Guest Post With Tim Davids, Welcome To Chicago 2008 Geo Expo
Posted by Tim Davids from GeoOwners.com, has taken the time to put together this very informative Guest Post for those traveling to Chicago for the AssociatedCities.com GeoDomain Expo.
Here’s a few tips for those attending the Geo Expo 2008 Chicago from someone thats been within 50 miles of the city all my life…
This in no way covers the city of Chicago but since most of you will be on limited time and possibly limited money these tips will get you a decent impression of downtown Chicago:
Dont miss Navy Pier. (navypier.com) If you only go 1 place outside of the hotel Navy pier gives you the best street-level view of the city especially at night. Make sure to go all the way out to the end where you’ll find some city/pier trivia and some great props for picture taking like old achors from large ships and such. Navy pier also has some boat trips that begin there, there are others on the river at Michigan avenue…be sure to take one that includes the river, this gives some great alongside views of the skyscrapers.
If you have the need for speed there is a high speed racing boat ride at the pier too http://www.seadogcruises.com. Never did it but looks cool.
Also at navy pier is the east most point of the river-taxi boats…yes Chicago has “boat taxis” that go from the pier down the river to Sears tower…where else in the States can you get a water taxi? Last I checked it was about $7 to go the whole distance (about the same as a “real” taxi.) This also goes right past many skyscraper landmark buildings and is a steal for the money.
Speaking of sears tower, if you’ve never been up in a tall building thats were you want to go…the skydeck is also a Chicago history museum on the inner walls…
Here’s my favorite tip…if your going out for drinks at night away from the hotel go to the 96th floor of the John Hancock building http://www.signatureroom.com/. Just ask anyone and they can point you there. For the price of drinks, which you’d be spending anyway, you get an all around view of the city from 96 floors up…prolly the best deal in town to be honest. There is also a great restaurant 1 floor down but the lounge on the 96th has views from every chair.
If money is no object, Donald Trumps new building is open on the lower levels and is easy walking distance from the W hotel. The lounge there http://www.trumpchicagohotel.com/Food_Wine/rebar.asp also has a great view which focuses on the river.
The other must do is a walk down Michigan avenue. It’s the defining area of the center of the city known as the “loop”. The high end shops are there and some nice cafe’s and restaurants…TIP, if you’ve never been inside an Apple computer store there is one on Michigan ave. It’s very cool and is a business lesson in itself…and the staircase is so unique Steve Jobs has a patent on it! Warning: July 11 the new iphone comes out so I’d stay away that day:)
Last but not least Grant park is due East of the W hotel and is worth a walk into…Buckingham fountain at the center is awesome especially at night with the lights on…this also puts you a few yards away from the lake which you’d like to see if you dont live near water.
That is a very small but inexpensive way to get a quick idea what Chicago is all about…enjoy and I’ll see you there!
