Local News

Five Reasons To Visit Chicago For Spring Break

March 7, 2015 / 7:00 AM CST / CBS Chicago

See where movies and TV episodes were filmed. Find bargains at a high-end shopping mall and fly indoors at a nearby entertainment center. Or, watch penguins play, explore the universe and enter an Egyptian tomb. Activities that light up the eyes of Chicago visitors are almost endless. Here are five of the best reasons to turn spring break into a Chicago vacation or staycation.

More:10 Instagrammers Who Capture Chicago Beautifully

Chicago Film Tour
Pick up is the 600 block of North Clark Street in front of Rock N Roll McDonald's.
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 593-4455
www.chicagofilmtour.com

Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co.
Pick up at any of 12 downtown stops
Chicago, IL (includes 60602 to 60611)
(773) 648-5000
www.coachusa.com

A great reason to visit Chicago is to see some of the elements that make it a destination city. The best way to do that is to take a tour. The city has wonderful architecture tours, but to get to really know the city, take the two-hour Chicago Film Tour. To see its downtown sites, do the 2.5--hour Hop-ON Hop-Off Double-Decker Chicago Trolley. On the Film Tour, movie clips are shown while a knowledgeable guide points out places used in shows that the bus passes from as far north as Wrigley Field and as far south as Chinatown, to downtown at the Marina Towers. Seating is limited so it's best to get tickets online ahead of time. The tour reopens for the new year on April 4, 2015. Before or after the film bus ride, stop at at Portillo's on the corner at Clark and Ontario Streets for its famous hot dogs. To get a feel for the city's downtown attractions, take a Chicago Trolley ride. References to downtown cover more than the Loop made by the overhead "L" tracks. Downtown broadly encompasses the Museum Campus across from Soldier Field to the south, Willis Tower's Skydeck (former Sears Tower) on the west, Water Tower Place (Magnificent Mile) to the north and Navy Pier to the east. They are all places to explore during the visit. A one-day Chicago Trolley tour is good but three-day passes make it easier to spend time at attractions. Tickets can be picked up online or at a stop. Click here for the tour's 12 downtown stops.

MBFinancial Park At Rosemont
5501Park Place
Rosemont, IL 60018
(847) 349-5008
www.rosemont.com

Fashion Outlets Of Chicago
5220 Fashion Outlets Way, Suite 230
Rosemont, IL 60018
(847) 928-7500
www.fashionoutletsof chicago.com

Two new, good reasons to visit Chicago are on the city's western border next to Chicago O'Hare International Airport and John F. Kennedy Expressway (I90). They are the recently opened MB Financial Park, an entertainment and dining complex, and Fashion Outlets of Chicago, a high-end indoor mall. Go to iFly in the entertainment complex to experience what it's like to skydive. After a short how-to talk, guests suit up and float on air in a vertical wind tunnel. The complex also houses a bowling alley, interactive Big Ten sports museum, the Sugar Factory store and ice cream shop and Hofbrauhaus, a large, German restaurant and brewery with yummy Bavarian food. Go next door to Fashion Outlets to find jeans and jewelry sales and to pick up discounted items from such luxury brand stores as Andrew Marc, Burberry, Coach and Cole Haan.

The Field Museum
1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 922-9410
www.fieldmuseum.org

Shedd Aquarium
1200 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 939-2438
www.sheddaquarium.org

Adler Planetarium
1300 S. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 922-7827
www.adlerplanetarium.org

Any of the three museums on the peninsula that is Chicago's Museum Campus would be a good reason to visit the city. However, if doing Chicago for spring vacation is a one-time trip, the best plan is to visit all three places while in town. Visitors know they've arrived at The Field Museum by the tall dinosaur guarding the outside. Inside is Sue, the largest T. Rex found to date, and more dinosaurs upstairs. Go down to an Egyptian tomb or visit the powerful spirit world that Haiti spells as Vodou in a special exhibit up through April 26, 2015. Go next door to the Shedd Aquarium to watch Pacific white-sided dolphins in the Abbott Oceanarium and see penguins play next to the Polar Play Zone where youngsters can put on penguin suits. Stop at Wild Reef to see a fishing village, sharks and stingrays. But be sure to walk outside to the far eastern end of the peninsula for the Adler planetarium and a space adventure. Its shows are literally out of this world. Turn around and look across the water to the skyline. This is the place to take photos that appear to be taken out on the lake and a spot often used by TV broadcasters.

Navy Pier
600 E. Grand Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
(800) 595-7437
www.navypier.com

Navy Pier is touristy, fun and among Chicago's top attractions. Its 1.5-mile-long arm into Lake Michigan is home to a children's museum, Shakespeare and IMAX theaters, Ferris wheel, sculptures, restaurants, shops and a Lake Michigan cruise-ship port. Constructed 1914 to 1916, it has accommodated Navy training personnel, a University of Illinois branch, art and other exhibits, parties, Tall Ship dockings and holiday festivals. The Pier is worth seeing no matter the season.

Millennium Park
201 E Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 742-1168
www.cityofchicago.org

Millennium Park is one of those "you can't miss it" places said by people who are giving directions. Stretching along Michigan Avenue downtown between Randolph and Monroe Streets, it is marked by the stunning Jay Pritzker Pavilion, an outdoor music venue designed by Frank Gehry topped with huge, pillow-like steel ribbons. The park's other can't-miss structures are the 50-foot-tall glass towers of the Crown Fountain designed by Jaume Plensa on Michigan Avenue and Plensa's monumental head of a young girl at the park's Madison Street entrance. Water spouts from what appears to be mouths on the Crown Fountain but are videoed faces of Chicago residents. The large young girl's head, made of white, resin-covered cast iron, is among four sculptures Plensa did for the park on the tenth anniversary of his Crown Fountain. In addition, the park always has an art exhibit. However, the must-visit spot is "Cloud Gate." Lovingly dubbed "The Bean," it is an elliptical steel sculpture by Anish Kapoor that reflects the skyline and the people posing in front and walking under its arch. For a great view of the park and city skyline, visitors stroll up the Nichols Bridgeway above Monroe Street to the Art Institute of Chicago's third floor Modern Wing entrance.

Jodie Jacobs is a veteran journalist who loves writing about Chicago, art, theater, museums and travel. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.