Don't get me wrong, Granville is fine, only as several others have noted, it's just really freakin'…read morenarrow! The only way in or out is on the north side, and if you're exiting, the path you have to walk can only fit people single file, unless someone wants to take the chance and tip-toe the blue safety line (definitely do not recommend). Otherwise, the station is reasonably clean. A pressure washing wouldn't really hurt, but there is no trash or 'other' waste to be found. There is a large cover that extends over the platform and part of the tracks to offer protection from the elements, and areas with electric heaters for those winter months. There are also a handful of benches and ample signage with arrival times. Some other features of this station include an up escalator, an elevator free of foul smells (only a little chlorine), a bike rike, and a large mural. The station also appears to be staffed during peak hours. Finally, I appreciate that the station is very well lit at night. Thus, Granville is not my favorite stop on the red line due to its size. However, with the worst thing being a slight queue to exit, Granville gets an A-OK in my book.

This station is conveniently located in the heart of Edgewater, and CTA personnel do a pretty good…read morejob of keeping the station clean. However, as others have noted, the platform is very narrow, and unlike other nearby stations (such as Thorndale or Wilson), Granville has only one entrance and exit, which is on the north side of the platform. This results in a two-way bottleneck of people entering and exiting the station. Unfortunately this problem has become much worse since last May, when the station's lone escalator was taken out of service for repairs. This has forced both entering and exiting passengers to use the same narrow stairwell. Repairs to the escalator were originally promised to be finished by July, then the contractor pushed the date back to end of August. When August came and went, the contractor once again changed the completion date to mid-September. Mid-September came and went, and the contractor changed the completion date yet again to Oct. 31, 2023 (...beginning to see a pattern here?) It's now Nov 8th and the sign shows November 15, 2023 as the completion date, but nobody around here is holding their breath. You get used to this sort of nonsense living in a place like Chicago (who wants to make a bet that the project won't be done by next Wednesday as promised? I'll offer generous odds). CTA has posted signage explaining why their escalators need repairs and refurbishment, and I get it. However, the signage only explains why the repairs need to be made, it does not explain why the project has taken so long to complete and why the contractor has continually pushed back their own forecasted completion date. I'm sure the contractor will offer up some lame excuse that they had to order a special part from Taiwan which is taking months to be shipped in. I don't mind the length of time that the repairs are taking, what I do mind is that the contractor continually dangles and then revises their project completion date. Alas, this is what happens when you use union labor. There are no consequences for half-assing the job as the union will protect its members time and time again for missing deadlines which would land any private sector worker into serious trouble. You can't blame the CTA though, because if they were to hire a non-union outfit, a bunch of those overpaid union guys would be picketing outside all the CTA stations with that giant inflatable rat. So to avoid this, they just give in. This is your "Welcome to Chicago" moment, folks. The same exact thing happened at O'Hare Airport when the ATS trains were taken offline back in 2019. The project was originally supposed to take just eight months, but the contractor kept continually pushing back the completion date, and it took almost three years before the ATS trains were back up and running. And they pathetically tried to use the pandemic as the excuse for the delays, when in fact the delays began occurring long before the pandemic or lockdowns. Sheesh. No wonder why Jack and Bobby Kennedy hated unions so much.

CTA has an L station at California. It has a lot going on around it. So many popular bars and…read morerestaurants. For sure the location is what makes this as good as it is, because otherwise it's pretty average. There are some nice views of the area from here. A lot of cool stuff to check out around. It serves the Blue Line. This is located between the neighborhoods of Logan Square and Wicker Park. If you can't choose which hipster haven to go to, get off here and go to both. There's too many establishments to name them all, but a few include Revolution Brewery and The Native, among others. Bad things include it being busy. It's going to and coming from O'Hare, so there's often problems with keeping on schedule it seems. There can be long waits for trains.

The CTA- CA blue line station is a fuss no hassle station, easy to access and everyone spreads out…read morenicely here even with the one little overhang to protect from weather.

CTA has a stop on the Loop at the Harold Washington Library. It gets pretty busy but it's pretty…read moreclean mostly. One good thing of course is there's trains coming often. Located near the big library of course. There's a connection allowing you to make transfers. It can be found on the southeast side of the Loop close to some other trains you can conveniently access. It serves the Brown, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines. The times each of these operates varies. Brown goes counterclockwise. The others go clockwise so be sure to be on the correct side of the platform. For the Brown, stand on the north. The others are on the south. Close to the Jackson station on the Blue and Red Lines, and transferring is free. These are only a few blocks away from here. Also know the Purple is a limited extension. It's only on weekdays at rush hour. This is among the nicest of the Loop stations.

Location-wise this is an important stop being near (obviously) the main public library (you need to…read morevisit this library) and the south end of the downtown shopping and office area. I used to avoid this stop to transfer because the way the Ventra one-way tickets (didn't) work then was getting out of the station from the Brown Line to walk over to State (very close) Red Line stop would result in having to purchase a whole new single ride ticket. They've since fixed that and a transfer here still counts as a single ride even though you have to exit the HWL station to get to the Jackson Red Line station - no worries. This station actually has a nice view from the Loop proper (the elevated old part of the subway system).

Few things can get me to write about a transit system - but this is the third transit review I've…read morewritten regarding the CTA! I've only taken the 146 out and back to the museum campus once, while visiting your fair city. Clean, quick, efficient... those terms all come to mind regarding the 146. The only shot of local color came in the afternoon, after a LONG day at the museum. Having been in the queue for two full double-buses, we finally got on the next one. The driver noticed a young man in a motorized wheelchair, and politely commanded everyone else to get out of the way while he deployed the ramp and allowed the young man and his family to get on - and then allowed the throng of humanity to continue boarding. I was lucky enough to snag a seat near the front, because it allowed me to witness what happened 10 or so blocks later... At a regular stop, there were a number of riders waiting to board the bus - including a woman that was also on a motorized wheelchair. The driver repeated his instructions to the others waiting to board, and allowed her to get on first. ...but that's when things started to unravel. She claimed she couldn't get past the young man in his wheelchair, although he was apparently scooted over as far as he could go, and was secured properly. Instead of waiting for assistance or reasoning things out, she decided to 'floor it' and ram on past him - and she did - taking a piece that attached a wire harness to his chair in the process, and interlocking her wheels with his. To this, she spouted venom... ...and along came the driver, who helped to extricate her (as she continued to rant) and then he retrieved the pieces of the young man's chair, and handed them to his father. Grace under fire. The driver kept good humor and a positive attitude throughout the ordeal. Kudos to the 146 driver!

HAHAHAHAHAHA Anybody complaining about how slow a bus is... seriously... Ummmm how many times in a…read morecar have you cut one off? Or has the driver seeing you running for it and been cool and waited? Or maybe crazy enough it stops to let people on and off. Yes - once you get on the bus, it is going the route slow. & at busy times when it is crazy full of tourists from the museum campus... yes it acts in tandem. Welcome to Chicago... we have lot's of people who live here & visit here if you haven't noticed. So often busy times on a route the CTA is cognizant and adds more bus's to the route to carry the route demand. That explains why a packed bus will pass you, because one right behind it won't treat you like a sardine. You are Welcome. So I organized a field trip to the Shedd for the ladies in our River North building today & we had a nice trip there with a Yellow taxi large enough to accommodate our group of 5. I recommend visitors calling if they need group transportation. Not a bad trip back on the bus. Slow as it is going down State st. & then Michigan of which neither are renowned for not being bogged down with traffic. If you are in a hurry hoof it or hop off at the Roosevelt stop for Red, Orange or Green lines. Go a few more blocks for Brown or Red. Our group hopped off to see the Macy window's and then a short walk home with a stop at the always awesome Nonina for dinner.

On my Ending mission to find the best burgers in the city, this place, definitely hits near the…read moretop. Phenomenal service, very chill and laid-back atmosphere, and a bill that won't break the bank. I personally loved every bite of the burger. It is very heavy on the sauce, but that's something I really enjoy. Very crispy classic Smashburger exterior, with juicy middle. I downed it with one of their craft cocktails, a dill pickle martini, which definitely takes a lot of courage to create something like this, but it was much better than I expected. Exquisitely paired.

Liked the neighborhood spot vibes and sat at the bar which had great people watching. Had the Mac…read moreand cheese bites which were so good - that ranch sauce is amazing, and smash burgers with well done fries. Would come back for the fries alone. Bloody Mary's and the dill pickle beer side car was a good combo and we got their hot sauce to make it as spicy as desired. Dan was great but we did have a considerable lag between Mac and cheese bites and the burgers coming out. Two others who grabbed a seat after us got their burgers at the same time as ours.

If this were any other station, it would be getting much higher marks. Unfortunately, given its…read morelocation, it has a fatal flaw. More on that later. Addison is accessible, has ample digital signage, and is easy to navigate. It is also wider than average for an 'L' station and is relatively clean, especially given how many people pass through. This amount of foot traffic is, however, its undoing. When there's a Cubs game or another event at Wrigley, Addison proves to be ill-equipped for the sheer volume of people. Yes, there is staff present to help manage crowds, but a packed platform is suboptimal for multiple reasons, especially safety. I appreciate that due to the CTA's setup, one cannot simply wish a wider station into existence. It may be possible, but it would be extraordinarily capital-intensive. That said, CTA-Addison gets the job done very well outside of Wrigley events, and passably during them.

I boarded the redline at Addison for year and years to get downtown for my previous job, so this…read morereview is long overdue. This train stop is very well kept, and I'm sure it's location to Wrigley Field has a lot to do with that. There are two escalators (granted -- one is usually down), an elevator, and a HUGE platform so there is plenty of space to spread out. There is a woman who works here every morning who is as sweet as can be and always greets us regulars with a smile. The redline is not always the safest of trains, but it sure can get you downtown faster than the brown! If you're in town exploring the city or going to a Cubs game, nothing is more convenient than hopping off at Addison as the stop just steps from the field. If you live in the neighborhood, this can definitely be a downside. On game nights, the streets are flooded with fans and vendors. The trains from downtown back up to Wrigley are packed with fans going to the games in addition to the regulars heading home from work. It can definitely add some extra time getting home, which is something to keep in mind during the summer months. Overall, I always feel safe at this stop, the employees are friendly, it's well maintained, and the trains are *usually* on time!

This was our first time in Chicago. We came for a concert, so we thought, let's see as much as we…read morecan. We booked the 4 hour private tour and upgraded to an SUV (highly recommend). Ellis was in contact during the morning and punctual at pickup. We really had no idea what we wanted to see, so we gave Ellis full reign. We weren't expecting that much, just an enjoyable trip. Wow, were we surprised. Ellis asked just enough questions to get an idea of our interests. I've lost count of the places and sights we saw! The beauty of the architecture took my breath away. Ellis never ceased to amaze us with his knowledge of each sight. So, we honestly cant recommend this trip enough. We think we'll do it again next time were here to see to sights we missed. Oh, ask for Ellis, he was AMAZING!g

We booked a private 8-hour tour with Chicago City Tours for January 23, 2026. About 90 minutes…read morebefore the scheduled start time, we received an email that the guide was ill and there was no backup available. While we understand emergencies happen, we were disappointed there was no contingency plan and no earlier communication. After being told we would receive a refund, we followed up when nothing posted but received no response so had to initiate a chargeback. If you book with them, make sure you have a backup plan and follow up carefully regarding refunds.

Hopping on a CTA #81 (Lawrence) bus used to be my daily commute to/from work when I lived in Albany…read morePark. This particular route runs 24/7, and many TSAs and ORD workers catch this one. Yes, together in the same bus we were like a large, happy family. At around 10pm, working professionals coming from ORD and Rosemont would get on the blue line train. As many of us were getting discharged at the Jefferson Park stop, we had the last exercise of the day: running all the way to #81 and hoping everyone of us had a seat (unlikely...because this one is always crowed during that time). Eastbound #81 begins at Jefferson Park Transportation Center. Immediately there's the first point of interest: - Copernicus Center: the annual north side Polish Fest on Labor Day weekend is hosted here. They have different activities going on throughout the year. Let's get back on the bus and continue our journey, or you may remain in the neighborhood and get a new tattoo at Chitown Tattoo, off Leclaire and I-90. I've heard many good reviews on their work. As we are heading east, we will be passing Mayfair and Albany Park. Albany Park is known to be one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Chicago. There are a few hole-in-the-wall places that actually were gems in my opinion: - Fish N' Go (cash-only): ask Nick, the owner, if there are oysters available. My parents used to surprise me with their delicious fried oysters after a long day of work. - Lawrence Fish Market (cash-only): affordable prices on quality sashimi, sushi, and maki rolls. Put their number on your speed dial and call ahead. - Markellos (cash-only): lights are on 24/7. I guarantee that you will never go hungry cruising through Albany Park. Ladies and gentlemen, now you've arrived at the CTA Kimball Brown Line station. That's probably what I'm missing the most living in Albany Park. The brown line provides an easy access to the Chicago Loop. From there it connects to other transportation options to the south/ southwest side of neighborhoods. By the way, "Hot Dog Station" on Kimball by Kimball Brown Line station is a good place to grab a quick bite. I don't know or can't recall the owner's name, but he resembles "Aiden" from Sex and the City. Wow, this review is becoming very long, and I should wrap it up ASAP. "Ravenswood" is the next neighborhood. It overlaps with Lincoln Square, near CTA Western Brown Line station. Many people love to hang out here during summer for the farmer's market on select Thursday evenings, trendy bars, and cool small businesses. Metra Union Pacific/North Line has a stop at Ravenswood. This particular Metra routine starts at Chicago-Ogilvie Transportation Center (OTC) and goes to all the way up north in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Attention passengers...we are approaching to Uptown. "Little Vietnam" is within the Uptown neighborhood. Many Vietnamese or other Asian-themed restaurants, bakeries, and businesses are nearby. If you ever wanna see some skimpily-dressed young men and women, come to "Aragon Ballroom" across from CTA Lawrence Red Line station. I almost got hurt by random glass bottles flying over my head while I was waiting for the bus on a late Saturday night. The CTA #81 (Lawrence) bus tour is officially coming to the end. Now it's time to take a quality break at the beautiful, magnificent Lakeshore Path.

The magic #81 Lawrence bus is open 24/7/365, is as clutch and critical as it gets. It starts by…read moreLake Shore Drive and flows through Uptown to pick you up from The Green Mill, Uptown Lounge, Kinetic Playground, The Aragon, The Riv, WIld Pug, or Crew. It goes on west in quick fashion, passing by El Quijote for late night eats, passes by Crafty Beaver and also Golden Nugget. If you need to hop on the Metra, the #81 Lawrence can drop you off at Lawrence and Ravenswood to hop on over. A giant Chase branch exists there that used to be BankOne that used to be First Chicago. Keep going west and you'll find Wendy's, CVS on Damen and Lawrence, El Taco Loco for late night snackery and Walgreen's open until Midnight. Not going to Lincoln Square? That's all right, the #81 will take you on over past Harvest Time for groceries, past by Restaurant Sarajevo, Greek bakeries and a world of small businesses. If it's late and you still haven't stopped try some George's Kebob by Kedzie and the new Mediterranean joint on the corner. Want something less ethic? How bout some Huddle House diner food that's open 24/7? The Filipino grocery is nearby, Popeye's Chicken, Subway, Donut Doctor and a world of $5 hair salons. Want some late night high carb fare? How bout some 24/7 Markello's Bakery? You can take the bus all the way to Jefferson Park, but I am getting off here, see you.