Top Parks and Gardens in Chicago

Chicago’s Millennium Park is one of the city’s top attractions, so most city tours stop here. Located in downtown Chicago, the park’s centerpiece is a giant reflective sculpture called Cloud Gate. The park hosts a yearly programme of outdoor concerts, film screenings, and special events.

Dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Park stretches for 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) along Lake Michigan and is the city’s largest park. Visit the park on a bike tour of Chicago’s lakefront and discover top city attractions such as Lincoln Park Zoo and Lincoln Park Conservatory.

Nicknamed Chicago’s front yard, Grant Park separates downtown Chicago from Lake Michigan. The park is home to the Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum of Natural History, as well as multiple walking paths, seasonal concerts and events, and Chicago’s most-photographed fountain—the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. Most Chicago sightseeing, biking, and hop-on hop-off bus tours stop at Grant Park.

Jackson Park was the venue of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which is memorialized with a replica of the event’s sculpture, The Republic. Today, the 600-acre (243-hectare) park boasts a golf course, tennis courts, and playground, as well as the Garden of the Phoenix, a Japanese-styled garden.