Chicago?

My DH and I will be going to the Chicago Botanical garden in a few weeks. If anyone who lives in the area have any suggestions for great places to eat and stay in or near Chicago please post them for me. Sometimes its the little towns surrounding the big cities that have the best places to eat and stay.

Hi iowaAnn - Welcome to this wonderful area!

First of all you'll love the Chicago Botanic garden. There is so much in and around Chicago that it would be impossible to know where to start. I live quite a bit west (at one time we were closer, but have been moving further & further away).

Will you have a car? How much driving do you want to do? The areas surrounding Chicago spread so far that they are fondly known as "Chicagoland". Do you like Ethnic food? As you get close to the "City" as Chicago is called you'll find neighborhoods of every Ethnicity you can imagine. Within those neighborhoods are restaurants with foods of those cultures.

Within the City & in towns all around you'll find food in all price ranges from low to extremely expensive. Summer is a great time for Festivals, Street Fairs, Art Fairs & Outdoor Concerts. Chicago also has some of the best Museums in the Country. And . . .Lake Michigan is HUGE & a definite "must see" if you've never been here. You'll think you're looking at an ocean!

The shopping in this area is also great. As far as lodging, it won't be cheap. There are several of those places outside of Chicago that have breakfast & other ammenities that could save you money in the long run (I think there are some near the Chicago Botanic Garden).

I love an area of Schaumburg that has great restaurants, shopping, etc., but it's about a 45 minute drive from the Botanic Garden).

If you could give me a little more info about what you're looking for & when you'll be here I might be able to make some suggestions. Also, I'm sure some of the other DG people from this area will have lots of great ideas for you.

Hi iowaAnn - I just went to the thread for Chicago Gardeners & posted the link for your thread. Hopefully you'll have all kinds of suggestions very soon.

Hi IowaAnn, here's a link to all the Festivals and Events and places to go and things to see in Chicago. The lakefront and it's attractions are what you want to see, Navy Pier, Grant Park Buckingham Fountain (especially at night when it's lit up), Boat rides on Lake Michigan (across the street from the fountain) and also boat rides (Wendella) on the Chicago River by the Tribune Building (scenic, informational, archetechtural), Millenium Park, Museums (Natural & Science), Oceanarium, and then there's Lincoln Park Zoo (except the Conservatory with all the plants got nailed with hail so it's a mess).

If you're coming later in August, catch the Air & Water show.

http://www.enjoyillinois.com/getaway/viewGetaway.aspx?gta=10...


If you're interested, there's also The Morton Arboretum in Glencoe which is approx. 36 miles from the Chicago Botanic Garden heading northeast.

http://www.mortonarb.org/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&u...

Try lots of different foods (too bad The Taste of Chicago is over but you'll find there's tons of places to eat everywhere) and most of all, HAVE FUN!

Toni

Ann, as far as places to stay: if you want charm, you can't do better than the Deerpath Inn in Lake Forest. It's about ten miles north of the Botanic Garden. Lake Forest is a beautiful town and has a very pretty downtown. It is rather far from downtown Chicago though. The Metra North train line goes into the city from Lake Forest.

The suburbs around the Garden are basically wall-to-wall developed and they tend to blend into each other. Most hotels are a bit west of the Garden along major roads with strip mall shopping. So, not much charm there, but convenience. I think there is a Fairfield Inn by Marriott just west of the Botanic Garden on Lake Cook Road.

South of the Garden you start to have more hotel options. Evanston (home of Northwestern University) and Skokie both have a number of hotels. Either town would put you halfway between Chicago and the Botanic Garden.