No matter their tastes or pursuits, tourists and locals alike are drawn to Chicago for its incredible restaurant scene, world-class shopping opportunities, stunning natural aesthetics and thrilling theater productions. It truly offers something for everyone in this Windy City!
Millennium Park should be on any visitor’s agenda when visiting Chicago. From ice skating to breathtaking views, this park provides visitors with plenty to experience and do. With more Cathay Pacific flights than ever, including Manila to Chicago, why not experience all the attractions?
1. Willis Tower
Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), situated high atop Chicago, offers stunning panoramic views. Completed in 1973 as one of the tallest buildings worldwide, today this icon serves as part of Chicago’s skyline and attracts millions each year.
Spend an unforgettable experience at Skydeck on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower and experience panoramic views. You can see up to four states from this vantage point and even feel how the structure moves at this height.
Visitors to The Ledge can also step out onto its glass boxes that connect with the Skydeck, offering an exhilarating and unforgettable experience – perhaps you will feel inspired to leave your own forehead prints like those seen in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off?
2. John Hancock Observatory
360 CHICAGO, located on the 94th floor of Chicago’s John Hancock Center, is one of its most beloved attractions. Overlooking Magnificent Mile and Lake Michigan, 360 CHICAGO offers breathtaking panoramic views and features an exciting thrill ride called TILT that provides visitors with unforgettable sights of Chicago skyline and lakefront as well as unmatched 360 degree vantage point views of this remarkable city.
Visitors can challenge their nerves on a glass-floored ledge that offers breathtaking views from 1,000 feet in the air, complete with cafe and bar services on deck, an open-air SkyWalk, multimedia exhibit, and now also the newly added CloudBar.
North America’s fastest elevators allow visitors to experience breathtaking views of Chicago, Lake Michigan, four neighboring states and more in just 40 seconds. Use your smartphone with Magnicity App for guided tour. Explore its history while at this iconic landmark; entry can also be purchased with discounted tourist passes.
3. Millennium Park
Millennium Park lies along Michigan Avenue just south of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and contains 24.5 acres that offer plenty of excitement. As one of Chicago’s cultural gems, Millennium Park combines public art, landscape design, modern architecture, iconic Cloud Gate (commonly referred to as “The Bean”) with Jay Pritzker Pavilions Lurie Garden Crown Fountain Harris Theater as well as many other attractions.
Millennium Park is a must-see for both tourists and Chicago natives! Take a selfie at The Bean or snap stunning skyline reflections using The Lens; Millennium Park has something to offer any visitor! Explore its tranquil gardens while dining al fresco; catch a show at Harris Theater or go ice skating during winter; don’t miss Maggie Daley Park; enjoy alfresco dining under its stunning stainless steel BP Bridge connecting Maggie Daley Park; it serves as a giant rooftop garden!
4. Maggie Daley Park
This 20-acre park offers an exciting playland in downtown Chicago for children of all ages to enjoy, while parents can relax and take advantage of skating ribbons, rock climbing walls, mini golf and tennis courts for themselves.
Maggie Daley Park features a quarter-mile skating ribbon that wraps around a climbing wall as its centerpiece. When covered with ice in winter months, this ribbon becomes ideal for skating or rollerblading; come summer time it becomes a path suitable for walking, jogging and rollerblading.
CityPASS saves 51% on tickets to Chicago’s top attractions over 9 days, providing access to this attraction for just $64. Join Happy Mom Hacks Community weekly email list for more family tips like these as well as fun Chicago attractions and fast meals – Click here for more details!
5. Navy Pier
Navy Pier is one of the Midwest’s premier attractions, boasting family museums, an IMAX movie theater, outdoor amusement park rides and cruises for everyone to enjoy.
Attractions here include the Centennial Wheel, providing stunning views of Chicago skyline. Crystal Gardens – an one-acre botanical garden housed inside a six-story glass atrium – also offer unparalleled views. Finally, Amazing Chicago Funhouse Maze provides self-paced maze experience unlike anything else available in Chicago.
Navy Pier offers seasonal events and attractions such as Tall Ship Windy sailings and Chicago Shakespeare Theater performances, as well as fireworks shows on Lake Michigan that are perfectly synced to music, offering visitors a stunning way to view the city skyline at sunset. Shoreline Sightseeing provides scenic tours along Chicago River for Chicago Go Card holders or simply offers beautiful sights of its own!
6. The Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute is widely considered one of the finest art museums worldwide, boasting an expansive collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, ancient cultures and even architecture and design spanning multiple epochs and genres.
Though perhaps best known for its Impressionist collection – including Monet’s Haystacks and Renoir’s Two Sisters – the museum also displays world-renowned masterpieces from other regions. Recreate iconic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off scenes by visiting Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte or marvel at Jackson Pollock and Jasper Johns modernist works.
The Art Institute of Chicago is conveniently situated within Grant Park, making it an easy combination with other top attractions like Millennium Park and the Chicago Bean. Purchase a Go Chicago Card to save up to 55% off admission prices at all top Chicago attractions including this museum!
7. The Field Museum
The Field Museum is one of the world’s premier natural history museums, providing visitors with access to over 4.6 billion years of biological, anthropological and natural history collections. While exploring every inch can take days of touring alone, some highlights include exploring an ancient Egyptian tomb or seeing dinosaur skeletons up close.
Other exhibits feature cultural gems, including the largest collection of mummies in the US and a three-story mastaba housing two rooms from an authentic tomb dating back 5,000 years. Furthermore, visitors will get to witness rare gemstones and enter a hall devoted to prehistoric America.
The Field Museum, along with Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium, forms Chicago’s Museum Campus and can be purchased as part of several money-saving tourist passes. There is also an abundance of dining and shopping opportunities on-site; Illinois residents receive complimentary admission.
8. Morton Arboretum
Established by business mogul Joy Morton in 1922, the Arboretum preserves trees and other woody plants from all around the world. Explore shady woodlands, an Illinois prairie recreation, the Maze Garden’s winding paths or take a guided tram tour – you’re bound to have an experience worth remembering at the Arboretum!
Alicia LaVire, Arboretum Visitor: Trees and nature provide me with much-needed respite. Whether I’m sitting and watching birds flit around in my viewfinder or enjoying the dew on flowers as it drizzles down onto them – trees and nature provide healing qualities I find soothing.
Take a guided hike with an expert to gain more knowledge of the grounds. Visit sculptor Daniel Popper’s Human+Nature exhibition featuring 15-to 26-foot sculptures by people connected with trees; this ongoing show can be visited multiple times. During holiday season Electric Illumination features LED lights set to music that provide a mile-long walk-through.
9. St. Patrick’s Day
Whatever you’re in the mood for – watching the river turn green, enjoying a Guinness-fueled pub crawl, or embarking on an Irish culture and heritage cruise – Chicago provides numerous ways to do just that.
If you want to enjoy the festivities without engaging in public drinking (which is generally frowned upon early in the day), head over to the Irish American Heritage Center following the parade for their festival, ideal for families. They feature dance performances, language classes and various other activities.
Lastly, for those who’d rather admire the green water from a distance, many tour companies offer architecture river cruises during St. Patrick’s Day weekend. You’ll get a unique perspective of city’s sights while sipping themed cocktails and listening to bagpipe music; plus witness river dyeing happen! So be sure to don your green attire and party like a leprechaun!
10. Bloomingdale Trail Park
Bloomingdale Trail Park in Chicago’s version of New York’s High Line, established in 2015, offers an elevated greenway ideal for joggers and walkers alike. Offering separate pedestrian and bike lanes with stunning public art installations along its length, as well as lush landscaping features this urban greenspace makes an impactful statement of Chicago’s urban renaissance.
“The 606,” Chicago’s 2.7-mile long linear park known as “The 606,” is the longest elevated rail-to-trail conversion project in the U.S. It connects Logan Square, Bucktown, Wicker Park and Humboldt Park neighborhoods – serving over 80,000 residents within 10-minute walking distance from its path.
This park features the striking statues of Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Man and Scarecrow crafted by artist John Kearney from chrome car bumpers. You can reach it by walking, biking or public transit; all trails are also ADA accessible for easy accessibility. Don’t miss this free place of exploration away from downtown Chicago’s hustle and bustle!
