The best free finds in Chicago

Our Local Expert Says:

A perfect choice for those looking for a family fun activity. Most of the day could easily be spent here viewing the animals, having a picnic in the open park areas, then walking to the lake to play on the beach. Plus, admission is FREE!

Description:

As the only zoo in the City of Chicago, the Lincoln Park Zoo is free and open to the public 365 days a year. Founded in 1868, it is also one of the nation's oldest zoos. The Lincoln Park Zoo does an impressive job with its various exhibits, most notably the Regenstein Center for African Apes, where you can look a gorilla in the face (from the other side of the rail or glass, of course). The Lincoln Park Conservatory is directly to the north of the zoo, where you can take in some flora to complement your fauna fix from the zoo. A nice pre or post-zoo meal can be had at R.J. Grunt's, directly across the street. During the Christmas season the zoo lights up with a free light show every evening.

Description:

Throughout the summer months (June-August), a symphonic ensemble performs at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park, and this is no ordinary festival orchestra. Many of the guest performers are internationally acclaimed stars of opera and Broadway. The orchestra is composed of players in the renowned Chicago Symphony and music teachers from throughout Chicagoland. The roster of music is usually on the lighter side. For the best listening, arrive early and grab a seat at the shell itself. Otherwise, a tree-covered speaker system will fill your ears inside the park. Reserved seating is available for a fee. General lawn admission is free.

Our Local Expert Says:

The Botanic Gardens are a peaceful way to spend the day and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Description:

Despite its name, the world-class Chicago Botanic Garden is 25 miles north of the city in the suburb of Glencoe. This 385-acre living preserve includes eight large lagoons and a variety of distinct botanical environments including the Illinois prairie, an English walled garden, and a three-island Japanese garden. Also on the grounds are a large fruit-and-vegetable garden, an "enabling garden" (which shows how gardening can be adapted for people with disabilities), and a 100-acre old-growth oak woodland. If you're here in the summer, don't miss the extensive rose gardens (just follow the bridal parties who flock here to get their pictures taken). The Botanic Garden also has an exhibit hall, auditorium, museum, library, education greenhouses, outdoor pavilion, carillon, cafe, designated bike path, and garden shop. Carillon concerts take place at 7pm Monday evenings from late June through August; tours of the carillon are offered beforehand.

Every summer the Botanic Garden stages a special outdoor exhibition (one year giant animal-shaped topiaries stood in unexpected locations throughout the grounds; another year, model railroads wound through miniature versions of American national parks). Check the website or call for event schedules. Allow 3 hours.

Our Local Expert Says:

Not only is the museum great for art lovers, the performances are not to be missed. World class performances are hosted by the MCA year round that are always cutting edge.

Description:

Located in the heart of the loop, The Museum of Contemporary Art brings today's most innovative visual work ranging from painting to sculpture to live performance. Pieces date from 1945 to present day, with works by famous artists like Andy Warhol. The MCA's permanent 2,500 piece collection focuses on a broad sampling of modern art in a variety of medias, and also shares works by great Chicago based artists. The performance series spans a wide scope from around the world as well, featuring artists like Philip Glass. Culture, history, and art become one at the MCA, sparking a great venue for new ideas and discussion. The MCA also features a great dining experience at its' restaurant Puck's, led by Chef Wolfgang Puck.

Description:

Just beyond the zoo's northeast border is a lovely botanical garden housed in a soaring glass-domed structure. Inside are four great halls filled with thousands of plants. If you're visiting Chicago in the wintertime, I can't think of a better prescription for mood elevation than this lush haven of greenery. The Palm House features giant palms and rubber trees (including a 50-ft. fiddle-leaf rubber tree dating back to 1891); the Fernery nurtures plants that grow close to the forest floor; and the Tropical House is a shiny symphony of flowering trees, vines, and bamboo. The fourth environment is the Show House, where seasonal flower shows take place.

Even better than the plants inside, however, might be what lies outside the front doors. The expansive lawn, with its French garden and lovely fountain on the conservatory's south side, is one of the best places in town for an informal picnic (especially nice if you're visiting the zoo and want to avoid the congestion at its food concession venues).

The Lincoln Park Conservatory has a sister facility on the city's West Side, in Garfield Park, that is even more impressive. In fact, the 2-acre Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. (tel. 312/746-5100), designed by the great landscape architect Jens Jensen in 1907, is one of the largest gardens under glass in the world. Unfortunately, it's surrounded by a rather blighted neighborhood with a high crime rate, so I recommend driving there rather than using public transportation. It's open 365 days a year from 9am to 5pm.

Allow a half-hour for the Lincoln Park Conservatory.

Our Local Expert Says:

If you are in the mood for a relaxing day, Millennium Park is the perfect place for a afternoon picnic, where you can take in the art and architecture. In the summer catch a performance at Pritzker Pavilion, while enjoying a bottle of wine with friends from the Great Lawn.

Description:

Chicago is full of must-see attractions, but at the top of the Can't Miss list is Millennium Park. It debuted in 2004, several years overdue, but it was worth the wait. It is a true gem, right downtown between Michigan Avenue and the lake. One can easily spend an afternoon just sitting on the benches at the perimeter of the Pritzker Pavilion, stare at their warped reflection in Cloud Gate ("The Bean" to locals), and watch the rotating faces in Crown Fountain spew water every five minutes or so. Immediately to the south of Millennium Park lie the Art Institute and Grant Park, which all together would make for a wonderfully relaxing day. If you only have time for one of the three, though, do not pass go, do not collect $200- without going to Millennium Park.

Our Local Expert Says:

If you are traveling in the winter Garfield Park is a great place to warm up and enjoy some artful vegetation in the dead of winter.

Description:

The Garfield Park Conservatory is often referred to as "landscape art under glass" and is one of Chicago's best kept secrets. Off the beaten path, it is located on the West Side and is easily accessible by the CTA Green Line. In the late 19th century, each of the three large parks on Chicago's West Side (Garfield, Humboldt, and Douglas parks) had their own conservatories and greenhouses, but over 20 years they were not kept well, became obsolete, and were demolished. For their replacement, the Parks Commission decided in 1905 to build "the largest publicly owned conservatory under one roof in the world" at Garfield Park. The Conservatory now houses several natural landscapes; impressive among them are the Palm Room and the Fern Room.

Our Local Expert Says:

Even if art is not your thing, you must visit the Art Institute for its brand new Modern Wing that overlooks Millennium Park.

Description:

You can't -- and shouldn't -- miss the Art Institute. (You really have no excuse, since it's conveniently located right on Michigan Ave. in the heart of downtown.) No matter what medium or century interests you, the Art Institute has something in its collection to fit the bill. Japanese ukiyo-e prints, ancient Egyptian bronzes, Greek vases, 19th-century British photography, masterpieces by most of the greatest names in 20th-century sculpture, and modern American textiles are just some of the works on display, but for a general overview of the museum's collection, take the free "Highlights of the Art Institute" tour, offered at 2pm on Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday.

If time is limited, head straight to the museum's renowned anthology of Impressionist art, which includes one of the world's largest collections of Monet paintings; this is one of the most popular areas of the museum, so arriving early pays off. Among the treasures, you'll find Seurat's pointillist masterpiece Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The galleries of European and American contemporary art include paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol. Visitors are sometimes surprised when they discover many of the icons that hang here (Grant Wood's American Gothic; Edward Hopper's Nighthawks).

Often overlooked but worth seeing are the Arthur Rubloff collection of delicate mid-19th-century glass paperweights, and the great hall of European arms and armor dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Composed of more than 1,500 objects, including armor, horse equipment, swords and daggers, polearms, and maces, the collection is one of the most important assemblages of its kind in the country. (If you do head down here, you'll see Marc Chagall's stunning stained-glass windows at the end of the gallery.)

Children younger than 12 get in for free, and the Art Institute goes the extra mile to entertain them. The Kraft Education Center on the lower level features interactive exhibits and has a list of "gallery games" to make visiting the museum more fun. When I was a kid, I was entranced by the Thorne Miniature Rooms, filled with tiny reproductions of furnished interiors from European and American history (heaven for a dollhouse fanatic).

The museum has a cafeteria and an elegant full-service restaurant, a picturesque courtyard cafe (open June-Sept), and a large shop. It offers a busy schedule of lectures, films, and other special presentations, as well as guided tours. The museum also has a research library. Allow 3 hours.

Touring the Art Institute -- If you want to enjoy your favorite masterpieces in something resembling peace and quiet, put some thought into the timing of your visit to the Art Institute, a museum so popular that it draws as much traffic as our jammed expressways.

Some tips for avoiding the rush hour: Many people don't realize the museum is open on Monday; keep this secret to yourself, and visit when the galleries are relatively subdued. Also, many visitors aren't aware that the museum stays open late on Thursdays, so consider stopping by after an early dinner (another bonus: free admission).

Our Local Expert Says:

Great activity for the entire family, located on Museum Campus.

Description:

The Shedd is one of the world's largest indoor aquariums, and houses thousands of river, lake, and sea denizens in standard aquarium tanks and elaborate new habitats within its octagon-shaped marble building. The only problem with the Shedd is its steep admission price ($24.95 for adults). You can keep your costs down by buying the "Aquarium Only" admission, but you'll miss some of the most stunning exhibits. A CityPass can save you money if you visit enough of the other included attractions.

The first thing you'll see as you enter is the Caribbean Coral Reef. This 90,000-gallon circular tank occupies the Beaux Arts-style central rotunda, entertaining spectators who press up against the glass to ogle divers feeding nurse sharks, barracudas, stingrays, and a hawksbill sea turtle. A roving camera connected to video monitors on the tank's periphery gives visitors close-ups of the animals inside, but I'd recommend sticking around to catch one of the daily feedings, when a diver swims around the tank and (thanks to a microphone) talks about the species and their eating habits.

The exhibits surrounding the Caribbean coral reef re-create marine habitats around the world. The best is Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River, a rendering of the Amazon basin that showcases frogs and other animals as well as fish (although the sharp-toothed piranhas are pretty cool).

You'll pay extra to see the other Shedd highlights, but they're quite impressive, so I'd suggest shelling out for them if you plan to spend more than an hour here. The Oceanarium, with a wall of windows revealing the lake outside, replicates a Pacific Northwest coastal environment and creates the illusion of one uninterrupted expanse of sea. On a fixed performance schedule in a large pool flanked by an amphitheater, a crew of friendly trainers puts dolphins through their paces of leaping dives, breaches, and tail walking. Check out the Oceanarium schedule as soon as you get to the Shedd; seating can fill up quickly, so you'll want to get here early. If you're visiting during a summer weekend, you may also want to buy your Oceanarium ticket in advance to make sure you can catch a show that day. (Note: The Oceanarium will be closed for structural maintenance from Sept 2008 until early June 2009.)

Wild Reef -- Sharks at Shedd is a series of 26 connected habitats that house a Philippine coral reef patrolled by sharks and other predators. The floor-to-ceiling windows bring the toothy swimmers up close and personal (they even swim over your head at certain spots).

If you want a quality sit-down meal in a restaurant with a spectacular view of Lake Michigan, check out Soundings. There's also a family-friendly cafeteria.

Allow 2 to 3 hours.

Our Local Expert Says:

Conveniently located downtown to help begin your Chicago exploration.

Description:

The Chicago Cultural Center was built in 1897 as the city's public library, and in 1991, it was transformed into a showplace for visual and performing arts. Today, it's an overlooked civic treasure with a basic Beaux Arts exterior and a sumptuous interior of rare marble, fine hardwood, stained glass, and mosaics of Favrile glass, colored stone, and mother-of-pearl inlaid in white marble. The crowning centerpiece is Preston Bradley Hall's majestic Tiffany dome, said to be the largest of its kind in the world.

The building also houses a Chicago Office of Tourism visitor center, which makes it an ideal place to kick-start your visit. If you stop in to pick up tourist information and take a quick look around, your visit won't take longer than 15 minutes, but the Cultural Center also schedules an array of art exhibitions, concerts, films, lectures, and other special events (many free), which might convince you to extend your time here. A long-standing tradition is the 12:15pm Dame Myra Hess Memorial classical concert every Wednesday in the Preston Bradley Hall.

Guided architectural tours of the Cultural Center run at 1:15pm on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.