What are the 5 Best Ways to Experience Chicago?

Chicago is a city that draws away your boredom by keeping you amused the entire time you are there. A small wonder as it has so many various things to offer. You’ll never get enough of the Windy City. It’s true that the more you stay in the Windy City, the more you learn about its splendor and charm.

But, if you are to pay a shorter visit, for instance, you might dither over what to do first. That’s because you have only a limited time to choose from unlimited courses of actions and activities that the city has to offer. You can explore first-rate museums, visit prominent architectures, or indulge in the culinary world of the Chicagoan wonder-cuisines.

We know that it might be tricky for first-time visitors to Chicago to determine and resolve how to experience the city in a short time frame. Therefore, we decided to create a list of the five best ways to experience Chicago.

Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tours

If you’re visiting the Windy City for the first time and the vastness of it makes your orientation a little woozy, these bus tours can give you an excellent overview of the city. Something that will make you feel comfortable to continue the exploration by yourself and at your own discretion. The price for the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tours is affordable to anyone.

For as little as $40 for adults and $20 for children, you’re not only exploring the city but also hiring a tour guide, who is with you for the entire tour. The tour guide will give you great insights into the facts and distinctive features of the most iconic landmarks and the surrounding city.

The duration of the tour is two hours, but it isn’t a non-stop drive. The bus stops at many famous locations, such as the Field Museum and the Magnificent Mile, which is home to many restaurants, luxury shops, and fashion outlets. And, yes, whenever a place or a structure grabs your attention, you can always hop off the bus for a better view. Once you are done, simply hop-on to the next bus that stops.

Cruises on Lake Michigan and the Chicago River

The time span of a classic cruise on Lake Michigan is 40 minutes which is more than enough for memorable sightseeing of the city landscape and its settings.

The time span of a Chicago River Cruise, however, is 75 minutes. The Chicago River Cruises, also known as the Architecture River Cruises, use speedboats, and can be found on Navy Pier Their routes start from the lake and go straight through the river, allowing you to enjoy the architecture of the city. They also have a tour guide that will provide you with the most important facts you need to know about some of the landmarks, including the architecture itself.

Still, if you want to experience the Lake Michigan and the Chicago River cruises, do so in the warmer months, for these cruises are closed during the winter season.

Just embark, relax, and enjoy some fascinating views.

The Field Museum

Have you ever wished to see a complete skeleton of a T-Rex, or visit a library with over 275,000 books?

If you do, go to the park known as Museum Campus. That’s where you’ll find the Field Museum (Right in the heart of the park). The Field Museum is a natural history museum, which can be claimed as one of the largest and most-visited natural history museums in the world. Since its opening in 1893, the museum has collected more than 24 million artifacts, scientific specimens, and historical relics and objects. The exhibition programs, which are on offer, are so educational and entertaining that they attract more than 2 million visitors a year. Going to Chicago and not visiting this place is like going to the beach and not taking a swim.

John Hancock Center - 360 Chicago

For just $20.50 for adults and $13.50 for children and a 40-second elevator ride, you can get up to the crow’s nest of the city, known as the 360 Chicago. Situated on the 94th floor of the John Hancock Center, this place has the most renowned skyline-view in town, and that is no surprise as you’d be 1000 feet up from the ground. This is a great way to explore the architecture and surrounding city from a 360-degree angle.

Aside from drinking coffee here, you can also try the “TILT” (A very famous attraction in Chicago nowadays). The “TILT” is basically a glass panel that protrudes (between 15 to 40 degrees) out of the building, enabling you to see everything from a bird’s eye perspective of the city down below.

Open hours: every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Centennial Wheel - Navy Pier

Navy Pier, together with the Centennial Wheel (known as Ferris Wheel), is one of the biggest attractions in Chicago. Maybe the Centennial Wheel (with its 196 feet in height) is not the tallest wheel in the world, but it’s certainly the coolest one. Its gondolas offer a perfect panoramic view of the Windy City, and they have a 360-degree safety glass, including air conditioning units. What else do we need?

Don’t hesitate to go for a ride.

The Centennial Wheel is not the only thing from which you can derive pleasure in Navy Pier. The Shakespeare Theater, the Children’s Museum, and the Concert Venue also deserve full attention. As a matter of fact, Navy Pier with its 50 acres of land has so many attractions that you might lose track of time by having so much fun.

We hope that our list of the five best ways to experience Chicago has been helpful to you. Please know that in Chicago no place is more important than the other as they are all equally important.

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