Millennium Park in Chicago is a showcase for public art – but Cloud Gate, Crown Fountain and the Pritzker Pavilion are the most impressive.
Millennium Park has, in a very short space of time, become archetypal Chicago. It’s one of the reasons why Chicago is the best city in the US. This is partly due to the city skyline, with dozens of striking glass towers soaring for the sky, but mainly due to the hugely ambitious set of art projects contained within.
The best attractions in Millennium Park, however, are Cloud Gate, Crown Fountain and the Pritzker Pavilion.
Five great things to do in Chicago
- 🏙️ Marvel at the skyscrapers – on a Chicago River architecture cruise.
- 🖼️ Take an interiors architecture tour – to see stunning glass art and mosaics.
- 🍕 Taste Chicago’s favourite dishes – on a city favourites food tour.
- 🌆 Visit the Willis Tower observation deck – and see the city from above.
- 🕵️ Discover Chicago’s gangster heritage – on a crime and mob tour.
Cloud Gate in Millennium Park
Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate – affectionately known as ‘the Bean’ is mesmerising. Its seemingly join-free, ultra-reflective silver curves act as a distorting novelty mirror for both the city and the bands of curious photographers surrounding it.
Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain
Even more fun is Jaume Plensa’s Crown Fountain, which initially seems to be two towers made of glass bricks facing each other. Only upon closer inspection do I realise that the towers are also big screens, with videos of human faces on them. The faces squirm, pout, raise eyebrows and pucker – then, if you’re standing in the wrong place, give you an unexpected drenching. The ‘fountain’ part of the name, it turns out, comes from the water spouts that a cunningly positioned by the faces’ mouths so it looks like they’re spitting.
Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavilion
At the eastern edge of the park, the Pritzker Pavilion acts as an eye-popping jumble of metal curves and bulges, while Frank Gehry’s silvery, serpentine bridge adeptly slinks its way over a multi-lane highway that has been disguised remarkably well. The bridge feels like a bend in a river, the deliberate decision to make a winding route from A to B taking into the realms of artwork rather than pure functionality.
Millennium Park tours
If you want to explore Millennium Park in more depth, invest in a Millennium Park self-guided walking tour.
Things to do near Millennium Park
Millennium Park is in downtown Chicago, with many of the city’s major cultural and architectural sights within a short walk. It is easy to link several of these attractions in one visit.
The Art Institute of Chicago
Directly across Michigan Avenue from the park, this museum houses one of the most important art collections in the United States, ranging from Impressionist works to contemporary pieces.
Chicago Cultural Center
Just north of the park, this former library building is known for its grand interiors, including an impressive stained glass dome, and regularly hosts exhibitions and performances.
Chicago Architecture Center
Around a ten-minute walk north towards the river, this centre explores Chicago’s architectural history and skyline through interactive exhibitions and models.
Chicago Riverwalk
A short walk from the northern edge of Millennium Park, the Riverwalk offers a scenic route along the water with views of bridges, skyscrapers and river traffic. Chicago River kayaking tours finish here.
Shedd Aquarium
Located to the south within the Museum Campus, Shedd Aquarium is one of the city’s best known family attractions, with extensive marine life exhibits overlooking Lake Michigan.
More Chicago travel
Other great Chicago experiences include architecture cruises, a gangsters and ghosts walking tour and the Field Museum.
Other Chicago travel articles on Planet Whitley include:
- Tribune Tower – the building that stole the world.
- Falling instantly in love with Chicago.
- Why you should do a Chicago architecture walking tour as well as a cruise.
- The joy of visiting Chicago third time round.
- Touring Chicago’s gangster heritage.
- The best places in Chicago for Frank Lloyd-Wright architecture.
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