Peak tourist times (Chicago: hotels, schools, live in)

[Slipperman]

i was on here last year (and sporadically since) when i was preparing for the vacation i took in June. though i enjoyed it thoroughly, i did get a sense of claustrophobia walking the streets because of the sheer volume of people around. because of that i figured i'd go back in Sept this year when summer is unofficially over and there are hopefully less people around but unfortunately my job (or lack of) situation has put the kibash on that idea. so i figured maybe April next year by which time i should be working. but i'd rather go when the tourist crowd is diminished so i was wondering when does the peak tourist season begin and end in Chicago?

[Alacran]

Vome February-march

[Slipperman]

what the heck does 'vome' mean?

[chirack]

Honestly I wouldn’t come here in winter, Cold and not much to do by the lake. April can be a very unpredictable month weather wise (could be chilly, could be people in shorts) and the lake is usually too cold to get into until July.

June thru September is Chicago at its best esp. June. Now there are some fun things to do in Chicago in winter if you want to travel off season but Chicago is at its best in warm weather.

[marothisu]

Well that was rough. Anyway, OP the peak tourist season is in the summer. I'd actually personally recommend to come in October or even early November over February or March, but pretty much May-August or maybe even September is the tourist season.

Note to you too, never go to a crowded Asian or European country. Chicago is nothing compared to some places out there for clausterphobia. This is the most famous pedestrian street in Istanbul. It's not like this all the time, but it gets twice as many visitors on average daily than Times Square in NYC. In an average 2 week time period, Istiklal Cadessi averages more visitors than Michigan Avenue does in an entire year:

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/ph...f-mai-2011.jpg

[Attrill]

You'll always have fewer crowds to deal with anywhere if you visit when schools are still in session (basically between Labor Day and Memorial Day). Winter can be harsh, especially if your main goal is to walk around and look at architecture, but winter doesn't really hit until mid-November at the earliest, and is over by the end of March. If you're mostly interested in going to museums, restaurants, clubs, see bands, etc. than the depths of winter are just fine for a visit.

Until we had a kid my wife and I always went on vacations in late September-early October. That is really the sweet spot for most cities.

[Slipperman]

my thanx to the serious responders.

[Warsie]

Tourist Peak? What? I feel like I live in Southern California of Jersey. Tourists are not -that- noticeable (unless you look for them), it's not like they conduct noticeably different behaviors like in an beaches which develop a distinct local culture.......

EDiT: now that I think about it you can tell some tourists apart, say the ones from the surrounding states and maybe some international ones..

[Vlajos]

Summer, is the peak. Hotels hit occupancy highs in the summer months.

[Ace Rothstein]

Originally Posted by Attrill

Until we had a kid my wife and I always went on vacations in late September-early October. That is really the sweet spot for most cities.

Pretty much the sweet spot for everywhere. People don't like pulling their kids out of school a month after it starts.