A Chicago Historic Hotels itinerary
One walkable day in the heart of the Loop — world-class art, free landmarks, and a great historic hotel to come home to.
Millennium Park sits at the center of Chicago’s cultural mile, ringed by museums, gardens, and some of the city’s most storied hotels. Here’s how to make a day of it — entirely on foot.
Start across the street at the Chicago Athletic Association or your Loop hotel, then walk into Millennium Park for “the Bean” (Cloud Gate) before the crowds. Loop around to the Crown Fountain’s video faces and the prairie-style Lurie Garden.
Cross Monroe Street to one of the world’s great museums — the Impressionists, the Thorne Miniature Rooms, and Hopper’s Nighthawks. Break for lunch at the museum’s garden cafe or back on Michigan Avenue.
Walk a few blocks north to the free Chicago Cultural Center and its luminous Tiffany glass dome, then continue to the river and down onto the Chicago Riverwalk for architecture views along the water.
In summer, catch a free concert under Frank Gehry’s billowing Pritzker Pavilion, or stroll the BP Bridge to Maggie Daley Park. Cap the night with supper-club cocktails back at the Cherry Circle Room or a rooftop overlooking the park.
Historic hotels within an easy walk of Millennium Park.
Directly across Michigan Avenue from the park.
A few blocks west, in the LaSalle Street financial district.
Two blocks west at State & Washington.
On the river at Michigan Avenue, a short walk north.
Three blocks southwest on Monroe Street.
South on Michigan Avenue, facing Grant Park.