シカゴ ツアー、チケット、アクティビティ

Ranked by traveller reviews: 1) the Chicago Architecture River Cruise, 2) the Willis Tower Skydeck and its glass Ledge on the 103rd floor, 3) 360 Chicago with the TILT platform, 4) Millennium Park and Cloud Gate, 5) the Art Institute of Chicago, 6) a deep-dish and Italian-beef food tour, 7) the Crime and Mob bus tour, 8) a Lake Michigan skyline or sunset cruise, 9) Navy Pier and the Centennial Wheel, 10) the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium on the Museum Campus.

Plan two to three days. One day is enough for the river cruise, an observation deck and Millennium Park; a second day covers the Museum Campus or the Art Institute; a third adds a food tour, a gangster history tour and the lakefront. Four days or more let you add Wrigley Field, neighbourhoods like Pilsen and Wicker Park, or a day trip to Oak Park or Milwaukee.

Millennium Park and the Bean, the Chicago Riverwalk, the 18-mile Lakefront Trail and beaches, Lincoln Park Zoo, the Chicago Cultural Center, Garfield Park Conservatory, Buckingham Fountain, the 606 elevated trail and strolling Navy Pier are all free. In summer there are free concerts at the Pritzker Pavilion and fireworks at Navy Pier on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Oak Park (20 minutes on the Green Line) for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home & Studio, Milwaukee (90 minutes on Amtrak) for breweries and the lakefront, Indiana Dunes National Park (one hour on the South Shore Line) for beaches, and with a car Starved Rock State Park’s canyons or historic Galena. See our day trips page for bookable tours.

Take the architecture cruise at twilight, go up the Skydeck or 360 Chicago after dark, catch live blues at Buddy Guy’s Legends or Kingston Mines, see improv at The Second City, or join a ghost and gangster walking tour. In summer Navy Pier’s fireworks and the rooftop bars along the river round out the evening.

Winter is museum season — the Art Institute, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Museum of Science and Industry — plus the Skydeck, indoor food tours and gangster bus tours. From late November the Christkindlmarket fills Daley Plaza, the Millennium Park ice rink and Maggie Daley skating ribbon open, and Lincoln Park Zoo runs ZooLights. Architecture cruises pause from roughly late November to April.

The Field Museum’s T. rex SUE, the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, the glass Ledge at the Skydeck, Navy Pier’s rides and the (free) Lincoln Park Zoo and Maggie Daley Park. An architecture cruise works for children from about age six; a Lake Michigan speedboat ride is a hit with older kids.

Late May to mid-October — warm weather, boat cruises running and the lakefront in full swing. September is the sweet spot with fewer crowds and mild days. Winter is very cold and windy but cheap, with festive lights and empty museums.

Yes — it is consistently the highest-rated experience in Chicago with more than 16,000 reviews, and the only way to see the skyline the way it was designed to be seen, from the river. Book a few days ahead in summer.