Attractions

Chicago's big sights are busy, but they aren't tourist traps. Locals go too, usually once a year when someone's in town. What adds up is the cost. Two skyscraper decks, three museums and a boat tour can run an adult more than $200 over a long weekend, so it pays to know which ones earn the money and which ones you can walk past. This page gives you a short take on each, with a link to our longer page where we have one.

Prices are as of September 2026 and come from the official sites linked. Several places now price by date, so a summer Saturday costs more than a Tuesday in February.

Pick one observation deck, not both

Skydeck Chicago sits on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower (233 S. Wacker Dr.), and the draw is The Ledge, the glass boxes that stick out from the building. Adult tickets start at $32 and kids 3 to 11 start at $24. Expedited entry starts at $55, which tells you how long the regular line can get.

360 CHICAGO is on the 94th floor of the building everyone still calls the Hancock. It was renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018. General admission is from $30 for adults and $20 for kids online, and walk-up prices start at $35. TILT, the window that tips you out over Michigan Avenue, is an add-on. Our older page on the John Hancock Observatory covers the same deck.

If you only do one, I'd pick 360. It's a little lower, but it's a few blocks from the lake, so you get the shoreline curving north along Oak Street Beach and Lake Shore Drive, and there's a bar up there. Skydeck wins if you want to stand on glass and look straight down 103 floors, and kids usually want exactly that.

The architecture river cruise

If you're only paying for one thing in Chicago, make it this. The Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise runs 90 minutes on First Lady boats from 112 E. Wacker Dr., with commentary from Architecture Center volunteer docents who train for hundreds of hours. Tickets start at $57, and the season runs from mid-March to late November. Other companies run cheaper river tours, and they're fine, but the docents are the reason to book this one. Our sightseeing tours page covers the alternatives, and unusual tours in Chicago has the odder stuff.

Millennium Park and Grant Park

Grant Park is the city's front yard, and Millennium Park fills its northern end at 201 E. Randolph St. Both are free. Millennium Park is open daily 6am to 11pm, and it's where you'll find Cloud Gate, the mirrored sculpture in the photo that everyone calls the Bean. Go early in the morning if you want a picture without 200 strangers in it. In summer the free concerts at the Pritzker Pavilion are the best deal in town (see free summer events in Millennium Park and Grant Park).

The museums

Chicago's museums are the main reason to budget more than a weekend. The Art Institute is on Michigan Avenue across from the Loop, the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium share the Museum Campus on the lake just south of it, and the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (the old MSI) is down in Hyde Park. Adult admission at the big ones now runs about $25 to $55. Our museums in Chicago page has the prices and our picks. Before you pay, check the free museum days (mostly for Illinois residents) and whether a CityPASS or Go City pass saves you anything.

Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo is still free, and it's open 365 days a year, with the gates opening at 8am and the buildings at 10am. It's small enough to do in two hours, and it pairs well with a walk through the park and the Lincoln Park neighborhood afterward. If you're driving, parking is the one thing you'll pay for.

The lakefront and the river

Oak Street Beach is a short walk from the Magnificent Mile hotels, North Avenue Beach is a bit farther up the lakefront path, and on a 90-degree day either one is the best place in the city to be. Our beaches in Chicago page has the rest. The Chicago Riverwalk runs along the south bank of the main branch from the lake to Lake Street, with bars, cafes and kayak rentals along the way. It costs nothing, and it's a better walk than Michigan Avenue. For more ways onto the water, see 5 ways to get out on the water.

Garfield Park Conservatory

Most visitors don't get as far west as the Garfield Park Conservatory (300 N. Central Park Ave.), and they're missing one of the largest greenhouse conservatories in the US, with some cycads more than 200 years old. It's a good place to spend a February afternoon. It's free for Chicago residents, and visitors pay $10 for adults and $5 for kids 7 to 17. It's closed Mondays and Tuesdays, open until 8pm on Wednesdays, and has free parking. The Green Line's Conservatory-Central Park Drive stop is right outside.

Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field has been the Cubs' home since 1916, and even people who don't care about baseball enjoy a day game there. See Chicago Cubs games for tickets and where to eat and drink near Wrigley for the before and after.

What you can skip

Navy Pier is free to walk, and it puts on more than 245 free public programs a year. It's also where out-of-towners spend too much on chain food and a Ferris wheel ride. Go for the view back at the skyline from the end of the pier, or for a boat, and don't plan a whole day around it. If you have kids, things to do at Navy Pier has what's worth it. The Magnificent Mile is the other one. It's fine for a stroll, but most of the stores are the same ones you have at home. Our Magnificent Mile and shopping pages cover where to go instead.

Short on time? Three days in Chicago puts most of this in order, and free and cheap things to do covers the rest.

Photo by Ed Yourdon