Chicago is a city of big dreams and grand plans, magnificent shopping, unique neighborhoods and world-class museums. While Terminus is in Chicago, you may want to experience some of what Chicago itself has to offer – and what better way to do so than with other Harry Potter fans?
For those who are in town before or after Terminus, we invite you to indulge your adventurous side with some excursions to the sights of Chicago. While we cannot possibly hit every highlight, our team has chosen a few that we think might interest you.
Excursions will be led by conference volunteers. We will provide the information, such as directions and transportation routes, hours of operation and price of admission. We will not provide the cost of participating, such as transportation, admission or souvenirs; each attendee who chooses to go on an Excursion must pay his or her own way. Additionally, we encourage you to be on time; tardy participants may be left behind, either going there or coming home.
Excursions
Architectural Boat Tour
Date: Wednesday, August 6
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 2-2.5 hours
Costs: Adults $34; Seniors $32; ages 7-18 $20
Transportation: Please bring additional funds for cab fare to and from the tour.
Chicago is known for its architecture and its waterways - what better way to experience Chicago than by combining the two? According to the Chicago Sun-Times this tour is, “without question the best architectural tour available in Chicago; witty, informative, engaging.” The Chicago Line Tours has partnered with the Chicago History Museum to bring you an exciting and accurate history of Chicago and its breathtaking architecture.
Art Institute of Chicago
Date: Thursday, August 7
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 2 – 4 hours
Costs: Adults $12; Students/Children/Seniors $7; Group tours $11 per person
Transportation: The Art Institute is a short walk from the Hilton Chicago Hotel.
One of the great art museums of the world, the Art Institute of Chicago presents a collection spanning 5,000 years of artistic expression. Paintings, prints and drawings, sculptures, photographs, video, textiles, and architectural drawings and fragments are complemented by a year-round schedule of exhibitions. The Institute is known for its collection of Impressionist works.
Baseball Game
Date: Monday, August 11
Time: 5:30 p.m. (7:00 game)
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 3 – 5 hours
Costs: $17-65 for tickets
Transportation: Please bring additional funds for subway fare to and from the game.
Take me out to the ball game! Baseball is America’s pastime and both the Cubs and the White Sox are part of Chicago lore. While the Cubs don’t play on August 11, the White Sox will face the Seattle Mariners.
Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain and the Cloud Gate (aka the Bean)
Date: Wednesday, August 6
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 1 – 2 hours
Costs: Free
Transportation: Please note that this is a walking tour.
Grant Park's beginnings date to 1835, when foresighted citizens, fearing commercial lakefront development, lobbied to keep the park's original area east of Michigan Avenue as "public ground forever to remain vacant of buildings." Today, proudly referred to as Chicago's "front yard" because of its location on Lake Michigan, Grant Park features some of Chicago’s most-visited sights, including the famous Cloud Gate (the giant metal bean) and Buckingham Fountain, which shoots 150-foot-high jets of water every hour and was designed to represent Lake Michigan with the four horses symbolizing the four states that touch the lake.
Lincoln Park Zoo
Date: Monday, August 11
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 2 – 2.5 hours plus travel time
Costs: Free general admission; Carousel $2.50; Paddle boats $12 per 30 minutes; Swan boats $16 per 30 minutes; African Safari Ride $4 for zoo members or $5 for non-members
Transportation: Please bring additional funds for subway fare to and from the zoo.
Lincoln Park Zoo is a world of wildlife in the shadow of skyscrapers. Located within a verdant park just minutes north of Chicago, the zoo has been a natural, free oasis for generations of animal lovers who come to hear a lion’s roar echo off nearby apartment buildings, see gorillas climb trees as the Sears Tower looms in the distance, or forget where they are as they immerse themselves in tropical rainforests, dry-thorn forests or spacious savannas.
Museum Campus (Adler Planetarium, Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium)
Date: Thursday, August 7
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 2 – 4 hours
Costs: Adler Planetarium: Adults $8, Children $6; Field Museum: Adults $14, Students/Seniors $11 with ID, Children $8; Shedd Aquarium: Adults $8-27.50, Children $6-20.50
Transportation: Attendees may choose to walk or may share cabs. If you intend to share a cab, please bring additional funds for cab fare.
Three world-class museums – the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, the Field Museum of Natural History and the Shedd Aquarium – make up the center of Chicago’s museum campus. All three were constructed in their present locations in the 1920s and 30s, and endowments from prominent Chicago citizens made their existence possible. Today, the Adler Planetarium boasts 35,000 square feet of exhibit space in the oldest planetarium in the western hemisphere. The Shedd Aquarium, a national historic landmark, houses more than 2,100 species of fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians and insects. Perhaps most impressive, the Field Museum of Natural History, named for Marshall Field, its largest benefactor, includes world-class collections in natural history, including the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton named Sue.
Navy Pier
Date: Thursday, August 7
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 1 – 1.5 hours
Costs: Free admission to Navy Pier; Ferris Wheel $6; other rides $5; Fun-House maze $9.95; IMAX theater $10-15
Transportation: Please bring additional funds for cab fare.
Navy Pier, a 3,000-foot long pier, stretches out into Lake Michigan, ending in a 150-foot high Ferris Wheel. Attractions include an IMAX theater, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Chicago Children's Museum, the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, and a statue of Chicago comedian Bob Newhart. Navy Pier showcases a unique collection of restaurants and shops in addition to recreational and exhibition facilities – in a setting like no other!
Pizzeria Uno’s and Due’s
Date: Tuesday, August 5
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 2-2.5 hours including travel and wait time
Costs: starts at $6
Transportation: Please bring additional funds for cab fare.
The legend known as Chicago-style deep-dish pizza was created by Pizzeria Uno’s – and as they say, often imitated, but never duplicated. If you like your crust thick and your sauce on top, or even if you’d just like to see what all the fuss is about, join us at Pizzeria Uno’s, and Pizzeria Due’s, their second restaurant a block over. Please bring additional funds for cab fare.
Sears Tower
Date: Thursday, August 7
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Meeting Place: The clock in the entry of the Hilton Chicago Hotel
Length of Trip: 1-1.5 hours
Costs: $12.95-25
Transportation: Please bring additional funds for cab fare.
At 1,353 feet, the Skydeck at Sears Tower is the highest observatory in Chicago. Once the tallest building in the world, the 110 stories of the Sears Tower now include museum-quality exhibits on the past and present of Chicago.
