The Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) is an encyclopedic fine art museum located in Chicago, Illinois's Grant Park. The Art Institute has one of the world's most notable collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in its permanent collection. Its diverse holdings also include significant Old Master works, American art, European and American decorative arts, Asian art and modern and contemporary art. At one million square feet, it is the second largest art museum in the United States behind only the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Address: 111 South Michigan Avenue; Telephone: (312) 443 3600; Website:
www.artic.edu; Opening time: Monday to Friday 10.30am to 5pm (until 8pm on Thursdays), weekends 10am to 5pm; Admission: $12 (adults), $7 (children, free for under 12). Entrance is free on Thursdays 5pm to 8pm
The Field Museum
Chicago's awesome Field Museum of Natural History in Lake Shore Drive is home to 'Sue', the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil ever found. The dinosaur came to rest here after being unearthed in South Dakota when the Museum bought her remains for more than $8-million. Sue is just one of the drawcards at the museum which offers other marvels like getting a bug's eye view in an underground adventure; descending into an Egyptian tomb; watching a glowing lava flow; and getting up close and personal with the man-eating lions of Tsavo. The museum specialises in interactive and diorama-type exhibits across its nine acres of exhibition space.
Address: 1400 S. Lakeshore Drive; Telephone: (312) 922 9410; Website:
www.fmnh.org; Transport: From downtown, take CTA bus #146, which stops along Michigan Avenue north of the river and on State Street south of the river. This will drop you off right across the street from the Museum. The free trolley system connects the Museum Campus with many downtown tourist destinations and train stations; Opening time: Daily 9am to 5pm; last admission at 4pm; Admission: General admission: $12 (adults), $7 (children 4-11). Various ticket packages and concessions are available
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home
America's most renowned architect lived and worked in the complex, which served as private residence, studio and architectural laboratory for the first twenty years of his career, between 1889 (when he was 22) and 1909. Wright's haven started out as a simple cottage and was continually added on to by the architect resulting in unusual features such as a balcony suspended on chains. The complex is administered by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust which offers guided tours. The neighbourhood of Oak Park contains the world's largest concentration of Wright-designed buildings and self-guided exterior audio tours of the 26 structures in the area are available.
Address: 951 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park; Telephone: (708) 848 1976; E-mail:
info@wrightplus.org; Website:
www.wrightplus.org; Opening time: Guided interior tours: weekdays at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, and during weekends between 11am and 3.30pm; self-guided exterior audio tours between 10am and 3.30pm daily; Admission: Guided interior tour and self-guided exterior audio tour: $12 (adults), $10 (children 7-18) for each one; a combination ticket is $20 (adults), $16 (children 7-18)
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Park, beginning at North Avenue and following the shore of Lake Michigan northwards for several miles, is Chicago's largest park. It contains several attractions, bathing beaches, a botanical conservatory, golf course, grassy meadows, formal gardens and sports fields. Pride of place is held by the standing statue of Abraham Lincoln, sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. His sitting Lincoln is in Chicago's other famous park, Grant Park. The most popular attraction within the park is the Lincoln Park Zoo, which not only houses hundreds of exotic animals in natural habitats, but offers experiences like paddle boat rides, a virtual safari trip, and the Endangered Species Carousel with 48 artisan-crafted wooden animals that accommodates up to 50 riders at a time.
Address: 2001 N. Clark Street (zoo); Telephone: (312) 742 2000 (zoo); Website:
www.lpzoo.com; Transport: CTA bus routes 151 or 156 both serve the zoo. A free trolley service is available linking the different Park attractions; Opening time: Daily 9am to 6pm, weekends until 7pm (summer); daily 9am to 5pm (November to March); Admission: There is no admission charge to the zoo
The Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago Museum of Science and Industry © Joe Ziolkowski, Museum of Science and Industry Explore everything from monster trucks to genetic codes at Chicago's most popular tourist attraction, the massive Museum of Science and Industry. Described as 'the granddaddy of interactive museums', the museum is located a few minutes from downtown Chicago. It takes at least a day to do justice to the more than 2,000 exhibits housed in 75 halls in this museum, including climbing inside a World War II German submarine, experiencing a simulated trip into a 1930s coal mine, or walking through a giant model of the human heart.
Address: 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive; Telephone: (773) 684 1414; Website:
www.msichicago.org; Opening time: Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 4pm, Sunday 11am to 4pm. Late closing at 5.30pm at certain periods during the year (check website for details); Admission: $11 (adults), $7 (children 3-11). Tickets are $17 (adults), $12 (children) including an Omnimax show. Check the website for details of free days
The Shedd Aquarium
One of Chicago's best known attractions the Shedd, which opened in 1930, remains the world's largest indoor aquarium. The octagonal marble building houses more than 8,000 river, lake and sea creatures. The main attraction is the Caribbean Coral Reef exhibit and other marine habitat exhibits like a recreation of the Amazon basin and a 'Seahorse Symphony'. The aquarium also features an indoor saltwater Oceanarium housing marine mammals where dolphin shows are scheduled daily.
Address: 1200 South Lake Shore Drive; Telephone: (312) 939 2438; E-mail:
contactus@sheddaquarium.org; Website:
www.sheddaquarium.org; Opening time: Weekdays 9am to 5pm, weekends 9am to 6pm (1 September to 28 May); daily 9am to 6pm (29 May to 3 September); Thursdays closing at 10pm (22 June to 31 August); Admission: $23 (adults), $16 (children 3-11)