137 Best Sights in Chicago, Illinois

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, this multipurpose skyscraper is distinguished by its tapering shape and enormous X braces, which help stabilize its 100 stories. Soon after it went up in 1970, it earned the nickname "Big John." No wonder: it's 1,127 feet tall (the taller east tower is 1,506 feet counting its antennae). Packed with retail space, parking, offices, a restaurant, and residences, it has been likened to a city within a city. Like the Willis Tower, which was designed by the same architectural team, this skyscraper offers views of four states on clear days. To see them, ascend to the 94th-floor observatory—now dubbed 360 Chicago ($30). While there, visitors can grab a cocktail, beer, wine, hot drink or nonalcoholic beverage at Bar 94, which can only be accessed with a General Admission ticket. Thrill seekers can pay an additional fee to take advantage of the tower's most exciting feature, The Tilt ($8), which has eight windows that tilt downward to a 30-degree angle, giving you a unique perspective on the city below. Those with vertigo might prefer a seat in the bar of the 96th-floor Signature Lounge; the tab will be steep, but you don't pay the observatory fee and you'll be steady on your feet.

Taking you on a journey through the stars to unlock the mysteries of our galaxy and beyond, the Adler tells amazing stories of space exploration through high-tech exhibits and immersive theater experiences. Artifacts and interactive elements bring these fascinating tales of space and its pioneers down to earth. The Grainger Sky Theater gives an up-close view of stunning space phenomena, and the magnificent imagery is so realistic that it might only be surpassed by actual space travel. The newest permanent exhibit is "The Universe: A Walk Through Space and Time." A spectacular projection showcases the enormity of the universe, and touch screens let you investigate diverse and beautiful objects from deep space. Journey through space in the Definiti Space Theater, or don 3-D glasses to view celestial phenomena in the Samuel C. Johnson Family Star Theater.

Just north of Uptown there's a neighborhood that feels like a small town and still shows signs of the Swedish settlers who founded it. Andersonville has some great restaurants and bakeries, many of which pay tribute to its Scandinavian roots. In winter months, be sure to drop by Simon's Tavern, at 5210 North Clark, for a glass of glögg (mulled wine)—it's a traditional favorite. Helping anchor the area is the Women & Children First bookstore, at 5233 North Clark, which stocks an extensive selection of feminist tomes and children's lit.

Come for the sterling collection of old masters and impressionists (an entire room is dedicated to Monet); linger over the extraordinary and comprehensive photography collection; take in a number of fine American works; and discover paintings, drawings, sculpture, and design spanning the ancient to the contemporary world.

With its flanking lions and marble lobby, the Michigan Avenue main building was once part of the World's Columbian Exposition. It opened as the Art Institute on December 8, 1893. While the collection is best known for its impressionist and postimpressionist pieces, visitors will find works from a vast range of periods and places, including Greek, Roman, Byzantine, European, Asian, African, and Native American art. Such iconic works as Grant Wood's American Gothic and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks can be found in the American galleries. Chicago favorites like the Thorne Miniature Room and Chagall's stained-glass American Windows are must-sees as well.

After the Renzo Piano–designed Modern Wing opened in 2009, the Art Institute became one of the largest art museums in the country. The 264,000-square-foot building contains the finest 20th- and 21st-century art in many mediums.

Hunkered down across from Grant Park, this 110,000-ton granite-and-limestone behemoth was an instant star when it debuted in 1899, and it didn't hurt the careers of its designers, Dankmar Adler and Louis H. Sullivan, either. Inside were offices, a 400-room hotel, and a 4,300-seat state-of-the-art theater with electric lighting and an air-cooling system that used 15 tons of ice per day. Adler managed the engineering—the theater's acoustics are renowned—and Sullivan ornamented the space using mosaics, cast iron, art glass, wood, and plaster. During World War II the building was used as a Servicemen's Center. Then Roosevelt University moved in and, thanks to the school's Herculean restoration efforts, the theater is again one of the city's premiere performance venues. Tours are offered on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

After more than 25 years flying under the radar inside the Railway Exchange Building a few blocks south, the Chicago Architecture Foundation opened this sparkling new home in 2018. The 20,000-square-foot facility features interactive exhibits about the city's built environment, and it sits right above the dock where the center's indispensable river cruise tours board. Tours by bus and on foot also depart from the facility, which houses a terrific gift shop as well.

"Hands-on" is the operative concept at this brightly colored Navy Pier anchor. Kids can tinker with tools, climb through three stories of tunnels, play at being a firefighter, dig for dinosaur fossils, and create a masterpiece in the Art Studio.

Built in 1897 as the city's original public library, this huge building houses the Chicago Office of Tourism Visitor Information Center, as well as a gift shop, galleries, and a concert hall. Designed by the Boston firm Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge—the team behind the Art Institute of Chicago—it's a palatial affair notable for its Carrara marble, mosaics, gold leaf, and the world's largest Tiffany glass dome.

Seeking to bring Chicago's often complicated history to life, this museum has several strong permanent exhibits, including "Chicago: Crossroads of America," which celebrates homegrown cultural contributions from urban blues to the skyscraper and demystifies tragedies like the Haymarket Affair, in which a bomb thrown during a labor rally in 1884 led to eight anarchists being convicted of conspiracy. In "Sensing Chicago," kids can feel what the city was once like—they can catch a fly ball at Comiskey Park (now U.S. Cellular Field), dress up like a Chicago-style hot dog, and take a spin on a penny-farthing bicycle. “City on Fire: Chicago 1871” immerses visitors in the destruction and aftermath of the notorious inferno that displaced one-third of the city’s residents in just two days.

Sitting alongside the lagoons of Washington Park, the DuSable Museum, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, offers an evocative exploration of the African American experience. The most moving display is about slavery—rusted shackles used on slave ships are among the poignant and disturbing artifacts. The museum also has a significant art collection. Rotating exhibits showcase African American milestones, achievements, and contributions.

This 1951 minimalist dwelling by Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe sits just down the Fox River from Aurora. Constructed of steel, wood, and travertine marble, it appears to nearly float against a backdrop of serene river views and woodland landscapes. Now operated as a museum by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Farnsworth House may only be seen by guided tour (advance reservations are required). Note that the house is a half-mile walk from the visitor center.

More than 400,000 square feet of exhibit space fill this gigantic museum, which explores cultures and environments from around the world. Interactive displays examine such topics as the secrets of Egyptian mummies, the art and innovations of people living in the Ancient Americas, and the evolution of life on Earth. Originally funded by Chicago retailer Marshall Field, the museum was founded in 1893 to hold material gathered for the World's Columbian Exposition; its current neoclassical home opened in 1921. The museum holds the world's best dinosaur collections but the star of the show is 65-million-year-old "Sue," the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever found.

Don't hesitate to take toddlers to the Field. In the Crown Family PlayLab, kids two to six years old can play house in a re-created pueblo and compare their footprints with a dinosaur's.

Named one of the 10 most significant buildings of the 20th century by the American Institute of Architects, the 9,063-square-foot Robie House (1910) is long and low. Massive overhangs shoot out from the low-pitched roof, and windows run along the facade in a glittering stretch. Inside, Wright's "open plan" echoes the great outdoors, as one space flows into another, while sunlight streaming through decorative leaded windows bathes the rooms in patterns. The original dining room had a table with lanterns at each corner, giving the illusion that the table itself was a separate room. Other Wright innovations include a three-car garage (now the gift shop), an intercom, and a central vacuum-cleaner system. Check the website for tour options. It's a good idea to make reservations in advance.

Escape winter's cold or revel in summer sunshine inside this huge "landscape art under glass" structure, which houses tropical palms, spiny cacti, and showy blooms. A children's garden has climbable leaf sculptures and a tube slide that winds through trees. The "Sugar from the Sun" exhibit focuses on the elements of photosynthesis—sunlight, air, water, and sugar—in a full-sensory environment filled with spewing steam, trickling water, and chirping sounds. Don't miss the historic Jens Jensen–designed Fern Room with its lagoon, waterfalls, and profusion of ferns. On-site events include botanical-theme fashion shows, seasonal flower shows, and great educational programing.

Near Irving Park Road, this graveyard has crypts that are almost as strikingly designed as the city skyline. A number of Chicago's most prominent citizens, including Daniel Burnham and Marshall Field, are spending eternity here. Architect Louis Sullivan (also a resident) designed some of its more elaborate mausoleums. Free maps, available at the cemetery office, will help you find your way around the pastoral 119-acre property.

At this urban enclave near Lake Michigan, you can watch snow monkeys unwind in the hot springs of the Regenstein Macaque Forest or ogle gorillas and chimpanzees in the sprawling Regenstein Center for African Apes, which has three separate habitats complete with bamboo stands, termite mounds, and 5,000 feet of swinging vines. Brave big cats (separated by a window, of course) outside the Pepper Family Wildlife Center, a 2021 redesign of the zoo’s lion habitat conceived with input from an app that collected data on the star residents’ behavior. Animals both slithery (pythons) and strange (sloths) reside in the glass-domed Regenstein Small Mammal and Reptile House, while the big guys (hippos, giraffes, and black rhinos) are in the Regenstein African Journey.

Bird lovers should make a beeline to the McCormick Bird House, which contains extremely rare species—including the Bali mynah, Guam rail, and Guam Micronesian kingfisher, some of which are extinct in the wild. Families with little ones in tow will also want to see Farm-in-the-Zoo (with its barnyard animals and learning centers), and the Lionel Train Adventure ride. Be sure to leave time for a ride (or two) on the AT&T Endangered Species Carousel, featuring a menagerie of 48 rare and endangered animals.

Michigan Avenue, or Mag Mile as some call it, is a potpourri of historic buildings, upscale boutiques, department stores, and posh hotels. (It is also the city's most popular place for people-watching.) Among its jewels are the Tribune Tower, the Wrigley Building, 875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly the John Hancock Center), the Drake Hotel, and the Historic Water Tower.

With Anish Kapoor's giant, polished-steel Cloud Gate sculpture (affectionately known as "The Bean"), the fun fountains, and a Disney-esque music pavilion—all the pieces of this park quickly stole the hearts of Chicagoans and visitors alike when it opened 2004. The showstopper is Frank Gehry's stunning Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Dramatic ribbons of stainless steel stretching 40 feet into the sky look like petals wrapping the music stage. The 1,525-seat Harris Theater for Music and Dance provides an indoor alternative for fans of the performing arts.

In the park's southwest corner, the Crown Fountain features dozens of Chicagoans' faces rotating through on two 50-foot-high glass block–tower fountains. When a face purses its lips, water shoots out its "mouth." Kids love it, and adults feel like kids watching it. More conventional park perks include the lovely Lurie Garden (a four-season delight) and the seasonal McCormick Tribune Ice Rink, which opens for public skating each winter.

A group of art patrons who felt the great Art Institute was unresponsive to modern work founded the MCA in 1967, and it has remained a renegade art museum ever since. It doesn't have any permanent exhibits; this lends a feeling of freshness but also makes it impossible to predict what will be on display at any given time. Special exhibits are devoted mostly to original shows you can't see anywhere else.

The MSI is one of the most-visited sites in Chicago, and for good reason. The sprawling space has 14 acres of exhibit space on three floors, with new exhibits added constantly. The museum's high-tech interior is hidden by a Classical Revival exterior, designed in 1892 by D.H. Burnham & Company to house the Palace of Fine Arts for the World's Columbian Exposition. Beautifully landscaped Jackson Park and its peaceful, Japanese-style Osaka Garden are behind the museum.

Southport's main claim to fame is this 1929 movie house, which shows independent and classic films on its two screens. Live organ music provides a retro preamble. Before the house lights dim, look up to admire twinkling stars and clouds on the ceiling.

Located in Portage Park, this museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and exhibiting art inspired by combat and created by veterans. Founded in 1981, its goal is to serve as a space for civilians, veterans, and current military alike to share an open dialogue on the lasting impacts of warfare. The museum features haunting works from all wars in which the United States has participated.

Just east of Wrigleyville lies this section of Lakeview; it's been a major "gayborhood" since the 1970s, which also makes it one of the country's first. In recent years there's been an admirable push by activists and local merchants alike to rename Boystown to something more inclusive of the larger LGBTQ community, such as "Northalsted" (most of its gay-oriented shops, bars, and restaurants are concentrated on and around North Halsted Street), but the change has been slow to catch on. In June the street becomes a sea of people, when Chicago's gay pride parade floats down the block; Market Days, a massive LGBTQ street fest, floods the area with visitors in August.

One of the most popular aquariums in the country, the Shedd houses more than 32,500 creatures from around the world. "Amazon Rising" houses piranhas, snakes, and stingrays in an 8,600-square-foot exhibit that resembles a flooded forest and re-creates the rise and fall of floodwaters. A shark-filled 400,000-gallon tank is part of "Wild Reef," which explores marine biodiversity in the Indo-Pacific. The exhibit also has colorful corals, stingrays that slide by under your feet, and other surprising creatures, all from the waters around the Philippines. Whales and dolphins live in the spectacular Oceanarium, which has pools that seem to blend into Lake Michigan. The aquatic show here stars dancing belugas, leaping dolphins, and comical penguins. Be sure to get an underwater glimpse of the dolphins and whales through the viewing windows on the lower level, where you can also find a bunch of information-packed, hands-on activities.

Lines for the Shedd often extend all the way down the neoclassical steps. Buy a ticket in advance to avoid the interminable wait, or spring for a CityPASS.

If you want to see masterpieces but don't want to spend a long day wandering around one of the major art museums, the Smart may be just your speed. Its diverse exhibition program features art from around the globe.

You don't have to be Swedish to find this tiny and welcoming museum interesting. Permanent displays include trunks immigrants brought with them to Chicago and a map showing where in the city different immigrant groups settled. On the third floor, in the only children's museum in the country dedicated to immigration, kids can climb aboard a colorful Viking ship.

Similar to New York City’s High Line, this abandoned elevated rail line—open since 2015—is now a fun place to walk and take in art all at once. Edgy, splashy and bright murals are depicted along the 2.7-mile route, which you can access by hopping on the CTA’s Blue Line and getting off at the Western or Damen stops. The route runs through the Wicker Park, Humboldt Park, Bucktown and Logan Square neighborhoods. Take along some water and sunscreen; on summer days the more exposed stretches of the trail get rather sunbaked. 

This 11-story structure, with its eclectically ornamented facade, got its name from the pigeons and politicians who roosted at the temporary city hall constructed on this site after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; the structure didn't last long, and the Rookery replaced it. Designed in 1885 by Burnham & Root, who used both masonry and a more modern steel-frame construction, the Rookery was one of the first buildings in the country to feature a central court that brought sunlight into interior office spaces. Frank Lloyd Wright, who kept an office here for a short time, renovated the two-story lobby and light court, eliminating some of the ironwork and terracotta and adding marble scored with geometric patterns detailed in gold leaf. The interior endured some less tasteful alterations after that, but it has since been restored to the way it looked when Wright completed his work in 1907.

Big changes have arrived at this iconic tower, which opened in 1925 to house the Chicago Tribune. Sold by the Tribune Company to CIM Group and Golub & Company for $240 million in 2016, the neo-gothic structure is no longer home to the newspaper, and WGN’s final broadcast there took place in 2018. Now the interior is 162 luxury residences with more than 55,000 square feet of indoor amenities. Visitors can still see fragments from famous sites, including the Taj Mahal and the Alamo, embedded in the building’s façade.

Intellectuals come to the University of Chicago to breathe in the rarified air: after all, the faculty, former faculty, and alumni of this esteemed institution have won more Nobel prizes than any school in the country—94 in total, awarded in every field, including President Obama's 2009 Peace Prize. History buffs and art lovers are drawn by the Oriental Institute, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, and Smart Museum of Art, while the University's professional theater company Court Theatre stages new and classic works. Architecture aficionados won’t be disappointed either.

The dominant building here, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, is a neo-Gothic beauty complete with glorious stained-glass windows, a vaulted ceiling, 72-bell carillon (the single largest musical instrument ever built), and 207-foot-high stone tower. In sharp contrast, the Booth School of Business is very modern looking; its horizontal accents imitate the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House (1910), located directly across the street. Mid-century buildings designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen, as well as contemporary award-winners by MacArthur Fellow Jeanne Gang, postmodernist Helmut Jahn, and husband-and-wife duo Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, are also worth seeking out. Self-guided tours of campus highlights points of interest and public art on campus can be found at visit.uchicago.edu/campus-guides.