DePaul University Art Museum
Free: All time The DePaul University Art Museum is a 15,000 square-foot building on the university’s Lincoln Park campus. The museum offers a wide variety of special exhibitions in all media throughout the year including paintings, sculpture, printmaking and installation. Admission is free at all time. Address: 935 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 Opening...
City Gallery at the Historic Water Tower
Free: All time The City Gallery at the Historic Water Tower is located inside the old Chicago Water Tower. The tower gained its fame when it survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It is also the second-oldest water tower in the United States. Today, the City Gallery serves as a venue showcasing the Chicago-themed...
Museum of Contemporary Photography
Free: All time Founded by Columbia College Chicago in 1976, the museum collaborates with artists, photographers, communities, and institutions locally, nationally, and internationally. As the leading photography museum in the Midwest, presenting projects and exhibitions and acquiring works that embrace a wide range of contemporary aesthetics and technologies, the museum offers students, educators, research specialists,...
National Museum of Mexican Art
Free: All time The National Museum of Mexican Art features prominent works by Mexican, Latino and Chicano artists and artifacts from Mexican history. The permanent exhibit “Mexicanidad: Our Past is Present” explores the history of Mexico in five stages: Pre-Cuahtemoc Mexico, Colonial Mexico, Mexico from Independence to revolution, Post-Mexican Revolution to Present-day Mexico and The...
Panoramic View of Chicago from Hancock Center’s Signature Lounge
Free: All time To get the best view of Chicago, the Sears Tower may be first to come to mind. But! Instead of paying $20 to go up the tower, you should hit up the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the John Hancock Center building. There’s no entrance fee and the dress code...
Art Institute of Chicago
Free: Thursdays 5pm – 8pm The Art Institute of Chicago can be traced back to a free art school and gallery founded in 1866. Today, the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago encompasses more than 5,000 years of human expression from cultures around the world and contains more than 260,000 works of art. The...
Museum of Stained Glass Windows
Free: All time The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows is a permanent exhibition which opened in February 2000 at Chicago’s Navy Pier entertainment complex. It is the first American museum dedicated solely to the art of stained glass windows. The museum holds over 150 individual pieces and the majority of the works originally came...
Smart Museum
Free: All time The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art is an art museum located on the campus of the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The permanent collection of over 10,000 objects includes works by Francisco Goya, Frank Lloyd Wright, Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Ansel Adams, and...
Navy Pier
Free: All time Navy Pier is an entertainment hub along the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. What was originally constructed as a cargo facility is today Chicago’s number one tourist attraction. The site offers many attractions from IMAX theater to Ferris Wheel to museums. The pier and its ground encompass myriads of parks, gardens, shops,...
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Free: Every Tuesday (only for IL residents); All time for children under 12 years old The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago has hosted several notable debut exhibitions including Frida Kahlo’s and Jeff Koon’s. Its current collection consists of work by Jasper Johns, ANdy Warhol, Cindy Sherman and many more. If these names alone do not...
Chicago Greeter City Tour
Free: All time Chicago Greeter Program lets tourists explore this city with knowledgeable locals as their guides. The 2-4 hour guided visits of Chicago is totally free. Visit the website to request for a greeter 10 business day in advance. If you’re tight in schedule, then check out InstaGreeter. This is a shorter, one-hour guided...
Lincoln Park Zoo
Free: All time Lincoln Park Zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the U.S. Not only did it stand the test of time, it’s also able to provide its service entirely free. Today, the zoo is home to various species totaling nearly 1,250 animals. Address: 2001 North Clark Street,...
