Being completely unfamiliar with Chicago, we stumbled upon this darling apartment in a 3-unit building on a charming tree-lined street with classic brownstone architectural homes from the late 1800’s. The apartment itself is newly remodeled and has nice hardwood floors, beautiful natural light and a peek-a-boo view of the lake. The beds are comfortable and the hosts were wonderful and extremely attentive.
The home is just one block from Michigan Avenue and the start of the Miracle mile - the quintessential Chicago shopping experience. Just a 5 minute walk from the home is The Oak Street Beach where you can rent lounge chairs and sit with your toes in the sand. At the other end of the block is a popular square with several bustling restaurants, a hip vibe, and plenty of late night dining. And don't miss the Original Pancake House for breakfast! Yum! A ten minute walk down Michigan Avenue will put you in front of the John Hancock building. The view from the observation deck is amazing, however we got an insider tip to go to the bar at the 95th floor instead and get a cocktail for less than the price of admission to the observation deck! We enjoyed walking down Michigan Avenue to the river and we highly recommend the architectural boat tours or kayaking (we did both!).
Being new to the Chicago experience we ate a real Chicago hot dog, deep dish pizza (make sure you go to Uno or Due for “authentic” deep dish!) and we had carmel corn from Garretts. Don’t miss going inside Macy’s near the L, as it used to be Marshal Fields, and is surprisingly beautiful inside! You can also walk to 2nd City for a comedy show. It is a bit of a walk, but worth going through Lincoln park and the Old Town area.
All in all, this was a fabulous experience and we highly recommend it!