Top Museums in Chicago
From the largest and most complete T-Rex to masterpieces and modern art, Chicago has it all. No wonder it’s called the "City of Broad Horizons," as top-notch museums aim to enlighten, educate and inspire. Whether it’s the vast collections at the Art Institute or learning more about planet earth and the solar system at America’s first planetarium it’s all in Chicago. Here are the most iconic museum stops to include on your itinerary.
Art Institute of Chicago
Just as the aerial view of the Chicago cityscape from Skydeck Chicago takes your breath away, so will the art of the Art Institute of Chicago. Within the walls of this grand museum are endless exhibits of both classic and contemporary artwork from around the world.
- Included in CityPASS
- 4 Hours
Museum of Science & Industry
Chicago is a big city. But even within the big city are big museums that are so fascinating and inviting, it could take days to explore each one from corner to corner. The Museum of Science & Industry is no different.
- Included in CityPASS
- 4 Hours
The Field Museum
The Field Museum encapsulates a variety of exhibits that bring the pages of history to life through works of art, sculptures, artifacts, and interactive activities.
- Included in CityPASS
- 4 Hours
Adler Planetarium
Everyone looks up at the stars at least once in a while. At the Adler Planetarium, you not only get to look at the stars, you get the chance to immerse yourself in the wonders of the cosmos.
- Included in CityPASS
- 2 Hours
Museum of Contemporary Art
Much like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art is an architectural masterpiece containing some of the world’s most important creative gems.
- 4 Hours
National Museum of Mexican Art
Chicago is a cultured city, through and through. If you saw the world in the stars at the Chicago Adler Planetarium, you’ll see a vibrant and beautiful new world in the National Museum of Mexican Art.
- 4 Hours
If you're looking to visit the best Chicago museums, use Chicago. You'll save nearly half off combined entrance fees to some of the top museums and tourist attractions in Chicago. Chicago includes admission to Shedd Aquarium, The Field Museum, and Skydeck Chicago. You also get admission to two more attractions of your choice. Choose from: Art Institute of Chicago, 360 CHICAGO, and Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Some special exhibits are not included with the CityPASS and may require an extra fee.
CityPASS can be purchased online or at any of our participating Chicago attractions. Use Chicago and discover the top museums and things to do in Chicago.
Museumof Contemporary Art Photo Credit
National Museum of Mexican Art Photo Credit
National Museum of Mexican Art Photo Credit
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Chicago CityPASS
4.7 (12741)
Tourist's holy grail
This is my first time using the CityPASS but I already love it. CityPASS is the Holy Grail for tourists for countless reasons. First of all, you save money on attractions you WOULD GO TO ANYWAY. All in all it was the best money I have ever spent on traveling.CityPASS Saved My Vacation and Marriage
We used Chicago CityPASS recently and it was a not only a vacation saver but a marriage saver. My husband and I would typically argue about which way to go and what to do next. The CityPASS was easy to use and offered detailed information as well as discounts.Great Price
My family came to visit us from Colombia. It was their first time in the states and I wanted to make sure their first vacation was more than what they expected it to be. When I came across the Chicago CityPASS online I knew it was just what I needed to make their trip memorable. Vacationing with a family of 5
We have purchased CityPASS now for three cities: Southern California, New York and now Chicago. We have a family of 5 and this makes planning so easy and affordable!! Not to mention not standing in line for tickets!!!Chicago CityPASS
The CityPASS was the perfect way to plan our stay in Chicago. I was able to show my daughter my favorite places in Chicago, and a few others as well. The CityPASS provided a better price, and skipping to the front of the line was like icing on the cake!.
Chicago CityPASS is rated
out of
5 by
12738.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Jeremy from
Great experience!
The city pass tickets were a quick and easy way for my family and I to enjoy Chicago without the extra hassle of booking each event separately. We also enjoyed the savings and getting to use the express line at Skydeck as a result of having them. My mom grew up in Chicago and got to experience the "tourist" side of the city for the first time. My only recommendation is to make sure that you have enough time to visit each destination. My nephew was only in town for the weekend so visiting more than 2 places per day was tricky. You will get 9 days to visit all 5 destinations.
Date published: 2022-04-08
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Becky from
Quick weekend trip to Chicago made easy
Bought the city pass for the first time. We wanted to see the field museum in chicago , so we ended up buying the 5 city pass as that was the one that had the field museum listed. It saved us 50% on cost of admission, plus gave us an expedited pass to the willis tower. The pass also included some upgrades such as seeing the short films at the 3 main attractions. I would recommend to have all city passes do the expedited lines as it was a bit confusing at the field museum . I would also encourage all tickets to have reservation time , as i was worried that the Field museum and planetarium would be full and we wouldnt be able to see them.
Date published: 2022-04-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
lesterkat from
Great way to see city attractions!
I purchased the city pass for my whole family for our recent trip to Chicago. I loved that it included the Field Museum, Shedd aquarium and Sky deck with the option to choose 2 more attractions. Very easy to redeem your tickets at the individual attractions. Some places require a time frame that you will attend but others do not. Either way we never waited in line to enter any attraction. The Skydeck was my favorite! Amazing views and great memories. Definitely well worth the money and I loved that the QR codes for entry were sent via email and could them be added to your Apple wallet. Highly recommend getting a city pass!
Date published: 2022-03-22
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Mitch from
Absolutely Worth it.
This made my trip to chicago fun. I love museums and this chicago pass is a good deal for me. Plus it offers easy access to other tourist attractions like sky deck and 360 observation deck. For a brief stay, this city pass made my trip cheaper, easy and enjoyable.
Date published: 2021-12-02
Rated 5 out of
5
by
nickle from
Great trip!
E purchased a city pass our trip to Chicago and are really glad we did. Made entry much quicker and basically had the things we wanted to see and do on it. Customer service was most helpful. Especially Scott! Thanks for making a wonderful trip even better using city pass. Would definitely use again and recommend to anyone going where city pass is.
Date published: 2021-08-31
Rated 5 out of
5
by
LoveToTravel from
Great Deal!
I have never used a City Pass before and kind of decided at the last minute to purchase one for our trip to Chicago. I was worried about some of the reviews which stated it was hard to make reservations when using the City Pass etc. We did not find this to be an issue at all. We actually ended up visiting more attractions than we would have without the City Pass and found it to be a great deal! We were traveling with our two college age children so it saved us ALOT of money and allowed us to check the boxes on everything we wanted to see. I would definitely purchase a City Pass again!
Date published: 2021-08-28
Rated 5 out of
5
by
chammybear from
Amazing deal for a wonderful experience!
This is my second time availing a City Pass. My 1st experience with it is over 5 years ago and I can still say it's worth availing it even after all these years. Of course the experiences pre- and during the pandemic were different with all the protocols in the different establishments but they were still educational and enjoyable nonetheless.
Date published: 2021-06-05
Rated 5 out of
5
by
jme789 from
Absolutely Worth Every Penny
We bought the city pass on a whim. We were interested in a couple of the attractions and figured, we might as well go for it. So we did. The museums and aquarium are fantastic. The sky deck was even a much more neat experience than I was expecting. I am thrilled that we took advantage of this excellent deal.
Date published: 2021-06-01
Rated 5 out of
5
by
JonInVB from
Saves time and money. Great customer service!
Bought this kinda last minute for my trip and really glad I did. Saves you time, money and their customer service is top notch. I was a bit worried about availability of times for two of the experiences on my trip, messages the CityPass team and they not only confirmed availability with the locations, they walked me thru step by step how to easily book it and even followed up.
Date published: 2021-05-26
Rated 5 out of
5
by
jjantzerw from
Great way to see the city!
We bought the CityPass for our trip after realizing it would offer discounted tickets to almost all the attractions we wanted to see. The fast-pass parts for the 360 Deck and Shedd were well worth it (the other attractions we saw weren't busy enough at the time to make a difference). We liked the added items at the museum aquarium, but they weren't anything that would sway us to want the CityPass. Highly recommend if you plan on doing more than 2 attractions in the city.
Date published: 2019-09-04