Things To Do
Wendella Tours & Cruises
It is located just 0.4 miles from the Ivy Room (9-minute walk). Explore all three branches of the Chicago River on a journey through the heart of the city. This riverboat excursion introduces passengers to Chicago’s legendary architecture, narrated by a professionally trained architectural guide. Outdoor and climate-controlled indoor seating is first-come, first-served so it’s best to book ahead. It’s a unique way to see the city.
Beatrix
Beatrix is a neighborhood coffeehouse, restaurant and meeting place just 4 blocks from the Ivy Room. It is open 7am-9pm. The menu has a wide variety of delicious options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and have a separate gluten-free menu. They are known for their iconic coffee and bakery counter, including signature cookies, in-house pastry favorites and our house blends from Beatrix Coffee Roasters, featuring Light, Dark, Espresso and Decaf roasts.
Nando's PERi-PERi
Nando's is located 0.4 miles from the Ivy Room (9 minute walk). We love all their food! Be sure to get the PERi-PERi sauce! "Close to the Navy Pier and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Nando’s Streeterville restaurant is helping the people of Chicago find their spicy place, one piece of flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken at a time. Always fresh, never frozen, our chicken is marinated in PERi-PERi for 24-hours, and flame-grilled to order in the heat level of your choice. And a little secret you may not know…we partner with small-scale farmers in Southern Africa to source our authentic PERi-PERi chilis."
True Food Kitchen
True Food Kitchen is just a 4 minute walk from the Ivy Room. "At True Food Kitchen, our menu is carefully crafted so that every bite and every refreshing sip serve up big flavor, an abundance of fresh ingredients and a taste of the unexpected. Our artisan chefs create crave-worthy classics alongside a steady rotation of seasonal offerings that take advantage of naturally ripe fruits and vegetables so their flavor is full and their nutrients, rich. Creative, hand-crafted beverages built around seasonality, quality ingredients and simple preparations complement every occasion from brunch, lunch, dinner and, of course, dessert. Always room for dessert."
RPM Italian
Just a 6 minute walk from the Ivy Room. "Located in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, RPM Italian is modern in approach and Italian in spirit, featuring a contemporary menu with dishes meant to be shared."
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is 1.2 miles from the Ivy Room (7 minute drive). It is a 3,300-foot-long pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Navy Pier encompasses over 50 acres of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family attractions and exhibition facilities and is one of the top destinations in the Midwestern United States, drawing over nine million visitors annually.
Shedd Aquarium
It is located 2.7 miles from the Ivy Room. It is open 9am-5pm Sunday-Friday, and 9am-6pm Saturdays. Shedd Aquarium is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago. It opened on May 30, 1930, the 5 million US gal aquarium was for some time the largest indoor facility in the world. Today it holds about 32,000 animals. Shedd Aquarium was the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater fish collection. It is located on Lake Michigan, on the Museum Campus Chicago, along with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum of Natural History.
Garfield Park Conservatory
Garfield Park Conservatory is located 7.4 miles from Ivy Room (15 minute drive). Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory is one of the largest and most stunning botanical conservatories in the nation. Often referred to as “landscape art under glass,” the Conservatory showcases thousands of plant species from around the world throughout eight indoor display gardens. Year-round, visitors can enjoy the lush flora and tropical temperatures indoors, or more than 10 acres of outdoor gardens, nature play spaces for children, water lily pond, and much more.
Chicago Botanic Garden
This is 23 miles from Ivy Room (28 minutes). The Chicago Botanic Garden opened 50 years ago as a beautiful place to visit, and it has matured into one of the world's great living museums and conservation science centers. Every year, more than one million people visit the Garden's 28 gardens and four natural areas, uniquely situated on 385 acres on and around nine islands, with six miles of lake shoreline. The Garden also has a renowned Bonsai Collection.