Chicago event weekends: what to do between sessions

Architecture on the river, deep-dish pizza, blues clubs and the lakefront, host of a marathon major, Lollapalooza and huge medical congresses.

Events we cover in Chicago

Arriving

O'Hare (ORD) has the CTA Blue Line to the Loop in 45 minutes; Midway (MDW) has the Orange Line in 25 minutes.

Where to stay

Three hotels we would book

• Budget: Hotel Chicago West Loop
• Mid-range: Hotel Julian Chicago
• Splurge: The Peninsula Chicago

Event weekends sell out early and prices rise as the date gets closer: book a cancellable room as soon as you know you are going.

Tours

Where to eat

• Lou Malnati's Deep-dish pizza
• Portillo's Italian beef and hot dogs
• Au Cheval Burger in the West Loop
• Time Out Market Chicago Food hall
• Girl and the Goat West Loop small plates
• Pequod's Caramelised-crust pizza

With kids

• Field Museum.
• Shedd Aquarium.
• Museum of Science and Industry.

Rainy-day backups

• Art Institute.
• Field Museum.

Free things to do

• Millennium Park and the Bean.
• Lincoln Park Zoo.
• Lakefront Trail.

Getting around

• CTA L trains and buses take contactless. McCormick Place has a Metra station and the #3 bus.