2 days in Chicago

Day by day

1. Day 1: Millennium Park and Cloud Gate and Art Institute of Chicago

   Millennium Park and Cloud Gate, Art Institute of Chicago, Willis Tower Skydeck and Chicago Riverwalk, then The Second City in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Millennium Park and Cloud Gate

      Free concerts fill the pavilion lawn on summer evenings.

   2. Late morning

      Art Institute of Chicago

      Highlights include Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Hopper's Nighthawks, Grant Wood's American Gothic, a deep Impressionist collection with several of Monet's Stacks of Wheat, Chagall's America Windows and the Thorne Miniature Rooms. Renzo Piano's Modern Wing holds 20th-century art.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Deep-dish pizza

      Pizzeria Uno in River North, where the style is said to have started in 1943, plus Lou Malnati's, Giordano's and Pequod's, known for its caramelised cheese crust.

   4. Afternoon

      Willis Tower Skydeck

      The Skydeck on the 103rd floor, roughly 412 metres up, looks across four states on clear days, and The Ledge, a set of glass boxes projecting from the facade, lets you stand with nothing but glass between you and Wacker Drive.

   5. Late afternoon

      Chicago Riverwalk

      It is the best place to see the river's moveable bascule bridges up close.

   6. Evening

      The Second City

      Stay after the late show for the improv set, where the cast tests new material from audience suggestions.

2. Day 2: Chicago Architecture Center river cruise and Field Museum

   Chicago Architecture Center river cruise, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Wrigley Field, then 360 Chicago observation deck in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Chicago Architecture Center river cruise

      The Chicago Architecture Center's docent-led cruise, departing from the Riverwalk at Michigan Avenue, passes dozens of buildings including the Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, Marina City's corncob towers and the Merchandise Mart.

   2. Late morning

      Field Museum

      It shares the lakefront Museum Campus with the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Tavern-style thin-crust pizza

      Neighbourhood taverns and pizzerias across the city; Vito & Nick's on the South Side is one of the long-established names.

   4. Afternoon

      Shedd Aquarium

      Opened in 1930 in a Beaux-Arts building on the lake, the Shedd's highlights are the Caribbean Reef, a circular tank in the central rotunda, the Wild Reef shark exhibit, Amazon Rising and the Abbott Oceanarium, where beluga whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins swim in front of windows that look out onto Lake Michigan.

   5. Late afternoon

      Wrigley Field

      The season runs from about April to September, and ballpark tours run on many non-game days.

   6. Evening

      360 Chicago observation deck

      Pick this over the Skydeck if you want lake and beach views; the Skydeck looks more over the city grid and the west.

Before you go

• Chicago Architecture Center river cruise: Summer weekend and sunset sailings sell out; book a day or more ahead.
• Willis Tower Skydeck: Queues for The Ledge can be long in summer; timed tickets bought online shorten the wait.
• Shedd Aquarium: Buy timed tickets online; on summer weekends and school holidays the entry queue can stretch around the building.
• Wrigley Field: Weekend and rivalry games sell out; buy through the Cubs' official ticketing rather than street resellers.
• The Second City: Weekend shows sell out; book a few days ahead.

If it rains

• Swap in Adler Planetarium (Museum Campus): Even if you skip the museum, walk out to the Adler around sunset for the view back across the harbour to downtown.
• Swap in Museum of Science and Industry (Hyde Park): Allow at least half a day and pick two or three big exhibits; the Metra Electric to 55th–56th–57th Street is the easiest way there from downtown.
• Swap in Chicago Cultural Center (The Loop): Go up to Preston Bradley Hall on the third floor first; lunchtime concerts are often held under the dome.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 19–26 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9.1 hours in December to 15.2 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Metro. The L (elevated and subway trains) reaches most visitor areas: the Blue Line links O'Hare with Wicker Park and the Loop, the Red Line runs past Wrigley Field and Chinatown, and the Brown Line gives elevated views around the Loop.

More or fewer days

• One day in Chicago
• 3 days in Chicago
• 4 days in Chicago
• 5 days in Chicago
• 7 days in Chicago

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