What Can You Do in Downtown Chicago? | What to do in Chicago 1, 2, 3, or 4 days | Frolic & Courage

chicago is the third largest city in the united states among the top five best sport cities in the u.s and is home to over 20 michelin star restaurants so it's no wonder that my hand and i went to spend an extended weekend in chicago illinois so if you're wondering what can you do in downtown chicago oh in this video i'm going to share with you some of the most unique and best things to do in chicago to fill your itinerary whether it's day or night or whether or not you're going to spend a week in chicago two days three days four days five days however long you're gonna stay there coming right up hi everybody i'm internet and welcome back to my channel at vlog encourage i like to make videos on travel food and life and today we are talking about what can you do in downtown chicago save this video and you'll have all the information right there because we are going to get into it now the first thing you can do in downtown chicago is go on a walking tour so if you've taken the l from chicago o'hare airport you're going to spend about 45 minutes to an hour on the train and i'm gonna make a whole separate video on how to get around chicago on a budget so click subscribe if you haven't already i highly highly highly recommend going on a chicago walking tour there are a number of theme tours that you can join to spice it up a little bit you can take an architecture tour and look at all the gorgeous gorgeous architecture in chicago because it is known for its beautiful architecture you can go on a crime tour because chicago was it for kind of gangsters a mob or if you're not into crime and you just want to taste everything chicago has to offer in one tour you can go on a chicago foodie tour or if you just want to try their excellent chicago deep dish pizza you can go on a chicago deep dish pizza walking tour there are also themed tours like an underground donut tour there are many bars and breweries in chicago you can go on a walking tour of those or you can do what my honey and i did and go on a chicago gangsters and ghost tour this was a phenomenal tour in the downtown loop area so on our chicago gangsters and ghost tours we walked with a historian all around the loop area to learn about chicago's notorious crime past you know i.e al capone and his gangster friends as well as learn why chicago was named the second city due to its honestly kind of tragic past we walked around the city we asked our tour guide questions and i highly recommend either a walking or a bike tour as your first thing to do in chicago because you're there with a local guide who can answer any of your questions you have about chicago great places to eat and just learn a lot about the city in a short amount of time and have a good time doing it walking tours are very affordable they range from free to maybe just 30 bucks or so per person so i highly recommend going on a walking tour and if i haven't mentioned this already all the links are in the description below to the things that we personally did if you want to check them out and research them on your own the next thing you can do in chicago is get on a boat i'm on a boat hey i'm on a boat so what can you do in downtown chicago you can get on a boat the chicago river has this eco life in it to make the water this beautiful hue of kind of like deep green it's kind of this greenish blue you can go on a cycle boat you can go on a retro road you can get a bunch of friends together and go on a party boat you can also do what we did and go on a river architecture cruise where you go on a boat it's really relaxing and you just cruise through and learn all about chicago's architecture like for instance there's a building where the architects modeled it after a champagne bottle talk about prohibition area there and if you are a photographer and you want really excellent views of the chicago architecture of the skyline of the beautiful kind of industrial gritty bridges the best advantage is going to be on a boat on a river architecture cruise you can even charter a yacht and have it take you around the river or if you're looking for a more chill adventurous thing to do you can even rent a kayak and kayak with a bunch of people your friends strangers who knows so definitely get on a boat while you're in chicago so what can you do in downtown chicago well the third thing you can do is eat and of course you're gonna eat anyways you know breakfast lunch dinner snacks whatever it is desserts drinks whatever you want but chicago is particularly special for food bon appetit magazine once named chicago as one of the best restaurant cities in america chicago is home to over 7 300 restaurants 167 breweries which chicago has the most breweries per metropolitan area in the united states is home to over 20 michelin-starred restaurants and over 40 james beard award-winning restaurants definitely eat fill your bellies full you can get a few classics like the italian beef sandwich which is shaved italian beef on a hoagie roll with spices and fresh peppers dipped in anju or you can try one of the chicago style hot dogs both of which you can get at portillo's which i recommend portillo's was fire not just for the food but for the atmosphere you can try a chicago famous deep dish pizza which is really really really good we went to lou malnodies and i vlogged it so definitely subscribe and stay tuned for that vlog you can go to garrett's world famous popcorn there's a number of places to eat for any budget whether you're only looking to spend five dollars or 500 if you really want to the city is yours and if you are foodie you definitely must check out chicago for the really delicious eats chicago is a diverse city so if you're looking for what to do in chicago on the weekend or for two or three or four days then definitely check out one of the culturally diverse neighborhoods of chicago german italian greek mexican chinese descent there's all different kinds of neighborhoods where you can go and check out the art learn a little bit more about the history and eat the food at one of these beautifully culturally diverse areas continuing on you can also visit the second city which is an improv comedy experience the second city is really a true enterprise they have locations in only just a few cities in the united states but it's home in chicago there was even a tv show named the second city a number of notable comedians were seen and spotted early in their careers at second city like tina fey bill murray steve carrell not only can you go to an improv comedy show but you can also take improv comedy classes second city is great for adults as well as kids over 10 years old can be accompanied by an adult but you can sit down get a drink have a couple laughs and get your tickets in advance of course to see one of these great improv comedy shows in their theater one of my personal secret goals i guess it's not so secret anymore because i'm sharing it with all you is to go see the biggest and the best museums all across the world so i've been to the louvre in paris i've been to the british museum in london i've been to the prado museum in madrid spain and you can kind of check out my videos there but did you also know that the art institute of chicago is a major site yes it is a major museum of art founded in 1879 the art institute of chicago is one of the most respected museums in the world with over 3 000 artworks it is the second largest museum in the united states and one of the top 20 largest museums in the world so i had to go check out all of the amazing art at the art institute of chicago there is a massive massive collection of american art as well as impressionist and post-impressionist art you can see photography sculpture art from all different countries of all different continents all across the world you can see textiles and you know what as a matter of fact i'm going to do a whole video dedicated to the highlights of the art institute of chicago museum you don't want to miss it definitely click subscribe and join the frog encourage family because that video is going to be fire what else can you do in downtown chicago well you can go to a theater production so don't sleep on chicago y'all from tony award-winning and broadway productions to improv and sketch and even fringe theater there are over 250 theaters and theater troupes in chicago so if you want to catch the fine arts catch the latest and greatest you definitely went ahead to chicago for that one of the best things to do in chicago for the weekend is to go to a speak easy and yes they still exist prohibition era chicago that's when alcohol was actually banned in the united states nobody can get alcohol so guess what they took their uh product underground literally through underground tunnels and you'll learn more about that if you go on the gangsters and ghost walking tour but these establishments were basically kind of underground clubs and bars where people could drink a dance uh and just drink some more a speakeasy is a place where it's not really known to the public you kind of have to make your way there knock on the door whisper a password and if you know the right password for that night they let you in but it's less about that nowadays but more about the bartending and the excellent craft cocktails and speakeasies still exist in chicago whether you need a password or not is a whole separate conversation but if you're looking for a craft cocktail and kind of a 1920s vibe then definitely check out one of the speakeasies in chicago if you're into music and dance chicago's music and dance scene is absolutely amazing so what can you do in downtown chicago you can attend a music or a dance performance chicago is also the home of many great hip-hop artists you have common kanye west chance the rapper twista and a number of notable rappers and hip-hop artists so whether you like hip-hop or not there's still a lot of different musical acts in chicago that you can check out while you're there on a weekend so how else can you spend a weekend in chicago well you can go to the willis tower sky deck also known as the sears tower it is the 12th largest building in the world the second tallest building in north america and in the western hemisphere as a whole there are excellent excellent views of the entire city it is a totally instagrammable spot and i highly recommend if you want to check out the willis tower like we did pick the very first slot that you can go as the sun is kind of gently coming over the city there is going to be hardly any crowds there so you can take unlimited pictures on all the scenes of all the windows and i even recommend coming a little bit earlier maybe like 30 to 40 minutes in advance of your time slot because there is a really cool walkable interactive chicago exhibit before you get to the 106th floor i believe it is so you definitely want to take the time to walk through this walking chicago exhibit get some more ideas for things to do and see while you're in chicago then take the elevators up all the way to the floor and take all the pictures you can of the chicago skyline like i mentioned at the beginning of this video chicago was named one of the top five sporting cities by forbes in the united states i think it was actually number four so while you're in chicago you want to check out all the sports that you can chicago has the major professional sporting events so for basketball they have the bulls football they have the bears for baseball you have the cubs and the white sox and for hockey you have the blackhawks there's a number of other semi-professional and collegiate sports that you can check out but in particularly for all of you baseball fans there is wrigley field which is one of the oldest standing still operating baseball stadiums in the united states of america so if you want to check out a classic game with your family go to wrigley field for a classic baseball game get a hot dog sing take me out to the ball game and have a wonderful time when there's not a game you can also go on a tour of wrigley stadium you can go to the field you can check out the dugouts and everything so that would be a really cool and unique family experience and a great way to spend your time in chicago number 12 you can check out the famous navy pier did you know that the first ferris wheel came to chicago during the world's colombian exposition of 1893 yup it was named after designer george washington gail ferris jr and meant to rival the eiffel tower in paris so even though you won't be able to ride the very first ferris wheel because i honestly wouldn't if it was still an operation that seems a little unsafe you can ride a ferris wheel at the navy pier you can also go shopping there are a lot of free and paid attractions at the navy pier it doesn't cost anything to go there but if you want to go on an attraction it may cost you some money you can go on carnival style rides your kids can play games you can eat you can dine you can relax you can watch fireworks there's a lot to do with the navy pier oh you can take pictures it is really an amazing place to go and take your family or just yourself or whoever you're traveling with if you're traveling with anyway it's great for a solo trip as well so if you're asking yourself what can you do in downtown chicago definitely check out the navy pier next chicago is home to some amazing museums i already mentioned the art institute of chicago but there are a number of different museums too let me read them off you can go to the museum of science and industry you can go to the field museum you can go to a chicago history museum you can also go to the surgical museum to learn about the surgical arts yeah for all you kind of medical and like discovery channel science and surgery enthusiasts definitely go to chicago and check out that museum if you're not into art exhibits you can go to the shed aquarium you can go to the planetarium named the adler planetarium and look through ancient telescopes you can go to the american writers museum you can learn so much in chicago and look at all of the beautiful and unique things of the past learn some great lessons learn a lot about each topic that you're interested in by going to one of the many museums in chicago and then there's a number of festivals too chicago is known for having some amazing festivals you guys have heard a thing called you know uh lalapalooza and pitchfork yeah not only other paid festivals but there are free festivals as well like the free chicago blues festival and if you're not into blues or any music from lollapalooza then guess what there are a gospel music festival jazz festivals food festivals too there's the taste of chicago there's the world music festival and there's the air and water show there are a number of beautiful outdoor venues that you can go to to check out a festival and don't forget you can still walk around millennium park and go visit the big bean go to the outdoor amphitheater for a concert or a show or just walk around chicago in general so if you're looking for what can you do in downtown chicago just walking will get you really really far you can take beautiful pictures of the architecture you can eat you can learn you can play you can drink you can catch a theater so it's no wonder that my hun and i went to chicago and you can go too check out all the links in the description down below for all the activities that i went on and let me know in the comments down below what activities stood out most to you and when you travel are you more of a foodie are you more of a sports person do you like adventure do you like art and architecture i personally like to travel for the culture and the food and just unique experiences but let me know what you guys travel for in the comments down below and if any of these activities really piqued your interest this is just the first video in a whole chicago series that i'm doing so you definitely want to subscribe and click the like button if you found it helpful and stay tuned because i'm going to post videos on how to get around chicago on a budget a room tour for where we stayed in chicago the highlights of the art institute of chicago museum and you get to see vlogs of what it's really like on the ground in the city for you to watch and enjoy and just soak up all the facts and all the knowledge for your next trip to chicago share this video with a friend and if you have any questions leave them in the comments down below thank you so much for watching frog encourage family and i'll catch you on the next video [Music] bye you

Channel: Frolic & Courage

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Id: Si_pMGb5SXo

Length: 16min 36sec (996 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 22 2021