Public Transportation Guide

Click here for CTA's "Trip Planner" feature, where you can enter starting and ending point addresses, and they'll tell you what route to take. You can also call (773)836-7000 or (312)836-7000 anytime day or night for a real live person to help with directions.

You can buy 1, 2, 3, and 5 day passes at the airports, before you go through the turnstiles to get to the trains. We recommend these, because they give you unlimited rides for those days...so you don't have to worry about how much you have on a card, and when you'll run out. Plus, the more you use them, the less expensive each ride is. Gotta love that.

For those who aren't coming in from an airport, you can get those visitor passes at Currency Exchanges or some grocery stores, but the selection isn't as good (in other words, they'll have the 1 or 3 day but not the 5 day type). Hotel concierges should be able to give you the nearest location at which to buy the passes.

And remember, if you CAN'T get a pass, it's not a big deal...we just recommend it because it's easier.

From O'Hare Airport, catch the Blue Line into the city...hard to miss, it's the only line you CAN take from O'Hare. The "Clark and Lake" or "State and Lake" stops will put you downtown.

From Midway Airport, take the Orange Line into the city...also hard to miss. The same stops as listed above will take you downtown.

For those of you in hotels on Michigan Avenue, the #151 bus will take you right to the Historical Society. You catch it going Northbound at any stop along Michigan, and get off at the LaSalle/North intersection. Sometimes the bus drivers will yell out the stop before it happens, but if you don't have a vocal driver, don't hesitate to ask him or her to let you know when that stop approaches. From the top of Michigan Avenue to the Historical Society is about 10 minutes.

Other buses that take you to the Historical Society are the #135 LaSalle, the #36 Broadway, and the #22 Clark. The most frequent runners are the Broadway and Clark buses.

You can take the #146 bus south from Lakeview (where we live) and Michigan Avenue to get to the museum campus (Field Museum, Aqarium, Planetarium). The #10 Museum Express and the #6 Jeffrey Express take you even further south to the Museum of Science and Industry.

CTA also has a pretty handy link to city attractions and how to get there.

Tips for using Chicago's public transportation system