shedd aquarium: I am leaving for Chicago with my family in two days.. very excited!! Heard that its very very cold there.. any advices? we plan to visit: *sears tower *shedd aquarium *lincoln park zoo *art institue of chicago which "order" should we go as? meaning.. i don't want to waste time commuting. also.. parking areas or restaurants(not so expensive) that you recommend. or.. any other comments or advices about chicago would be appreciated.. thanks!! =] happy holidays~|||If you're visiting the shedd aquarium you might want to visit the natural history museum that is right close by it...they're in the same neighborhood and definitely worth visiting if you're going to be in the area. It's not very far from the shedd aquarium to the sears tower, but distance tends to get exaggerated in the cold, windy, winter weather. So you will have to take a cab from the aquarium area to the sears tower area. To see the Sears tower, you'd have to take a cab over to Michigan avenue or magnificent mile as it's called and it would be fun to walk a little way down the famous street before getting into the sears tower. The art institute of chicago is on the same street (michigan ave) and so you dont necessarily have to take a cab, you can walk down the street to get to it. The lincoln zoo is a little out of the way from the rest of these places. And so once again, you'll need to take a cab to get there. I would recommend parking in one spot for the day (there are several parking garages - a little expensive though - close by michigan avenue where you could park for the entire day) and then take cabs to get around from one place to another throughout the day...it will be cheaper that way than to spend an exorbitant amount of money parking for a few hours in different places. As for restaurants, just take a walk down michigan avenue and you'll have several options...from the very, very expensive to the not so expensive hole in the wall kind of places...once you get there, you can see what tempts you. You'll definitely have quite a lot of options to choose from...from ethnic to pizza to chicago style hotdogs to gyros etc etc As for the weather, dress very, very warm. It is currently freezing and we've had record low temperatures the past couple of days here in the Midwest. The wind can get icy and sting your cheeks. You might want to dress in layers because it will be nice and warm indoors but will be extremely cold outside. I wear multiple scarves to keep me warm around the neck. LOL. Hope you have fun visiting Chicago. And happy holidays! :)|||shedd aquarium is awesome. also the museum is sweet.|||the shedd and art institute are on the same side of chicago. and yes it will be colddddd! plus its super expensive going there so make sure you bring enough money. its also a good idea to save the phone number of some cab companies because sometimes its hard to get a cab outside of the museum. if its crowded it would be easier just to call a cab, it usually only takes 5-10 min for them to get there.|||The aquarium and museums are near each other. The Sears Tower is about a mile west of there. Then the zoo is on the north side. I would take cabs. You can't do all of those in one day. It would cost a fortune, too! (although the zoo is free) There is a cute restaurant near the zoo called R.J. Grunts with a 70's theme and good salads and burgers. There is a museum pass for visitors. http://www.gochicagocard.com/ http://www.citypass.com/city/chicago.htm鈥?/a>|||for food def go to Giordano's and the hard rock cafe. go ice skating at Millenium park.|||Don't forget to pack a bullet proof vest! 400 muders so far!|||It's awesome and there is so much to do. If it is open, take an architectural tour. That was a lot of fun. Also, try to stay as far North as possible. south Chicago is kind of icky.