Chicago Navy Pier Hotel Chicago Ferris Wheel Chicago Musical Carousel Illinois Boat Ride Chicago Children's Museum Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Visit Chicago's Navy Pier

Located on Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago, Navy Pier has been an unmistakable Chicago landmark since 1916. Designed as a shipping and recreational facility, Navy Pier also served as a military training site during two world wars, a venue for concerts and exhibitions, and the temporary home for the University of Illinois's Chicago campus. Today, this downtown Chicago attraction showcases many exciting things to do, including a unique collection of restaurants, shops, entertainment, and exhibition facilities. At Navy Pier you'll find the Chicago Children's Museum, an IMAX theater, Crystal Gardens - an indoor botanical park - the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows. For outdoor fun and Chicago history, Navy Pier has a 150-foot-high Ferris wheel, a musical carousel, an old-fashioned swing ride, an 18-hole miniature golf course, the Skyline Stage outdoor performance pavilion, and exciting boat cruises.

Navy Pier Ferris Wheel.

Towering above Navy Pier, the Ferris wheel provides views of the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. Modeled after the very first Ferris wheel built for the 1893 World Colombian Exposition in Chicago, the Navy Pier Ferris wheel has 40 gondolas seating six passengers. In the evening, the Ferris wheel's 40 spokes, spanning a diameter of 140 feet, are illuminated by thousands of sparkling lights. [Top]

Navy Pier Musical Carousel.

Located near the Ferris wheel in Navy Pier Park, the musical carousel is a whimsical work-of-art that recreates Navy Pier's golden age of the 1920s. The carousel's 36 hand-painted animals represent the different styles found throughout the history of carousels. Horses, chariots and a playful frog are featured characters waiting to carry children of all ages. The hand-painted rounding boards at the top of the 44-foot carousel depict scenes of Navy Pier history. [Top]

Navy Pier Boat Ride & Dinner Cruises.

Board the pleasure boats docked along Navy Pier for an offshore Chicago experience you won't forget. A wide range of vessels, from schooners to sightseeing boats, offer everything from elegant dinner cruises that include dancing and live music to thrilling speedboat rides along Lake Michigan to water taxi services between lakefront attractions. [Top]

Navy Pier IMAX and the Chicago Children's Museum

One of the biggest attractions at Navy Pier is the 440-seat Navy Pier IMAX Theatre featuring the largest flat movie screen in Chicago. -Soaring six-stories high, the, 60 x 80-foot screen is designed to enhance both 2D and 3D films. Later, explore the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier where a galaxy of creative things to do for kids awaits. . This interactive oasis is one of the most popular children's museums in the country. Check out these fun exhibits: Inventing Lab, Dinosaur Expedition, Under Construction, Artabounds Gallery, Treehouse Trails, Water Ways, Play Maze, Face to Face, Bug Backyard, Play It Safe, Climbing Schooner, and Kids on the Fly. [Top]

Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier.

The Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier Theater brings a new dimension to Navy Pier and is the permanent home for Shakespeare in Chicago. The 7-story, year-round theater complex is located on Navy Pier. Inside the beautiful courtyard-style theater, the main floor, dress circle and gallery wrap gracefully around the stage. In the intimate 510-seat theater, only nine rows separate the most distant seat from the actors on stage, and the gallery is suspended just 20 feet above the action. The complex also features Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, an English pub, a Shakespeare resource center, and reception areas with views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline. [Top]