First time rider, here... Arriving in Chicago Union Station via CZ (roomette) at 2:30pm and staying overnight in a nearby hotel. Departing Union Station the next day on LSL (another roomette) later in the evening at 9:30pm. As a sleeper car ticket holder, can I enter, exit and re-enter the Metropolitan Lounge multiple times? Or is it a one-time entry for the day of your ticket?
Chicago Metropolitan Lounge re-entry?
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trimetbusfan
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Yes, you can enter as many times as you’d like as long as you have a same day sleeper ticket (which you do for both days). The first time you check in, the lounge attendant will give you a wristband for the day to make the re entry process faster.
Inside the Lounge there should be coffee, juice, sodas, water and hot water for tea. There will also be prepackaged snacks and fruit, although these tend to run out later in the day. The escalator up to the Food Court is located close by. There you will find a number of places where you can obtain food.
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Just snacks, maybe some fruit.
In the station there's a food court up on the mezzanine level with several options. Cannot really comment on them since I haven't used any since my favorite there, Gold Coast Dogs, closed up some years ago.
Outside, there's Lou Mitchell's a half block west on Jackson. Giordono's Pizza a couple blocks east on Jackson, the French Market food stalls in the Northwestern Station a few blocks north. There's no shortage of good food options in the area.
Personally, Lou Mitchell's is a mandatory stop for me on a Chicago layover.
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There is a lot of discussion of Chicago restaurants mixed in with this discussion of Chicago Union Station:
https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/chicago-union-station-discussion.83465/page-3#post-1014229
https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/chicago-union-station-discussion.83465/page-3#post-1014229
And welcome to Amtrak Unlimited, kat. Where are you boarding the California Zephyr?
Website showing what restaurants are in Chicago Union Station. https://chicagounionstation.com/retail
Thank you for the great food recommendations! I'm beginning the CZ trip in Emeryville, following a 3-leg journey originating in San Diego. Thruway bus to Irvine, Pacific Surfliner to Santa Barbara, then boarding an all-night thruway bus to Emeryville. Feeling a tad nervous about reaching Emeryville on time. The night bus is supposed to arrive in EMY at 6:00am, assuming there are no delays. I'd REALLY hate to miss the 8:30am CZ departure. Also, does anyone ever sleep on that overnight bus?
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I am assuming that you are not familiar with Chicago so I will make a few additional comments.
You have a long layover in Chicago and there are many great attractions there some of which are a short Uber/taxi/bus ride away. I suggest that you consider the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute or the Chicago River Architecture tour. My wife and I walked from Union Station to the Art Institute and back one day so it is doable but it takes a while. You can spend a good part of a day at either the Aquarium or the Art Institute.
Chicago also has many fine restaurants so I hope you don't spend all your time at the food court at Union Station although I think the food offerings there have improved in recent years. We have gone to the Greek Islands Restaurant on Adams and Halstead (as I recall) many times between trains. It is about a ten minute walk from Union Station. My wife and I have gone there several times for dinner at 5-6 p.m. and had plenty of time to get back to the station before the Lakeshore departs. I have also gone there solo several times. If you are at the Art Institute you may want to check out the Russian Tea Time restaurant nearby. You can check out their websites.
I hope you have a great trip and will post a report of your trip.
You have a long layover in Chicago and there are many great attractions there some of which are a short Uber/taxi/bus ride away. I suggest that you consider the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute or the Chicago River Architecture tour. My wife and I walked from Union Station to the Art Institute and back one day so it is doable but it takes a while. You can spend a good part of a day at either the Aquarium or the Art Institute.
Chicago also has many fine restaurants so I hope you don't spend all your time at the food court at Union Station although I think the food offerings there have improved in recent years. We have gone to the Greek Islands Restaurant on Adams and Halstead (as I recall) many times between trains. It is about a ten minute walk from Union Station. My wife and I have gone there several times for dinner at 5-6 p.m. and had plenty of time to get back to the station before the Lakeshore departs. I have also gone there solo several times. If you are at the Art Institute you may want to check out the Russian Tea Time restaurant nearby. You can check out their websites.
I hope you have a great trip and will post a report of your trip.
That's an ambitious itinerary but should be doable. Just curious, why such a hurry to connect in Emeryville? Would it be possible to adjust the first part of your trip to a day earlier, do some sightseeing in San Francisco/Oakland, stay in a hotel by the Emeryville station and just walk over the next morning? You'll have a great time on the train, but you'll be wiped out the first day on the CZ. The first day is really amazing, up the headwaters of SF Bay, the foothills, the Sierras, Donner Pass and down the hill to Reno. You don't want to sleep through it.
It sounds like a dream trip, so I'd slow down a bit and enjoy the journey. You'll be fine in Chicago, lots of things to do there. The above suggestions are great, but I'd throw in the Museum of Science and Industry, possibly the greatest science museum in the world. The tour of the German U505 submarine and the Pioneer Zephyr train are worth the trip alone.
I'm very familiar with both the Bay Area and Chicago, so ask any questions. If you're a first-time Amtrak rider, you have a lot of really great experiences and also some hopefully amusing challenges ahead!
It sounds like a dream trip, so I'd slow down a bit and enjoy the journey. You'll be fine in Chicago, lots of things to do there. The above suggestions are great, but I'd throw in the Museum of Science and Industry, possibly the greatest science museum in the world. The tour of the German U505 submarine and the Pioneer Zephyr train are worth the trip alone.
I'm very familiar with both the Bay Area and Chicago, so ask any questions. If you're a first-time Amtrak rider, you have a lot of really great experiences and also some hopefully amusing challenges ahead!
the Hyatt across the tracks from the EMY station has a decent breakfast and unless you have quite a bit of luggage is a quick walk. Keep the early drop time in mind if checking a bag.
And just speaking as an experienced Amtrak traveler, my rule of thumb is two nights on a train, one night in a hotel. Roomettes are great, but after about 48 hours of train sitting and train food, you'll be ready for a break.
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Thank you all for your tips! I'll have another opportunity to visit California again, and your input inspires me to build in more layover time on the next trip. For this jaunt, I need to be back home on a particular day - not a lot of flexibility.
Just curious, if you are in Santa Barbara, why not grab a coach seat on the Coast Starlight just after lunch, have a nice ride up the coast, and spend the night in Emeryville? I know you'd get in at 9:30pm, so not much chance to sightsee, but the hotels are reasonable and you can still get a good nights sleep before the California Zephyr. A roomette in the CZ is a fantastic trip and I wouldn't want to stress out on a long overnight bus run that might not even make it on time. Bay Area morning traffic can be rough.
It sounds like a very creative itinerary, but Amtrak and the Amtrak busses aren't really known for punctuality. It doesn't just go boom boom boom. I've been riding Amtrak for over 50 years and have probably missed about 8 connections in all. If it is a guaranteed connection you'll get a free hotel room but you may not be able to get a roomette on the next days train, and you'd miss your arrival back East anyway.
Being a very long railroad, Amtrak has to deal with all sorts of delays, from freight trains blocking the track, temporary track washouts, your train or another hitting a car. That's happened to me countless times, always delays the train about 3-4 hours. Amtrak arrival times are really just suggestions on long trips.
You haven't said roughly when you were going to do this, but if you have any way to move the front end departure a day or even two earlier, you'll have a much better overall experience. If you *really* need to be back east on a certain day, you should probably fly and save the train ride for when you can relax and enjoy it, along with all the adventures that come along.
Hopefully I'm wrong, and please post trip reports here so we can enjoy "riding" along and help you with anything that comes up.
p.s. One of my best CZ trips was a complete accident. I was in Denver a few months ago, with a refundable air ticket to Boston. I happened for some reason to look up the price for a CZ/LSL roomette that evening, and it was dirt cheap, so I picked it up and told my spouse I'd be two days late coming home. It was because of a track washout in Utah, so the westbound train was stopped in Denver, sat for a day, and was ready to head back to Chicago completely empty. The train out of Emeryville was turned around at Reno. The eastbound passengers had to decide whether to take the free ride back to the Bay area or fly on from Reno to Chicago. Either way Amtrak didn't provide alternate transportation, just a refund.
It sounds like a very creative itinerary, but Amtrak and the Amtrak busses aren't really known for punctuality. It doesn't just go boom boom boom. I've been riding Amtrak for over 50 years and have probably missed about 8 connections in all. If it is a guaranteed connection you'll get a free hotel room but you may not be able to get a roomette on the next days train, and you'd miss your arrival back East anyway.
Being a very long railroad, Amtrak has to deal with all sorts of delays, from freight trains blocking the track, temporary track washouts, your train or another hitting a car. That's happened to me countless times, always delays the train about 3-4 hours. Amtrak arrival times are really just suggestions on long trips.
You haven't said roughly when you were going to do this, but if you have any way to move the front end departure a day or even two earlier, you'll have a much better overall experience. If you *really* need to be back east on a certain day, you should probably fly and save the train ride for when you can relax and enjoy it, along with all the adventures that come along.
Hopefully I'm wrong, and please post trip reports here so we can enjoy "riding" along and help you with anything that comes up.
p.s. One of my best CZ trips was a complete accident. I was in Denver a few months ago, with a refundable air ticket to Boston. I happened for some reason to look up the price for a CZ/LSL roomette that evening, and it was dirt cheap, so I picked it up and told my spouse I'd be two days late coming home. It was because of a track washout in Utah, so the westbound train was stopped in Denver, sat for a day, and was ready to head back to Chicago completely empty. The train out of Emeryville was turned around at Reno. The eastbound passengers had to decide whether to take the free ride back to the Bay area or fly on from Reno to Chicago. Either way Amtrak didn't provide alternate transportation, just a refund.
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What is the best way to go to the Museum of Science and Industry from Union Station and how long does it take? My wife and I almost went there by city bus a few years ago but we found the bus directions to be confusing so we opted for an afternoon at the Art Institute instead.
The walk from the bus stop to the museum is a pretty long one ( very different than the loop they do at the museum campus for those museums) I might do cab or uber/lyft Science and Industry is really good, but it somewhat further away...
If you are going to the museum of science from the train station, you pretty much want to get there as quickly as possible so I would just Uber out there. It might cost 25 bucks, but it would be worth it. On the other hand, the museum closes at 4pm and you’ve got plenty of time to get back for your train so you could walk to the bus then. Or just Uber back.
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Another option is Metra Electric from Van Buren St. to 55-57th St. and vice versa. Gotta get east to Michigan Ave., but there's a ton of buses on Jackson Blvd. eastbound & Adams St. westbound, or about a 20-minute walk.
Many years ago (when Chicago NorthWestern was the commuter rail from Kenosha, WI to Chicago), I would ride commuter rail down to Chicago (and if it wasn't Chicago Union Station, it was close to it), and walk to the Art Institute. On another occasion, I walked to a record store with a large world music section near the University of Illinois-Chicago campus and had lunch in Greektown. (Of course, I was in my 20s then, and had a lot more stamina for long walks, plus it was just a day trip, so I didn't need to store or lug luggage.)
Is that this time of year or at some point in the future? Chicago weather can be downright nasty in the winter, and long walks and the river boat tours (which I really like) come off the table.
Sorry, I was really thinking of the OP, I agree with you about seasons... unfortunately, I need a hip repl so my last layover this summer, I only strayed a few blocks
Now in my 60s and easily winded, I'd be with you on not attempting any long walks from Chicago Union Station. If the weather was decent, maybe just to the nearby bridges over the Chicago River for some fresh air, but that would be about it. (And I'd find a safe place to stow luggage inside the station before the walk, too!)
crescent-zephyr
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Hello and welcome! - I wouldn't take the overnight bus.
You can take the Surfliner from San Diego to LA and then take the thruway to Bakersfield and take the train from there to Emeryville or Sacremento and catch the Zephyr there. (with an overnight in a hotel).
Or you can take the Coast Starlight to Emeryville and get a hotel there.
