Feeling lost in a big, new city? Need something to do with friends? Bored out of your mind? Here’s a list of 10 Chicago/SAIC focused to-do’s for incoming students!
Try a Chicago-based chain (Portillo’s, Garrett’s Popcorn, Giordano’s, Potbelly, etc.)
Visit Lake Michigan (via Oak Street Beach, The Concrete Beach, North Avenue Beach, Ohio Street Beach, etc.)
Ride every CTA train line (Blue, Red, Purple, Orange, Green, Brown, Pink, and the elusive Yellow)
Visit a popular Chicago public space (Millennium Park, Maggie Daley Park, Navy Pier, Wicker Park, Art on the Mart, etc.)
Find YOUR grocery store (Trader Joe’s, H-Mart, Aldi’s, farmers markets, Cermak, Jewel, etc.)
Watch a movie at the Gene Siskel Center (SAIC students get discounted tickets, and “Conversations at the Edge” showings are free!)
Find your hobby happy place (Village Discount, AlleyCat Comics, Reckless Records, Rotofugi, etc.)
Visit a foodie neighborhood (Chinatown, Pilsen, Heart of Chicago, etc.)
Watch a performance at a local venue (The Salt Shed, The Empty Bottle, Buddy Guy’s Legends, the iO Theater, the Vic, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, etc.)
Visit a Chicago museum (Students get free access to the Art Institute, but there’s also the Field Museum, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, the Adler Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and so many more!)
