Chicago · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
A cheap big city by American standards, with a free zoo, a free lakefront and a flat-rate train.
Wicker Park and the Loop
Dorms sit in the Loop near Congress Parkway and out along the Blue Line in Wicker Park, which is the better neighbourhood for eating late.
What a day costs
Bed 40–65 USD, food 20–40 with a slice or an Italian beef at the low end, and a CTA day pass at 5 covering trains and buses.
Getting around cheap
A Ventra card runs the L and buses, with one-day and three-day passes. The Blue Line reaches O'Hare in 45 minutes, and Divvy bikes cover the lakefront.
Free by day
Lincoln Park Zoo opens every day of the year without charge, Millennium Park and the Bean cost nothing, and the lakefront trail runs eighteen miles.
Where travellers meet
Millennium Park by day and the dive bars of Wicker Park by night, with free volunteer-led Greeter walks pairing visitors with locals.