Lincoln Park Conservatory

‘It’s like a free trip around the world,’ one visitor said after walking through the conservatory’s 3 acres of desert palms, jungle ferns and tropical orchids. We couldn’t agree more, especially in winter, when the glass-bedecked hothouse remains a soothing 75°F escape from the icy winds raging outside. Just south, the 1887 statue Storks at Play has enchanted generations of Chicagoans. Real birds fill the landscape immediately northeast, at the corner of Fullerton Pkwy and Cannon Dr, around the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool. The Prairie-style garden, whose stonework resembles the stratified canyons of the Wisconsin Dells, is an important stopover for migrating species. It’s a magical, dragonfly-dappled refuge, open from late April through November.