Know More, Spend Less: A Native's Guide to Chicago [Paperback]

Mary McNulty (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A unique 297-page insider's budget guide to the Windy City that takes readers beyond the standard tourist grounds and highlights hundreds of free, inexpensive, and unusual things to do around town. Packed with useful information on every page, this is the perfect resource for tourists, business travelers, students, and resident Chicagoans alike.

Waterfalls in the city. Politics close up. Historic cemeteries. Architecture To Enjoy -- landmarks, churches, and oddities plus. $2 Breakfasts. $4 Lunches. $5 Dinners. Ethnic dining from Afghan to Laotian to Ukrainian. Free movies, theatre, comedy, poetry, and nightclubs. The range of recreation from archery, birdwatching, and bingo to ping pong, virtual reality, and wind surfing. Resale, flea market and outlet store shopping. City wide extravaganzas and neighborhood fests. Walking tours of luxury hotel lobbies and outdoor public art. All this and much more...

For those who want to venture into the nooks and crannies of real, every day Chicago, From someone who knows and loves this metropolis inside and out... You will not find a more indispensable handbook to America's Second City.

Review

Know More, Spend Less: A Native's Guide To Chicago offers offbeat suggestions side-by-side with more convention sightseeing information. Sharon Woodhouse provides insider information that only a well-traveled resident could dig up. Know More, Spend Less is a look at the Windy City well beyond the standards of ordinary tourist guides with its listing of hundreds of free and inexpensive things to do and see off the "beaten path" of most tourist travel groups or itineraries. Know More, Spend Less also encourages people watching at the airport, gives practical advice on public transportation, takes jaunts to historic cemeteries, hidden waterfalls, and the city council chambers. Know More, Spend Less is a "midwest traveler's must have"! -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 438 pages
• Publisher: Lake Claremont Pr; Updated edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964242605
• ISBN-13: 978-0964242609
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,316,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cheap guide by native Chicagoan, January 30, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Know More, Spend Less: A Native's Guide to Chicago (Paperback)

Different from corporate-written guides, Sharon Woodhouse seems to know and love Chicago inside and out. Humorous, quirky, complete. Good for Chicagoans and tourists

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A really great guide, August 8, 2000

By 

HDBMoirae "Mad Russian" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Know More, Spend Less: A Native's Guide to Chicago (Paperback)

This is by far the best guide that I've seen for Chicago. I've lived in the city for the last 20 years and use the book myself for some new ideas and bargain hunting suggestions. I recently handed the book to some friends who visited from the UK and they found it very informative and extremely helpful. Highly recommended!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Home, February 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Know More, Spend Less: A Native's Guide to Chicago (Paperback)

Woodhouse and McNulty's love for their hometown shines like the city's skyline at night in this keen guide to thrifty treasures in the City of Big Shoulders. This is the one you keep at your fingertips as you explore Chicago, whether it's your first visit or you've lived here all your life. Affordability is key to the authors' selections. They dig far beyond the ordinary to serve up a true Chicago smorgasbord. The recreation options alone will wear you out, but you can take the appetite you'll work up to a veritable United Nations of eateries. They also highlight a sprawling range of options for every taste in music and theater; public celebrations (Celtic Fest, Taste of Chicago, the Air and Water Show, etc.); art fairs; neighborhood parties; and good old basic sightseeing. Rounding out this superb guide is a shopaholic's dream directory of outlet and specialty stores, resale shops and flea markets; a handy list of phone, radio, TV, Internet, and print resources; and some basic city maps to get you started. This is the most down-to-earth, economical red-carpet welcome to Chicago you'll find anywhere.