How to Get to Lollapalooza
by Jessica
April 22nd, 2010
Whether you have to fly to the Chicago area first or not, you’ll need to know how to get to Lollapalooza. Many summer music festivals are situated in remote areas that are hard to reach without having a car, jumping into a carpool, or using official festival shuttles. But Lollapalooza isn’t like other summer music festivals.
Lollapalooza takes place in Grant Park in central Chicago, which can be great news for budget travelers and people who don’t want to drive to the festival. Because Grant Park is in downtown Chicago and this is a city with several good public transit options, you can take advantage of public transportation to get right to the festival. This means you won’t have to drive a car into the congested city center or find and pay for parking, both of which make for a budget-friendly and less stressful travel experience.
You’ll find all your options for getting to Lollapalooza listed below.
>> Lollapalooza in 2012 – August 3-5
>> This Lollapalooza travel guide has everything you’ll need to plan your stay in Chicago
Flying to Lollapalooza
If you’re far enough away from Chicago to begin with, you’ll need to look for a flight to Chicago first and then figure out how to get to the festival site from the airport. Youf first order of business is to find cheap airfare to Lollapalooza – but since there are four airports in the Chicago area you can choose from, you might also want to think about the best ways to get from each airport into the city center before you book your ticket.
Three of the four airports to use for Lollapalooza have good public transit options to get into the city center from the airport, and one (Chicago Rockford) is less well-connected. Travelers who want to avoid renting a car or trying to find a carpool will want to focus on the three airports with good public transportation.
Driving to Lollapalooza
Because the Lollapalooza festival site is actually a city park in central Chicago, it’s not surprising to learn that there’s absolutely no car parking on the festival grounds. There are four different 24-hour parking garages underneath Grant Park, but keep in mind that the number of people who will be coming to the festival may mean there won’t be any parking spaces left by the time you get there.
If you do plan to bring your own car into Chicago, you might be better off choosing a place to stay that’s not necessarily in the downtown area but is close to public transportation. That way you can leave your car near your hotel and take public transit (see below) to the festival. It’s also highly recommended that if you do drive, you carpool whenever possible. You can look on car-sharing websites to see if anyone has a spare seat in their car, or to offer a spare seat in yours.
Taking Public Transportation to Lollapalooza
As mentioned above, the Lollapalooza site is well-placed for anyone who’s taking public transportation to the festival. Chicago’s famous “El” (short for “elevated” trains) is one option for travelers to get to Lollapalooza, using the Red Line and getting off at the Jackson stop. The Red Line is best if you’re already in the downtown area, but not if you’re staying in one of the suburbs.
For public transport in and out of the suburbs, you’ll need to plot your route on Metra, which is another rail network in Chicago. The Metra stop for Lollapalooza is Van Buren Street. And Chicago also has a good network of buses that might come in handy, depending on where you’re staying or coming to Lollapalooza from.
>> Learn more about getting around Chicago
Taking the Train to Lollapalooza
If you read all the options for airports in the Chicago area (above), you probably noted that one of the airports – although more than 80 miles away from Chicago – made the list because it had a connection to Chicago via Amtrak. Of course, Amtrak connects Chicago with more than just a nearby airport.
The Amtrak station in Chicago is located at 225 South Canal Street, which isn’t far from the Willis (Sears) Tower right in the city center. From the train station, you can ride Metra (see above) east toward Grant Park, or walk a few blocks to the Quincy/Wells El stop (see above) and ride the Brown, Pink, Orange, or Purple line to the Adams/Wabash stop near Grant Park.
Taking the Bus to Lollapalooza
There are a few Greyhound bus stations in the Chicago area, so when you’re planning your trip be sure to find out which ones you can reach from your departure point and what your public transportation options are from that station to Grant Park. The Chicago-area stations are:
There’s also limited Greyhound service at the Amtrak station (see above).
Chicago has service from some Megabus routes, although it depends where you’re traveling from whether you can get directly to Chicago or not. The Megabus station in Chicago is close to Amtrak’s Union Station, however, so it’s easy to get to Lollapalooza from there as well (see directions from Union Station above).
Cycling to Lollapalooza
Those of you who are already in Chicago can take advantage of free bike parking on the Lollapalooza festival grounds. There are bike racks adjacent to the Lollapalooza box office (on Columbus, between Congress and Balbo), but you need to bring your own bike lock. There is also free bike parking at the McDonald’s Cycle Center in Millennium Park.
Coming from out of town but want to bike around the city while you’re in Chicago? Take advantage of a discount for Lollapalooza festivel-goers only from Bike & Roll Chicago. There are special bike rental packages for people going to the festival at 65% off the regular price, and they’re also offering deals on guided bike tours and Segway tours of Chicago.
photo by tacvbo
