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Chicago with Kids

Chicago is the one American city outside New York where a family can plan a whole trip without a hire car, and it pairs that with a concentration of large museums that few cities anywhere can match. The Museum Campus alone holds a natural-history museum, an aquarium and a planetarium within a few hundred metres of each other; the Museum of Science and Industry, a few miles south, has a captured submarine and a walk-through coal mine inside it. Between them runs an eighteen-mile lakefront of parks, free public beaches and a separated cycle path, and downtown itself is flat, gridded and served by an elevated train that reaches both airports. The trade-off is the weather, and it is not a small one: from December to March the wind off Lake Michigan makes outdoor sightseeing genuinely punishing, and the same trip that is excellent in June becomes an indoor-only itinerary in January. It is a great winter city as long as the plan admits that.

Best for ages
3+
Suggested stay
3–5 days
Best months
May–Oct
Daily budget
€360

Mid-range, family of four

Why Chicago works with children

  • Museums deep enough for several days

    A natural-history museum, an aquarium, a planetarium and a science museum with a real submarine, all at the top of their category.

  • A metro that removes the hire car

    The 'L' runs from both airports into the centre and along the lakefront, so a family trip here needs no driving at all.

  • Eighteen miles of lakefront park

    A continuous path of beaches, playgrounds and cycle track along Lake Michigan, with the skyline directly behind it.

  • Free things that hold children's attention

    Millennium Park's fountain and sculpture, Lincoln Park Zoo and the lakefront beaches all cost nothing to walk into.

  • An indoor city when the weather turns

    Enough large indoor attractions to fill four days without going outside, which is what makes a winter visit workable.

Where to stay

Best areas in Chicago for families

4 areas cover most trips here; the difference is mainly first visits, no car, museums on foot versus stays built around the science museum.

  • The Loop and Millennium Park

    Best for first visits, no car, museums on foot

    The downtown core, with Millennium and Maggie Daley parks on its eastern edge and the Museum Campus a walk or a short bus ride south. Every train line converges here. It is an office district, so it is quiet at night and short on grocery shops, and hotel taxes and overnight parking are both charged on top of the rate.

  • River North and Streeterville

    Best for families who want restaurants and navy pier nearby

    North of the river, covering the shopping stretch of Michigan Avenue, the children's museum at Navy Pier and the densest concentration of restaurants. More expensive than the Loop and busier on the pavements, but livelier in the evening.

  • Lincoln Park and Old Town

    Best for apartment rentals and a free zoo

    A leafy residential district two miles north with the free zoo, a conservatory, beaches and a lot of family-sized apartments. A fifteen-minute train ride from downtown, and the everyday streets make it the easiest area to live in for a week.

  • Hyde Park

    Best for stays built around the science museum

    The university neighbourhood on the South Side, next to the Museum of Science and Industry and a lakefront beach. Well away from the rest of the sightseeing, which means a train or bus ride each way rather than a walk.

Family hotel picks in Chicago

  • Family room in a Loop hotel near Millennium Park
    The Loop / Millennium ParkMid-range

    Family room in a Loop hotel near Millennium Park

    Every train line in the city converges here, the two downtown parks are a walk away and the Museum Campus is one short bus ride south, which is what makes a Chicago trip work without a car.

    • Walk to Millennium and Maggie Daley parks
    • Every 'L' line and both airport trains within a few blocks
    • Indoor pool in many of the larger properties
    • Lakefront buses to the museums from the same street

    Fitting a family in

    Two-double or two-queen rooms sleep four and are the standard downtown product; rooms for five are scarce, so families of five usually need a suite or connecting rooms, booked well ahead.

    Watch out. The Loop is an office district that empties in the evening and at weekends, with few grocery shops and a thinner choice of restaurants than it looks. Chicago's combined hotel taxes are among the highest of any American city and are added to the quoted rate, and overnight parking is charged separately again.

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  • Apartment rental in Lincoln Park or Old Town
    Lincoln Park / Old TownMid-range

    Apartment rental in Lincoln Park or Old Town

    A residential neighbourhood with a free zoo, a conservatory, beaches and the lakefront path at the end of the street, plus a kitchen and separate bedrooms — the easiest part of the city to actually live in for a week.

    • Full kitchen and laundry
    • Free zoo, conservatory and lakefront beaches within walking distance
    • Supermarkets, bakeries and playgrounds on ordinary streets
    • Two 'L' lines into the Loop in about fifteen minutes

    Fitting a family in

    Two- and three-bedroom apartments in converted three-flats, sleeping five to seven, usually one apartment per floor.

    Watch out. Most of these are walk-ups with a flight or two of stairs and no lift, which is real work with a pushchair and luggage. Street parking is permit-zoned and towed when ignored, and the Museum Campus is a train ride plus a walk rather than a stroll.

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  • Suite hotel in River North or Streeterville
    River North / StreetervilleHigher-end

    Suite hotel in River North or Streeterville

    Puts restaurants, the shopping stretch of Michigan Avenue, the river cruise docks and the children's museum at Navy Pier inside a walk, which suits families who want the evenings to be as easy as the days.

    • Walk to Navy Pier, the river docks and Michigan Avenue
    • Suites with a separate living area and a sofa bed
    • The widest choice of restaurants open late
    • Pools and fitness floors in most of the larger properties

    Fitting a family in

    One-bedroom suites sleeping four to five are common here and are the most reliable way to give a family of five one room; standard doubles still sleep four.

    Watch out. This is the most expensive district in the city for a family room, and the same taxes and nightly parking charges apply on top. Pavements are crowded, the Navy Pier end is loud with summer fireworks evenings, and the museums on the south side are further away than they look on a map.

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All family stays in United States

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Things to do in Chicago with kids

  • Museum of Science and Industry
    MuseumBook ahead

    Museum of Science and Industry

    Chicago

    A vast science museum in Hyde Park, housed in the one surviving building of the 1893 world's fair, with a captured German submarine displayed below ground, a walk-through replica coal mine, a full-size aircraft hung in the hall and a large hands-on gallery for younger children.

    Ages
    4–16
    Time
    5h
    Adult, from
    €25

    Good to know. The submarine tour, the coal mine and the cinema are ticketed separately on top of general admission and sell out on busy days, so they need adding when the entry ticket is bought rather than on arrival. The mine involves a cage descent and enclosed tunnels that some children find claustrophobic. It sits several miles south of the Loop, which is a bus or train ride rather than a walk, and the building is big enough to need a planned route.

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  • Shedd Aquarium
    AnimalsBook ahead

    Shedd Aquarium

    Chicago

    A large aquarium on the Museum Campus at the lake's edge, with an oceanarium of belugas, dolphins and sea otters behind a glass wall onto Lake Michigan, a Caribbean reef tank and an Amazon gallery. The Field Museum and the planetarium stand within a few hundred metres of it.

    Ages
    2–12
    Time
    3h 30m
    Adult, from
    €40

    Good to know. Among the busiest attractions in the city: entry is by timed ticket and the galleries are still shoulder to shoulder from late morning, so an early or late slot changes the visit completely. Seating for the aquatic presentations fills well before they start. The Museum Campus is a long, fully exposed walk from the nearest train station, which is unpleasant in winter wind, and the lakefront bus is the easier approach with small children.

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  • Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park
    City

    Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park

    Chicago

    Two connected downtown parks: the first holds the mirrored bean-shaped sculpture and a fountain of projected faces that spouts water at children, the second a large themed play garden, a climbing wall and a curving ice-skating ribbon that loops through the trees in winter. A footbridge links them over the traffic.

    Ages
    1–14
    Time
    2h 30m
    Adult, from
    Free

    Good to know. The fountain runs only in the warm months and is drained for winter, and the skating ribbon is the reverse, so the park a family gets depends entirely on the season. The play garden is divided by age group and is extremely busy on summer weekends and after school. Skate hire queues in winter are long, and both parks are fully exposed to wind coming off the lake.

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  • Chicago River architecture cruise
    CityBook ahead

    Chicago River architecture cruise

    Chicago

    A ninety-minute boat trip along the three branches of the Chicago River, passing through the canyon of towers in the centre and out towards the lock at the lake, with a guide explaining how the city was rebuilt after the 1871 fire and how the river was reversed.

    Ages
    7–16
    Time
    1h 45m
    Adult, from
    €50

    Good to know. It is a commentary-led cruise, which means ninety minutes seated and listening — good from around seven, tedious below it. Boats run from roughly spring to late autumn and stop for the winter. The open upper deck is where the views are and it is cold and windy on the water even in June, with no shade on a hot day and no way off once it has left the dock.

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Getting around Chicago

The 'L' is the backbone: one line runs from O'Hare into the Loop, another from Midway, and trains run through the night on the two busiest lines. Fares are paid by contactless card or a transit card, day and multi-day passes exist and are worth it from roughly three rides a day, and young children travel free with a fare-paying adult. Buses fill the gaps the trains leave, including the lakefront routes to the Museum Campus and the zoo. Hire bikes cover the lakefront path, and seasonal water taxis run along the river between the Loop and the museums. A car is a liability here: downtown garages charge by the night, street parking is permit-zoned in the residential districts, and nothing worth seeing is quicker to drive to.

Chicago tips for families

  • When to go

    Winter is workable, but only as an indoor plan

    From December to March the wind coming off the lake regularly makes the effective temperature far colder than the reading, and the lakefront and Museum Campus are fully exposed to it. The museums, the aquarium and the indoor observation decks carry a four-day itinerary on their own, and hotel rates are at their lowest. What does not work is a winter plan with outdoor walking in it.

  • Getting around

    Do not hire a car for the city days

    Both airports have a direct train into the centre, and the train plus the lakefront buses reach every attraction on a family's list. Overnight hotel parking costs as much per night as a family meal, and the residential districts are permit-zoned. A car only makes sense for a day trip out of the city, hired for that day.

  • Money & costs

    Check what a combined pass actually covers

    Several multi-attraction passes are sold here, and they only pay off at a pace of three or more paid attractions a day, which is more than most families with young children manage. Buying two or three dated tickets directly is often cheaper and always less rushed. Note that the big museums sell tiered tickets, and the cheaper tier excludes the special exhibitions and cinema.

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  • With kids

    The lakefront is free, and the beaches are real

    The city beaches along Lake Michigan are public, lifeguarded through the summer season and directly beneath the skyline. The water is fresh, cold well into June, and swimming is permitted only when lifeguards are on duty, with flag closures after storms. The separated path behind them runs for miles and is the best cycling in any large US city.

Chicago with kids: common questions

Which Chicago museum is best with children?
The Museum of Science and Industry, for most ages — it has a captured German submarine, a simulated coal mine and a great deal to operate rather than read. The Field Museum wins for dinosaur-minded children, the Shedd Aquarium for under-sevens, and the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier is aimed squarely at under-tens.
Do you need a car in Chicago?
No, and it is better without one. Both airports connect to the centre by train, the 'L' and the lakefront buses cover the museums, the zoo and the beaches, and hotel parking is charged nightly on top of the room rate. A car is worth hiring only for a day trip out of the city.
Is Chicago worth visiting in winter with kids?
Yes, if the itinerary is honest about it. The museums, the aquarium and the observation decks are all indoors and rarely crowded in January, and rates are at their lowest. But the wind off the lake makes outdoor time genuinely hard, so plans that depend on the lakefront, the parks or long walks between stops should wait for May.
How many days do you need in Chicago with kids?
Three to five. Three covers one major museum, the downtown parks and the lakefront. Five allows two or three museums at a child's pace, a river boat and a day in one of the northern neighbourhoods without rushing.
Where should families stay in Chicago?
The Loop for the shortest walk to the parks and museums, River North or Streeterville for restaurants and Navy Pier, Lincoln Park for an apartment near the free zoo and the beaches. All three sit on train lines; the main thing to check is the walk from the nearest station with luggage and tired children.

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