American Airlines Flights from Memphis (MEM) to Chicago (ORD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Memphis (MEM) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 6:05am and 12:05pm, and 2 additional non-stop flights, departing between 3:55pm and 6:10pm on select days of the week. Usually an Embraer RJ145 Amazon or Canadair Regional Jet 700 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Memphis, TN to Chicago, IL is 1 hour and 48 minutes.
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During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Sears Tower Skydeck
First Sears sold the building and moved to cheaper suburban offices in 1992. Then the skyscraper got an ego blow when the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, went up and laid claim to the title of world's tallest buildings. (The Sears Tower has since put up a 22-ft. antenna in an attempt to win back the title.) Tallest-building posturing aside, this is still a great place to orient yourself to the city, but I wouldn't put it on the top of must-see sights for anyone with limited time (and limited patience for crowds).The view from the 103rd-floor Skydeck is everything you'd expect it to be -- once you get there. Unfortunately, you're often stuck in a very long, very noisy line, so by the time you make it to the top, your patience could be as thin as the atmosphere up there. (Come in the late afternoon to avoid most of the crowds.) On a clear day, visibility extends up to 50 miles, and you can catch glimpses of four surrounding states. Despite the fact that it's called a "skydeck," you can't actually walk outside. Recent upgrades include multimedia exhibits on Chicago history and Knee High Chicago, an exhibit for kids. The 70-second high-speed elevator trip will feel like a thrill ride for some, but it's a nightmare for anyone with even mild claustrophobia. Allow 1 to 2 hours, depending on the length of the line.
Mystic Blue Cruises
A more casual alternative to fancy dinner cruises, this is promoted as more of a "fun" ship (that means DJs at night, although you'll have to put up with some kind of "live entertainment" no matter when you sail). Daily lunch and dinner excursions are available, as well as midnight voyages on weekends. The same company offers more formal (and expensive) cruises aboard the Odyssey, and motorboat rides on the 70-passenger Seadog, if you really want to feel the water in your face.
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is a bibliophile's dream. Established in 1887 at the bequest of the Chicago merchant and financier Walter Loomis Newberry, the noncirculating research library today contains many rare books and manuscripts (such as Shakespeare's first folio and Jefferson's copy of The Federalist Papers), housed in a comely five-story granite building. The library is also a major destination for genealogists digging at their roots, with holdings that are open free to the public (over the age of 16 with a photo ID). The collections include more than 1.5 million volumes and 75,000 maps, many of which are displayed during an ongoing series of public exhibitions. For an overview, take a free 1-hour tour Thursday at 3pm or Saturday at 10:30am. The Newberry also sponsors a series of concerts (including those by its resident early-music ensemble, the Newberry Consort), lectures, and children's story hours throughout the year, and operates a fine bookstore. One popular annual event is the Bughouse Square debates. Held across the street in Washington Square Park, the debates re-create the fiery soapbox orations of the left-wing agitators in the 1930s and 1940s. Chicago's favorite son Studs Terkel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning oral historian, often emcees the hullabaloo. Allow a half-hour.
Renaissance Chicago Hotel
A hotel in search of a personality, the Renaissance Chicago is tasteful and understated -- perfectly suited to the business travelers who are the hotel's bread and butter. This large operation offers all your standard high-end amenities but is indistinguishable from any number of executive-style hotels elsewhere in the country. Still, this is a good bet for high-end service if you want a Loop location, and the hotel's bay windows provide stunning views of the Chicago River and the towers of North Michigan Avenue. Standard double rooms include a small sitting area with a couch and smallish bathrooms; deluxe doubles have much bigger bathrooms (some with separate showers and bathtubs) and two couches. Club-level rooms, located on the top four floors, are half a room larger and have their own concierge in a private lounge, where complimentary continental breakfast and evening hors d'oeuvres are served. Request a room on the 20th floor or higher on the east side for views of both the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Another good bet are rooms on the hotel's north side, all of which have river views.
Omni Ambassador East
The ring-a-ding glory days of the Ambassador East, when stars including Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, and Liza Minnelli shacked up here during layovers or touring stops in Chicago, are ancient history. But even though big-name celebs tend to ensconce themselves at the Ritz-Carlton or Four Seasons these days, the Ambassador name still evokes images of high glamour in these parts. For the past 50 years, celebrities who have come to town to mingle with Chicago's Gold Coast society have done so most publicly from Booth One in the ritzy Pump Room restaurant.The Ambassador suffered a slow decline in the 1960s and 1970s, which didn't turn around until 1986, when Omni bought and renovated the property. Today, after a recent second face-lift, the Ambassador East has reclaimed its strut and splendor. Rooms here have been spruced up and bathrooms feature the usual higher-end amenities. Executive suites have separate sitting areas; celebrity suites (named for the stars who've crashed in them) come with a separate bedroom, two bathrooms, a small kitchen, and a dining room. Most extravagant is the Presidential Suite, which boasts a canopied terrace and marble fireplace.The Ambassador East has an excellent kids' program (including in-room Nintendo) and makes an extra effort for guests with disabilities, offering equipment such as TDD telephones and strobe fire alarms for deaf guests.
The Drake
If ever the term "grande dame" fit a hotel, it's The Drake, which opened in 1920. Fronting East Lake Shore Drive, this landmark building is Chicago's version of New York's Plaza or Paris's Ritz. Despite a massive renovation in the 1990s, the Drake still feels lost in time compared to places like the glitzy new Peninsula. But for many, that is part of The Drake's charm.The Drake's public spaces still maintain the regal grandeur of days gone by, but the guest rooms have been modernized with new furniture and linens. Most rooms include a small sitting area with couch and chairs; some have two bathrooms. The lake-view rooms are lovely, and -- no surprise -- you'll pay more for them. Be forewarned that "city view" rooms on the lower floors look out onto another building, so you'll probably be keeping your drapes shut. Rooms and suites on the "executive floors" provide such additional amenities as disposable cameras, a generous continental breakfast in a private lounge, and free cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, plus a daily newspaper and valet assistance for polishing shoes, packing and unpacking, and securing theater tickets.The hotel's restaurants include the Oak Terrace, a large dining room serving up American fare and some great views of the lake and Michigan Avenue; the Cape Cod Room, an old-timey seafood spot; and the Coq d'Or, one of Chicago's most atmospheric piano bars.
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Need help booking your trip?
Book online or call
1-800-504-3248(toll free)
Other direct flights to Chicago (ORD) on American Airlines
