Traveling alone in Chicago? You literally can order a "friend." Pick up the phone and call Chicago Greeter and you'll be reserving a local resident to show you around town for a few hours. For free.
The Chicago Office of Tourism matches visitors with residents knowledgeable about their city. They'll take you along the famous Chicago lakefront or to the city's parks, museums, boutiques or ethnic neighborhoods. You choose.
They're not professional tour guides. They're people who love their town and want to share it. They give you a personalized orientation, depending on your interests. And will spend two to four hours walking around, pointing things out. Or explaining things you'd like to know about the city.
I plan to take the city up on this the next time I'm in Chicago, despite the fact that I already HAVE a Chicago friend who's given me a tour of the very cool Millennium Park downtown and some ethnic neighborhoods. But she's not always around to give me personalized tours!
Houston and New York
Call Houston Greeters and have a volunteer take you to a Houston Astros baseball game. Or a walk around the neighborhood. Or on a pub crawl.
New York was the first city to have a volunteer welcome program for visitors. Big Apple Greeters have been taking people around their city's diverse neighborhoods since 1992. About 300 volunteers are ready and waiting. And they speak 22 languages. Book your airline ticket, submit your request for a greeter and have a grand time!
Any other cities out there that offer a greeter service?
Photo: Big Apple Greeter in a subway station, courtesy of the Big Apple Greeters Web site.
Sounds like a great idea! Let us know about your experience when you try it.
Posted by: Dominique | October 21, 2008 at 05:22 PM
Will do.
Ellen
Posted by: Ellen | October 21, 2008 at 08:36 PM