Friday Question #127 / Reader’s Choice Giveaway Winner
If someone was visiting your town for the first time, what local things would you make sure to show them/have them experience?
A bunch of bloggers were in Chicago last week for a conference, and seeing Chicago through their posts made me realize how special our city seems to visitors. It made me realize I am overlooking a few things on my daily trips in to the city. So, it made me wonder, what special things do you think people should see or do when they visit your city for the first time?
In Chicago:
- Visit the Bean/Millennium Park!
- Shop on Michigan Avenue
- Take the architectural boat tour
- Go to the top of the “Willis” (Sears) Tower or Hancock Building
In/Near Round Lake:
- Visit all the awesome Lake County Forest Preserves
- Go the AWESOME Mexican Bakery by our house
- Visit the Volo Auto Museum
- Go to El Famous Burrito and eat a burrito the size of a football
Of course, there are a ton of other fun things to do here… those are just some of our favorites!
The Reader’s Choice Giveaway winner is Cher, who chose the bowls! Cher, please email me your mailing address and I will send them your way.
Thanks to everyone who participated!
Themocracy
People who visit DC should, of course, do the touristy things like check out museums on the Mall (and see some of the less-visited ones, too), visit the Capitol and Wash Monument, shop in Georgetown.
But there are also some great off-the-beaten path attractions: awesome hiking trails, Baked & Wired for cupcakes (much better than tourist trap Georgetown Cupcakes), Book Hill, the Dupont Circle farmer’s market, great ethnic food on 18th street, awesome indie theatres… 😉
I always tell people to take the architecture tour! It’s so much fun… And I think it beats just walking around and going up the sears tower.
I’ve decided that the hop on and off tour buses are totally one of the best ways to show people who’ve never been to Chicago the city. At least, to show them downtown. I haven’t figured out the best way to show people that Chicago is more than just the downtown area.
Forest Park/Oak Park? The Frank Lloyd Wright house/studio (take a walking tour if the weather is nice!), walk up and down the main retail areas and eat at one of the local restaurants, and take people on a driving or walking tour of my favorite running routes.
We’ll in DC I think the things to see/do are a lot more obvious and I let my guests dictate which things they want to see the most.
I do every now and then look around while running through DC and try not to take for granted that I run by some pretty cool historical sites daily!
In and aroung the Tri-Cities (St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia), I would probably try to highlight:
*First Street development d-town St. Charles (I actually worked on this development project!)
*Third Street shops in Geneva
*Clark Island in Batavia
*Two Brothers Brewery in Warreville
*Walk on the Prairie Path or Fox River Trail
We have got to meet up on one of those trails for a run someday!
I don’t know… I think NYC is pretty boring, but then again, I’ve lived there all my life!! :/
But all the HLS posts made me realize that I went to Chicago and didn’t see 99% of the things I could have. 😉
<3 <3
I would probably take someone either to Atlantic City or Philly. The night life in both places is great and there are plenty of amazing resturants! If you are ever out this way, let me know 🙂
You know I totally will! 😀
I would take them down to Annapolis. Seriously, there are cool things in Baltimore to do, but I think that Annapolis is just beuatiful and the downtown area is historic and has a great vibe. Plus, the Naval Academy is RIGHT there and its so neat too.
PS–no need to worry about the tone on your blog. Gotta be real about what is needed to achieve sub 5. Good luck with your goal too! I can’t wait to hear about it!!!
The architecture boat tour came to mind instantly!
We’ve also taken visitors to Volo.
I need to stay away from that bakery though!
I wish I would have had more time in Chicago so I could have tried to meet up with you! My trip was so rushed, I didn’t even have time to think. It was my first time in Chicago, and I really loved it. Such a beautiful city!
I wish we could have met too! Hopefully we will have a chance in the future!
In Chicago my first stop would be The Art Institute of Chicago! Some of the most amazing works of art, beautifully displayed! Ooh! And the planetarium. And The Shedd aquarium!
I LOVED the boat tour. I still rave about it! I would go on it again. I got the most awesome photos on that tour.
I need to visit Chicago again.
well in miami the obvious is the beach! but there are actually a lot of other cool things to do here and that’s mostly what i want people to know when they visit
Mmmmm, football burritos.
Utica is tough to recommend anything exciting to anyone. Guess it would be the local Saranac brewerey tour. Then a trip up to the Adirondacks. The wineries are pretty nice provided you’re into a 2 hour drive and have a DD.
There’s a guy who has the most amazing collection of cars. It’s private but if there were a way to get a guest in there, I’d do it.
And the food…. Utica Italian food is AMAZING! I’d recommend the guest eat the local cuisine during the entire visit and…eat too much of it! 🙂
There is SO much stuff in Vancouver that visitors should see I dont even know where to start! The shopping downtown is a must, and Chinatown, the beaches, Stanley Park, the suspension bridge, the list goes on and on.
My hometown was under 500 people…so needless to say there weren’t many places to go. I am still trying to get people to visit me in Chicago so I have an excuse to go downtown and and do some fun stuff! I haven’t been here long enough and don’t have time during the school year to explore.
Here in Salt Lake, there’s lots of tourist places to go, most of it downtown. But aside from all that, a visit up to Main St in Park City is a must for anyone for their first time. Also, any of the ski report areas, both with and without snow, is a great thing. The mountains and how close we are from the city to most of them (less than 30 mins).
I love getting people who come to Chicago to visit to get out of downtown and head to the neighborhoods. There are so many cute shops and tasty restaurants to see and try around the city!
Oh gosh, my hometown is tricky. There’s so much to do in Southern California. Everyone always wants to go to Laguna Beach. There’s Disneyland. Great outdoor malls. Baseball stadiums (3 within a couple hours of each other). There are great museums and zoos — some of the best in the country. I’m not too into playing host/tour guide, or if I am in that role, I usually do more lowkey things and go to good restaurants and stuff.
First thing I think of with Madison? Fried cheese curds. I never eat them when Chris and I just go out but every time we have visitors we ALWAYS order them. Not that I’m complaining… ;).
I would take them to see the cherry blossoms if they are here during the spring time. The cherry blossom festival is one of the most famous events in my local area. People come from all over the world to witness the wonderful beauties that only last about 2-3 weeks before they die. Because I live in a small town, there would be not much to see there but in the surrounding areas there are great places to visit. I would recommend Mr. Cupcakes. It is an amazing cupcake shop with a wide assorted of cupcakes that is sure to delight anyone with a sweet tooth. I also would recommend various places that are associated with Weird NJ. It is always fun to get into a little mystery and wonder from time to time.
http://www.cherryvomit.com/2010/08/random-questions_20.html
My husband insists on taking people over “stinky bridge” when they come to visit. It’s the viaduct that crosses over Tate & Lyle, which processes soybean oil or something disgusting like that. Oh, and he insists on driving them by CAT and talking about the trucks they make there.
Ha ha. Your husband is too funny! 🙂
Thanks for the virtual tour! I still haven’t made it to Chicago unfortunately…if people visited here, I’d have to take them to the piano bar. Other than that- maybe the zoo? I don’t feel like there’s much to see.