Illinois Travel Guide - Getting There

From London to Chicago is 8 hours 40 minutes, and from New York is 2 hours.

Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) (website: www.ohare.com ) is 27km (17 miles) northwest of downtown Chicago. To/from the airport: The CTA Blue Line train provides a 24-hour service between central Chicago and O'Hare (journey time - approximately 40 minutes). Taxis and limousines are also widely available, as are shuttle buses and buses serving regional destinations. Connections from O'Hare to Midway International (see below) are provided by the Omega Airport Shuttle bus, which operates an airport transfer service, and Coach USA Wisconsin, which provides an hourly service (journey time - 1 hour). Facilities: Car hire, restaurants and full-service business support.

Domestic airports:
Midway International (MDW) (website: www.ohare.com) is 16km (10 miles) southwest from downtown Chicago. To/from the airport: Transport to the city is available on the CTA's Orange Line (journey time - 20 to 30 minutes), which connects with other CTA rail and bus routes serving the city and suburban communities. GO Airport Express shuttles run between Midway International and downtown Chicago and the northern suburbs. Taxis are also readily available; a number of other buses serve regional destinations. Facilities: Car hire, restaurants and shops.

None.

Downtown Chicago's Union Station is the focal point of the Amtrak rail passenger network (tel: 1 800 872 7245, in the USA only; website: http://www.amtrak.com/). Three of the four transcontinental lines converge here and it is also the northern terminus of north-south lines to San Antonio and New Orleans. A sixth line runs northeast to Toronto (Canada), with connections to Montreal. Services to neighbouring cities are limited.

Approximate rail journey times:
From Chicago on the 'Pennsylvanian' to New York is 21 hours; on the 'Capitol' to Washington, DC is 17 hours 45 minutes. Approximate times for Chicago-Los Angeles and Chicago-Oakland (San Francisco) services may be found in theCalifornia section.

Long-distance bus companies operating in the state include Greyhound (tel: 1 800 231 2222, in the USA only; website: www.greyhound.com), with services across the USA, and Trailways (tel: 1 800 992 4618, in the USA only; website: www.trailways.com, with services to neighbouring states. There is a 24-hour bus terminal at 603 West Harrison Street in Chicago.

Approximate driving times:
From Chicago to New York is 16 hours, and to Los Angeles is 44 hours. All times are based on non-stop driving at or below the applicable speed limits.

Approximate bus journey times:
From Chicago to St Louis is 5 to 7 hours and to New York City is 17 hours.

A wide network of bus routes run by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) (tel: (312) 836 7000; website: www.transitchicago.com) covers the city on the major north-south and east-west streets. The CTA runs both subway trains and elevated trains (the ‘L') from 'The Loop' in downtown Chicago to the suburbs. The CTA system uses a transit card system for fare payment, there are available at all elevated train stations. Commuter rail services are run by METRA.

Car hire: Cars and camper vans are available.