THE CTA

The braintrust down in City Hall has decided to limit inbound Kennedy expressway (the highway from O'Hare into the city) to merely two lanes. This has made inbound traffic more lengthy. It will likely be quicker, and less frustrating, for those flying into O'Hare staying downtown hotels to take the Blue Line (the El/Subway) into the Loop. The fee is ~$5.00/person and trains leave ~ every 10 minutes.

If you'd like to take Blue Line from O'Hare, follow the signs "CTA transit to City" after arriving to the airport. This will lead you to baggage claim. Once in baggage claim, keep following the signs that say "CTA transit to City." You'll eventually get to an area with turnstiles and vending machines, called Ventra machines, where you can buy transit passes. You can purchase a hard CTA/Ventra Pass at the machine which you can load and use around Chicago. Or, if you have apple/google pay on your phone, you can use that at the turnstile but this includes an additional $2.50 fee. You can use apple/google pay method on any CTA bus or the El.

To get downtown, take the train going to "Forest Park" (inbound train). For those going to the Palmer House, get off at the Monroe stop (18 stops). Once off the train, go east on Monroe St. one block and you'll arrive at Palmer House on your right.

If you're headed to the Holiday Inn at Wolfpoint, take the Blue Line to the Clark/Lake stop (16 stops). and follow the signs to Lake Street. Lake St. sits below the elevated train tracks. Once on Lake, go east to LaSalle (one block), north on LaSalle to Wacker (the street that runs parallel with the river), west on Wacker two blocks, and then right on Orleans which will take you across the river. The hotel will be on the river to your left. If you hit Kinzie, you've gone too far.

For those flying into Midway, you won't have construction issues to deal with if you choose to taxi/uber. There is a CTA line , the Orange Line, that can bring you into the city from the airport. If you want to know how to navigate this, let us know and we'll walk you through it.

Chicago is a walkable but large city! Both Uber and Lyft are easily accessible throughout Chicago day or night.

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