Millennium Park
The world's largest rooftop garden — 24.5 acres above a commuter rail station and parking garages, free to enter, 25 million visitors a year.
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Chicago's biggest civic project since the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition tripled its original $150 million budget to $475 million and opened four years late. The result is entirely free: public art, the Lurie Garden, an outdoor pavilion, and pedestrian bridges connecting to the rest of Grant Park — all at the edge of Lake Michigan.
What to look for
- Cloud Gate, one of the park's signature public artworks
- The Crown Fountain
- Jay Pritzker Pavilion, site of the inaugural Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus concert at the 2004 opening
Free admission. Bounded by Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street, Columbus Drive, and East Monroe Drive in the Loop.
Millennium Park is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Chicago, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Chicago pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Chicago
- Willis TowerIt held the world's tallest title for nearly 25 years after opening in 1973 — and the Skydeck is still the highest observation deck in the United States.
- Art Institute of ChicagoFour paintings you've seen your whole life — Nighthawks, La Grande Jatte, The Old Guitarist, American Gothic — hang in the same building.
- John Hancock Center (875 N Michigan Ave)A moving platform pivots you 30 degrees outward over the Magnificent Mile — 1,128 feet of nothing beneath your feet.
- Aon CenterWhen it opened in 1973 as "Big Stan," this 83-floor tower was the fourth-tallest building on Earth — and clad entirely in marble.
- United CenterThe Bulls hardwood floor is literally assembled over the Blackhawks ice and taken apart game by game — two teams, one frozen surface, shared by puzzle.
- Soldier FieldThe NFL's oldest stadium lost its National Historic Landmark status because of the renovation meant to save it.