Chicago Midway Airport Mini Guide
Why Would I be Visiting Chicago?
It’s perhaps a silly question as there are so many reasons to visit. The city has as strong industrial and commercial heart so you may well be coming here on business or the city’s historic and cultural attractions may have tempted you to visit the ‘Windy City’. For whatever reason, you won’t be disappointed. The city is second only in popularity to
New York with 45 million people visiting last year. They come for the theatre, the shopping, the skyline and for beautiful Lake Michigan.
How do I get into Chicago?
If you’re coming from other US cities and using the budget airline Southwest, then you’ll almost certainly fly into Midway Airport, it’s the closest one to the city and you can get into the centre on the metro’s Orange Line or by bus, airport shuttle, taxi or hire car. The most spectacular way is by road as the highway approaches then travels between the rows of skyscrapers, a view that is often used in films shot in the city.
What’s the Airport Like?
As you’d imagine with American city airports, it’s big, bold, shiny and full of facilities. Designed in the shape of a plane, it has its own radio station of sorts playing music that is typical of the city. If you like what you’ve heard and remember the time you can even look it up on the airport’s website and download it!
What do I do on Arrival?
The procedure is easy, baggage collection is quick but you may be a little longer in passport control because of homeland security measures but will soon be out ready to hit the city. If you need help, the public information desk is clearly signed and there’s a great willingness to do all they can to help. Hire car desks are also easily located and will get you underway quickly.
And on Departure?
Once again, security can take a little while but once through there is a plethora of shops and restaurants to keep you occupied and fed until you are called to the gate. There’s free Wi-Fi too for checking your emails.
You’ll need a hire car to make the most of this huge and electrifying city. See it first by taking a boat trip on Lake Michigan. By day the skyscrapers reach their glassy fingers up into the sky whilst at night their lights add more stars to the dark sky.
Take some time there to see the sports which pit the city’s inhabitants against each other. Nothing sums up sports rivalry like a Cubs vs White Sox baseball game when the stadium is bursting and the ticketless are crammed around screens in the city’s bars.