{"id":89705,"date":"2014-02-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelstartblg.wpenginepowered.com\/24-hours-in-chicago\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T13:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T13:51:53","slug":"24-hours-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelstart.co.za\/blog\/24-hours-in-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"24 Hours in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/travelstartstg.wpenginepowered.com\/24-hours-in-chicago\/chicago\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-31422\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-31422\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/travelstartmu.wpenginepowered.com\/zablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/10\/Chicago.png\" width=\"421\" height=\"420\" \/><\/a>Before I begin: a disclaimer. I don\u2019t think you should only spend 24 hours in Chicago. I think it\u2019s a dreadful waste of an awesome city. But if, say, you\u2019re catching a train from New York to Chicago, and another one from Chicago to San Francisco, and if, say, the time between the two can only be 24 hours, then here\u2019s what I think you should do:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Go on an architectural boat tour<\/strong><br \/>\nThis is a surprising recommendation for me, because I am usually violently opposed to tours or acting like a tourist. But this is an exception (there are a few others). The architectural boat tour in Chicago is amazing. You take a journey up and down the river, alongside which are the most extraordinary display of architectural delights, while a tour guide (most probably rather funny, as ours was) explains about the buildings, the architects, and the time they were built in. It\u2019s fascinating, and not something you could do on your own.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eat deep-dish pizza<\/strong><br \/>\nIf you\u2019re like me (and most South Africans?) deep dish pizza probably doesn\u2019t appeal to you alllll that much. I think we\u2019re a nation of thin crust pizza lovers, but I could be mistaken\u2026 That said, Chicago is famous for their deep-dish pizza, and for good reason! It\u2019s a taste explosion \u2013 more of a pie than a pizza, and packed full of deliciousness.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Walk around downtown \u2013 and visit the bean<\/strong><br \/>\nWhy is it that a giant shiny silver kidney bean is so fascinating? You\u2019ll have to ask the hundreds of visitors who come to take photos here every day\u2026 It really is as awesome as it looks, especially seeing as it\u2019s surrounded by any number of other interesting features, like the giant face waterfall and amazing views of the Chicago skyline. Buy yourself an ice-cream, take a wander, and revel in a truly fascinating city\u2026 Even if it\u2019s only for 24 hours.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before I begin: a disclaimer. I don\u2019t think you should only spend 24 hours in Chicago. I think it\u2019s a dreadful waste of an awesome city. But if, say, you\u2019re catching a train from New York to Chicago, and another one from Chicago to San Francisco, and if, say, the time between the two can only be 24 hours, then here\u2019s what I think you &#8230; <a title=\"24 Hours in Chicago\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.travelstart.co.za\/blog\/24-hours-in-chicago\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about 24 Hours in Chicago\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":89706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_destination_ratings":[],"_destination_review_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,445],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","category-destinations-travel","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>24 Hours in Chicago - Travelstart Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.travelstart.co.za\/blog\/24-hours-in-chicago\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"24 Hours in Chicago - Travelstart Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Before I begin: a disclaimer. I don\u2019t think you should only spend 24 hours in Chicago. I think it\u2019s a dreadful waste of an awesome city. But if, say, you\u2019re catching a train from New York to Chicago, and another one from Chicago to San Francisco, and if, say, the time between the two can only be 24 hours, then here\u2019s what I think you ... 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