Free and Fun Family Attractions in Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois is a great city for families to visit together. Although Chicago is well known for being an expensive city, there are a variety of fun and free activities and destinations for the family. These cultural attractions are open year round. Because most of the free attractions in Chicago are indoors, they are ideal year round. So, when your wallet has taken a little bit too much beating, check out some of these great free attractions.

The CenterSpace Gallery at Gallery 37 is located at 66 East Randolph Street in Chicago, Illinois. They are always free and anyone. They can be reached at (312) 744-8925. You can also go online and check out what they are all about at www.gallery37.org.

Chicago ArchiCenter is located at 224 South Michigan Avenue. They are also free to anyone year round. They can be reached directly at (312) 922-3432. You can go online and see what they have to offer at www.architecture.org.

Chicago Beaches and Parks are open year round and free to one and all. The winters in Chicago can get extremely cold, so this would be best as a summer activity. You can call and find out the different locations of the parks and beached in the Chicago area at (312) 742-PLAY or go online and research them at www.chicagoparkdistric.com.

The Chicago Cultural Center is a free year round attraction located at 78 east Washington Street. Although you cannot call them, you can check out what all there is to do at the Chicago Cultural Center at www.chicagoculturalcenter.org.

Garfield Park Conservatory is located at 300 North Central Park Avenue in Chicago. They offer free admission to everyone. You can reach them directly at (312) 746-5100 or go online and visit them at www.garfield-conservatory.org.

For art lovers the Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outside Art is a great free destination in Chicago. They are located at 756 North Milwaukee Avenue. You can contact them directly at (312) 243-9088. They are also available online at http://outsider.art.org.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is located just north of Downtown Chicago and it a great free stop for children of all ages. They are located at 2200 North Cannon Drive. You can reach them directly at (312) 742-2000. You can also check them out online at www.lpzoo.com.

Navy Pier is a well-known tourist attraction in Chicago. Visitors may roam freely throughout the pier. Beware though; there are a lot of extras in this area that are not free. Navy Pier is located at 600 East Grand Avenue. You contact Navy Pier employees at (312) 595-7437. You can also visit Navy Pier online at www.navypier.com to get an idea of other attractions there that are not free. People watching is always free though and this is a great spot to watch the world go by.

The Museum of Contemporary Photography is located at 600 South Michigan Avenue. They offer free admission year round and are a great bargain! You can contact them directly at (312) 663-5554. You can also check out some of the photographs at www.mocp.org.

Millennium Park is a fabulous free attraction in Chicago that draws hundred of thousands of visitors annually. The park is free to anyone stopping by and offers some interesting and large scaled art. Guests can view a water fountain that depicts a different face every ten seconds or so. Water shoots out of the mouth of the person in the photograph. The people in the photograph are people from Chicago. Millennium Park is located on Michigan Avenue between Randolph and Monroe Streets. You can visit them online at www.milenniumpark.org.