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United Airlines Flights from Albany (ALB) to Chicago (ORD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on United Airlines, which operates 3 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Albany (ALB) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 6:00am and 11:39am, and one additional non-stop flight regularly scheduled to depart at 4:52pm and arrive at 6:22pm, everyday except Saturday. The average travel time from Albany, NY to Chicago, IL is 2 hours and 25 minutes.
During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
Three years after the Haymarket Riot, a young woman named Jane Addams bought an old mansion on Halsted Street that had been built in 1856 as a "country home" but was now surrounded by the shanties of the immigrant poor. Here, Addams and her co-worker, Ellen Gates Starr, launched the American settlement-house movement with the establishment of Hull House, an institution that endured on this site in Chicago until 1963. (It continues today as a decentralized social-service agency known as Hull House Association.) In that year, all but two of the settlement's 13 buildings, along with the entire residential neighborhood in its immediate vicinity, were demolished to make room for the new University of Illinois at Chicago campus, which now owns the museum buildings. Of the original settlement, what remain today are the Hull-House Museum, the mansion itself, and the residents' dining hall, snuggled among the ultramodern, poured-concrete buildings of the university campus. Inside are the original furnishings, Jane Addams's office, and numerous settlement maps and photographs. Rotating exhibits re-create the history of the settlement and the work of its residents, showing how Addams was able to help transform the dismal streets around her into stable inner-city environments worth fighting over. Allow a half-hour.
Baha'i House of Worship
Up the road from Evanston in Wilmette is the most visited of all the sights in the northern suburbs, the Baha'i House of Worship, an ethereal edifice that seems not of this earth. The gleaming white stone temple, designed by the French Canadian Louis Bourgeois and completed in 1953, is essentially a soaring nine-sided 135-foot dome, draped in a delicate lacelike facade, that strongly reveals the Eastern influence of the Baha'i faith's native Iran. Surrounded by formal gardens, it is one of seven Baha'i temples in the world, and the only one in the Western Hemisphere. The dome's latticework is even more beautiful as you gaze upward from the floor of the sanctuary, which, during the day, is flooded with light. Downstairs, there is a visitor center with displays that explain the Baha'i faith. Temple members offer informal tours of the building and exhibits to anyone who inquires. Allow a half-hour.
Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
The building may be historic, but some of the attractions here will captivate the most jaded video-game addict. The first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, it was founded by Sears, Roebuck and Co. executive Max Adler, who imported a Zeiss projector from Germany in 1930.The good news for present-day visitors is that the planetarium has been updated since then. Your first stop should be the modern Sky Pavilion, where the don't-miss experience is the StarRider Theater. Settle down under the massive dome, and you'll take a half-hour long interactive virtual-reality trip through the Milky Way and into deep space, featuring a computer-generated 3D-graphics projection system and controls in the armrest of each person's seat. Six high-resolution video projectors form a seamless image above your head -- you'll feel like you're literally floating in space. (On Thurs, Fri, and Sat nights, the theater is open late for SonicVision, a head-trippy digital animation show with an alternative music soundtrack.) If you're looking for more entertainment, the Sky Theater shows movies with an astronomical bent. Recent shows have included Secrets of Saturn and Mars Now!, both of which are updated as new discoveries are made. The planetarium's exhibit galleries feature a variety of displays and interactive activities designed to foster understanding of our solar system and more. The best current exhibit is Bringing the Heavens to Earth, which traces the ways different cultures have tried to make sense of astronomical phenomena. The planetarium's signature exhibit, From the Night Sky to the Big Bang, traces changing views of the cosmos over 1,000 years and features artifacts from the planetarium's extensive collection of historical astronomical instruments (all of which can get a bit boring for kids unless they're real astronomy nuts).The museum's cafe provides views of the lakefront and skyline. On the first Friday evening of the month, visitors can view dramatic close-ups of the moon, the planets, and distant galaxies through a closed-circuit monitor connected to the planetarium's Doane Observatory telescope.Allow 2 hours, more if you want to see more than one show.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Chicago area, including:
Hampton Inn & Suites Chicago Downtown
While the Hampton Inn does attract some business travelers on a budget, it is mainly a family hotel. You can book a room, a two-room suite, or a studio; most don't have much in the way of views, but request one overlooking Illinois Street if you crave natural light. Rooms are residential and warm, with framed collages of vintage Chicago postcards on the walls. The apartment-style suites feature galley kitchens with fridges, microwaves, dishwashers, and cooking utensils. An American diner is located off the lobby, and a second-floor skywalk connects to Ruth's Chris Steak House next door. Guests with children will appreciate the indoor pool (the suites have VCRs, for when the little ones need to chill out after a busy day). Children under 18 stay free in parent's room, and there is a complimentary buffet breakfast each morning.
Flemish House of Chicago
Want to pretend you live in a grand historic mansion? Book a room at this B&B, tucked away on one of the Gold Coast's most picturesque (and expensive) streets. The entire building -- including the Flemish Revival facade that inspired its name -- was renovated in the late 1990s by innkeepers Tom Warnke (an architect) and Mike Maczka (a real-estate appraiser). Their architecture experience is evident in the rooms' tasteful decor: a mix of Victorian and Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative details that respect the home's late-19th-century design -- along with all the necessary modern amenities. The rooms are a mix of spacious studios and one-bedroom suites; all have full kitchen facilities, including stoves, fridges, and microwaves. This isn't the kind of B&B that promotes socializing; there are no common rooms, and breakfast is strictly self-serve (all the fixings are stocked in the fridge). But for independent travelers looking for a quiet, personal getaway, the location and setting are truly unique.
City Suites Hotel
A few doors down from the elevated-train stop on Belmont Avenue, this former transient dive has been transformed into a charming small hotel. Most rooms are suites, with separate sitting rooms and bedrooms, all furnished with first-rate pieces and decorated in a homey and comfortable style. The amenities are excellent for a hotel in this price range, including local limousine service, plush robes, and complimentary continental breakfast. A bonus -- or drawback, depending on your point of view -- is the hotel's neighborhood setting. Most rooms can be fairly noisy; those facing north overlook Belmont Avenue, where the nightlife continues into the early morning hours, and those facing west look right out over the rumbling El tracks. On your way in and out of the hotel you'll mingle with plenty of locals, everybody from young professional families to gay couples to punks in full regalia. Blues bars, nightclubs, and restaurants abound hereabouts, making the City Suites a find for the bargain-minded and adventuresome. Suites have fridges and microwaves on request. Room service is available from Ann Sather, a Swedish diner and neighborhood institution.
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