College Season: Loyola University
- Planet Pluto Travel
- Apr 19, 2021
- 4 min read
By: Alana DeRose
Made it to the final four in 2018 and the Sweet Sixteen just this year. Loyola University, one of the less competitive schools with an acceptance rate of 67%, and has it's main campus located on the shore of Lake Michigan.
Now just like UChicago, Loyola is located 20 minutes away from Chicago's downtown area, in the Roger's Park neighborhood. However Loyola does have another campus called "The Water Tower Campus" which is right next to the Mag Mile, so why not visit both?
One benefit of Loyola's main campus being on the lake shore, is that it's right next to the beach.
Hartigan Beach aka Loyola Beach is only a 10 minute walk away from the main campus, or a three minute drive, if you decide to hop in the car.
At this beach you can go kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding and maybe even jet skiing. I would suggest visiting this place between late spring to mid-August and if you're lucky maybe even until labor day weekend, but always check the weather as that'll seriously determine how good of an experience you have here.
However, your lake experience doesn't have to stop at the main campus, you can also visit Navy Pier which is about 10 minutes away from the Water Tower Campus.
Navy Pier has loads of fun things to do such as the centennial wheel, which is not 100 years old but actually 26 years old. There's also a merry-go-round and swing ride on the outside property, which you will have to buy tickets for as admission to Navy Pier is free.
Navy Pier also includes a children's museum, indoor botanical garden, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, gift shops, sweet shops and plenty of cruise tours such as architecture tour, brunch, lunch, and dinner cruises, speedboat tours, helicopter tours and even biking tours. Sadly, Navy Pier is closed and is scheduled to open in spring of 2021.
Gladly, you can also participate in more tours outside of Navy Pier such as the Chicago River Tour, which takes you around the Chicago river and shows the architecture of the downtown area and a Gangsters and Ghosts tour which will take you back to the roaring 20s when the Chicago loop was a big place for bootleggers, speakeasies, and people such as Al Capone. One of the stops on this gangster tour is Millennium Park.
Millennium Park is located nine minutes away from the Water Tower Campus and you can do fun things such as splashing around at the Crown Fountain aka the towers with the faces on it that water comes out of, take a picture of The Bean or it's actual name 'Cloud Gate', but due to covid you can't get anywhere near it; sit back and relax at Lurie Gardens, rock climb at Maggie Daley Park, and no you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it or catch a show at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. Best thing about this is everything except the rock climbing is free! So you can have a full and fun day without spending a dime, well except for lunch.
However, it's Chicago not Los Angeles, so the weather won't always be permitting for these fun outdoor activities, so it's a good thing that Chicago is packed with fun museums.
One in particular is the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Art Institute is located 11 minutes away from Loyola's downtown campus. You can witness exhibits such as 'Monet and Chicago', 'Bisa Butler: Portraits', 'Intimate Modernity', 'A New View of African Art' and more!
Tickets are currently running $14 a person for Chicago residents and
Adults - $25
Seniors/Students (College & University)/Teens 14-17 - $19
Children (13 & under) - Free admission!
For those who are non residents of Chicago.
They also offer a Chicago CityPass on their website, which allows you to skip the lines and save 50% off premium admission to Art Institute of Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, Skydeck Chicago, Field Museum, and either the Museum of Science and Industry or 360 Chicago, for nine days, for only $89.99.
However you really don't need to stay in Chicago nine days to make it worth your while, if you can hit all those museums in four days, or even one, then it'll be worth every penny.
Now when you're outside, especially in a downtown area you are prone to smell food, making you hungry.
There are places such as Raising Canes, Dunkin and Subway near the campuses but you can also visit the Waterfront Cafe, Felice's Roman Style Pizza, Mariposa and Cafecito.
The Waterfront Cafe is actually located two minutes away from the main Loyola campus in Rogers Park Chicago. Sitting right on the water front this cafe offers Lobster Roll, Pesto Chicken Salad, Blackened Cajun Shrimp Roll, Brown Butter Crab Roll, Kids Hot Dog, Peanut Butter & Jelly, fountain drinks, beer and wine.
Felice's is a student run pizzeria derived from Felice's Kitchen, a restaurant 31 minutes away from the Loyola main campus. The pizzeria is just a short walk from Loyola's main campus and offers many different types of pizza, including some dairy-free cheese options.
Mariposa is on the expensive side with it being three dollar signs, but it is only three minutes away from the Water Tower campus. Here you can have Cauliflower Steak, Seared Milet Mignon, Roast Rack of Lamb, Lemon shrimp, New Orleans Spicy Crab Cakes and Steak Empanadas.
Cafecito is a Cuban restaurant three minutes away from the Water Tower Campus. Here you can have a Cubano Sandwich, Chivito Sandwich, Tilapia Criolla Platillo, Lechon Platillo, Vegan Provoletta, La Playa Sandwich, Pollo Milanesa and Cuban Black Bean Soup.
When visiting Loyola University, from the numerous outdoor activities, to the great variety of delicious food, I can guarantee you'll have a full day ahead of you.
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