Exploring Chicago's Film Locations: Lights, Camera, Van Rentals!

12 Sep-2023

Chicago has starred in more movies and TV shows than almost any city in the country — its theaters, skyline, and lakefront show up on screen again and again. For a film buff traveling with a group, touring those locations is a perfect day out, and a van rental lets everyone ride together and chase the scenes at your own pace. Here are the spots worth putting on your route.

The scenes worth chasing

Start at the iconic Chicago Theatre with its famous marquee, then hit Millennium Park for “The Bean” and the skyline behind it. Work in the Art Institute of Chicago, Navy Pier, and the John Hancock Center for classic on-screen backdrops, plus Wrigley Field for the sports-movie shots. Round it out along the Chicago River and its bridges, and finish at Montrose Beach on the lakefront. Together they make a full day of Chicago’s greatest cinematic hits.

Why a van makes the tour easy

These landmarks are spread across the city, so splitting into cars or paying for rideshares all day gets slow and expensive. One van keeps your whole group together, with room for everyone and the freedom to linger at the spots you love and skip the ones you don’t.

Comfortable from scene to scene

A comfortable van turns the drive between locations into part of the fun — climate control, easy seating, and space to relax. Our Mercedes-Benz Sprinters even add a smoother, quieter ride and advanced safety features for city driving.

Go beyond the city

Because we’re Illinois-based (Melrose Park and Berwyn, with O’Hare and Midway pickup), your film tour doesn’t have to stop at the city limits — you can drive our vans anywhere across the USA and into Canada, no special license needed for personal use.

Filming in Chicago? Vans for cast and crew

Chicago isn’t just a backdrop on screen — it’s an active production city, and film crews, commercial shoots, and touring music artists rely on passenger vans to keep a production moving. Crews shuttle between locations all day, talent and their assistants travel in comfort, and everyone gets picked up from O’Hare or Midway in one trip. Because a shoot lives and dies by its schedule, our dealer-maintained fleet and flexible daily, weekly, and monthly rates keep production days running smoothly, with up to three additional drivers free so PAs and coordinators can share the wheel. And when a shoot heads out of town, you can take our vans anywhere across the USA — and, unlike the big chains, into Canada, home to major production hubs like Toronto and Vancouver. Put your principal cast and artists in a luxury Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and the wider crew in a Ford Transit, and the whole team travels together.

Which van should you pick?

For a first-class day out, the 10-passenger Mercedes-Benz Road Cruiser or the 15-passenger Sprinter travel in style. Prefer to keep it budget-friendly? The 15-passenger Ford Transit keeps the group together for less. Browse the full fleet.