Free Things to Do in Chicago

It's easy to spend money in the big city: think shopping, museum-entrance fees, restaurants, theater. But if you'd like to put your wallet away for a while, here are some of our favorite options.

Free Art

Chicago has some of the most famous public art in the country, including a Picasso piece in Daley Plaza, Alexander Calder's Flamingo in Federal Plaza, and the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park. For a fairly comprehensive list, see cityofchicago.org/publicart or pick up a Chicago Public Art guide at a visitor center.

The City Gallery in the Historic Water Tower hosts rotating exhibits of Chicago-themed photography. 806 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60611. 312/742-0808.

Five different galleries showcase contemporary visual art by local artists at the Chicago Cultural Center. 78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL, 60602. 312/744-6630. www.chicagoculturalcenter.org.

Free Concerts

Grant Park and Millennium Park host regular classical and pop concerts in summer. For a schedule, pick up the Chicago Reader or buy a copy of TimeOut Chicago.

Chicago is a festival town, celebrating blues, jazz, country, gospel, Celtic, and world music during the warm months. For a schedule, see www.explorechicago.org.

Free jazz and classical concerts are performed Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12:15 in the Chicago Cultural Center. 78 E. Washington St., Chicago, IL, 60602. 312/744-6630. www.chicagoculturalcenter.org.

Free Movies

Local library branches and parks across the city show free movies throughout summer—check the Chicago Park District Web site for details (www.chicagoparkdistrict.com).

Free Dance Lessons

Learn to swing, polka, step, waltz, and salsa to the beat of a live band in Grant Park during the summer-long Chicago SummerDance Festival. Chicagoans of all ages and abilities sashay around the dance floor during the lessons and the free dancing afterward. For more information, see www.explorechicago.org.

Free Fireworks

Every Wednesday and Saturday night in summer Navy Pier puts on a showy display of colorful explosives. Watch from the pier or along the waterfront opposite Buckingham Fountain.

Free Improv

The world-famous Second City comedy troupe has a free improv set following the last performance every night but Friday. For more information, go to www.secondcity.com or call 312/664-4032.

Free Museum Days

Always Free

Jane Addams Hull-House Museum

Museum of Contemporary Photography

National Museum of Mexican Art

Oriental Institute Museum

Smart Museum of Art

Sunday:

Chicago Children's Museum (for those 15 and younger the first Sunday of each month)

DuSable Museum of African-American History (and on the first Saturday each month)

Monday:

Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum (selected months only)

Tuesday:

Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum (selected months only)

Museum of Contemporary Art

Swedish American Museum Center (second Tuesday each month)

Thursday:

Art Institute of Chicago (after 5 pm)

Chicago Children's Museum (5-8 pm only)

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Free TV-Show Tickets

Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Springer tape their shows in front of live audiences in Chicago. Though tickets are free, they are at a premium and must be reserved far in advance.

Until the hugely influential show ends production in September 2011, Oprah's shows are filmed at Harpo Studios. 1058 Washington St., Chicago, IL, 60607. 312/591-9222 for tickets. www.oprah.com.

The Jerry Springer Show is filmed at NBC Tower. 454 N. Columbus Dr., Chicago, IL, 60611. 312/321-5365. www.jerryspringertv.com.

Sightseeing Walks

That Great Street

The Loop—defined by the rectangle created by the El tracks—is the heart of downtown, and the heart of downtown is State Street. Begin at the south end of the Michigan Avenue Bridge, with your back to the Chicago Tribune's Gothic tower. Walk west along the river past Marina City's iconic corncob towers, perhaps taking the stairs down to the Riverwalk for a drink at one of the cafés. Once you're back at street level, make a left on State Street, cruising by the famous Chicago Theatre sign that marks the beginning of the theater district. Window-shop at the local landmark Marshall Field's, which is now Macy's, or just enjoy the facade of the Sullivan Center, once the home to department store Carson Pirie Scott. Heading south toward Congress Parkway, gaze up at the dramatic facade of the neoclassical Harold Washington Library, with its gigantic gargoyle-like owls—then head inside to admire the airy, glass-roof Winter Garden on the ninth (and top) floor.

Zootopia

In two hours on a beautiful day you can breeze through the Lincoln Park Zoo, stroll beside the park's lagoons, and discover the quaint, upscale neighborhood of Old Town. Beginning on North Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, walk north through the park alongside the lagoons. Watch the crew shells try to navigate past the fishing lines, or throw a line into the stocked lagoon yourself. Take your time exploring the zoo or continue north to the Lincoln Park Conservatory, pausing to admire North Pond with its lush greenery and the skyline reflected in its water. Then circle back south and slightly west to Wells Street, where the Second City improv troupe's theater and a host of tony shops and restaurants line brick streets.