Activity Overview
Grant Park is a large 319 acre park located right in the middle of downtown Chicago. It is home to world class museums, exciting concert venues, historic structures and beautiful gardens. It is cherished by the people of Chicago and is sometimes affectionately referred to as "Chicago's front yard". Named after Ulysses S. Grant it has been marked out as a public green space for its citizens since before Chicago was even incorporated as a city. As such its history is shared with Chicago and it remains today essential to its beating heart.
Things to Do
- The Museum's in Grant Park can stand amongst the best in the entire United States. The Art Institute of Chicago is the second largest art Museum in the U.S, only beaten in size by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art; it has an incredible collection which includes some of the most famous names in the historyof art.
- The Museum Campus contains three large facilities dedicated to the natural sciences; the Adler Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. Each of these offer fascinating exhibits.
- It is hard to count the number of festivals of all kinds that take place at Grant Park throughout the year. Lollapalooza is one of the principle music festivals in the country and attracts big names while there is a free concert series held every summer in the neighboring Millennium Park where you can see jazz, classical and lots of types of music.
- Taste of Chicago comes every year to delight taste buds with delicious dishes from around the city!
Grant Park Insider Tips
- Don't miss out on the water show at Grant Park's Buckingham Fountain. Every hour on the hour between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. there is a great show here and once the sun goes down it is accompanied by lights and music!
