Chicago in November!

Lollipops23

Hi all, myself and himself are looking at going to Chicago in November for a week. Will be spending the first few days visiting friends of ours who emigrated (yesterday!!).
We're hoping to have everything booked in the next month, but am wondering if anyone has suggestions for attractions/shops etc we should hit? Bear in mind it'll most likely be mighty cold, so the lake is out!!!:o
Thanks!

henryporter

Depends on what you're in to - plenty of museums there (FieldMuseum, Art Institute, Museum of Contemporary Art etc), as well as shops along Michigan Avenue (http://www.themagnificentmile.com/) and State Street. Football season should have started by then so you might catch a game at Soldier Field. Plenty of restaurants to visit as well around North Clark Street and of course plenty of Bars. It may not be that cold in November so you could still head down around Navy Pier or get one of the river boat trips.

travelledpengy

Check out the skydeck in the willis (sears) tower it is amazing,

signature room in the 95th at the john hancock for a drink.

Try get out to aurora outlet malls or gurnee mills for some good deals,

Football season go catch a game,

Maybe skiing in wisconsin (Alpine valley) about an hour drive from chicago if it is open in November,

Museum of science an industry is really cool,

watertower place for shopping,

plenty to do here although you would have a lot more things to do in the summer!

Ryder cup is here in september also

Lollipops23

thanks! yeah i'd have loved to get over during summer, mainly cos of the lake and six flags, but it just wasn't a runner for a few reasons.
am dying to see some of the museums and the outlet malls!

murphym7

Go get some Chicago deep dish pizza while you are there, unreal. Gino's east is the best.

faceman

Be sure to catch an improv show in Second City or the IO Theatre! Chicago is the improv capital of the world!

JohnMearsheimer

I was there last November, it's a cool spot. Head to Millennium Park and check out Cloud Gate. Chicago is seen by many as the birth place of the skyscraper. I took the Chicago architecture tour that goes down the Chicago River. It sounds boring but it was more interesting than I thought it would be. I did it after reading a recommendation for it on Boards. I did a mob tour too, Al Capone and all that, again really interesting. Check out an ice hockey game, Chicago Blackhawks are the local team. The Skydeck at Sears Tower is worth visiting.

I went to Navy Pier as well but it was really quiet in November. I would loved to have seen it on a lovely summer's day. The views of the Chicago skyline from Navy Pier are great as are the views out over Lake Michigan. You could probably find someone to take ye out on the water too if ye wanted.

Snoopy1

I did a bus tour it was great way of getting my bearings and learning some history.
The sky deck is impressive, i layed down on the glass floor and all the americans thought i was mad.
The bar in the John hancock tower is good, and if your female the view from the toilets is amazing
Got the train to Aurora outlet centre also, came back with so many bags.

grimm2005

Been to chicago 3 times, all in summer so not sure if some suggestions will suit.

First off, if you're intending to visit museums/skydeck, the chicago city pass is a must buy: http://www.citypass.com/chicago
It gives you fast pass entry to 5 attractions including the shedd aqaurium, field museum, willis (sears) skydeck and others at half the price of a regular ticket. Well worth it.
As other have mentioned you could go to possibly a football game (or whatever sports season it is! we always went to baseball games).
If the weather isn't bad and it's possible, i'd highly recommend an evening boat cruise on lake michigan. we used wendola boat cruises which had very reasonable prices.
A drink at the signature lounge 95th floor (john hancock centre) is a must do as mentioned.
Peronally, instead of a bus tour, I'd do a segway tour. Absolutely great fun, you get the novelty of using a segway and also get to see a lot of areas with a tour guide (our guy was hilarious and dead sound, we used city segway tours).
As mentioned, a show at second city has to be on your itinerary! Every show i've been to there has been absolutely hilarious, the actors are at the top of their field, a lot of famous comedy actors have "graduated" from there on to television and movies.
You might consider catching a movie at the IMAX theatre on navy pier, depending on whats showing. I saw the dark knight there in 08 and it blew me away, also saw a short IMAX documentary in london a couple of months ago and it was incredible. It might be worth catching a documentary if you have time constraints as they're only 45mins approx and you also get to see Navy Pier while you're there.

In terms of food, I'd recommend Chicago style pizza, we went to Giordanos which was lovely, I've also heard good things about Gino's East. The Cheesecake Factory is also worth a visit.
Drinking wise, the area around Wrigley field is absolutely brimming with bars and a brilliant atmostphere. Now I don't know if this remains after baseball season but if so you'll enjoy it.

ScottSF

Definitely take the architecture boat tour as recommended above. Yes it will be cold on the river but you'll be getting an amazing view and insight into all the magnificent skyscrapers that made Chicago world famous.

vicwatson

Art Institute has the biggest collection of Monet's outside of Paris

John G Shedd aquarium rocks - especially the Beluga Whales

Museum of Science is a must - bus takes you all the way down there to South Chicago - leave yourself at least a half a day to see it all

Natural History museum at Soldier Field is awesome too - say hello to Sue !

You'll have a great time, don't forget to go to House of Blues or an even better blues place - Kingston Mines

I'm envious - it's a super clean city, enjoy.