A trip to Chicago could help tourists seeking a taste of the Chicago vibe. Whether you’re a resident looking for things to kill your boring weekends or a visitor exploring the city, Chicago offers many activities and attractions to suit every taste and interest. With so much to do and see in Chicago, many of which offer unique perspectives of the city’s skyline, the following things to do in Chicago are among the best:.
Fun Things to Do in Chicago
1. Chicago Water Taxi
Chicago Water Taxi, also known as Chicago’s river transportation service, with its iconic fleet of black and yellow boats, serves all three branches of the Chicago River from March to November. You can take a trip from Union Station to Shedd to Navy Pier and Michigan Avenue and many other best-known tourist best places to go in Chicago, all for a low price each trip, or buy a day pass. If you want to skip a long walk or traffic in the city, this is the way to travel. Image the water taxi cruises with incredible architecture with a scaled-back commentary on various sights. There is no better way to get around Chicago than by boat!
Add.: 400 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611-4104
Hours: 6:45 AM – 9:00 PM
One-way Tickets: $10
2. Birdwatching
There are so many great birding spots in the Chicago area, and they vary greatly by season. According to eBird, the top 3 spots in the Chicago area by bird species count are Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Illinois Beach State Park, and Jackson Park. But there are great birding hotspots all over the area. Garfield Park is the westmost part of the Chicago Park and Boulevard System. It features many lagoons with marshy borders, an island, and shrubby areas. The best places for birding are around the western lagoon. Birdwatching can be free or significantly improved with a $30 pair of binoculars. You can also walk at Montrose Bird Sanctuary, and you’ll see some cute birds, maybe even a Cooper’s Hawk. Regular walks outside could lower your anxiety, and you may feel like making friends more accessible; several friends are fellow local birders!
Add.: 4400 North Simonds Drive, Chicago, IL 60640
Hours: 24 Hours
Tickets: Free
3. Chicago Gangster Tour
Are you and your friends interested in taking a famous Chicago Gangster Tour or Ghost Tour during your visit? Why not get the best of both worlds with this non-theatrical, historian-guided tour of Chicago’s gangsters and ghosts story-filled Chicago Loop Vice District? Such a fun & educational experience with an outstanding tour guide, a smart, funny & knowledgeable, and native Chicagoan; the guide would make the crazy days of yesteryear in olden Chicago come to life, bring the stories to life and deliver humour. If you and your friends want to know the history lesson of criminal gangs and serial killers & the blood-chilling stories of those spirits that still haunt the city, enjoy learning about some of the history and characters of Chicago. Highly recommend!
Add.: Chicago, Illinois
Hours: 9:00 AM – 10:00 PM
Tickets: Adult (18-64) = $35; Senior (65+) = $25; Youth (7-17) = $17; Child (0-6) = Free
4. Lincoln Park Conservatory
A Chicago institution for more than a century, the Conservatory’s Main Garden blooms with more than 40,000 annuals. You must admire what a glorious gem of beauty in the middle of the bustling city! And free! There are four beautiful rooms – palm, fern, show, and orchid. The orchids are unique! Each is filled – to the roof in some cases – with incredibly lush plants, flowers and trees. It also had a coy pond. Tourists could watch as the fish danced in the warm waters while seeing the orchids above. What a scene! From time to time, one could see fruits growing in the treetops. If you want to stop and soak up the beauty, there are a few benches throughout. When in bloom, the outdoor areas are as lovely as the indoor ones. What a charming way to spend an hour find things to do in Chicago! Additionally, Lincoln Park Zoo near the Lincoln Park Conservatory is free; visiting there can be a cute, cheap date or just a pleasant stroll!
Add.: 2391 N. Stockton Dr.Chicago, IL 60614
Hours: 10:00 am-5:00; Monday, Tuesday closed
Tickets: free
5. Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield Zoo, located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois, visiting zoo is one of the fun things to do in Chicago! Tourists could enjoy a 235-acre zoological park featuring 3,481 animals from 511 species. In adddition, Brookfield Zoo Chicago believes everyone, from “cradle to gray,” should experience wildlife and nature. Spending time in and with nature is essential for physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development and well-being.
Are you a big fan of Carsie Capybara? Or maybe the western lowland gorillas or reticulated giraffes are your favourites. Did you know you can adopt them and help share in their care? Learn more by visiting Brookfield Zoo official website.
Add.: 8400 31st Street (1st Avenue and 31st Street), Brookfield, IL 60513
Hours: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM weekdays; 10:00 AM – 6:00PM weekends
Tickets: Adults: $29.95; Seniors 65 and over: $24.95; Children 3 to 11: $20.95
6. Ping Tom Memorial Park
The fun thing to do in Chicago is to try to explore any open fun landmarks in various neighbourhoods. Like Ping Tom Park in Chinatown, taking strolls in there is free. The park is pretty, with a lovely river view, a scenic view of the Chicago skyline, and incredible views of the city down the South Branch of the Chicago River. If you happen to catch a good sunset in the summer months, it will provide an incredible view of the city along with the sunset. Additionally, this park is away from the crowds, giving you more privacy and space. For people who love drawing, it’s an excellent place to sit and doodle in their sketchbook. By the way, Chinatown may be one of Chicago’s smallest neighbourhoods geographically, but it’s big on character, colours, sights, sounds, and flavours. In this South Side neighbourhood, you’ll find authentic Chinese restaurants dotting the length of Wentworth Avenue., and satiate your visual appetite with dozens of public art sculptures sprinkled throughout the neighbourhood ranging from animal structures to pagodas, a tile mosaic, Chinatown Gate, and a Buddhist Temple.
Add.: 1700 S. Wentworth Ave. Chicago, IL 60616
Hours: 6:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Tickets: Free
7. Garfield Park Conservatory
The Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, Illinois, is one of the world’s largest and most stunning conservatories, and it’s free. Often referred to as landscape art under glass, the Garfield Park Conservatory occupies approximately 12 acres inside and out and includes cold frames and propagating where thousands of plants are grown each year for displays in City parks and spaces. Tourists could take the green line to the Conservatory- Central Park Drive stop. The park provides bathrooms and a coat rack. You can hang our coats as the rooms are scorching and humid! There are multiple rooms with different types of plants. Each one is wonderful and magical. Come here in summer, and you’ll be wowed.
Add.: 300 N. Central Park Ave, Chicago, IL 60624
Hours: Wednesday 10am-8pm; Thursday – Sunday 10am-5pm; Closed Monday and Tuesday
Tickets: Free
8. Humboldt Park
Drive along North Avenue between Western and Pulaski any day of the week, and you will be awed by the sight of Humboldt Park, its size and greenery, historic buildings, and community gatherings. One of Chicago’s 77 designated community areas is located on the West Side in a primarily Puerto Rican neighbourhood, 207-acre park is the centrepiece of the community. Named for Alexander von Humboldt, a German naturalist and geographer, the park features three significant historical buildings–the Boat House, the Field House and the Historic Stables.
The park was laid out in 1869. Over the years, the neighbourhood was home to Scandinavians, then European Jews, then Polish, then Puerto Ricans, African Americans, Mexicans and other Latinos. In 1980, Puerto Ricans were the largest ethnic group in Humboldt Park. 2001, they founded the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture. 2009, they moved the museum into the historic Humboldt Park stables and receptory. It is the only museum of its kind in the United States. Originally completed in 1895, the stables and receptory are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are a Landmark of Chicago attractions. The building’s design highlights the Germanic character of the neighbourhood in the 1890s and is a fanciful creation of various roofs, finials, brick and half-timbering.
Add.: 1400 N Sacramento Ave, Chicago, IL 60622-2799
Hours: 24 Hours
Tickets: Free
9. Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois. It is now located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighbourhood on Halsted Street. The theatre’s name comes from Hermann Hesse’s novel Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is committed to year-round programing that engages their multi-generational audience with thought-provoking productions and helps develop new plays, audiences and artists for the future of American theater. For people who like the atmosphere of theatre and love the experience of going and seeing something live, like being in a dark and communal place with many people, Steppenwolf Theatre is best Chicago sites to see. Any theatre fan should visit Steppenwolf at least once to witness their unique theatrical style and talented company members. Allow some time here.
Add.: 1650 N Halsted St Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL 60614-5518
Hours: 11:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Tickets: The prices vary by performance
10. Museum of Science and Industry
The largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere! Housed in the only remaining building from the 1893 World’s Fair, MSI is a must-see places to visit in Chicago. You’ll experience 14 acres of hands-on exhibits and have the chance to stand before a 40-foot tornado, climb aboard a World War II German submarine, take a run in a human-sized hamster wheel, descend into an Illinois coal mine, tour a fully functioning eco-friendly home; board a 727 hanging from the ceiling; transmit your pulse to a 13-foot, 3-D beating heart; and much more! MSI is not a place where you walk around quietly and observe. No way! You get involved in the fun—and learn—by doing. Plus, they have constructed a new exhibit enclosure for the U-505, the only German U-Boat captured in WWII, which is beautifully displayed, letting people pay proper tribute to those who salvaged the sub.
Add.: 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive Chicago, IL 60637
Hours: Daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets: Adult – $25.95; Child ages 3-11 – $14.95
11. Shedd Aquarium
Shedd is a Chicago aquarium combines the best of early 20th-century aquariums, which is a diverse, global animal collection surrounded by mouth-dropping architecture and a commitment to 21st-century advances in animal care, environments, and interpretation. Shedd is one of only two aquariums in the United States where you can see Pacific white-sided dolphins. Penguin Encounter is a project that lets tourists meet Shedd’s penguins! During the 45-minute experience, you can discover what makes these birds so unique and see the penguins explore, preen, play with toys, perch and gulp fish. With the animal care expert’s guidance, you’ll also have a chance to touch the bird’s dense, waterproof feathers, which allow them to “fly” underwater and stay warm where it’s cold! Due to it being incredibly popular during travelling season and one of the best top attractions in Chicago , reservations are highly recommended. Don’t wait; explore the wonder of the aquatic animal world.
Add.: 1200 S. DuSable Lake Shore DriveChicago, IL 60605
Hours: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
Tickets: $19.95 Adult general admission every day
12. The Chicago Critics Film Festival
The event, a frequent nominee for Best Film Festival in the Chicago Reader’s “Best of Chicago” polls, annually features a selection of the most sought-after and anticipated films of the year hand-picked by members of the Chicago Film Critics Association, often with filmmakers, cast and crew in attendance to celebrate their work and connect with local audiences. It is the only current example of a major film critics group that hosts its festival in Chicago. Additional films, filmmakers, and special guests scheduled to attend will also be announced in the coming weeks. The Chicago Critics Film Festival occurs at Chicago’s famed Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport). If interested, please check out the complete festival lineup on the Chicago Critics Film Festival’s official website.
Add.: 3733 N Southport Ave Chicago, IL 60613
Hours: May 3 – May 9, 2024
Tickets: Festival Pass $200
Conclusion of Things to Do in Chicago
With its rich cultural heritage, diverse attractions, colorful activities, and vibrant atmosphere, Chicago is the perfect destination for weekends. Developed public transport systems can take you to any top attractions in Chicago. So, grab your friends or family and explore fun things to do in Chicago together.
FAQ
Navy Pier
Millennium Park
Chicago River
John Hancock Center
Chicago Water Tower
Buckingham Fountain
Field Museum of Natural History
Shedd Aquarium
Michigan Avenue is a major thoroughfare that runs north-south through downtown Chicago. Along North Michigan Avenue – between Oak Street and the Chicago River – lies the Magnificent Mile. This 13-block stretch is home to more than 450 retailers and is one of the world’s most iconic shopping districts.
National Museum of Mexican Art
National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
Chicago Cultural Center
Smart Museum of Art
Hyde Park Art Center
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