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American Airlines Flights from Toronto, Canada (YYZ) to Chicago (ORD)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on American Airlines, which operates 8 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Toronto, Canada (YYZ) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 6:30am and 6:30pm. Usually an Embraer RJ145 Amazon or McDonnell Douglas MD80 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Toronto, Canada to Chicago, IL is 1 hour and 54 minutes.
During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
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.
Art Institute of Chicago
You can't (and shouldn't) miss the Art Institute: The signature pair of bronze lions that flank the museum's main entrance are perfect rendezvous points, and there is always a throng of people sitting on the steps on nice days. Finding the museum is easy -- it's deciding what to see that is hard. Choose a medium and a century and the Art Institute has the works in its collection to captivate you: Japanese ukiyo-e prints, ancient Egyptian bronzes and Greek vases, 19th-century British photography, masterpieces by most of the greatest names in 20th-century sculpture, or modern American textiles. For a good general overview of the museum's collection, take the free "Highlights of the Art Institute" tour, offered at 2pm on Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays.If you've got limited time, you'll want to head straight to the museum's renowned collection of Impressionist art (including one of the world's largest collections of Monet paintings); this is one of the most popular areas of the museum, so arriving early pays off. Among the treasures, you'll find Seurat's pointillist masterpiece Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Your second must-see areas are the galleries of European and American contemporary art, ranging from paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works from Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Salvador Dalí through Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol. Visitors are sometimes surprised when they discover many of the icons that hang here. (Grant Wood's American Gothic and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks are two that bring double takes from many visitors.)Other recommended exhibits are the collection of delicate mid-19th-century glass paperweights in the museum's famous Arthur Rubloff collection and the great hall of European arms and armor dating from the 15th to 19th centuries. Composed of more than 1,500 objects, including armor, horse equipment, swords and daggers, polearms, and maces, the collection is one of the most important assemblages of its kind in the country. (If you do head down here, don't miss Marc Chagall's stunning stained-glass windows at the end of the gallery.)The Art Institute goes the extra mile to entertain kids. The Kraft Education Center on the lower level features interactive exhibits for children and has a list of "gallery games" to make visiting the museum more fun. When I was a kid, I was entranced by the Thorne Miniature Rooms, filled with tiny reproductions of furnished interiors from European and American history (heaven for a dollhouse fanatic).The museum also has a cafeteria and an elegant full-service restaurant, a picturesque courtyard cafe (open June-Sept), and a large shop. There is a busy schedule of lectures, films, and other special presentations, as well as guided tours, to enhance your viewing of the art. The museum also has a research library. Allow 3 hours.If you want to enjoy your favorite masterpieces in something resembling peace and quiet, put some thought into the timing of your visit to the Art Institute, a museum so popular that it draws as much traffic as our jammed expressways.Some tips for avoiding the rush hour: Many people don't realize the museum is open on Mondays; so keep this secret to yourself, and visit when the galleries are relatively subdued. Wednesdays are a close second. Tuesdays tend to draw the masses because the Art Institute is free that day and open late (until 8pm). Try to arrive when the doors open in the morning or else during the lunchtime lull. Another tip: If the Michigan Avenue entrance is crowded, head around to the entrance on the Columbus Drive side, which is usually less congested and is more convenient to the Grant Park underground parking garage. There's a small gift shop near the Columbus Drive entrance, too, if the main shop is too bustling.
Chicago from the Lake
This company runs two different cruises: a 90-minute tour of architecture along the Chicago River, and historical cruises that travel on the lake and river to explore the development of the city. Complimentary coffee (Starbucks, no less), lemonade, cookies, and muffins are served. For tickets, call or stop by the company's ticket office, located on the lower level on the east end of River East Plaza. Advance reservations are recommended.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Chicago area, including:
W Chicago City Center
One of two Chicago properties in the hip W hotel chain (the other is the W Chicago Lakeshore), this is an oasis of cool in the button-down Loop. Unfortunately, the rooms tend toward the small and dark (most look out into a central courtyard). The W color scheme -- dark purple and gray -- doesn't do much to brighten the spaces; don't stay here if you crave lots of natural light. All W properties pride themselves on their "whatever, whenever" service: whatever you want, whenever you want it (the modern version of a 24-hr. on-call concierge). The bar, designed by nightlife wunderkind Rande Gerber (Mr. Cindy Crawford), gives hotel guests a stylish spot to sit and pose amid dance music and cocktail waitresses who look like models. Given its location, this W is foremost a business hotel -- although one that's definitely geared toward younger workers rather than crusty old executives.
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.
Whitehall Hotel
Staying here is like visiting a wealthy, sophisticated aunt's town house: elegant but understated, welcoming but not effusive. Before the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton entered the picture, the patrician Whitehall reigned as Chicago's most exclusive luxury hotel, with rock stars and Hollywood royalty dropping by when in town. Although those glory days have passed, the independently owned Whitehall still attracts a devoted clientele who relish its subdued ambience and highly personalized service.Since this is an older property, the hallways are quite narrow and the bathrooms are small. But the rooms are spacious and bright, with new furniture. Rooms on the north side of the building come with a wonderful straight-on view of the Hancock Building, with Lake Michigan sparkling in the background. "Pinnacle Level" rooms are the same size as standard rooms, but come with extra amenities, including four-poster beds (with luxury linens), irons and ironing boards, fax machines, and umbrellas; Pinnacle guests also receive complimentary breakfasts.The hotel's restaurant, Molive, offers an eclectic American menu with Californian, Mediterranean, and Asian accents. The covered, heated sun porch attracts outdoor diners all year round. And don't miss the hotel's dimly lit, clubby bar, which hasn't changed since the hotel opened in 1928 (ask the staff to point out Katharine Hepburn's favorite seat).
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