numerous facilities set up for families who visit the Pier as a picnic spot.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Music, navypier, Recreation

Millennium Park – A Great Place For Concerts And A Monument In Itself

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Chicago is the place to be if you want to enjoy outdoor concerts of the more sophisticated kind. You can visit Millennium Park which is a center for art music, landscape design and architecture even if you are not attending a concert. The city of Chicago decided that it required an outdoor meeting place that would be fit the status of and the popularity of the city. It entered into a partnership with the philanthropic community and the resulting park was the Millennium Park spread over twenty four acres. The park has seen numerous designers, planners, architecture experts and artists contribute in their own ubiquitous styles.

The resulting park is a sight to behold. The huge open space in the middle of a fast paced city provides good contrast. Further, the sophisticated designs like the Crown Fountain and the highly popular Cloud Gate sculpture gives you a good reason to spend the entire day in the Millennium Park looking over the structures

The park is located in down ton region of Chicago and is very close to the highly popular Michigan Avenue. Michigan Avenue is a very popular shopping avenue with stores of top reputed designers situated on the stretch. This makes the park a perfect place to relax after you have shopped to your heart’s content. Of course, it also makes sense to treat millennium Park as a separate stop in your travel plans. Michigan Avenue deserves an entire day for shopping.

The park has a welcome center which employs individuals specifically trained to act as a guide for the various attractions of the park. Make sure you land up at the welcome center before thinking of exploring the park. Admission is free and you can enrich your cultural knowledge and set your eyes without spending a single cent.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Cloud Gate, Michigan Avenue, millenniumpark

Chicago – A Great Tourism Destination No Matter Who You Are

It is impossible for any educated individual of the civilized world for not to have heard about the city of Chicago. It is a very popular city that has attracted attention for all kinds of reasons-good and bad. Those who have read The Godfather would automatically have learned how mafia in Chicago was considered uncontrollable.

Those who follow architecture would have heard about the world famous Sky Deck and The Ledge. Those who enjoy a good day on the waterfront would have heard about the Navy Pier. It is the biggest city in Midwest and is one of the most popular tourist attraction cities in the country.

If you want to travel to some place new and explore life better, then you should certainly travel to Chicago. Chicago is very big city with numerous attractions. You can travel to the city to improve your understanding about culture and art. You can visit the conservatories and the parks to stay in the lap of nature even in the middle of the urban jungle that is Chicago.

If you just want to travel and roam around, the city is huge enough to keep you occupied for a week at a stretch. Irrespective of whether you are traveling on a huge budget or whether you are hitchhiking your way across to the destination, Chicago welcomes you with open arms.

From accommodation in the best five star hotels in the country to affordable accommodation for students by sharing dormitories – you have numerous options as long as you have the desire to explore and wonder.

There is no shortage of food in the city of Chicago. You can dine at the finest restaurants and enjoy not just food but a gourmet experience. Or, you can enjoy a street food and enjoy dishes that you will not get anywhere else in the country. On the whole, it is impossible to visit Chicago and not fall in love with the city.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Navy Pier, Travel, United States

The Sky Deck And The Ledge – The Most Exciting Tourist Hotspot In Chicago

If you are visiting Chicago for the first time, do not leave the city without visiting Willis tower. Willis tower is well known as being the tallest skyscraper in the western hemisphere. It is also well known for the Sky Deck that has been in operation for more than thirty five years now. However, if you have a kid along with you, then you should visit Willis tower for solely visiting The Ledge.

When the Sky Deck was setup, there was a small part on the 103rd floor extended out of the building. This served as a gallery where individuals could take a look at the view from a height. It was noticed that the windows of the Sky Deck was perpetually smeared with marks of the head being pressed against the glass to take up better look of the world.

That is when the city realized that perhaps people were not satisfied with just the view outside and wanted a 360 degree view of how world looks from such a height. This is the reason why the Ledge was created. The Ledge is nothing but a box made of glass that give the individual a feeling that he or she is standing on the 103rd floor of the Willis tower without any ground beneath his or her feet.

Since the box is covered by glass on three sides, the individual gets a view of floating in plain air. The view, needless to say is simply fantastic. The first reaction that people have when they visit the ledge is that the structure is going to break off and is going to collapse.

However, the glass used and the additional metal structure provided is so strong that it can easily withstand the most powerful storms and the weight of numerous individuals standing on the ledge at the same time.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Travel Tagged With: Chicago, Glass, Soldier Field, Willis Tower