312 Comedy Festival 2026

Old Town

Old Town is where modern American improv began, in Choose Chicago's telling, and it holds the festival's main club. The Second City's Mainstage is at 1616 N Wells St, with its other stages and the Piper's Alley car park at 230 W North Ave. Wells Street is the strip for food and drink: Professor Pizza at 1610 N Wells, inside the Second City building, and the Old Town Ale House at 219 W North Ave, a bar Second City casts drink in, open until 4 am and on Saturdays until 5 am. Twin Anchors, a speakeasy in its day and a regular haunt of Frank Sinatra, serves barbecue ribs.

Lincoln Park and Lakeview

Park West is in Lincoln Park, and the Vic is in Lakeview. Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the few zoos in the country still free to enter, opens all 365 days, its gates at 8 am and its buildings at 10 am. Kingston Mines, at 2548 N Halsted St, has blues on two stages until 4 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Lakeview takes in Wrigleyville and Wrigley Field, the Music Box Theatre with a live organist, and the Laugh Factory, a stand-up club. Sheffield's, at 3258 N Sheffield, is a beer garden whose bar stays open until 2 am on weekdays and 3 am on Saturdays.

Uptown

The Riviera is in Uptown, whose nightlife boomed in the 1920s and 1930s, and it and the Aragon Ballroom are a few steps from each other. The Green Mill, at Lawrence and Broadway, a block west of the Lawrence stop on the Red Line, is a 100-year-old jazz club, and the last booth along its bar was Al Capone's regular seat. It opens until 4 am on Fridays and 5 am on Saturdays, takes cash only, with an ATM inside, admits only over-21s and serves no food. For a meal, Argyle Street and the blocks round it have sushi, dim sum, banh mi and pho, Sun Wah BBQ among them.

The Loop

The Chicago Theatre is in the Loop, whose theatre district takes in Broadway In Chicago's touring shows and the marquees of the Auditorium, the Cadillac Palace and the Nederlander. The Art Institute of Chicago, at 111 South Michigan Avenue, among the country's oldest and biggest art museums, has a large Impressionist collection, and the Chicago Cultural Center has free exhibitions under the world's largest Tiffany glass dome. Millennium Park, with the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and the Lurie Garden, sits beside Maggie Daley Park, where there is climbing and skating. The Skydeck at Willis Tower has The Ledge, a glass box sticking out from the tower 1,353 feet up.

The South Loop and Chinatown

Wintrust Arena is in the South Loop, part of McCormick Square. Close by, the old Motor Row District, once the city's car-making centre, now holds Lips Drag Palace, the VU Rooftop bar and the Duneyrr Fermenta brewery, and the Prairie Avenue District keeps the mansions of Millionaire's Row, among them the Glessner House museum. Soldier Field, the Bears' ground, is in the same neighbourhood. Chinatown starts by the Cermak-Chinatown stop on the Red Line, half a mile west of the arena: the shops of Wentworth Avenue, the outdoor Chinatown Square mall with its 12 zodiac statues, and Ping Tom Memorial Park on the river.

Blue Line from O'Hare

The Blue Line runs to O'Hare around the clock, every day, and takes 40 to 45 minutes to downtown. Its station is on the lower-level concourse linked straight into Terminals 1, 2 and 3: signs to 'CTA Trains' or 'Trains to City' lead there from baggage claim in under ten minutes, and arrivals at Terminal 5 ride the Airport Transit System to Terminal 2 first. Boarding at O'Hare costs $5, or nothing extra with an unlimited pass. On two festival weekends, from 10 pm on Friday 6 to 4 am on Monday 9 November and from 10 pm on Friday 13 to 4 am on Monday 16 November, shuttle buses replace trains between Jefferson Park and Harlem.

Taxis and rideshare at O'Hare

Taxi stands are on the lower-level kerb outside baggage claim at each O'Hare terminal, and the airport puts the average metered fare to downtown at $50; rides offered away from the stand, or on the departures level, are to be refused. Uber and Lyft pick up on the upper level, at Terminal 2 from posts marked 2A to 2G, with a waiting area indoors, and at Terminal 3 from 3G to 3K. A suburban taxi has to be booked ahead. Guests of the Loews Chicago O'Hare can take its free shuttle instead, every 15 minutes, day and night, from the middle lane by door 2C on the Terminal 2 arrivals level.

Orange Line from Midway

From Midway, the Orange Line leaves a station just east of the terminal, reached by an enclosed walkway where an orange stripe on the floor leads the way, and every train goes to the Loop in 20 to 25 minutes. It does not run overnight: the first train from Midway is at 3:30 am on weekdays, 4 am on Saturdays and 4:30 am on Sundays, and the last at 1:05 am, while the last back from the Loop leaves at 1:30 am. Through the night the N62 Archer bus covers the route, between State and Washington and the airport.

Ventra fares and passes

CTA fares are $2.50 on the L and $2.25 on a bus, with up to two more rides free within two hours, paid by Ventra Card, the Ventra app or a contactless bank card or phone. Passes start on first use and also cover Pace buses: $5 for a day, $15 for three days and $20 for seven. A new Ventra Card costs $5, returned as fare value when it is registered within 90 days, and the vending machines at both airports also sell a three-day paper ticket. Metra's commuter trains are separate; in the Ventra app a Regional Day Pass adds CTA and Pace for $2.50 more.

The L and buses to the rooms

For Zanies Chicago, the Sedgwick stop on the Brown Line is 0.3 miles away. Wintrust Arena has the Cermak-McCormick Place stop on the Green Line 0.15 miles west and Cermak-Chinatown on the Red Line 0.5 miles west; the 3 King Drive, 4 Cottage Grove and 21 Cermak buses stop at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Cermak Road. For Zanies Rosemont, the Blue Line stops at Rosemont, and Pace route 811, the free Rosemont Entertainment Circulator, links the Rosemont Transit Center with Parkway Bank Park. For the Green Mill and the Riviera's corner of Uptown, the Red Line stops at Lawrence.

Hotel Zachary

3630 N. Clark St, Chicago, IL 60613

A boutique hotel across the street from Wrigley Field, in Wrigleyville, the Lakeview district that also holds the Vic. It takes its name from Zachary Taylor Davis, who laid out the ballpark in 1914, and faces Gallagher Way, an open-air plaza between the hotel and the ballpark; Alma, its lounge, is on the second floor. Check-in is from 4 pm and check-out by 11 am, and on busy nights there may be a minimum stay. Self-parking costs $65 for 8 to 24 hours and valet $80, first come, first served for self-parking, and up to two pets stay free.

Viceroy Chicago

1118 N State Street, Chicago, IL 60610

A Gold Coast hotel whose glass tower of rooms rises from a landmark building some 120 years old, with 180 rooms, 18 of them suites, moments from Lake Michigan and the shops of the Magnificent Mile. It has a rooftop pool and gym, Somerset, a Mediterranean restaurant open all day, and Pandan, on the 18th floor, for cocktails and East Asian plates. Check-in is at 3 pm and check-out at noon, and whoever checks in must be 21 or older with government-issued ID.

Loews Chicago O'Hare

5300 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018

The Rosemont pick is on River Road, a short walk from Fashion Outlets of Chicago, which Parkway Bank Park and Zanies Rosemont are also within walking distance of. A free shuttle runs to and from O'Hare every 15 minutes, day and night, from the Terminal 2 arrivals level. Check-in is at 4 pm and check-out at noon. Self-parking is $46 a night with in-and-out use, there is no pool, and The Ashburn, an American gastropub, is the hotel's own restaurant, with a Capital Grille and a McCormick & Schmick's nearby. Up to two cats or dogs stay for a one-time $120.

The hotels of McCormick Square

2121 S Prairie Ave and 2233 S Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Chicago, IL 60616

For the Wintrust Arena night, two large hotels are joined to the arena by skybridges and walkways. The Marriott Marquis Chicago, on South Prairie Avenue, is attached to the arena and has two restaurants, Woven & Bound among them, and looks out over the South Loop and the lakefront. The Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, on King Drive, is a 5-minute indoor walk away, with 3 restaurants and its own garage; its Third Star may close when the hotel is quiet. The VU Rooftop bar tops the Hiltons at McCormick Place on Cermak Road.

Chicago's hotel tax

Every Chicago hotel bill carries the city's Hotel Accommodations Tax, collected by the hotel at 4.5% of the room charge. Since 1 May 2026, hotels of 100 rooms or more in the Tourism Improvement District, which covers ZIP codes such as 60601 around the Chicago Theatre, 60610 in Old Town and 60616 around Wintrust Arena, add a further 1.5% charge. Vacation rentals and shared housing pay a 6% surcharge on top, 10.5% in all for the city.

Professor Pizza, Old Town

1610 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60610

The festival's own featured restaurant is Professor Pizza, whose Old Town shop is inside the Second City building at 1610 N Wells St, a short walk from Zanies Chicago. Its owner, Tony Scardino, has fed comedy green rooms across the city, Bobby Lee, JB Smoove, Jim Gaffigan and Bert Kreischer among the comics he has served. It is open for dining in and carry-out from 4 pm to 10 pm Monday to Thursday, 11 am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 am to 10 pm on Sundays, with a happy hour from 4 pm to 6 pm on weekdays.

After The Chicago Theatre

After a 7 pm show at The Chicago Theatre, Cindy's Rooftop, on top of the Chicago Athletic Association, looks over Millennium Park and Lake Michigan and stays open until 11 pm Monday to Thursday and on Sundays, and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays; dinner is served from 5 pm to 10 pm, and tables can be booked 14 days ahead, walk-ins welcome. The Exchequer Restaurant & Pub, at 226 S. Wabash, has served Chicago-style pizza since 1969 and is open until 11 pm from Thursday to Saturday, 10 pm Monday to Wednesday and 9 pm on Sundays.

Around Wintrust Arena

Wintrust Arena lists the restaurants round McCormick Square. VU Rooftop, at 133 E Cermak Road on top of the Hiltons at McCormick Place, serves dinner until 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays, 2 am on Thursdays and 11 pm Sunday to Wednesday. Chicago Oyster House, at 1933 S Indiana Avenue, serves oysters, seafood, sushi and steaks from 5 pm to 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, to 9 pm on other nights. Il Culaccino, an Italian kitchen in The Lex, Apolonia on South Michigan Avenue and Moody Tongue Brewing Company on South Wabash Avenue are on the same list.

Parkway Bank Park, Rosemont

5501 Park Place, Rosemont, IL 60018

Zanies Rosemont shares Parkway Bank Park, a district of 15 places to eat and be entertained round a great lawn, with its neighbours. Fat Rosie's, at 5433 Park Pl, pours more than 50 tequilas and stays open until 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays and midnight on Thursdays. Bub City, at 5441 Park Place, serves barbecue, whiskey and live country music until midnight on Fridays and 1 am on Saturdays, and 10 pm Monday to Thursday. Fogo de Chão is at 5460 Park Pl and Crust Brewing, with brick ovens and its own beer, at 5500 Park Place.

Which L lines run all night

Only two L lines run through the night: the Red Line, from Howard in the north to 95th/Dan Ryan in the south by way of the downtown subway, and the Blue Line, from O'Hare to Forest Park, both at all hours every day. The rest stop. The last Brown Line trains leave the Loop for Kimball at 2:05 am on weekdays and Saturdays and 1:35 am on Sundays; the Green Line's last runs leave Cottage Grove for Harlem at 1:10 am; and the Orange Line's last train for Midway leaves the Loop at 1:30 am.

CTA Owl buses

The CTA marks its overnight routes Owl. Those nearest the rooms are the 22 Clark, at all hours along Clark Street from Howard to Clark/Harrison; the 77 Belmont, at all hours on Belmont Avenue from Harlem to Halsted; the 81 Lawrence, at all hours from Jefferson Park to Wilson/Marine along Lawrence Avenue, past the Green Mill at Lawrence & Broadway; and the 4 Cottage Grove, whose late-evening and overnight buses run between the 95th Dan Ryan Red Line stop and Columbus/Randolph, stopping at Michigan and Cermak by Wintrust Arena. The 73 Armitage past Park West is not an Owl route: its last buses leave by 10:20 pm on weekdays and by 7:30 pm at weekends.

Rosemont after the show

From Zanies Rosemont the Blue Line, a mile away at Rosemont station, is the way back into the city at any hour. The free Pace 811 circulator links the club's Parkway Bank Park with the Rosemont Transit Center until 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays, midnight Monday to Thursday and 9:30 pm on Sundays, and the district's garage is open 24 hours. Metra's North Central Service, which also stops at Rosemont, at 10005 Balmoral Avenue, runs on weekdays only and is no help on a weekend night. On both festival weekends shuttle buses stand in for Blue Line trains between Harlem and Jefferson Park from 10 pm on Friday.

Metra to the suburbs

Metra's trains to the suburbs leave from five downtown stations: Union Pacific lines from the Ogilvie Transportation Center at Madison and Canal, the North Central, Milwaukee District, BNSF, SouthWest and Heritage Corridor lines from Union Station, Rock Island trains from LaSalle Street Station and the Metra Electric from Millennium and Van Buren. On the closing weekend the Rock Island Line is shut: the last outbound train, number 511 to Joliet, leaves LaSalle Street at 8:25 pm on Friday 13 November, and trains return in time for Monday's morning rush, 16 November. A Metra Day Pass lasts until 3 am the next day.

Cabs and ride-hail

Chicago's licensed ride-hail companies include Lyft and Uber, and a city cab can be hailed and paid for by phone through CHICABS-approved apps such as Arro. Wintrust Arena names all three for getting away after an event. Divvy bikes are another way home: a 24-hour pass gives unlimited 30-minute rides, and there is a dock in McCormick Square on King Drive. At O'Hare, taxis are taken only from the marked stands outside baggage claim, and Uber and Lyft pick up from the upper level of Terminals 2 and 3.

Bears v Buccaneers at Soldier Field

Soldier Field, Chicago

The Chicago Bears play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field on Sunday 8 November at 7:20 pm, televised on NBC, the same night Ron White plays The Chicago Theatre and Fiona Cauley plays Zanies Chicago. The Bears have no game the following weekend, and Zanies Rosemont fills Sunday 15 November with a comedy showcase for the bye week at 4 pm, $27.25 a seat. The next home game is on Sunday 22 November, against the New Orleans Saints at noon.

The Second City

1616 N Wells St, Chicago, IL 60614

Further up Wells Street, at number 1616, The Second City stages Pandemonium, Please Hold, its 114th Mainstage Revue: sketches, improv and live music from a cast of six, upstairs. It is rated R for language, and guests must be 13 or older, with minors accompanied by an adult. It runs 120 minutes with a 15-minute interval, seating starts 45 minutes ahead, and small plates, drinks and local craft beer are served in the theatre. The Piper's Alley car park at 230 W. North Ave does not validate.

Broadway In Chicago

Broadway In Chicago's touring shows overlap the festival: Jekyll & Hyde plays until 8 November and Jersey Boys from 10 to 22 November, in the Loop's theatres. Through a deal with Metra, a valid Broadway In Chicago ticket also buys a free round trip on any Metra line on the day of the performance, shown to the conductor each way, for every performance from 8 September 2026 to 31 January 2027. Blue Man Group's holiday show and The Hip Hop Nutcracker follow from 24 November.

Saturdays and Sunday at the Green Mill

4802 N. Broadway Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

The Green Mill in Uptown has afternoon shows on both festival weekends: Paper Machete from 3 pm to 5 pm on Saturdays 7 and 14 November, and the Uptown Poetry Slam at the same hours on Sunday 15 November. Late on Friday nights, after the festival's shows, Marquis Hill leads a jam from 1 am to 3:30 am, and on Saturday nights the Righteous Rooster organ trio plays from 1 am to 4 am, with a $5 cover from 1 am to closing. It takes cash only and admits over-21s.

Friday 13 November: Nikki Glaser downtown

Start with dinner at the Exchequer, at 226 S. Wabash, which serves until 11 pm on Fridays, then head to The Chicago Theatre for Nikki Glaser, on The Stunning Tour, at 7 pm, doors at 6 pm, going in beneath the marquee. After the show, Cindy's Rooftop, at the Chicago Athletic Association, stays open until midnight on Fridays. The Red Line runs all night for the North Side; for a Rosemont hotel, the Blue Line has shuttle buses between Jefferson Park and Harlem from 10 pm that Friday.

Saturday 14 November: Ali Siddiq, then Old Town late

Ali Siddiq plays Wintrust Arena at 7 pm, doors at 6 pm; take a clear bag or a small purse. After the show, the Green Line from Cermak-McCormick Place, 0.15 miles west, runs north along the Wabash side of the Loop; change at Washington/Wabash to the Brown Line for Sedgwick, 0.3 miles from Zanies Chicago, where After Hours with Calvin Evans starts at 11:15 pm, doors at 11 pm, for $26. The Old Town Ale House at 219 W North Ave is open until 5 am on Saturdays, and the 22 Clark Owl bus runs all night.

Sunday 15 November: Uptown, then the closing night

Spend the afternoon at the Uptown Poetry Slam at the Green Mill, 3 pm to 5 pm, with cash in hand; the Red Line's Lawrence stop is a block away. Back south, Gabe Gibbs plays Zanies Chicago at 6 pm, doors at 5 pm, for $37.95, or Nikki Glaser closes The Chicago Theatre's run at 7 pm. The festival's last show is Danny Gonzalez at Park West at 8:30 pm. Kingston Mines, on North Halsted Street, plays blues on Sundays until 1 am, and the 22 Clark Owl bus runs all night along Clark Street.

Art Institute of Chicago

111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago

The Art Institute is open on Monday 16 November, from 11 am to 5 pm, its first hour, 10 to 11, kept for members; it is shut on Tuesdays. Adult general admission is $32, and children under 14 go free. Its exhibition Mary Cassatt: After Impressionism, more than 70 works from the height of her career, runs until 3 January and costs $7 on top of general admission. The Michigan Avenue entrance is at 111 South Michigan Avenue and the Modern Wing's at 159 East Monroe Street.

Skydeck at Willis Tower

233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606

Skydeck, in Willis Tower at 233 S Wacker Dr, keeps winter hours from 1 October to 28 February, 9 am to 8 pm daily and until 9 pm on Saturdays, with last entry 30 minutes before closing, so on Monday 16 November it is open until 8 pm. General admission, from $32 for adults and $22 for children aged 3 to 11, covers the museum, the observation deck and The Ledge, the glass-floored balconies on the 103rd floor; expedited entry with a booked time slot starts at $55. It opens 365 days a year.

Field Museum

1400 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605

The Field Museum, on DuSable Lake Shore Drive, is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm, with last entry at 4 pm, closing only on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. General admission starts at $30, tickets are sold online and at the museum, and children under three always go free. Among its current shows, After the Age of Dinosaurs runs until 3 January 2027, and SUE, its T. rex, has a 3D film of her own.

360 CHICAGO

875 N Michigan Avenue, 94th Floor, Chicago

360 CHICAGO, the observation deck on the 94th floor at 875 N Michigan Avenue, is open daily from 9 am to 11 pm, with last entry at 10 pm, so it fits early in the day or late in the evening. It stands 1,030 feet above the city, and tickets start at $27 a person when booked online, a saving of $11. Besides the views it has TILT, sold as the city's highest thrill, and the CloudBar, its highest bar.

To O'Hare for an evening flight

Monday 16 November is clear of the Blue Line's weekend works, which end at 4 am that morning, so trains run normally between downtown and O'Hare all day and all night, taking 40 to 45 minutes. A ride boarded downtown is the ordinary $2.50; the $5 fare applies only on entry at O'Hare. At the airport, the train arrives below Terminals 1, 2 and 3; for Terminal 5, passengers change to the Airport Transit System. A taxi averages $50 from O'Hare to downtown. Cindy's Rooftop closes early that day, at 3 pm, for a private event, so a last lunch there needs to be an early one.