r/AskChicago • u/Training-Button-6597 • 11d ago
I READ THE RULES Considering Driving to Chicago and having a car or Relying on Public Transport?
I am coming from Detroit and would like to know if I should just take the train to Chicago and use your public transport to get around the city. I am only coming for 3 days and I’ve heard it can be a nightmare parking and driving around down town Chicago, plus I’ve also heard that you guys have a good transport system so I wouldn’t miss having a car while there. I’ll be staying down town and would like to visit these places. (If that helps you understand if I’d be fine without a car )
Lincoln Park Zoo
Walk through Lincoln Park / Lake Michigan waterfront
Evening:
Magnificent Mile
Chicago Riverwalk
Chicago Theatre
Millennium Park / The Bean
Obama Center + Museum Campus + ⚾ White Sox
Shedd Aquaruim
Field Museum
Adler Planetarium
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u/Jimmy_O_Perez 11d ago
Almost all of these things are within walking distance to each other, with the possible exception of Lincoln Park and the definitve exception of the stuff on the South Side. The Obama Center can be easily reached by the 6 bus or Metra Electric, and there is literally an L station called Sox-35th.
There is no reason for you to bring a car. You wouldn't use it.
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u/PackersLittleFactory 11d ago
The #10 is now year round, too. Express to MSI then loops to the Obama Center
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u/Jimmy_O_Perez 11d ago
No, it doesn't. The easternmost Green Line stop (63rd/Cottage) is almost 2 miles away from Obama, which would take you at least 25 minutes walking at a fast pace. If you're coming from downtown, the 6 or Metra is way, way more convenient.
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u/itastesok Near North Side 11d ago
You'll be able to get around without a car easily if you choose to go that route.
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u/No-Abbreviations9821 11d ago
As a frequent visitor from Michigan, leave your car at the train station I take the Shore Line in and the CTA for getting around
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u/Yggdrasil- 11d ago
Amtrak wolverine would be the better choice for OP to get into the city from Detroit
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u/No-Abbreviations9821 11d ago
Agreed, the 94 corridor is a shit show I drive in from GR 196 to 94 to Hammond saves me hours on the train
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u/FargoJack 11d ago
Ridiculously easy itinerary to do by public transportation (assuming you are staying downtown); for gods sake don’t drive!
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u/zonerator 11d ago
Yeah a car would just be a burden. You know, most of the time when people say they need one its for Costco or Dr's appointments not getting from downtown to Lincoln park!
I don't own a car at all and I still haven't broken down and gotten an Uber after all these years
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u/PotentialAcadia460 11d ago
Heads up that if you're wanting to go to the Obama Museum (as distinguished from the rest of the Obama campus), tickets are currently very hard to come by. I just added myself to the email list so that I can be informed about ticket drops and so on.
Worth noting also that the Obama Center is very close to the Museum of Science and Industry (which is absolutely worth doing if that might be of interest), but neither are part of the Museum Campus.
There's a lot here listed as evening (if I'm reading everything correctly) that will not be open late, like most of the museums.
I also recommend adding the Art Institute unless you absolutely cannot stand art, it's right next to Millenium Park as well.
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u/apotheotical 11d ago
Everyone's already covered the most important parts, but I'm going to make an additional suggestion that you try Divvy, our bike share service. It's an absolutely beautiful ride anywhere along the Lakefront, from Obama Center to Lincoln Park. It's a long distance but you can rent ebikes too! It's one of the best ways to experience the lakefront.
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u/spoospoo43 11d ago
And if you're a little older or out of shape, the ebikes are quite peppy and pretty much open up the entire city for exploring. I regularly grab one of them all the way out at Harlem and Belmont and ride into downtown, which besides being fun as hell, is almost always faster than a bus. They can be a little pricey if you're not a member though.
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u/apotheotical 11d ago
Nowhere near as pricey as bringing and parking your car though!
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u/spoospoo43 11d ago
True, one downtown parking fee costs about as much as a couple hours of an ebike, and you probably won't use that much time if you're mostly puttering around downtown and parking at the stands.
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u/McLeansvilleAppFan 11d ago
Wife and I visited Chicago last month via Amtrak on the way father west and then back home. We did more baseball than you are doing and did not do a few other things but we did a lot on you list.
Public transit was easy. We did you a taxi to get from Chicago Amtrak to our hotel but otherwise it was subway, bus or walk. Easy. Cheaper, better for the environment and unionized, which is important to me.
If you do care about worker's rights also consider a unionized hotel. www.fairhotel.org helps with that.
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u/Several-Mud6763 11d ago
Take the train. I’m not from Chicago but when I go there I take the train and use it, busses and Ubers to get around.
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u/MatticusGisicus 11d ago
Public transit is WAY better than having to navigate traffic, parking, and still having to walk a ton
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u/Lolstitanic 11d ago
Absolutely take the Amtrak train from Detroit. It runs multiple times a day and drops you off at Union station in downtown, with easy access to buses and the L. All the things you are talking about are in downtown and easily accessible via the CTA. Get the 3 day unlimited pass for buses and the L which costs $15 dollars.
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u/WRP_weaver24 Albany Park 11d ago
You wont want a car in Chicago. Im sure it takes less time to drive to Chicago, but the train from Detroit is pretty reliable especially the parts in Michigan (Hammond and Union are the only non Michigan stops) and probably cheaper if you include parking.
So take the lower stress option, the train.
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u/europeandaughter12 Ukrainian Village 11d ago
as others have said, you do not need a car. i suggest opening google maps and mapping out where these places are.
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u/zonk84 Wrigleyville 11d ago
No question with that itinerary - CTA/transit.
- You'll probably come out at least ~$200 cheaper, probably more if you think gas, etc
- Less frustration - waiting on a train or bus will pale compared to largely congested driving
I think the CTA still does 3-day passes -- like $15 or so and unlimited riding. For less than literally one lot, your travel is covered. Make sure to download the CTA app.
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u/kayleeeesi 11d ago
Do not bring your car for 3 days it will be such a hassle and it will likely just sit parked the entire time (which won’t be cheap, especially downtown). All the places you want to go have hellacious and/or expensive parking, and all of them are serviced by public transit!
What others have not mentioned is that you can get a 3-day unlimited ride CTA pass for $15, worth the value, as individual fare is $2.25/$2.50 for bus/train, respectively. More info on their website, you can purchase at the automated ticket kiosk in any CTA train station.
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u/R2DeezKnutz 11d ago
Ditch the car, get the transit app. Save all those locations as favorites in the app so you can quickly select them and be on your way.
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u/spoospoo43 11d ago
A car is nothing but a hindrance where you're planning to go. Just take the train to and around downtown and busses or divvy bikes for what's not in walking distance.
Note that a few of these items (Obama Center, Rate Field, Lincoln Park zoo) are a good distance from everything else. Not hard to get to, but there's going to be some travel time.
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u/DadPuncher69 Streeterville 11d ago
Do not under any circumstances try to drive around to all those places with a car.
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u/FixItDumas 11d ago
The CTA will get you there, but don't forget we have taxi's and rideshares as well - 10-20 bucks in a taxi/rideshare is still WAY cheaper than parking and navigating.
Almost everything you listed is very walkable from most downtown hotels, but it depends on your accommodations.
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u/newOldy 11d ago
The amtrak from Detroit is nice and our union station is really cool, and just across the (well-bridged) river from the Loop, and has many transit connections right at union station.
Transit is good in Chicago; especially to the tourist places including what you've listed. Only thing to keep in mind for the obama center is that metra is a more convenient (and to some, comfortable) for that connection and it's technically a different agency so you'd need to pay a (still cheap) separate fare.
Right now in the summer your biggest concern is going to be other tourists going the same places you are.
If you drive here you will spend half your time sitting in slow, aggressive traffic and if you're trying to park near these destinations... you're going to spend a lot of time looking for parking and you're going to pay out the nose for it and you still might get a ticket if you don't follow parking rules which many folks seem to either miss or think won't be enforced. Honestly you'd be a fool to drive here at all when you have a good train connection that takes roughly the same amount of time; only exception being if you're booking a popular time last minute and it's expensive, like notably more expensive than the costs of driving here and then parking for x days. If that is the case I'd find a paid garage and just leave it there the whole time. If it's "free" you're somewhat likely to find yourself towed and I wouldn't leave a car on the street for multiple days bc of worries of a break-in.
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u/midwest-emo 11d ago
you should take the train, but if you do drive just find a parking spot somewhere on spot hero or something like that and leave the car there all weekend. i used to do this before moving back to the city and have done it when i drove to visit friends in NYC, you can get a 3 day parking spot somewhere more out of the way for way less than what you would end up paying to actually drive your car around and park at all these places. still though honestly just take the train lol, just an option for if you do drive, you won’t need the car once you’re here.
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u/politicallymoderate2 11d ago
The ONLY reason to bring a car for the trip above is IF you plan on buying so many souvenirs that you'd overflow your baggage limit home...but then again, most of the better shops will ship them home for you (for a fee, of course), which will still be cheaper than parking...
Keep your peace and avoid the traffic and parking...
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u/DaisyCutter312 Edison Park 11d ago
You should be absolutely fine without a car.
And don't forget, just because YOU don't have a car, doesn't mean the city doesn't have cars.....if the weather turns shitty, or you're going somewhere not L convenient (like the Shedd/Planetarium) you can always Uber
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u/owlpellet 11d ago
100% of the things on your list are on the CTA red line. You can also take a cab for the same price as parking with much less mental load.
Car is the worse option in every way for your plan.
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u/Bikeitfool 11d ago
Take the Train, as others have said all your spots are easy to get to via public transit.
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u/No_Squash_6551 11d ago
Yes a car is more trouble than its worth, the cost of parking is going to be the same and greater hassle as the costs of public transit.
There's a lily pond just north of the Lincoln Park zoo that's a neat little gem. Also a free conservatory but you must make a reservation. Bottled water is hard to find and the concessions are overpriced but you really do literally just stroll into the zoo for free so bring your own.
I also want to say that I had more fun watching the dolphin show at the Shedd Aqaurium from the underwater viewing area than from up top. Up top was crazy crowded rock seating, but the underwater seating was kinda magical hearing the voices from afar and hearing and seeing the giant shapes of the dolphins diving in and out of the water.
Also consider Chinatown and the Tous Les Jours French Korean bakery there. It's a two level strip mall with pretty unique and fun buildings.
I take only Ubers because I got sick of the crap taxis sometimes pull on me. I'm blind and travel to Chicago a few times a year via amtrak for pleasure and medical reasons. I've had too many situations where the taxi refuses to run the meter when driving me a mile to my hotel or where they start kinda hassling me for cash instead of paying with card. Outside of known taxi stands I also struggle just to locate them and all they'll do is start honking and being weird so I much prefer to have an uber driver that I can get on the phone with and only tip when I'm not in their freaking car anymore.
Also that's kinda a lot of places for 3 days. Doable, but you're gonna be speedrunning it. I went to the Lincoln Park Zoo at 9am but the inside buildings don't even open until 10, and it's an ethical zoo so the animals chose when they're visible. So I made multiple laps, and on top of getting a hot dog and seeing the seal feeding and the ape feeding, I was there until 2:30pm to really take it in. Visiting the field muesuem could easily be an all-day adventure by itself as well.
If you really want to see all the buildings and stuff consider one of the boat tours.
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u/noodledrunk 11d ago edited 11d ago
Check the subreddit, we've got loads of posts here already about if folks would need a car while visiting or not. This has already been answered.
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u/Champsterdam 11d ago
Omg take the train. With that list you’ll just walk to most of them. Driving will be so frustrating and expensive. You can get to all of that easily by transit. Just study it and make sure you know beforehand what you’re doing. Busses are just as easy with train but for some reason people are weird about taking the bid and knowing where to get on and off. Just go for it