United Airlines Flights from Lexington (LEX) to Chicago (ORD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on United Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Lexington (LEX) to Chicago (ORD), departing between 10:43am and 4:46pm, and 2 additional non-stop flights, departing between 6:00am and 1:43pm on select days of the week. Usually a Canadair Regional Jet is flown for this route. The average travel time from Lexington, KY to Chicago, IL is 1 hour and 29 minutes.
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During your Chicago vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
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.
International Museum of Surgical Science
This unintentionally macabre shrine to medicine is my pick for the weirdest tourist attraction in town. Not for the faint of stomach, it is run by the International College of Surgeons and is housed in a historic 1917 Gold Coast mansion designed by the noted architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, who modeled it after Le Petit Trianon at Versailles. Displayed throughout its four floors are surgical instruments, paintings, and sculptures depicting the history of surgery and healing practices in Eastern and Western civilizations. The exhibits are old-fashioned (no interactive computer displays here!), but that's part of the museum's odd appeal.You'll look at your doctor in a whole new way after viewing the trepanned skulls excavated from an ancient tomb in Peru. The accompanying tools were used to bore holes in patients' skulls, a horrific practice thought to release the evil spirits causing their illness (some skulls show signs of new bone growth, meaning that some lucky headache-sufferers actually survived this low-tech surgery). There are also battlefield amputation kits, a working iron-lung machine in the polio exhibit, and oddities such as a stethoscope designed to be transported inside a top hat. Other attractions include an apothecary shop and dentist's office (ca. 1900), re-created in a historic street exhibit, and the hyperbolically titled "Hall of Immortals," a sculpture gallery depicting 12 historic figures in medicine, from Hippocrates to Madame Curie.
Polish Museum of America
One million people of Polish ancestry live in Chicago, giving the city the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw. So it's no surprise that Chicago is the site of the Polish Museum of America, located in the neighborhood where many of the first immigrants settled. The museum has one of the most important collections of Polish art and historical materials outside Poland (it is also the largest museum in the United States devoted exclusively to an ethnic group). The museum's programs include rotating exhibitions, films, lectures, and concerts, and a permanent exhibit about Pope John Paul II. There is also a library with a large Polish-language collection, and archives where visitors can research genealogical history (call in advance if you want to look through those records). Allow a half-hour.
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.
The Claridge
If a modest, cost-effective option in a lovely setting within walking distance of Michigan Avenue, Division Street, Old Town's nightlife, and Lincoln Park's many attractions sounds pretty good to you, don't dismiss The Claridge. Ask for a room above the eighth floor that overlooks the tree-lined street (kings and double-doubles are spacious and sunny); avoid at all cost the dark "king superior" rooms, which look onto the fire escape. Some deluxe accommodations have sitting areas, and three executive suites on the 14th floor have working fireplaces.The Claridge won't overwhelm you with facilities; the hotel's restaurant and bar are both quite small. Where this hotel really wins its Brownie points is for the very pleasant staff and nice touches such as freshly baked cookies at turndown. In the lobby, there's a cozy sitting area where you can linger over your complimentary continental breakfast. The surrounding neighborhood of elegant town houses makes a great place for a stroll -- without the traffic and noise of other downtown neighborhoods.
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.
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 United Airlines