Giana Nicole & David Paul
Things To Do
Lakefront Trail
Our favorite place in the city is the lakefront and is also where we got engaged! There are many entry points, but the views of the skyline at North Ave Beach and Fullerton Beach are absolutely stunning. If you want to adventure even further on foot, we love the view on the north end of Diversey Harbor as well. The walking paths through Lincoln Park and the Nature Boardwalk are also beautiful. If you're lucky, you might even come across the (free!) Lincoln Park Zoo.
Architecture River Tour
The best way to see the city views and learn more about the history of Chicago is on an architecture river boat tour! There's a few different companies that run these, but our favorite is the 90 minute Lake & River tour by Wendella.
Wrigley Field
While the Cubbies will be out of season, the ballpark is still beautiful to see from the outside & Clark Street has a lot of bars that are fun to visit year round! If we had to pick one, we recommend stopping by the iconic Sluggers Bar & giving the batting cages upstairs a shot!
Chicago Riverwalk
The river walk is more towards the area of the city we call "The Loop" and is another Chicagoan favorite. It serves as a great way to experience the city on foot and admire all our our historic moveable bridges.
Good Night John Boy
A disco bar where the chance of finding love is at its highest at about 11 pm on a Friday night... or at least that's what worked for us. :) Staged to look like a 1970s basement, this bar is a nostalgic gem in the West Loop & we recommend stopping by even if it's just for a quick drink in the downstairs lounge!
Bird's Nest
The original location is in Lincoln Park off of Southport! Birds Nest has the best wings in Chicago & we're lucky to live about 10 minutes from their second location in the suburbs. David loves the Birds Nest Hot, while Giana goes for the Honey BBQ. Be sure to order the cajun curly fries with cheese sauce on the side!
Pat's Pizza & Ristorante
Our favorite pizza spot in the city! While they don't serve deep dish, Chicago tavern style is arguably better anyways. The Pat's Special and the Quatro Formagi are our favorite! If you are looking for deep dish, we recommend Pequod's. There is a location in the city and in the suburbs!
Au Cheval
Continuing on with our food recommendations... the best burger in the city. While Chicago is known mostly for our pizza and Chicago dogs, Au Cheval adds to the food scene with it's incredible burger. If you go to the location on Randolph, be sure to put your name in early as sometimes it can take up to 2 hours to be seated. We recommend grabbing a drink at a nearby bar (like Good Night John Boy) to kill time. If you're looking for a quicker option, there are tons of Small Cheval locations throughout the city and suburbs (including Rosemont!).
Crust Brewing
Another great pizza spot to try out! This is in Rosemont, near our hotel and venue, and is in the entertainment district among a lot of other great bars, restaurants, and venues.