Getting to The Great Lace
🏙️ The Loop
“The Loop” refers to Chicago’s central business district, and the heart of Chicago tourism. The nickname refers to the “looped” intersection of the city’s train lines, which sit on elevated tracks that we lovingly refer to as “The L”.
“The Loop” is the preferred location to stay for the majority of Chicago’s tourists and it’s a well connected, central location with access to everything the city has to offer.
🏨 Where to Stay
The Palmer House is a historic hotel near Millennium Park (home of “The Bean”) and The Art Institute of Chicago. The Palmer House is our recommended stay for travelers who want to stay close to the event and appreciate the charm of a historic building.
If you decide to stay off site at another hotel, we recommend choosing a hotel that is near any CTA train station (This is the same thing as ”The L”).
The CTA
CTA stands for “Chicago Transit Authority” and does not refer to any specific train or bus. If someone in Chicago says something like “I took the CTA to get here”, they’re saying “I took public transit to get here”.
The “L” is a nickname given to the CTA’s network of trains and also does not refer to a specific train.
The CTA is one of the largest public transportation systems in the United States.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) averages 765,566 rides on a typical weekday.
All CTA trains can take you downtown.
The Orange 🧡 Brown🤎Purple💜Green💚and Pink 🩷 lines have a station next to the Palmer House. (Get off Adams/Wabash or Washington/Wabash)
When Chicagoans refer to “The Loop”, they’re referring to the elevated train tracks where these 5 train lines converge and “loop” around the downtown area before going back to the north, south, or west side of downtown. They might also be referring to the downtown neighborhood immediately surrounding these tracks.
The red ♥️ and blue lines 💙 can get you a short 0.2 mile walk (Get off at Monroe or Jackson) from the Palmer House
The further you stay from The Palmer House the longer your journey will be, but all journeys will be direct as long as you stay near a CTA station.
🚗 Parking:
If you live driving distance from Chicago and you’re planning on driving in for the event, expect to pay for parking. The Palmer House has a paid designated parking deck available.
Some garages, like the Millennium Parking Garage, offer cheaper rates when you pay for parking online in advance.
If you’re staying in Chicago, we recommend parking your car once and leaving it there for the duration of the event. You won’t need it to get around!
Spot Angels is another great resource for comparing parking rates in Chicago:
🛩️ Flying to The Great Lace
Chicago is one of the most accessible cities in the world via air! We have two airports and hundreds of direct flights per day.
🧑✈️ Which airport should I choose?
Short answer: It doesn’t matter, they’re both perfectly good airports, and how much of a choice you get depends on where you’re flying out of and airline preference.
O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Located about 14 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, near the suburb of Rosemont. Accessible via I-90 and the CTA Blue Line.
- One of the busiest airports in the world. Many flight options for international and domestic flights.
- Hub for American Airlines and United but many airline options available.
- Larger with more dining, shopping, and lounge options. Terminals 1-4 are mostly domestic flights. Terminal 5 is focused on international flights.
- Airport Chili’s
Midway International Airport (MDW)
- Situated about 10 miles southwest of downtown Chicago, near the neighborhood of Garfield Ridge. Accessible via I-55 and the CTA Orange Line.
- Smaller. Mostly domestic flights with a few international flights.
- Hub for Southwest Airlines. Many budget-airline flights as well.
- Smaller size with fewer dining, shopping, and lounge options than O’Hare but recently expanded their dining options and added a lounge.
🚗 Traveling via Car from the Airport
🚘 Ride share
You may take a rideshare from the airport but you may need to go to a designated rideshare area at the airport for pickup. At O’Hare, Ubers are allowed to pickup passengers at Terminal 2 on the departures level. At Midway, rideshare service pickup areas are on baggage claim level.
Traveling from either airport to downtown can take anywhere from 15 to 90 minutes depending on traffic and time of day. Rush hour tends to occur between 6-9am and 4pm-7pm, so plan accordingly!
🚖 Taxi
Taxis are readily available at both airports at the taxi stand. Taxi rates may vary. Do not accept any taxi rides offered to you outside the taxi stand line. There is usually a worker at the airport directing to prevent these sort of scams.
🚗 Car Rental
We don’t recommend renting a car at the airport to attend The Great Lace. If you’re staying in the Loop, you won’t need a car to get around and parking can be quite expensive downtown.
🚌 Getting Around on the CTA
🎫 Purchasing tickets
Transit fare from the airport to the city is $5, which is the same cost as a day pass. Once you’re in the city, all rides cost $2.50.
A day pass includes unlimited rides on local trains and buses for 24hrs. If you expect that you might plan on doing some sightseeing the same day you land, we recommend purchasing a day pass. Unlimited 3-day and 7-day passes are also available.
There’s 3 ways to pay your fare on the CTA:
- You can use a kiosk outside the train station to purchase a ticket or physical Ventra card.
- You can create an account through the Ventra app
- You can pay your fare by tapping your credit/debit card or your phone enabled with Google Pay/Apple pay.
Tip: If you’re using your phone, make sure your phone is unlocked when you tap, or you may get an error.
Read more:
💳“Tapping On”
At the entrance to the train station, you’ll see a series of turnstiles. Each of these turnstiles will have an NFC pad on your right hand side. You’ll tap your ticket, Ventra card, credit card, or phone directly on the NFC pad to get through the turnstile.
We call this “tapping on”!
If you ride a CTA bus during your visit, you’ll tap onto the bus the same way.
In some cities, you also have to “tap off” because public transit fare is based on distance. Chicago is not one of those cities-you do not have to “tap off”. When you arrive at your desired station, simply follow the exit signs out of the station.
♿Accessibility
Most CTA train stations (including O’Hare and Midway) have elevators, but not all of them do.
Here’s a list of accessible train stations:
Transit Chicago Accessible Stations
Helpful tip: Check CTA System Status before you go for information about events (including service changes and elevator notices) which may affect your trip.
Transit Chicaago Elevator Alerts
All CTA buses are wheelchair accessible.
There are no hills in downtown Chicago and you can expect all roads in the area near the Palmer House to have sidewalks and crosswalks.
🚃 Traveling via CTA Train (aka “The L”)
If you’ve never taken public transit before, fear not!
Taking a CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) train is the most direct and the most affordable way to get from airport to hotel. Depending on time of day, it’s usually the fastest too.
This option is ideal if you’re carrying one suitcase or less per person and it’s possible to walk short distances (5-10 minutes) with your luggage. It does not require stairs.
Read More:
🛑 End of the line, pal!
Both O’Hare airport and Midway airport are at the end of their respective train lines. This means it’s impossible for you to accidentally get on the wrong train.
The Blue Line is the only CTA train that goes to O’Hare. The Orange Line is the only train that goes to Midway. If you “tap on” and walk onto a CTA train at the airport, you are going the right way!
✈️ From O’Hare Airport
The most direct route from O’Hare to The Palmer House is the CTA blue line.
If you use Google Maps, it might suggest that you take the Metra NCS line from O’Hare instead of the Blue line. Don’t do this-it’s more expensive, longer, comes less frequently, and you’d have to transfer to the blue line at Union station anyway.
💙 Getting to the Blue Line from Terminals 1, 2 and 3
If you’re coming from domestic and international flights arriving at Terminals 1, 2 or 3, follow signs in the airport to “CTA Trains” or “Trains to City.” These will lead you to the train station. You can walk from the baggage claim to the train in under ten minutes from any of these three terminals. The O’Hare blue line station is accessible by elevator.
💙 Getting to the Blue Line from (International) Terminal 5
If you’re coming from international flights that land in Terminal 5, follow signs to the Airport Transit System (ATS). Ride the next train to Terminal 2 and exit the train at the station. Then, follow signs to “CTA Trains” or “Trains to City.” The O’Hare blue line station is accessible by escalator and elevator.
💙 The Blue Line Station
Follow the light up signs that say “Next Train” (or just look around, and see which train everyone else is getting on. That’s the one!)
Once you’re on the blue line, it’ll take you about 45 minutes to get to Monroe station or Jackson Station
💙 If you can do stairs: Get Off at Monroe
When you exit Monroe station at Monroe and Dearborn, you’re going to walk east on Monroe St (towards the Hampton Inn on your left) for about 0.2 miles.
💙 If you can’t do stairs: Get off at Jackson
Jackson is about 0.3 miles away from the Palmer House. Exit the station going North towards Adams, then turn right on Adams and left at the Starbucks on state. The Palmer House will be on your right.
✈️ From Midway Airport
🧡 Getting to the Orange Line
Midway station is situated just east of the airport terminal building and is connected to the airport via an elevator and an indoor enclosed walkway
From your terminal, follow signs for baggage claim. From baggage claim, follow the signs to “CTA Trains” or “Trains to City” from the airport.
You’ll stay on the Orange line for about 30-35 minutes.
❤️🚫 Don’t transfer to the Red Line
Google Maps might suggest transferring from the Orange Line to the Red Line at Roosevelt. This could technically shave off a few minutes, but only if the Red Line departs exactly when you get to the platform, and it’s going to make you do a lot of walking that you don’t need to do. We don’t recommenced this-it’s not necessary to get on a different train: the Orange Line will drop you off directly at the Palmer House.
🧡 If you can do stairs: Get off at Adams and Wabash
The Palmer House is only a few steps away from the station.
🧡 If you can’t do stairs: Get off at Washington and Wabash
Washington and Wabash is about a block (0.1 miles) away from the Palmer House and has an elevator.
🚂 From Ogilvie Transportation Center (Metra)
If you live in the Chicagoland area, you might be taking a regional train into the city that ends at Ogilvie Transportation Center, which is 0.8 miles from the Palmer House Hotel. Ogilvie is about a 20 minute walk from The Palmer House.
For transit options, take the Green/Pink line from Clinton to Washington and Wabash (elevator available) or Adams and Wabash (no elevator available). This will result in a shorter walk but it will take more time than walking because you’ll have to wait for the train.
You can also take a rideshare or taxi.
Google Maps Ogilvie Transportation Center
🚂 From Union Station (Amtrak, Metra)
If you’re taking an Amtrak train or a regional train that ends at Union Station, you can 0.7 miles to the Palmer House if you are up for a walk. Otherwise, you can take rideshare/taxi or the 151 bus.
The 151 bus from Union Station will take you to Adams & Wells, which is 0.3 miles from the Palmer House.