shedd aquarium: We're going to see the customary Chicago sites: the Skydeck, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, and the Field Museum. We are staying in a hotel by O'Hare and I'm wondering if getting around Chicago is going to be easier by car. I've looked up the train routes online and it looks like the Blue Line will take us right into Chicago. However, it looks like quite some distance to walk from the Art Institute down to the Aquarium. Is the bus system fairly easy to plan trips or will we most likely be waiting/changing buses/waiting/etc. to get where we need to go? If we do get a can rental, is there crazy traffic which makes it hard to get around?? I'm worried about time and wondering which is more effective? Thanks for any input. :)|||I don't think renting a car here would be a good idea as you can really rely on public transportation here. But you need to vary of the timings for more effective use of it.|||for information on public transportation in the chicago-metropolitan area and other parts of illinois go to the APTA at http://www.apta.com/resources/links/unit鈥?/a>|||even if you end up taking a taxi it will be cheaper than renting a car and paying for parking.|||Well, that's not a great location for visiting the sights you mentioned, but the Blue Line does run between the airport and downtown [about 45 min each way]. Then you'd have to transfer to another line or get a taxi [say to MOSI, though there are buses that go there - takes about 45 min each way]. If you have to transfer buses or trains [aside from the Blue Line, of course], yes, it will involve waiting for the next bus/train - and knowing where to go to connect - but the usually run pretty frequently, at least during the day. If you have any option of changing your hotel to one downtown [or maybe a condo] you will save yourself a lot of time and aggravation. HomeAway.com and VRBO.com have listings of condos. You'd have to know where to stay, of course. Parking is difficult in the city itself, but at those tourist sights, there would be parking available. Are you used to driving in city traffic? It's going to take a LONG time to get from, say, MOSI back to your hotel. You'd either have to time things so as to miss rush hour traffic [which would severely limit your options] or get stuck in it. Any of those sights will have a website that will probably have a "How to Get Here" link that will tell which buses/trains to take. The CTA website has maps and may even have a "Plan Your Trip" feature [can't remember whether it does or not]. You definitely should consult a Chicago guidebook, either printed or on-line [e.g. Fodor's, Frommer's, Lonely Planet, etc.]; TripAdvisor.com is a good on-line source, too - be sure and check out the destination guide and the forums. Re Skydeck. You can get a free or fairly inexpensive view of the Chicago skyline by going to the restaurant one floor below the observation deck in the John Hancock Building. For the price of lunch [not "cheap"] or a drink, you get the view. If you go at an off hour, they may even let you just wander around without buying a meal or drink. We went at about 2:00 and they told us to just look around as much as we wanted. [Be sure and check out the view in the Ladies' Room, if you're a female!] You may want to check out the website for CityPass - it's a ticket for admission that includes several sights in Chicago. You'd have to figure out whether or not it would save you money, based on what you plan to do.|||DO NOT RENT A CAR. The parking will be an absolute headache. Take the blue line in as you said and go from there. The easiest is taxi from there. The line for the subway which is farthest east (aka closest to lake, which is where most of the museums are) is the RED line if you got into the city you could take the red line back north and then shorten the walk. Use this website and look under "to do". It is written by a local and has free days for some attractions so maybe you could save money there to put towards cabs. http://www.travelchicagowithafamily.com/鈥?/a> **If you booked through the hotel and not a discount site I would highly recommend canceling and using the discount sites to book in the city, this website has tips on that too.|||i've lived in chicago my entire life and public transportation is really the way to go. The parking prices are INSANE around here. Taking the blue line will get you downtown but u can transfer to the orange line after that which takes you around the loop all the way to midway. There are also buses too. But when your visiting a city with such fantastic public transportation there is really no sense in renting a car. Hope i helped :)