They don’t call Chicago the windy city for nothing. Wow! While I would have preferred warmer weather during my first trip to Chicago — it was in the low 30s for the entire first week of April — we (my daughter, husband and I) bundled up and still got around to see some great places, especially The Art Institute of Chicago.
We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Chicago Downtown/River North at the end of Magnificent Mile (there will be a review on that up soon, but a quick spoiler alert — stay there) and decided — based on budget and time — that we would visit as much as we could on foot. For those of you who don’t know what Magnificent Mile is (I didn’t until this trip either), here’s a great definition thanks to Wikipedia: The Magnificent Mile is Chicago’s premier commercial district. The vibrant, bustling area is home to upscale shops, luxe fashion outlets, cool restaurants and posh hotels. Landmarks include the historic Chicago Water Tower, the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower, the terracotta Wrigley Building skyscraper and the 100-story John Hancock Center, which has a rooftop observation deck with fine dining and panoramic city views.
In other words, lots to do and see, landmarks to explore, food to eat and shopping to do. More on all of this later.
We used an Uber a few times and we knew that the train was right next to us, but we easily found out that that there were so many great places to see near us in walking distance from our hotel. So we made a checklist of places we had to see or things we had to do and checked them off as we completed them. We didn’t want to exhaust ourselves the way we usually do on every trip when we are jamming every possible thing into our day. It was my first trip since my breast cancer treatment ended earlier this year and I didn’t know my energy level yet. I just wanted to see the things on my list and leave time to explore and relax a little (I rested when I needed to, but I walked for miles that week and kept up pretty well!).
Virgin Traveler tip: Know your limitations. If you want to see a lot, but can’t walk a lot, taking the Uber or train would work better for you. If you are in decent shape, but don’t have a big budget, consider saving money by walking wherever you are traveling to, as long as it’s safe to do so. If money is a huge concern, look for free things to do in the area that still give you a feel for the city’s people and culture. A trip doesn’t mean exhausting yourself, walking forever, or spending a ton of money. It means whatever it means to you.
For me, walking around Chicago with my daughter Samantha (left), who is studying photography in college, was awesome. Not only did it slow me down to enjoy the architecture of all the downtown buildings and see things that I wouldn’t normally stop to see, but I got to watch her in action. Man, her photos are good and this kid has a career.
On day one, we explored our area. We had to get up at 3 a.m. to catch our plane, so needless to say we were exhausted. Not wanting to overdo it, we just explored and took photos of the area. The next day we went to The Art Institute of Chicago. In other posts, I’ll share the other sites we saw and give you some more tips. Plus, stay tuned for something that happened to us and what you should do if it happens to you too.
The Art Institute of Chicago
No matter who we asked about things we must do, everyone said we must visit The Art Institute of Chicago — and they were right. Located a little less than a mile in walking distance from our hotel, The Art Institute of Chicago has something for everyone. Word of caution: Nobody says you have to see everything here in one visit or at all. Just spend some time with the Institute’s map before you get started and decide on your must-sees. There are three levels of exhibits! We circled the ones we wanted to see — Photography; Thorne Miniature Rooms; American Art; Film, Video and New Media; Contemporary Art; Chicago Architecture; Impressionism; Medieval and Renaissance Art; Modern Art; and Arms and Armor. Armed with our map we headed out to just see these and it took us several hours to see it all. Of course you can just walk around and explore whatever exhibits you see — whatever strategy works for you. A suggestion — circle something you didn’t plan on visiting. I always like to look at or try something new. Continue reading for what I discovered.
As a film/tv travel fan, I knew what artwork was #1 for me to see. I had to see the Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884, which is located on the second level. That’s because it was in a scene from the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Here’s the scene:
So I did my best version of recreating it (keep in mind that it’s one of the most popular pieces of art in the museum for probably this same reason and this was the closest I could get to it.
There was an entire section of Andy Warhol, which my daughter loved and, of course, pop art, which she loooovvvvvveeed. One of my unexpected favorites was the Arms and Armor exhibit located on the second floor (see photos below) Wow, armor is more beautiful than I realized it was. Of course, we enjoyed the Thorne Miniature Rooms a lot — the amount of time it takes for any art is impressive, but the detail in these rooms is incredible and took hours upon hours upon hours.
All of this walking made us hungry, but The Art Institute has three places to eat: The Terzo Piano (fine dining); the Museum Cafe; and Caffe Moderno. We settled on the Museum Cafe, which can be pricey if you’re on a budget, but I found a $4 slice of pizza — made with brie, fennel and mushroom — which was delicious!
Full disclosure: I would like to thank The Art Institute of Chicago for supplying me with two press passes for my visit. They did not pay for my lunch or anything else.
Virgin Traveler Tip: If you have children, there’s plenty for them to see and explore, but it’s a lot of walking, so take breaks and plan in snack time. Most importantly, make sure your children don’t run in this museum. There are so many delicate pieces of art. I watched as one child shoved another playfully right in front of a statue. They hit it and fortunately, nothing happened, but can you imagine?
So what did I go into that wasn’t on my list of must-sees? Paperweights. An entire room of more than 800 paperweights from the Arthur Rubloff Collection of Paperweights. I took a peek and the paperweights are beautiful. I can see why he collected them.
The Art Institute is located at 111 South Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60603-6404; 312-443-3600. For more information, including hours and event information, visit their website at http://www.artic.edu.
Here are just a few photo highlights of our trip to The Art Institute of Chicago, but if you want to see a video of more Chicago highlights, click here
