Washington Park

Chicago

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Famed landscape architect Fredrick Law Olmsted designed stately Washington Park. It hosts heaps of community festivals and athletic fields for teams playing cricket and 16in softball. The southern expanse is more peaceful, filled with lagoons, willowy trees and the enormous, forlorn Fountain of Time sculpture by Lorado Taft, which has occupied the park's southeast corner for almost a century. The DuSable Museum of African American History is also here.

Unfurling next to the Fountain of Time to the east is the Midway Plaisance, a mile-long strip of green space that connects Washington Park to its lakefront sibling Jackson Park. It all makes for a delightful stroll.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 30: The Chicago Cubs defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks during a Friday afternoon game at Wrigley Field on April 30, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois

    Wrigley Field

    10.89 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…

  • JUNE 24, 2018: Planes hanging from the ceiling inside the Museum of Science and Industry.

    Museum of Science & Industry

    1.47 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…

  • JUL 15, 2018: Exterior of the Art Institute of Chicago museum.

    Art Institute of Chicago

    5.95 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…

  • July 7, 2012: Crowd gathered at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

    Millennium Park

    6.13 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…

  • Chicago skyline at dusk.

    Willis Tower

    5.99 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…

  • Model of Dinosaur Skeleton

    Field Museum of Natural History

    5.01 MILES

    The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…

  • Navy Pier on Lake Michigan

    Navy Pier

    6.74 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…

  • Dead of the Dead Art at Mexican Heritage Museum.

    National Museum of Mexican Art

    5.36 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…

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