The Frederick C. Robie House designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright is the star campus building at the University of Chicago.Credit:Raymond Boyd
Penny pinch
Tuck into steel-cut oatmeal in Panera (panerabread.com,$6) at 2 Michigan Avenue,before taking a free one hour introductory tour of the downtown area with Chicago Greeter (chicagogreeter.com). Then take the pink L train to 18th Street in the Pilsen neighbourhood ($3) and beeline it to number 1515,where local favourite Nuevo Leon serves up Mexican feasts for lunch. A trio of tacos costs $8.
Spend the afternoon ambling around Pilsen,taking in the extraordinary mural art splashed up on the walls. Finish more formally at the National Museum of Mexican Art (nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org,free entry). Take the number 49 bus towards the chalet-esque Table,Donkey and Stick in Logan Square for a $20 Alpine burger. Then get the train back to the centre ($3) and stay at the Best Western Grant Park Hotel (bwgrantparkhotel.com,A$116).
TOTAL:$156
Take it easy
Take the L south ($6 return) to spend a day in the Hyde Park neighbourhood. The $10 cranberry and turkey walnut bread sandwich at Medici (medici57.com) should do nicely for breakfast.
From there,have a stroll around the handsome buildings of the University of Chicago. The star is Frank Lloyd-Wright's Prairie School masterpiece,Robie House (flwright.org,$38).
Swing by Barack Obama's heavily guarded house at 5046 S Greenwood Avenue on the way to a people-watching lunch on the terrace at A10 (a10hydepark.com). Try the $28 Great Lakes whitefish and asparagus.
After an afternoon of educational button-pushing inside the Museum of Science and Industry (msichicago.org,$24),get back for the free guests'happy hour at the Virgin Hotel (virginhotels.com,$219. ReadTraveller's review) between 6pm and 7pm.