American Airlines Flights from New Orleans (MSY) to Chicago (ORD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from New Orleans (MSY) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 8:10am and 5:00pm. Usually a McDonnell Douglas MD80 is flown for this route, with in-seat power sources available. The average travel time from New Orleans, LA to Chicago, IL is 2 hours and 26 minutes.
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During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Lincoln Park Conservatory
Just beyond the zoo's northeast border is a lovely botanical garden housed in a soaring glass-domed structure. Inside are four great halls filled with thousands of plants. If you're visiting Chicago in the wintertime, I can't think of a better prescription for mood elevation than the conservatory's lush haven of greenery. The Palm House features giant palms and rubber trees (including a 50-ft. fiddle-leaf rubber tree dating from 1891), the Fernery nurtures plants that grow close to the forest floor, and the Tropical House is a shiny symphony of flowering trees, vines, and bamboo. The fourth environment is the Show House, where seasonal flower shows are held.Even better than the plants inside, however, might be what lies outside the front doors. The expansive lawn with its French garden and lovely fountain on the conservatory's south side is one of the best places in town for an informal picnic (especially nice if you're visiting the zoo and want to avoid the congestion at its food concession venues).The Lincoln Park Conservatory has a sister facility on the city's West Side, in Garfield Park, that is much more remarkable. In fact, the 2-acre Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. (tel. 312/746-5100), designed by the great landscape architect Jens Jensen in 1907, is one of the largest gardens under glass in the world. It's open 365 days a year from 9am to 5pm. Unfortunately, a rather blighted neighborhood with a high crime rate surrounds the conservatory. If you want to see it, I recommend driving rather than public transportation.Allow a half-hour for the Lincoln Park Conservatory.
Museum of Science and Industry
Even if you don't plan on spending the day in Hyde Park, you'll pass through the neighborhood on your way to one of Chicago's most popular tourist attractions. The massive Museum of Science and Industry is the granddaddy of interactive museums, with some 2,000 exhibits. You should plan on spending at least a couple of hours here, and a comprehensive visit can take all day, especially if you catch an Omnimax movie while you're here. Although it's quite a distance from the rest of Chicago's tourist attractions, it's easy enough to get here without a car; your best options are the no. 6 Jeffrey Express bus or the Metra Electric train from downtown (the no. 10 bus runs from downtown to the museum's front entrance during the summer).While the museum is constantly adding new exhibits to cover the latest scientific breakthroughs, you shouldn't miss certain tried-and-true exhibits that have been here for years and epitomize the museum for Chicagoans. The U-505, a German submarine that was captured in 1944 and brought to the museum 10 years later, brings home the claustrophobic reality of underwater naval life. The full-scale Coal Mine, which dates back to 1934, now incorporates modern mining techniques into the exhibit -- but the best part is the simulated trip down into a dark, mysterious mine. Get to these exhibits quickly after the museum opens because they attract amusement-park-length lines during the day.Kids who love planes, trains, and automobiles shouldn't miss All Aboard the Silver Streak, a refurbished Burlington Pioneer Zephyr train with on-board interactive exhibits; the massive model train exhibit that makes up The Great Train Story; or Take Flight, an aviation exhibit featuring a full-size 727 airplane that revs up its engines and replays the voice recordings from a San Francisco-Chicago flight periodically throughout the day. Computer addicts should be entranced by Networld, which offers a flashy immersion into the Internet (with plenty of interactive screens). More low-tech -- but fascinating -- is the giant walk-through model of the human heart. Well-designed educational exhibits include AIDS: The War Within (which was the first permanent museum exhibit on the immune system and HIV) and Reusable City, which teaches children ecological tips with implements that they might find in their own backyard. Older children with a creative streak will enjoy Enterprise, which lets visitors take on the role of CEO for a day as they immerse themselves in the goings-on of a virtual company.And, not to be sexist, but girls (myself included) love Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle, a lavishly decorated miniature palace filled with priceless treasures (yes, those are real diamonds and pearls in the chandeliers). The castle is hidden away on the lower level. Also tucked away in an inconspicuous spot -- along the Blue stairwell between the Main Floor and the Balcony -- are the Human Body Slices, actual slivers of human cadavers that are guaranteed to impress teenagers in search of something truly gross.A major newer addition to the museum is the Henry Crown Space Center, where the story of space exploration is documented in copious detail, highlighted by a simulated space-shuttle experience through sight and sound at the center's five-story Omnimax Theater. The theater offers double features on the weekends; call for show times.When you've worked up an appetite, you can visit one of the museum's five restaurants, including a Pizza Hut and an ice-cream parlor, and there are also two gift shops. Allow 3 hours.
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.
Homewood Suites
An excellent choice for families, this hotel offers both fresh, clean rooms and some nice little extras. Because all of the rooms are suites with full kitchens, you can prepare your own meals (a real money saver) and there's plenty of room for everyone to spread out at the end of the day. Housed just off the Mag Mile in a sleek tower above retail shops, offices, and a health club -- and adjacent to ESPN Zone -- the hotel's decor is described as "Italian Renaissance meets Crate & Barrel." Distressed-leather sofas, Mediterranean stone tile, wrought-iron chandeliers, and beaded lampshades adorn its sixth-floor lobby. Rooms -- one- and two-bedroom suites and a handful of double-double suites, which can connect to king suites -- feature velvet sofas that are all sleepers, and the beds have big, thick mattresses. Each comes with a full kitchen, a dining-room table that doubles as a workspace, and decent-size bathrooms. The hotel provides a complimentary hot breakfast buffet as well as beverages and hors d'oeuvres every evening; there is also a free grocery-shopping service and free access to an excellent health club next door.
Best Western River North Hotel
This former motor lodge and cold-storage structure conceals a very attractive, sharply designed interior that scarcely resembles any Best Western in which you're likely to have spent the night. One of the few hotels located right in the midst of one of the busiest nightlife and restaurant zones in the city, the Best Western lies within easy walking distance of interesting boutiques and Chicago's art-gallery district. Rooms are spacious, and the bathrooms, though no-frills, are spotless. One-room suites have a sitting area, while other suites have a separate bedroom; all suites come with a sleeper sofa. The Best Western's reasonable rates and rooftop pool (with sweeping views) will appeal to families on a budget -- and the almost unheard-of free parking can add up to significant savings for anyone planning to stay a week or more.
Allerton Crowne Plaza
A historic hotel that received a fairly bland makeover, the Allerton appeals to travelers who prefer lodgings that are brand spanking new. Built in 1924 as a "club hotel," providing permanent residences for single men and women, the Allerton has been converted into the flagship hotel of the Crowne Plaza chain. The Italian Renaissance-inspired exterior has been painstakingly restored to its original dark-red brickwork and stone carvings and limestone base. Too bad the distinctive exterior style wasn't replicated inside. The rooms have a generic chain-hotel feel, and because the hotel originally was built for single men and women, the rooms are fairly small (even the suites). Still, all the rooms and public areas have a warm and homey feel. Snag one overlooking Michigan Avenue to get the best views (or at least stop by the hotel's Renaissance Ballroom for a peek at the Mag Mile).
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
