Grant Park hosts the city's mega-events, such as Taste of Chicago, Blues Fest and Lollapalooza. Buckingham Fountain is the park's centerpiece. The skateboard park in the southwest corner draws a cool-cat crowd. Other features include a rose garden and loads of baseball diamonds.
Grant Park
Chicago
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
5.29 MILES
Built in 1914, Wrigley Field – aka the Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s home to the Chicago Cubs and…
6.21 MILES
The MSI is the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere and a place to completely geek out. Highlights include a WWII German U-boat nestled in an…
0.32 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
0.44 MILES
There's free admission to Millennium Park, the playful heart of the city. It shines with whimsical public art, both permanent and temporary exhibits, and…
0.89 MILES
Willis Tower is Chicago's tallest building (and one of the world's loftiest). Breathe deeply during the ear-popping, 70-second elevator ride to the 103rd…
Field Museum of Natural History
0.7 MILES
The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…
1.15 MILES
Half-mile-long Navy Pier is one of Chicago's most-visited attractions, sporting a 196ft Ferris wheel and other carnival rides ($9 to $18 each), an IMAX…
National Museum of Mexican Art
3.12 MILES
Founded in 1982, this vibrant museum – the largest Latinx arts institution in the US – has become one of the city’s best. The vivid permanent collection…
Nearby Chicago attractions
0.04 MILES
Grant Park's centerpiece is one of the world's largest fountains, with a 1.5-million-gallon capacity and a 15-story-high spray. It lets loose on the hour…
0.29 MILES
This building has been an artists' haven for more than a century. You'll still hear opera voices and trumpet music drift out of the music studios, which…
3. Museum of Contemporary Photography
0.32 MILES
This small museum focuses on American and international photography from the early 20th century onward, and is the only institution of its kind between…
0.32 MILES
The 1904 Santa Fe Building is a terra-cotta beauty where architect Daniel Burnham kept his offices. Enter the lobby and look up at the vast light well…
0.32 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
0.34 MILES
If the crowds at the Bean, Crown Fountain and Pritzker Pavilion are too much, seek out the peaceful Lurie Garden, which uses native plants to form a…
0.36 MILES
Attention Route 66 buffs: the Mother Road begins in downtown Chicago. Look for the 'Historic 66 Begin' sign at the northwestern corner of Adams St and…
0.38 MILES
Renzo Piano designed this silver, pedestrian-only span. It arches from Millennium Park over Monroe St to the Art Institute’s small, 3rd-floor sculpture…