Chicago Attractions

Hancock Observatory and Tower
Admission: Adults: $15, Children (3-11yrs): $10
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The third-tallest building in Chicago at 1,127 feet (343 meters), the Hancock Observatory and Tower stands proudly amidst affluent North Michigan Avenue. An elevator whisks you 94 floors up for stellar, panoramic views of Lake Michigan and Chicago from its viewing platform. Or, take the elevator two floors higher to Hancock's 96th floor Signature...

Navy Pier
Admission: Free
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Chicago's most-visited tourist attraction, Navy Pier will certainly blow the minds of children younger than twelve. The pier's collection of high-tech rides, hands-on fountains, kid-focused educational exhibits, fast-food restaurants, and trinket vendors will transport your child into the kind of overstimulated, joyful state you haven't witnessed...

John G. Shedd Aquarium
Admission: Adults $27, Children (3-11yrs) $20
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The world's largest assortment of finned, gilled, amphibious, and other aquatic creatures swims within the marble-clad confines of the John G. Shedd Aquarium. Though it could simply rest on its superlative exhibits - like beluga whales in a 4 million gallon (15 million liter) aquarium - the Shedd makes a point of trying to tie concepts of...

Field Museum of Natural History
Admission: Adults: $15, Children (3-11yrs): $10
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With more than 20 million artifacts, the Field Museum of Natural History is an engaging museum filled with both interactive and imaginative displays. The big attraction is the Tyrannosaurus rex named "Sue," a 13 foot (4 meter) tall, 41 ft (13 m) long beast who menaces the grand space with ferocious aplomb. The most complete T-Rex ever discovered,...

Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
Admission: Adults: $10, Children (3-11yrs): $6
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The first planetarium built in the western hemisphere, the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum still captures intergalactic imaginations. From the entrance, visitors descend below the building, which has 12 sides, one for each sign of the zodiac. In the newest wing, a digital sky show recreates such cataclysmic phenomena as supernovas....

Museum of Science and Industry
Admission: Adults: $15, Children (3-11yrs): $10
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You certainly won’t be under-stimulated on a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry, a must-see Chicago museum. With some 2,000 exhibits to see, most of which are interactive, this massive museum continues to enlighten and amaze. Nine permanent exhibits thoroughly examine everything on Earth, from cerebral concepts like the passage of time to...

Millennium Park
Admission: Free
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One of Chicago’s most stunning parks, Millennium Park - part of larger Grant Park - is a showcase for modern architecture. It features, among other highlights, the McCormick Tribune Ice Skating Rink, the peristyle at Wrigley Square, the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, AT&T Plaza, Chase Promenade, and the Trees in...

Willis (Sears) Tower
Admission: Adults: $16, Children (3-11yrs): $11
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Once the world’s tallest building, Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower) is still the USA's tallest building, and it's still way up in the clouds. Its observation platform - the Skydeck - draws 1.5 million people a year who are eager to ascend the 110-story, 1,454 foot (443 meter) building for awesome panoramic views of the city and...

Lincoln Park Zoo
Admission: Free
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This neighborhood gets its name from Chicago's largest park. Its 1,200 acres (485 hectares) stretch for 6 miles (10 kilometers), from North Avenue north to Diversey Parkway, where it narrows along the lake and continues until the end of Lake Shore Drive. Lincoln Park Zoo has many lakes, trails and paths; cross-country skiing in the winter and...

Art Institute of Chicago
Admission: Adults: $18; Children, Students and Seniors (65 and up): $12; Children (under 14): Free; Members: Free
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Chicago visitors flock to the Art Institute of Chicago, located in Grant Park, to admire two very important and much-parodied American works, Grant Wood’s famous 1930 painting, American Gothic (the iconic farmer with a pitchfork, standing next to his spinster daughter), and Edward Hopper’s 1942 Nighthawks (the painting of people sitting in a late-...

Grant Park
Admission: Free
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Proudly referred to as Chicago's "front yard," Grant Park is home to three world-class museums - the Art Institute, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Shedd Aquarium - as well as the Museum Campus, a 1995 transformation of paved areas into beautiful greenspace. It’s also among the city's loveliest and most prominent parks. Centered...

Second City
Admission: Ticket prices vary by event
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If Alan Arkin, Jack Burns, John Belushi, Bill Murray, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Shelley Long, George Wendt, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Steve Carell, Tina Fey or Amy Sedaris have made you laugh in the past, do yourself a favor and catch the next big comedian at the Second City – those comedians are part of a long list of...

Magnificent Mile / Michigan Avenue
Admission: Enjoy Shopping!
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Fashion, architecture and history in Chicago come together on a renowned stretch of Michigan Avenue nicknamed the Magnificent Mile. As you walk from the Mile’s southern border, the Chicago River, to its northern border, Oak Street, you’ll pass several Chicago landmarks like the Water Tower, one of the city’s most beloved buildings and one of the...