0 Things to Do in Chicago with Dogs: 36 Hours in Downtown Chicago with Dogs

 While we love traveling, we have found everything has become twice as expensive owning dogs. Besides the cost of our own trip, boarding for two dogs can be as much as our own hotel (per night!). We've been learning more about trips to include our pups which include things we all like to do.
I recently realized the New York Times has compiled their "36 Hours in..." series into a book. 
And I thought it would be fun to make our own dog-friendly version.
Last week we wrote about 1 day in downtown Chicago with your dog.
This is our Part II.

Riverwalk

This time leave from your hotel heading in the opposite direction down Michigan Avenue. We discovered that while Miss M can navigate things like this with ease (and in costume!)  her Kryptonite is bridges. We could only cross towards the loop by going under and walking along the river. The area is fairly empty and quiet which can be good for dogs who are scared by noises.
If you are traveling in the summer, one of our favorite experiences is the Mercury Canine Cruise   which is a dog-specific architectural tour where you can cruise with your pooch down the Chicago River and part of Lake Michigan.

The Loop

The Loop is the part of downtown south of the Michigan Avenue shopping area where most people work. It's encircled by our Brown Line elevated train (which runs in a loop!) which makes it especially noisy and busy if your pup can handle it.
 In the Loop you will see much of Chicago's amazing architecture, take photos outside the famous Chicago Theater signs and over the holidays you can even visit the famous Marshall Fields windows (we did!).While most visitors don't know and they spend hours waiting in line at another location, this is where you should visit Chicago's Garret's Popcorn on Jackson or Madison (yes, it really is that good!) where you will be in and out in minutes. We also like Do-Rite donuts.
We never recommend dog parking, so only do this if you're with someone else.
Dogs aren't allowed in Millennium Park, but you can sit in Grant Park, or one of the pocket parks.

Public Art

Mr. B finds his dad!

Chicago has a lot of outdoor art including a huge Picasso statue in Daley Plaza, infamous Art Institute Lions and these unusual body sculptures in Grant Park. You can hang out in any of the plazas, or grab something to eat and sit at Buckingham Fountain.

Museum Campus and Lakefront

Some of the best views of the city are walking along the Chicago lakefront and through the museum campus. The area south of the museum campus is more isolated, and it even has stairs, which are perfect for these types of Pier Picnics. Take the lakefront path back to your hotel.

What are your must-see's that you would include in your 36 Hours?

Also:
Our dogs are cultured!
City Dogs
Dogs in Hotels
City Lights, Navy Pier, and Dogs in Nordstroms

Detail: Things to Do in Chicago with Dogs: 36 Hours in Downtown Chicago with Dogs

0 How to Be a Tourist with Dogs: Chicago "In One Day"

We've written before about how E and I aren't really museum people, and most of our vacations are spent walking around, eating, and exploring the city we're visiting. We always talk about how much more fun things could be if we included the pooches, though we suspected some things might be limiting. On our latest downtown adventure, we found the perfect balance of exploring Chicago with our pups. In true Frommer's style, here is our version of the "In One Day" tour:

Hotel Home Base:

When people asked us about dog-friendly hotels in Chicago, we never really knew what to recommend. Though after a recent experience with the James Hotel Chicago, they have become our go-to dog-friendly hotel. The gladly accepts all sizes and breeds of dogs and the staff is beyond friendly always giving the pups a friendly pat and running to grab the door for us. They provide dog beds and food bowls. The hotel is also in a really convenient location near north Michigan Avenue across from the Trader Joe's (perfect for picking up extra dog treats, people snacks, and inexpensive late-night bottles of wine). It's also near Chicago Avenue which is the entrance to the lakefront path and within short walking distance to all the activities described below so you can always make quick trips back to rest at the hotel.

Morning Walk to Navy Pier:

Start with an early morning walk to Navy Pier. Since things were less crowded downtown at this time, you can walk down Michigan Avenue taking the Illinois underpass over to Navy Pier. Usually Navy Pier can be unpleasantly filled with crowds, but if you go in the early morning you will be able to beat the crowds with plenty of photo opps and views.

You can pick up an (overpriced!) Chicago hot dog from a cart and check out some of the best skyline views in the city. See more of what our pups did at Navy Pier here, including a video from Mr' B's camera. 

Lakefront Walk:

After spending the morning at Navy Pier, take the lakefront path back towards your hotel. The lakefront spans over 18 miles passing along several neighborhoods along with skyline views. If the weather is nice out, you can even plan for this. 

Mag Mile Shopping:

If your dogs are tired, spend some time resting back at the hotel. Otherwise, you can do some dog-friendly shopping along Michigan Avenue. The Nordstrom's building is dog-friendly (with the exception of the 4th floor with the food court) and it even has a water bowl and treat stand in the back near the Nordstrom's entrance. We've also seen dogs walking through the Bloomingdales building at 900 North Michigan, we just need to doublecheck their dog policy.

Dinner:

After all of the new experiences, walking, and mental stimulation, our dogs were exhausted and they were happy to eat in the hotel while we went out to dinner by ourselves. If you aren't comfortable leaving your pups alone in the hotel room, head over to Portillio's for the best Chicago-style hotdogs, or  M Burger . Knowing how dangerous it can be to leave our dogs outside a store unattended, one of us always stays with the dogs while the other picks up food. (We wrote more about it here).
Or it's always fun to stay in the hotel with movies and room service.

City Lights:

Head out for one last night walk with the pups to see the city all lit up. Stop by Ghirardelli's for some caramel salted hot chocolate or ice-cream and check a less crowded Michigan Avenue. If your pups are interested in meeting people, walk by the Rush and Division street area. At night the area is known for drunken debauchery; someone even tried to grab Miss M's tush when she was walking there!
We also wrote more about nighttime adventures, here.

These are our recommendations for a 1-night downtown stay with your pups.
What would be your favorite part? And any locals have any other must-see's?

Also:
What we learned about staying in a hotel with dogs.
If you had a second day... 
Winter (with hats!)
We always love these staycation ideas

Detail: How to Be a Tourist with Dogs: Chicago "In One Day"

0 How to be a Tourist with Dogs: City Lights

E and I aren't really museum people. When we go on trips we usually spend most of the time walking around. Stopping to eat. Then walking around some more. And we usually talk about how much fun it would be to have the pups on vacation.

After experiencing this, we found a good mid-week hotel rate and we decided to Staycation downtown during our Spring Break. Being among the tourists made us feel more like tourists ourselves and really see the city from a new perspective. One of our favorite things E and I do on our vacations is walk around after dark to explore cities in a different way and see everything lit up by lights. Which was perfect to do with the pups in tow:

We all bundled up in thick coats and our matching scarves and headed out on the city. We were able to walk a little and eat a little (kind of like this!). We were able to grab take-out from Chicago's infamous Portillio's, and we created our own Chicago tradition of picking up salted caramel hot chocolate at Ghirardelli's. The pooches did some late night window shopping, and Miss M was especially impressed by the Princess Collection at the Disney Store.

Our first night we stayed in with the pups hanging out on the king-size bed and watching movies. By the second night the pups were so exhausted by their nightly walks, E and I were able to head out on the town by ourselves for a nice downtown dinner.

Does anyone else do any nighttime exploring?

PS. We've realized this and this are always fun dog-city vacation ideas.

And very Chicago-specific!

Detail: How to be a Tourist with Dogs: City Lights