Chicago with Kids (3 Days)

Before Going

Check out your local museums to see if any of them participate in the ASTC reciprocal program. We were able to get general admission at the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry for free because we are members of a local science museum. Our family membership is only $95 a year and we get into tons of other museums across the country for free! Totally worth it and you get to support a local museum at the same time.

The City Pass is another great way to save money if you can't benefit from the reciprocal program.  

Order a Ventra card  and load a 3 day CTA pass onto it. This will get you on all city busses and trains for 72 hours starting the minute you first use it. 

The museums are super busy on the weekends it's almost like being a Disney World, go during the week and avoid the stress!

Where to Stay

We recommend the Hilton Chicago. The location (in the Loop) is great and the hotel is beautiful. Our room had two bathrooms, which was awesome and really helped speed up getting ready in the morning. The hotel has a pool and fitness club. There is also a little grab and go cafe downstairs which features a Starbucks, lots of good breakfast choices. We always stay at Hilton's and rack up the reward points. If you travel often it's a good idea to pick a hotel company and become loyal to it! The same goes for airlines. 

Getting There

We flew Southwest! Every June and October Southwest has a terrific 3 day sale and we were able to book Chicago for around 2,500 points each way. Since we use our Southwest card for everything and pay it off monthly we hardly ever pay to fly! We flew in late on a Saturday and out late on Tuesday. Southwest flies into Midway instead of O'Hare which is a super easy airport to deal with.

Day One

The museum complex is easily accessed by bus. It was just over a .5 mile walk from our hotel so we decided to hoof it!

Field Museum

9:00 am to 12:00 pm
There is plenty to see at the Field Museum without paying for any of the special exhibits. I'm personally not a huge fan of displays of taxidermied animals but the dinosaur bones, Native American, and Egyptian collections are fantastic. The gift shop is a bit pricey but one of the best in the city!

Lunch

There are plenty of options to choose from on the museum campus. The Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium both have cafes and there are also food carts outside to pick up a quick lunch. 

Shedd Aquarium 

12:00 pm to 3:00 pm
The aquarium is a great place to relax, there is plenty of time to sit on a bench in your favorite area and just enjoy the sea life. Throughout the aquarium there are lots of hands on opportunities which are a ton of fun!

Adler Planetarium

3:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Adding a show onto your ticket is a must. There are exhibits that are part of general admission but to make the most of your visit you really need to see a show. 

If you finish up early there a beach nearby where you can sit and enjoy the lake while your kiddo/s play in the sand. 

Dinner

If you are staying in the Loop there are so many restaurants to choose from. The Italian Village is our recommendation for the night!

Head back to the hotel, relax, swim, pass out from all the walking you did today!

Day Two

Museum of Science and Industry

9:30 am to 3:30 pm 

The Museum of Science and Industry is a bit out of the way, about a 20 minute bus ride.  We actually only spent about 3 hours here and it was a mistake! This place is amazing. Though if you want to limit it like we did their website offers great planning resources. We got free general admission here but opted to pay for a special exhibit, there are several special exhibits that cost extra. We toured the U-505, an actual U-Boat that was captured from the Germans during WW2 and it was amazing! The Coal Mine also looked really neat but we decided on just one special exhibit. I would plan to do at least one! There are a very exhibits that require timed tickets at no extra cost. My recommendation is to have one parent scout out the area and snatch up any tickets you may want. The mirror maze was one of our favorites!

Navy Pier

4:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Dive into a Chicago Deep Dish at Giordano's and explore the shops at the Pier. Just a warning Chicago pizza takes a long time to cook (about an hour) so keep that in mind when planning what time to eat dinner!

Take a Sea-Dog architecture cruise! This was our favorite thing to do in Chicago. The Sea-Dog takes you down the Chicago River while your tour guide tells you about the buildings in sight. Even my 8 year old found this interesting. At the end the Sea-Dog takes you on a speed boat cruise across the lake which is exhilarating! 

When you get back to the Pier take a ride on the Ferris Wheel!

Day Three

If you're flying out tonight, pack up your bags, check out of your room, and have the hotel store your luggage for you. 

360 Chicago

10:00 am to 11:00 am

I always prefer to go to the Hancock building over the Willis (Sears) Tower. A. It's more conveniently located. B. You get the have the tallest building in your view/pictures. It used to be cheaper but now it's pretty much the same. 

Magnificent Mile

11:00 am to 2:00 pm

If you like to shop (and have $$$$) you might want to dedicate more time to the Magnificent Mile. Otherwise grab some lunch and pop in a few shops. Garrett's Popcorn is a Chicago must! 

Art Institute of Chicago 

2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

You probably won't have time to see everything here, it's huge. Grab a map and spend 5-10 minutes picking out your must sees. 

The End of the Trip

Pick up your luggage, grab dinner and head out! We had dinner at Eleven City Diner, which was fantastic. They put our carry on behind the counter for us. We were able to hop on the Orange line just around the corner afterwards!