One day 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

      See the Bean early in the morning before the crowds, then cross Gehry's winding BP Bridge to Maggie Daley Park. Allow 1–2 hours.

   2. Late morning

      Art Institute of Chicago

      Start with the Impressionists on the second floor before tour groups arrive, then take the Modern Wing's Nichols Bridgeway straight into Millennium Park. Allow 3–4 hours.

   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

      Check the visibility before buying; low cloud can hide the view completely, and a late-afternoon visit gives you daylight and sunset in one ticket. Allow 1.5–2 hours.

   5. Late afternoon

      Chicago Riverwalk

      Look into the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum in the DuSable Bridge tower to see the gears that raise the bridge; it opens seasonally. Allow 1–2 hours.

   6. Evening

      The Second City

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

Before you go

• Willis Tower Skydeck: Queues for The Ledge can be long in summer; timed tickets bought online shorten the wait.
• The Second City: Weekend shows sell out; book a few days ahead.

If it rains

• Swap in Field Museum (Museum Campus): Arrive at opening and do the Field in the morning; the Shedd is a five-minute walk away for the afternoon.
• Swap in Shedd Aquarium (Museum Campus): Walk the lakefront path from the Shedd to the Adler Planetarium afterwards for the classic skyline photo.
• 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.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 9–12 hours of visiting over one day, 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

• 2 days in Chicago
• 3 days in Chicago
• 4 days in Chicago
• 5 days in Chicago
• 7 days in Chicago

Questions travellers ask