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American Airlines Flights from Harrisburg (MDT) to Chicago (ORD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Harrisburg (MDT) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 6:40am and 5:55pm. Usually an Embraer RJ145 Amazon is flown for this route. The average travel time from Harrisburg, PA to Chicago, IL is 2 hours and 12 minutes.
During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Cafe Brauer
This landmark 1900 building, a fine example of Chicago's Prairie School of architecture, is not technically open to the public, except for a cafe and ice-cream parlor on the ground floor. But the Great Hall on the second floor, flanked by two curving loggias, is one of the city's most popular wedding-reception spots, so if you stop by on a weekend, chances are you can sneak a peek while the caterers are setting up. Even if you don't make it inside, Cafe Brauer makes a nice stopping-off point during a walk around the park. Sit and sip a coffee, or rent a paddleboat at the edge of the lovely South Pond ($10 per half-hour). Best of all, though, is the picture-postcard view from the adjacent bridge spanning the pond of the John Hancock Center and neighboring skyscrapers beyond Lincoln Park's treetops. Allow a quarter-hour, longer for a paddleboat ride.
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
Three years after the Haymarket Riot, a young woman named Jane Addams bought an old mansion on Halsted Street that had been built in 1856 as a "country home" but was now surrounded by the shanties of the immigrant poor. Here, Addams and her co-worker, Ellen Gates Starr, launched the American settlement-house movement with the establishment of Hull House, an institution that endured on this site in Chicago until 1963. (It continues today as a decentralized social-service agency known as Hull House Association.) In that year, all but two of the settlement's 13 buildings, along with the entire residential neighborhood in its immediate vicinity, were demolished to make room for the new University of Illinois at Chicago campus, which now owns the museum buildings. Of the original settlement, what remain today are the Hull-House Museum, the mansion itself, and the residents' dining hall, snuggled among the ultramodern, poured-concrete buildings of the university campus. Inside are the original furnishings, Jane Addams's office, and numerous settlement maps and photographs. Rotating exhibits re-create the history of the settlement and the work of its residents, showing how Addams was able to help transform the dismal streets around her into stable inner-city environments worth fighting over. Allow a half-hour.
Spertus Museum
The Spertus Museum, an extension of the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, showcases intricately crafted and historic Jewish ceremonial objects, textiles, coins, paintings, and sculpture, tracing 5,000 years of Jewish heritage. Though small in scale, the Zell Holocaust Memorial exhibit is particularly moving, featuring a video montage of Holocaust victims with a Chicago connection and a display of related artifacts and documents. The kid-oriented Artifact Center is a re-creation of a Middle Eastern archaeological dig, where children can search for buried treasures (reserved for school groups in the mornings, it's open to the public in the afternoon). The institute's Asher Library boasts one of the largest collections of Jewish books, periodicals, videos, and music in the country. The Bariff Shop for Judaica carries a large selection of art, books, music, videos, and contemporary and traditional Jewish ceremonial gifts. Allow 1 hour.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Chicago area, including:
City Suites Hotel
A few doors down from the elevated-train stop on Belmont Avenue, this former transient dive has been transformed into a charming small hotel. Most rooms are suites, with separate sitting rooms and bedrooms, all furnished with first-rate pieces and decorated in a homey and comfortable style. The amenities are excellent for a hotel in this price range, including local limousine service, plush robes, and complimentary continental breakfast. A bonus -- or drawback, depending on your point of view -- is the hotel's neighborhood setting. Most rooms can be fairly noisy; those facing north overlook Belmont Avenue, where the nightlife continues into the early morning hours, and those facing west look right out over the rumbling El tracks. On your way in and out of the hotel you'll mingle with plenty of locals, everybody from young professional families to gay couples to punks in full regalia. Blues bars, nightclubs, and restaurants abound hereabouts, making the City Suites a find for the bargain-minded and adventuresome. Suites have fridges and microwaves on request. Room service is available from Ann Sather, a Swedish diner and neighborhood institution.
Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago
Newer hotels might be getting all the attention, but the Hotel Inter-Continental remains a sentimental favorite for many Chicagoans. Built as an athletic club in 1929, the building's original lobby features truly grand details: marble columns, hand-stenciled ceilings, and historic tapestries (for a peek, go in the southern entrance, on the corner of Illinois St.). A recent renovation removed some of the building's quirky originality, but it has definitely brought the guest rooms up several notches. Rooms are located in the original club building (the South Tower) and in a 1960s addition (the North Tower). Although all the rooms have new furnishings and fabrics, the North Tower rooms have a more generic, sterile feel; I'd recommend the South Tower for a more distinctive experience -- but be prepared for smaller bathrooms. South Tower rooms don't cost more, but they do vary widely in size; the concierge here suggests making your reservation through the toll-free phone line, then calling the front desk to request the biggest room available during your stay.The hotel's restaurant, Zest, is the only street-level restaurant on Michigan Avenue (try to grab a table by the front windows to enjoy the never-ending street scene), and the Salon is a cozy spot for afternoon tea. The Inter-Continental's main claim to fame is the junior Olympic-size pool on the top floor, a beautiful 1920s gem surrounded by elegant mosaics.
Hampton Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown
While the Hampton Inn does attract some business travelers on a budget, it is mainly a family hotel. You can book a room, a two-room suite, or a studio; most don't have much in the way of views, but request one overlooking Illinois Street if you crave natural light. Rooms are residential and warm, with framed collages of vintage Chicago postcards on the walls. The apartment-style suites feature galley kitchens with fridges, microwaves, dishwashers, and cooking utensils. An American diner is located off the lobby, and a second-floor skywalk connects to Ruth's Chris Steak House next door. Guests with children will appreciate the indoor pool (the suites have VCRs, for when the little ones need to chill out after a busy day). Children under 18 stay free in parent's room, and there is a complimentary buffet breakfast each morning.
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