British Midland Airways Flights from Manchester, Great Britain (MAN) to Chicago (ORD)
As part of booking roundtrip flights which depart from US airports,
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on British Midland Airways, which operates a daily non-stop flight from Manchester, Great Britain (MAN) to Chicago (ORD) regularly scheduled to depart at 10:40am and arrive at 1:15pm. Usually an Airbus A330-200 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Manchester, Great Britain to Chicago, IL is 8 hours and 35 minutes.
During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Built into the rise of an ancient sand dune -- once the shoreline of Lake Michigan -- Chicago's newest museum bills itself as "an environmental museum for the 21st century." While that might sound fairly dull, most of the exhibits here are very hands-on, making this a good stop for active kids. Shaded by huge cottonwoods and maples, the sand-colored exterior with its horizontal lines composed of interlocking trapezoids itself resembles a sand dune. Rooftop-level walkways give strollers a view of birds and other urban wildlife below. Paths wind through gardens planted with native Midwestern wildflowers and grasses, and trace the shore of the newly restored North Pond.Inside, large windows create a dialogue between the outdoor environment and the indoor exhibits designed to illuminate it. Don't miss the Butterfly Haven, a greenhouse habitat where about 25 Midwestern species of butterflies and moths carry on their complex life cycles (wander through as a riot of color flutters all around you). Another top exhibit is City Science, a 3,000-square-foot, two-story "house" with functional rooms where visitors can view the pipes and ducts that connect our homes with power sources miles away. Water Lab is a model river system demonstrating the uses and abuses that a waterway undergoes as it meanders from rural to urban environments. It's probably safe to say that the Children's Gallery is the only place in town where kids can clamber in and out of a model ground-squirrel town or explore a beaver lodge from the inside.The sunny Butterfly Cafe offers fresh, healthy meals cafeteria-style. In summer, get there early to enjoy coffee and a muffin -- and the lovely surroundings -- with joggers and other locals.Allow 1 hour.
Chicago Cultural Center
Built in 1897 as the city's public library, and transformed into a showplace for visual and performing arts in 1991, the Chicago Cultural Center is an overlooked civic treasure. Its basic Beaux Arts exterior conceals a sumptuous interior of rare marble, fine hardwood, stained glass, polished brass, and mosaics of Favrile glass, colored stone, and mother-of-pearl inlaid in white marble. The crowning centerpiece is Preston Bradley Hall's majestic Tiffany dome, said to be the largest of its kind in the world.The building also houses one of the Chicago Office of Tourism's visitor centers, which makes it an ideal place to kick-start your visit. If you stop in to pick up tourist information and take a quick look around, your visit won't take longer than half an hour. But the Cultural Center also hosts an array of art exhibitions, concerts, films, lectures, and other special events (many free), which might convince you to extend your time here. A long-standing tradition is the 12:15pm Dame Myra Hess Memorial classical concert every Wednesday in the Preston Bradley Hall. Other ongoing programs include a monthly cultural festival -- which highlights a different city or country over a weekend with art, theater, and film.Guided architectural tours of the Cultural Center are offered Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 1:15pm. For information, call tel. 312/744-8032.Allow a half-hour.
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.
Palmer House Hilton
Chicago's oldest hotel, the namesake of legendary State Street merchant prince Potter Palmer, is decidedly from another era -- and the massive complex feels somewhat lost in time. The elegance of the grand lobby isn't matched in the rooms (decorated in an anonymous midlevel hotel style) or the clientele (which tends heavily toward conventioneers). And don't expect grand views of surrounding skyscrapers, because most rooms look out into offices across the street. All the rooms are in the process of being renovated, but upgrades at the palatial Palmer House take place, understandably, on a staggered basis; be sure to ask for a refurbished room when making reservations. Bathrooms are on the smallish size (some rooms come with two bathrooms, a plus for families). Kids might appreciate the sheer size of the place, with plenty of room to wander, and the location is good for access to the Museum Campus, but the Palmer House's days as one of Chicago's top hotels are gone.Facilities: 4 restaurants (including the legendary but dated Trader Vic's, a Cajun restaurant, and 2 American bar and grills); 2 lounges; indoor pool; health club; Jacuzzi; sauna; children's programs; concierge; business center; shopping arcade; room service until 2am; babysitting referrals; laundry service; overnight dry cleaning; executive rooms.
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower
The latest addition to Chicago's already-crowded luxury hotel scene, the Sofitel aims to impress by drawing on the city's tradition of great architecture. French architect Jean-Paul Viguier created a building that's impossible to pass without taking a second look: a soaring, triangular white tower that sparkles in the sun. But the place doesn't take itself too seriously, as you'll see when you walk in the airy lobby and check out the luminescent floor tiles that change color in a never-ending light show. The overall feel of the hotel is European modern; you'll hear French accents from the front-desk staff, and foreign-language magazines are scattered on tables throughout the lobby. The bright, stylish Café des Architects has become a favorite business lunch spot for locals.The guest rooms feature contemporary decor with natural beechwood walls and chrome hardware. All the rooms enjoy good views of the city (but the privacy-conscious will want to stay on the upper floors, where they won't be on display to surrounding apartment buildings). The standard doubles are fairly compact -- but thanks to large picture windows, the spaces don't feel cramped. The luxurious marble bathrooms (with separate tub and shower stall) are quite spacious. The amenities are top-notch. Recognizing that business travelers are the bread and butter of Chicago hotel profits, ample support services exist for working visitors. But this doesn't mean that Sofitel doesn't welcome families; in fact, up to two children can stay in a room for no extra charge (they'll even roll in a portable bed for the kids).
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.
