Alaska Airlines Flights from Bloomington-Normal (BMI) to Chicago (ORD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Alaska Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Bloomington-Normal (BMI) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 6:10am and 10:10am, and one additional non-stop flight regularly scheduled to depart at 5:10pm and arrive at 6:10pm, everyday except Saturday. Usually an Embraer RJ145 Amazon or Embraer RJ140 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Bloomington-Normal, IL to Chicago, IL is 53 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
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During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum
Chicago's vibrant Pilsen neighborhood, just southwest of the Loop, is home to one of the nation's largest Mexican-American communities. Ethnic pride emanates from every doorstep, taqueria, and bakery, and the multitude of colorful murals splashed across building exteriors and alleyways. But this building, the largest Latino cultural institution in the country, may be the neighborhood's most prized possession. That's quite an accomplishment, given that the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum was founded in 1987 by a passel of public schoolteachers who pooled $900 to get it started.This is truly a living museum. There are wonderful exhibits to be sure, showcasing Mexican and Mexican-American visual and performing artists, and often drawing on the museum's permanent collection of more than 2,400 works. But it's the visiting artists, festival programming, and community participation that make the museum really shine. Its Day of the Dead celebration, which runs for about 8 weeks beginning in September, is one of the most ambitious in the country. The Del Corazon Mexican Performing Arts Festival, held in the spring, features programs by local and international artists here and around town. And the Sor Juana Festival, presented in the fall, honors Mexican writer and pioneering feminist Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz with photography and painting exhibits, music and theater performances, and poetry readings by Latino women.The museum is very family oriented, offering a deluge of educational workshops for kids and parents. It also has a splendid gift shop, and it stages a holiday market, featuring items from Mexico, on the first weekend in December. Allow 1 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.
The Hancock Observatory
While not as famous as the Sears Tower, for many locals the Hancock remains the archetypal Chicago skyscraper, with its bold, tapered shape and exterior steel cross-bracing design. The Hancock Observatory delivers an excellent panorama of the city and an intimate view over nearby Lake Michigan and the various shoreline residential areas. The view from the top of Chicago's third-tallest building is enough to satisfy, but some high-tech additions to the experience include "talking telescopes" with sound effects and narration in four languages, history walls illustrating the growth of the city, and the Skywalk open-air viewing deck -- a "screened porch" that allows visitors to feel the rush of the wind at 1,000 feet. On a clear day you can see portions of the three states surrounding this corner of Illinois (Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin), for a radius of 40 to 50 miles. The view up the North Side is particularly dramatic, stretching from the nearby Oak Street and North Avenue beaches, along the green strip of Lincoln Park, to the line of high-rises you can trace up the shoreline until they suddenly halt just below the boundary of the northern suburbs. A high-speed elevator carries passengers to the observatory in 40 seconds, and the entrance and observatory are accessible for people with disabilities. Allow 1 hour."Big John," as it's referred to by some locals, also has a sleek restaurant, the Signature Room at the 95th, with an adjoining lounge. For about the same cost as the observatory, you can take in the views from the latter with a libation in hand.
Red Roof Inn
This is your best bet for the lowest-priced lodgings in downtown Chicago. The location is the main selling point: right off the Magnificent Mile (and within blocks of the Ritz-Carlton and Peninsula, where rooms will cost you at least three times as much). The guest rooms are stark and small (much like the off-the-highway Red Roof Inns), but all have new linens and carpeting. Ask for a room facing Ontario Street, where at least you'll get western exposure and some natural light (rooms in other parts of the hotel look right into neighboring office buildings). The bathrooms are tiny but newly renovated and spotless. You're not going to find much in the way of style or amenities here -- but then you don't stay at a place like this to hang out in the lobby (where, by the way, free coffee is available every morning).
Hotel Allegro Chicago
Owned by the same company as the Hotel Monaco and the Hotel Burnham, the Allegro is the best choice in the Loop for families in search of a fun vibe. Although its published rates are about the same as those of its sister properties, the Allegro is far larger than the Monaco or the Burnham, and consequently is more likely to offer special rates to fill space (especially on weekends and in the winter). Guests enter a lobby with plush, eclectic, and boldly colorful furnishings: This whimsical first impression segues into the rooms, which vary wildly in size and configuration, so be sure to request the biggest available room when making your reservation. Suites have robes, VCRs, and two-person Jacuzzi tubs.Befitting a place where the concierge wears a stylish leather jacket and the doorman hums along to the tunes playing on speakers out front, the Allegro appeals to younger travelers. There's plenty of opportunity for socializing at Encore, the Jetsons-esque cafe that hosts DJs at night, or at the complimentary evening wine reception in the lobby. The hotel's restaurant, 312 Chicago, attracts nonguests in search of excellent Italian cuisine.
Tremont Hotel
The Tremont won't dazzle you with style or amenities, but it fits the bill for anyone looking for a small, European-style hotel. The cozy lobby (complete with fireplace) makes a fine space to hang out and plan your itinerary for the day. The guest rooms aren't too big -- there's space for a bed, a desk, and either a sofa or two chairs -- but they are cheery, with yellow walls and large windows. Ask for a room facing Delaware Street if you crave natural light (rooms in other parts of the hotel look into neighboring buildings). The furniture shows signs of wear, and the bathrooms are fairly basic, but the Tremont will appeal to anyone who likes their hotels homey rather than slick.The steak-and-chops restaurant off the lobby, the memorabilia-filled Mike Ditka's Restaurant, is co-owned by the legendary former Chicago Bears football coach.
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 Alaska Airlines
