Alaska Airlines Flights from Indianapolis (IND) to Chicago (ORD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Alaska Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Indianapolis (IND) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 6:00am and 6:00pm, and one additional non-stop flight regularly scheduled to depart at 9:15am and arrive at 9:25am, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, Thursdays. The average travel time from Indianapolis, IN to Chicago, IL is 1 hour and 10 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:
Chicago Fed Visitors Center
It's not worth a special trip (unless you're a huge Alan Greenspan fan), but the Visitors Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is worth a quick stop if you're wandering around the Loop. More than just the standard history-of-banking displays, the center has kid-friendly features such as a giant cube that holds a million dollars, and an exhibit that lets you try detecting counterfeit bills. And yes, there's even a section where visitors can pretend to be Alan Greenspan for a moment, showing how changes in interest rates affect the economy. Free guided tours are offered weekdays at 1pm. Allow a half-hour.
The Smart Museum of Art
The University of Chicago's fine arts museum looks rather modest, but it packs a lot of talent into a compact space. Its permanent collection of more than 7,000 paintings and sculptures spans Western and Eastern civilizations and ranges from classical antiquity to the present day. Bona fide treasures include ancient Greek vases, Chinese bronzes, and Old Master paintings; Frank Lloyd Wright furniture; Tiffany glass; sculptures by Degas, Matisse, and Rodin; and 20th-century paintings and sculptures by Mark Rothko, Arthur Dove, Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, Henry Moore, and Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt. Built in 1974, the contemporary building doesn't really fit in with the Gothic style of other campus buildings, but its sculpture garden and outdoor seating area make a nice place for quiet contemplation. The museum also has a gift shop and cafe. Allow 1 hour.
Field Museum of Natural History
Is it any wonder that Steven Spielberg thought the Field Museum of Natural History suitable home turf for the intrepid archaeologist and adventurer hero of his Indiana Jones movies? Spread over the museum's 9 acres of floor space are scores of permanent and temporary exhibitions -- some interactive, but most requiring the old-fashioned skills of observation and imagination. But navigating all the disparate exhibits can be daunting.You'll start out in the grand Stanley Field Hall, which you enter from either the north or south end. Standing proudly at the north side is the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever unearthed. Named Sue for the paleontologist who found the dinosaur in 1990 in South Dakota, the specimen was acquired by the museum for a cool $8.4 million following a high-stakes bidding war. The real skull is so heavy that a lighter copy had to be mounted on the skeleton; the actual one is displayed nearby.Families should head downstairs for two of the most popular kid-friendly exhibits. The pieces on display in Inside Ancient Egypt were brought to the museum in the early 1900s, after researchers in Saqqara, Egypt, excavated two of the original chambers from the tomb of Unis-ankh, son of the Fifth Dynasty ruler Pharaoh Unis. This mastaba (tomb) of Unis-ankh now forms the core of a spellbinding exhibit that realistically depicts scenes from Egyptian funeral, religious, and other social practices. Visitors can explore aspects of the day-to-day world of ancient Egypt, viewing 23 actual mummies and realistic burial scenes, a living marsh environment and canal works, the ancient royal barge, a religious shrine, and a reproduction of a typical marketplace of the period. Many of the exhibits allow hands-on interaction, and there are special activities for kids, such as making parchment from living papyrus plants.Next to the Egypt exhibit, you'll find Underground Adventure, a "total immersion environment" populated by giant robotic earwigs, centipedes, wolf spiders, and other subterranean critters. The Disneyesque exhibit is a big hit with kids, but -- annoyingly -- requires an extra admission charge ($7 on top of regular admission for adults, $3 for kids).You might be tempted to skip the "peoples of the world" exhibits, but, trust me -- some are not only mind-opening, but they're also great fun. Traveling the Pacific is hidden up on the second floor, but it's definitely worth a stop. Hundreds of artifacts from the museum's oceanic collection re-create scenes of island life in the South Pacific (there's even a full-scale model of a Maori meeting house). Africa, an assemblage of African artifacts and provocative, interactive multimedia presentations, takes viewers to Senegal, to a Cameroon palace, to the savanna and its wildlife, and on a "virtual" journey aboard a slave ship to the Americas. Native Chicagoans will quickly name two more signature highlights: the taxidermies of Bushman (a legendary lowland gorilla who made international headlines while at the city's Lincoln Park Zoo) and the Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo (the pair of male lions who munched nearly 140 British railway workers constructing a bridge in East Africa in 1898; their story is featured in the film The Ghost and the Darkness).The museum hosts special traveling exhibits (recent blockbusters included shows on Cleopatra and the jewels of Russia), as well as numerous lectures, book signings, multi-ethnic musical and dance performances, storytelling events, and family activity days throughout the year. The Corner Bakery cafe, located just off the main hall, is a cut above the usual museum victuals (to avoid the lunchtime lines, pick up one of the premade salads or sandwiches and head for the cash register). Families also flock to the McDonald's on the lower level. Allow 3 hours.
Fairmont Hotel
The Fairmont is easily one of the city's most luxurious hotels, offering an array of deluxe amenities and services and regularly hosting high-level politicians and high-profile fundraisers. Open since the mid-1980s, its overall effect is chic but a bit impersonal. The entrance faces anonymous office towers, and you're likely to wander the circular lobby awhile before finding the check-in desk. Still, the rooms are large and decorated in a comfortable, upscale style (ask for one with a lake view, although city-view rooms aren't bad either). The posh bathrooms feature extra-large tubs, separate vanity areas, and swivel TVs. The windows open (a rarity in high-rise hotels), so you can enjoy the breeze drifting off Lake Michigan. Suites have one or two bedrooms, a living room, a dining area, and a built-in bar -- and all come with lake views. The hotel is connected to the city's underground "pedway" system, through which you can walk all the way to Marshall Field's on State Street -- a bonus on inclement days (a florist, pharmacy, and salon are conveniently located in an adjoining building).Facilities: Restaurant (American/eclectic); lounge; access to Lakeshore Athletic Club, one of the top health clubs in the city (with full-court basketball, climbing wall, pool, and spa); concierge; business center; 24-hr. room service; babysitting; laundry service; 24-hr. dry cleaning.
Windy City Urban Inn
This grand 1886 home is located on a tranquil side street just blocks from busy Clark Street and Lincoln Avenue -- both chock-full of shops, restaurants, and bars. While the inn is charming enough, the true selling point is hosts Andy and Mary Shaw. He's a well-known local television reporter, while she has 20 years of experience in the Chicago bed-and-breakfast business. Together, they are excellent resources for anyone who wants to get beyond the usual tourist sites. Plus, their subtle touches give guests a distinctive, Chicago experience: Blues and jazz play during the buffet breakfast, and local food favorites offered to guests include the famous cinnamon buns from Ann Sather's restaurant and beer from Goose Island Brewery.The more-open-than-typical remodeled Victorian home has five rooms in the main house and three apartment suites in a coach house; all are named after Chicago writers. Lovebirds should request the Nelson Algren and Simone De Beauvoir Suite, which has a large bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and a view of the Sears Tower. Two of the coach house apartments can sleep four: two in an upstairs bedroom and two on a bed that folds up against the wall (custom-made for the Shaws, these feature top-quality mattresses, making them much more comfortable than the Murphy beds of old). In good weather, guests are invited to eat breakfast on the back porch or in the garden between the main house and the coach house.
Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel
Another historic hotel that has undergone a major face-lift, the Knickerbocker looks spiffy from the lobby but still retains a shabby-chic feel on the guest floors. The epitome of Jazz Age indulgence when built in 1927, the hotel was rumored to have shady underworld connections during the Capone era. In the 1970s, Hugh Hefner turned it into the gaudy Playboy Towers and invited the leisure-suit set to a perpetual disco inferno on the hotel's famed illuminated ballroom floor. By the time the 1980s rolled around, the Knickerbocker had been through the ringer.But thanks to a $20-million renovation, the Knickerbocker once more exudes vintage charm. It has a superb location, a block from Oak Street Beach and across the street from The Drake. While the rooms aren't especially spacious, they are warm and comfortable (with new, comfy beds). Bathrooms are small but nicely done. One caveat: Views are often rather dismal, but you can catch a glimpse of the lake in all rooms ending in 18, and corner rooms (ending in 17, 28, or 35) look onto Michigan Avenue. Club-level guests are served complimentary breakfast, coffee, and munchies in a second-floor lounge.
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
