Neighborhood 48H guide
Gold Coast: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Astor Street mansions, Oak Street Beach and the Drake’s Palm Court.
The Gold Coast runs north from Oak Street along the lake, with tree-lined Astor Street’s mansions, the Rush Street bars and Oak Street Beach right across Lake Shore Drive.
Photo gallery
Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: rboed* · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
A beach across the street, Michigan Avenue at the doorstep and a calmer feel than downtown.
Who it's for: Couples and travelers who want a beach and a quieter, elegant base.
Pros
- Oak Street Beach
- Historic streets for walking
- Classic hotels
Cons
- Expensive
- Rush Street is loud on weekends
- Farther from the West Loop’s restaurants
48H in the Gold Coast
Mansions, beach and a steakhouse.
09:30 – Astor Street walk
Mansions and the Charnley-Persky House, designed by Louis Sullivan with a young Frank Lloyd Wright.
12:00 – Oak Street Beach
City beach with the skyline behind you; via the underpass at Michigan and Oak.
19:00 – Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse
Classic Rush Street steakhouse; reserve.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Eat
Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse
1028 N Rush St
Busy, old-school Rush Street steakhouse.
Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
Astor Street
Astor St & Schiller St
The city’s grandest residential street, with the 1892 Charnley-Persky House.
Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Outdoors
Outdoors
Oak Street Beach
1000 N Lake Shore Dr
Sandy city beach right under the skyline.
Photo: rboed* · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
The Drake
140 E Walton Pl
The 1920 grande dame at the top of Michigan Avenue, with the Palm Court.
Check rates on Expedia →Hotel · Expedia
Viceroy Chicago
1118 N State St
Modern hotel with a rooftop pool and bar.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Gold Coast.
Chicago requires short-term rentals to be registered with the city, and some buildings and precincts ban them. Look for the city registration number on the listing before you book.
Browse vacation rentals in Gold Coast on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Chicago
- The Loop — The Art Institute, Millennium Park’s Bean, the Riverwalk and a rooftop above Michigan Avenue.
- River North — Marina City’s corncob towers, deep-dish pizza, a Portillo’s Italian beef and hotel rooftops.
- Magnificent Mile / Streeterville — Michigan Avenue’s shops, the 1869 Water Tower, the Billy Goat Tavern and Navy Pier.
- West Loop / Fulton Market — Randolph Street’s Restaurant Row: Au Cheval’s burger, Girl & the Goat and Fulton Market’s old warehouses.
- Wicker Park — The six-way corner at North, Damen and Milwaukee, Big Star tacos, Myopic Books and The 606 trail.
- Lincoln Park — The free Lincoln Park Zoo, the glass Conservatory, Pequod’s pan pizza and late-night blues at Kingston Mines.
- Lakeview / Wrigleyville — Wrigley Field’s red marquee, Murphy’s Bleachers and a hotel across the street from the ballpark.
- South Loop / Museum Campus — The Field Museum, Buckingham Fountain and live blues at Buddy Guy’s Legends.
- Hyde Park — Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, the Museum of Science and Industry, the new Obama Presidential Center and Promontory Point.