The following activities are a sampling of the many tours, museums, and other attractions that Chicago has to offer to visitors. For more options or information, please visit the City of Chicago’s Office of Tourism. Please note that Terminus is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, any of the listed attractions. You should verify hours of operation, prices, and whether or not the attraction is open before you visit.
The Loop - | - Downtown Chicago
The Loop
The following are less than a half hour’s walk from the Hilton Chicago Hotel.
Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum
Location: 1300 South Lake Shore Drive
Telephone: 312-922-STAR
Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Fridays until 10:00 p.m.
Admission: $10 for exhibits only, additional cost for shows
Constructed in 1930, the Adler Planetarium was the first planetarium built in the western hemisphere and is the oldest in existence today. The Adler boasts 35,000 square feet of exhibit space and is the only museum in the world to have two full-sized planetarium theaters. It is located in Chicago’s Museum Campus with the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium.Art Institute of Chicago
Location:: 111 South Michigan Avenue
Telephone: 312-443-3600
Hours: 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Thursdays until 8:00 p.m.; weekends 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission: $12
One of the great art museums of the world, the Art Institute of Chicago presents a collection spanning 5,000 years of artistic expression. Paintings, prints and drawings, sculptures, photographs, video, textiles, and architectural drawings and fragments are complemented by a year-round schedule of exhibitions. The Institute is known for its collection of Impressionist works.Buckingham Fountain
Location: Grant Park
Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
Dedicated to the City of Chicago in 1927 by Kate Buckingham in honor of her brother, Clarence, the fountain includes a major water display, including 150-foot-high jets, every hour. The fountain is made of Georgia pink marble, and was designed to represent Lake Michigan, with four horses symbolizing the four states that touch the lake.Grant Park
Location: South Michigan Avenue, between Roosevelt and Randolph, along the lakeshore
Admission: Free
Grant Park's beginnings date to 1835, when foresighted citizens, fearing commercial lakefront development, lobbied to protect the open space. As a result, the park's original area east of Michigan Avenue was designated "public ground forever to remain vacant of buildings." Today, proudly referred to as Chicago's "front yard," Grant Park is among the city's loveliest and most prominent parks.Field Museum of Natural History
Location: 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive
Telephone: 312-922-9410
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Admission: $12
Incorporated in 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago, the Field Museum changed its name in 1905 to honor its largest benefactor, Marshall Field. Today, the museum, in the same lakefront property it has occupied since 1921, has world-class collections in natural history, and supports both public learning and private research. It is located in Chicago’s Museum Campus with the Adler Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium.Sears Tower
Location: 233 S. Wacker Drive
Telephone: 312-875-9696
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Admission: $12.95
At 1,353 feet, the Skydeck at Sears Tower is the highest observatory in Chicago. Once the tallest building in the world, the 110 stories of the Sears Tower now includes museum-quality exhibits on the past and present of Chicago.Shedd Aquarium
Location: 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive
Telephone: 312-939-2438
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; weekends to 6:00 p.m.
Admission: $8.00 - $27.50
Opened in 1929, and now a national historic landmark, the Shedd Aquarium was for many years the largest indoor aquarium in the world. John G. Shedd, president of the Marshall Field Company, endowed the Aquarium in order to help Chicago become a world-class city. Today it provides a home for 2100 species of fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians and insects. It is located in Chicago’s Museum Campus with the Adler Planetarium and the Field Museum.Soldier Field
Location: 1410 South Museum Campus Drive
Telephone: (312) 235-7000
Soldier Field, home of the famed Chicago Bears football team, was recently rebuilt for the second time in 2003, giving it the nickname “New Soldier Field.” The stadium has a capacity of over 100,000 and may be hosting pre-season games in August, 2008. Please call the stadium for more information.
The Loop - | - Downtown Chicago
Downtown Chicago
The following are located in downtown Chicago, and probably require a taxi or train ride.
John Hancock Building
Location: 875 N. Michigan Avenue
Telephone: 312-751-3681
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Admission: $10.25
Featuring spectacular views spanning 80 miles and 4 states, the Hancock Observatory is a “must-see” for visitors to Chicago.Lincoln Park Zoo
Location: 2001 N. Clark Street
Telephone: 312-742-2000
Hours: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Admission: Free
Lincoln Park Zoo is a world of wildlife in the shadow of skyscrapers. Located within a verdant park just minutes north of Chicago, the zoo has been a natural, free oasis for generations of animal lovers, who come to hear a lion’s roar echo off nearby apartment buildings, see gorillas climb trees as the Sears Tower looms in the distance, or forget where they are as they immerse themselves in tropical rainforests, dry-thorn forests or spacious savannas.Magnificent Mile
Location: North Michigan Avenue, north of the Chicago River
Chicago’s Magnificent Mile contains a mixture of upscale department stores, restaurants, high-end retailers, office buildings and hotels, and caters primarily to tourists and the affluent. It is the home of Chicago's famous Water Tower landmark, Water Tower Park with its historic clock, as well as the eight-level Water Tower Place shopping center. The Water Tower is the only building to have survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 still standing today.Museum of Contemporary Art
Location: 220 E. Chicago Avenue
Telephone: 312-280-2660
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Wednesday – Sunday; 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Tuesday; closed Mondays
Admission: $10.00; Tuesdays are free
One of the nation's largest facilities devoted to the art of our time, the Museum of Contemporary Art offers exhibitions of the most thought-provoking art created since 1945. The MCA documents contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance.Navy Pier
Location: 600 East Grand Avenue
Telephone: 312-595-PIER
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday until midnight
Admission: Free, though the attractions and dining bear costs
Navy Pier excites and entices guests with their favorite sights and sounds of the seasons. Open year-round, there is always a reason to visit the place where excitement awaits! The 3,000-foot long pier stretches out into Lake Michigan, ending in a 150-foot high Ferris Wheel. Other attractions include an IMAX theater, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Chicago Children's Museum, the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, and a statue of Chicago comedian Bob Newhart. Navy Pier showcases a unique collection of restaurants and shops in addition to recreational and exhibition facilities – in a setting like no other!Science and Industry Museum
Location: 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive
Telephone: 773-684-1414
Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday – Saturday; 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sunday
Admission: $11
Housed in the only surviving building from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (the Fine Arts Building), the Museum was established in 1926 by Sears, Roebuck & Co. chairman, Julius Rosenwald. The Museum is known for its three floors of unique and quirky permanent exhibits, and almost all of its collection is interactive.U.S. Cellular Field
Location: 333 West 35th Street
Telephone: 312-674-1000
Admission: $17-65 for tickets; call for tour prices
U.S. Cellular Field, also known as New Comiskey Park, is the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. The gift shop is open even when the team is on the road, but generally the stadium only opens to the public for the White Sox home games.Wrigley Field
Location: 1060 West Addison
Telephone: 773-404-CUBS
Admission: $8-$67 for games; $25 for tours
Wrigley Field, the second-oldest baseball stadium in the United States, is the home stadium of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The gift shop is open even when the team is on the road, but generally the stadium only opens to the public for the Cubs home games.
The Loop - | - Downtown Chicago