DisabledTravelers.com Travel Blog

Chicago Cityscape
Photo by: Nate Brelsford (Stock Exchange)

Hello, everybody! After taking a tour through the Disabled Travelers archives, I realized that one of our best-received recent articles was Disabled Access: Chicago. Now, I don’t usually do this, but since so many folks are queuing up to head to the Windy City and want more info about it, I thought I’d give the city a second look. Definitely read the original post for some great access guides, but in this post we’ll be going a bit deeper and searching out wheelchair accessible hotels, restaurants, and attractions. Let’s go!

Active Diner starts us off with a list of wheelchair access restaurants in Chicago. This includes dozens of listings, each including descriptions and photographs, and many with actual reviews by restaurant patrons. There’s something for everyone, with seafood, Italian, Mediterranean cuisine and more all available in an environment friendly to handicapped travelers and those who require mobility impaired access.

Though not created with accessible travel in mind, the website Metromix can help you find bars, clubs, music venues, movie theaters, restaurants and more. These listings do include information on accessibility. Though it can be somewhat sparse, I’m always in favor of providing a resource that will put readers in touch with great places to go. For our purposes, try Metromix Chicago. For another great site from an on-the-street travel perspective, try the wheelchair accessible entries at the Chicago Traveler blog.

From Disabled Travelers’ very own comment section comes a handful of useful handicapped travel resources I’m happy to mention. Visit WheelchairTraveling.com, a site for planning accessible travel, for some great photographs and Chicago attractions. If you find yourself in need of wheelchair or scooter rental, you can try out Howard Medical, a company with 30 years of experience providing medical supplies in the area.

There are a number of terrific attractions throughout Chicago that are wide open to wheelchair users. Among these are the historic John Hancock Center with its famous observatory, and the Art Institute of Chicago. For outdoor fun, check out Millennium Park. This fantastic space is one of the most beautiful attractions in all of Chicago, offering art and architecture, as well as natural splendor. There are many wonderful things to discover, and events are held regularly. This entire 24.5 acre space is accessible, with free wheelchair rental at the visitors’ center, and there is no entrance fee.

When you’re trying to find an accessible Chicago hotel, I suggest trying Travel Intelligence, a newer index of hotel features and reviews. I found the site intuitive and easy to navigate, and the company claims that the reviews are written by professional travel writers. Can’t confirm that independently, but I did find the reviews to be better-written and more informative than average, so it’s worth taking a look

Hope you’ve had fun on our second visit to Chicago. Remember, we’re here for you, so any time you want more information, just let me know. Coming up in March, I’ll be doing destinations in Asia, as well as some fun vacation spots throughout the States, and keeping the Disabled Travelers Mailbag close by for viewer questions. Adventure on!