Hometown Tourism

Of course, most of the big outdoor summer music festivals have come and gone and summer's on the wane but I thought it would still be fun to survey all of you and see what places and things you think define where you live.  What I'm looking for here (and will provide examples of my own) are five things that you think visitors to your city must see/do/experience. Ideally, all five things would be available at the same time, for example, you can't swim in Lake Michigan on the same weekend as visting the Christmas window decorations at Marshall Field's. So, with that in mind, make it five things that one could do in a long weekend. They could be as obscure or as obvious as you wish but make sure they are what YOU feel represents your hometown best.

1) See a DAY Game at Wrigley Field - A Sox fan would tell you the real action's on the South Side but no one ever made a pilgrimage to Chicago to see The Cell. Wrigley Field is quite simply one of the most sublime places on earth and a day game is the way it must be experienced the first time. If you go from late April on, the first sight of ivy when you get to the park is breathtaking. A purist would say you must sit in the bleachers but I feel it's too damn hot (no shade) and too full of drunks. Get some nice Club Box seats along the third-base line, buy a Best's Kosher dog and an Old Style (never Budweiser, the Cardinals drink Bud).

2) Eat a Combo - Only in Chicago could the 'combo' have been invented. Take two of the fattier items available at most hot dog stands (Italian beef & Italian sausage) and combine them and--voila--you have a combo. I chose the combo as my sole culinary 'must' since everyone's tastes are different, one person might love Charlie Trotter's, whereas to someone else, a burger at Billy Goat is all they need, so to pick just one restaurant would be tough. The best combo I've had is from a place called Susie's on Montrose but Roma's, Portillo's and Johnny's in Melrose Park are all great.

3) Ride the 'L' - No trip to Chicago is complete without at least one ride on the 'L'. I personally still miss using tokens but the newer fare cards have their advantages.  One of the best L rides is up the Red Line from downtown to Wrigley Field on a game day.  At each stop more and more baseball fans board to the point where at Diversey, the whole train is practically filled with people going to the game.

4) See a Show - Whether it's an Indie Rock show at Metro, a blues singer at Buddy Guy's or a play at Steppenwolf, see a live show in Chicago. Austin, TX bills itself as the 'Live Music Capital of the World' which hardly seems possible. Not only does Chicago have more live music venues but outside of New York, few cities (if any) hold a candle to Chicago's Theatre scene. What's cool is that Chicago theatre veterans who've made millions in Hollywood (Schwimmer, Mahoney, Sinise) still come back regularly and act in Chicago productions.

5) Go On an Architectural Tour - Frank Lloyd Wright would be the obvious one to do but certainly not the only one. There's a great architectural boat tour that traverses the Chicago River and hits on some downtown architectural highlights, just pray Dave Matthews' tour bus isn't in town that day.

Your turn. No matter where you live, tell us five things one must experience in your town, Chicago or elsewhere.

And, this just in....Happy Birthday to Kate, who along with her family are frequent commenters here.

Comments

[marc]

Let's not forget, A stop to Old Town Ale House on North Ave across from Piper's Alley is always a must for a fab dive bar. Bizarre 70's Porn art on the walls, Coltrane and Davis on the juke and Scotch for 3 bucks.

[Marjon]

We've only done 2 things off your list while we were in Chicago, so I guess we'll have to come back again to do the other things ;-)

When in Groningen, the Netherlands, you really have to go to the Groninger Museum. Some people hate it, because of the modern architecture, but it's a must see.
http://www.groningermuseum.nl/?lan=Engels

Take a tour of the town center, or buy a book with walking tours. Most of the buildings are old and have history. It's nice to walk around.

Eat a kroket from a hole in the wall.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbandiscount/3802357/in/dateposted/ (I have no idea whose account this is, I'm grateful for the picture and the description)

Take a trip to Schiermonnikoog, an island that's relatively close to our town (45 minutes by car and a 45 minute boat). Cars are not allowed, so you have to rent a bike or walk to see something of the island. It's really nice there.
http://www.pbase.com/henkbinnendijk/schiermonnikoog

And visit us!

[Jeff]

Chicago: I'm dying to go back to the Shedd Aquarium and Art Institute but never seem to have time.

Lonely Planet says, being a bit malevolent but not entirely dishonest, that 'Singapore has no unmissable sights.' There are, however, some great places nearby and Singapore works well as a hub for Asian adventures...

[ken]

Thanks for contibuting, Marc, Marjon and Jeff. $3 Scotch? Must be blended Scotch, right?

We need some more comments here, nobody like's their home town?!! Here's a chance to get in a plug for your favorite bar, restaurant or museum. I left off the Art Institute thinking someone else would put it down.

[TracyT]

Top Five for Minneapolis in one day:

Morning meal at Al's Breakfast in Dinkytown. Best greasy spoon in town! Runner up: Town Talk Diner on Lake & Minnehaha.

Head to the Stone Arch Bridge and walk across - great views of the city and also a chance to see river barges lock through. Segway tours of the area are also offered but at a kinda hefty price. It is funny to see a group of 20 people in bike helmets on Segways, however.

Now drive down River Road & onto Minnehaha Parkway. Take Parkway to chain of lakes and drive around, or stop & rent a bike in Uptown and bike the lakes (12 miles total). Optional side trip: rent tubes and tube down Minnehaha creek.

Head to our newest food paradise - Midtown Global Market at Chicago & Lake. Located in the old flagship Sears building which is finally being renovated. Take your pick of all sorts of multiculti delights. My pick: Manny's Tortas. Or try Holyland Deli.

Finally, at dusk head to the Walker Art Center & walk the sculpture garden. Then head back towards the Stone Arch Bridge and find Nye's Polonnaise Room for a night cap and some good old Minnesota polka dancing.

[Ara]

If you're even in Janesville, WI, this is what you need to do:

1) Take I-90 West to Milton Road Exit South and look on your right. You will see Bessie the Cow. They're about to tear her down so they can have a Lowe's across the street from The Home Depot.

2) Continue on Milton to Ruger and make a left and take to Randolph and make a right. Check out Joseph A Craig Senior High School on your left. Johnny Cash played here in the in the mid 60's. Our future president, Russ Feingold graduated from the place in `71 with my Mom. I graduated in `93.

3) Head over to the General Motors Plant on the West side of town. This is not only the oldest GM plant in the US, but it's also the largest. They used to make Chevrolet Celebrities but now it's all SUV's like Tahoe's for instance. If you look really close you'll see the Hub & Spoke Bar on the GM property. Yes, you can go inside and have a beer with a drunk auto worker; the stereotype lives!

4) While on the West side of town head over to the Tallman House. This is the only private residence still standing where Abraham Lincoln slept over night. Little did Lincoln know at the time it was also a main stop over on the Underground Railroad. There is still a workable hidden passage in the house to an out building which has a secret tunnel to the Rock River.

5) And if you're in Janesville RIGHT NOW, head down to the Rock River and check out the Rock Aqua Jays. They are a competitive water ski club who have won world championships and are known world-wide for being the first competitve group able to put together a 5-level pyramid while water skiing.

And finally is your heading back to Chicago, Take US 51 South to just north of Beloit and stop into Hanson's Tavern for THE BEST BURGER AROUND.

[dj]

As a resident of Michigan now, and one of Jeff's famed "downshifters", we tend to wander back to Chicago from time to time, however, not often enough. Here's a few things that we do and probably pretty much what we'll be doing this Friday night:
(Most of these are within a seven-iron of each other)
1. Dinner at Penny's Noodles. Cheap. Fast. Good. BYOB. And did I mention cheap?
2. Pick up a few books at Quimby's. Something random and something new by Chris Ware.
3. Buy a real CD or two at Reckless.
4. Catch a show at Double Door, Empty Bottle, Hideout, Schuba's or some other club of that ilk.
5. Late night at Flash Taco.

[Scotty]

Dare I mention going to a game at Comiskular?

I don't want to be superfluous but the Art Institute is a must see. While your there you might as well cross the street and go to Millenium Park.

My parents would take us out of school for the day and we would bring our bikes down to the lake front.

I like taking the kids to both the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry.

[Megs]

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Mine's obvious...eat a double bratwurst on a Sheboygan hard roll, drink a bloody mary at Vreeke's, get emphyzema.

[kate]

Thanks for the birthday shoutout.

I have to say ken pretty much hit the nail on the head with the chicago thing. When I have visitors in town I reccommend the following:
-a day at wrigley (season permitting)
-a tour of frank lloyd wright house and walking around oak park (Where I grew up)
- a piece of stuffed pizza from my favorite place.
- a trip down to lake michigan (a lot of people do not understand the concept of a beach on a lake)
- a night out on the town (dinner and drinks)

that pretty much sums it up...

[TWM]

This might be more than five...

Go to the Adler Planetarium and see a show. Look at a real space capsule and try to believe how fracking small it is.

Go to the Art Institute and see the famous paintings.

Go to a show at FitzGerald's in Berwyn. Go buy some cd's or vinyl at Val's Halla in Oak Park, after she re-opens post-move, later this month.

Go see a movie at the Music Box, up on Southport.

Drive southbound into the city on Lake Shore Drive, especially after dark.

Go see the monk parakeets in Hyde Park (which I haven't done yet).

Eat breakfast at Blind Faith Cafe in Evanston, lunch at Erik's in Oak Park, and dinner at Chicago Diner on Halsted.

TWM

[mattbarr]

1. food. eat somewhere good. there is no one particular place. just make your out of town guest eat something awesome. good food is everywhere in chicago.

2. music. go see something depending on your taste. jazz, blues, rock, rap... good music is everywhere, too.

3. theater. did anyone mention second city?

4. streets, trains, people, traffic, buildings, neighborhoods. see 'em. feel 'em. maybe not touch 'em, though.

5. cubs. i'm with you ken, day game at wrigley. going to "comsikular" (as someone called it) is no different than going to see any other MLB stadium. but wrigley is unique.

[David]

Here's a couple items:

Check out http://members.aol.com/PullmanIL/index.html .
There, you can find out about guided walking tours of the Historic Pullman neighborhood which happen every first Sunday from May to October AND the 33rd annual Historic Pullman House Tour that will be happening October 7 & 8.

Also, whenever my family visits Chicago from NW Indiana, we like to stop at Garretts Popcorn for some quality snacking on the train-ride home. For locations, check out www.garrettpopcorn.com .

Also...that southbound drive down LakeShore Drive mentioned in TWM's post is so famous, it's mentioned in the song "Lake Shore Drive" by Aliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah.