When you tag along on a trip to Chicago and use a Chicago Citypass

My husband had a work trip to Chicago and I’ve never been before. Have you been to this amazing city? My parents offered to hang out with our kids so I could tag along and I booked my ticket ASAP. I was instantly overwhelmed with everything you can do in Chicago. I knew I needed to see the Bean and eat at Eataly (WHY DO WE NOT HAVE AN EATALY IN SEATTLE?!!!!) but I couldn’t really think of what else I wanted to see. I have used the Boston CityPASS and it really helped with planning our trips and I was really thankful when Chicago CityPASS gave me some passes to try out on this trip so I didn’t have to really plan anymore.

When I used the Chicago CityPASS I was able to visit 5 famous Chicago places. The Shedd Aquarium, Skydeck Chicago and the Field Museum were automatically part of the pass. I was also able to choose between theAdler Planetarium or the Art Institute of Chicago, and between the Museum of Science and Industry and the 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck. We were only there for a two days and I didn’t think I would be able to visit all the places but on the last day our flight was delayed so we made it a goal to do everything on the Chicago CityPASS.

Is the price of the Chicago CityPASS worth it?

In order to decide if the pass was “worth it” I would look at the price of the things you want to do in Chicago first. In order to recoup the cost of an adult pass, you would have to visit 3 places on the pass and you have 9 days to visit all the places once you first activate your Chicago CityPASS. (The pass becomes activated the first time you use it.). If you are a member of a museum that is part of ASTC network you might already have reciprocal privileges at The Museum or Science and Industry and this one would automatically be free for you. Non-monetary values include not having to look for cash or carry tickets-the Citypass can be downloaded onto your phone and scanned at each place. You also save time on lines this way and at some of the places you even get fastness line priveleges-this would be invaluable at the Shedd Aquarium where we heard that the line can often go out the door.

The 360 Chicago Observation Deck (John Hancock Building)

The 360 Chicago Observation Deck was our first stop on the CityPASS and this takes you to the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan Avenue in what used to be called the John Hancock Center. The pass includes express entry admission which might be useful on busy days because we noticed big holding areas for lineups and the express entry allowed us to skip those areas. When we got up to the top of the tower the views were pretty incredible. We almost tried “the tilt” for an additional 7 dollar charge but after watching another couple try it, it just felt a little gimmicky. I think if it were included in the price of our ticket we would have been more inclined. Otherwise it was really nice to check out the spectacular view and get an idea of where we were in the city and not have to wait in lines or pull out or wallet.

The Art Institute of Chicago

When I told friends I was heading to Chicago, everyone told me to visit the Art Institute. This is such a beautiful museum and it has an incredible permanent art collection-when we visited there was a special collection from Andy Warhol happening (we had to pay to upgrade and I think it was only around 7 dollars).

The Chicago CityPASS gives you a Fastpass at the Art Institute which again might be helpful on a busy day and we didn’t have to wait in line at all. It also included an audio tour which we never think about purchasing when we visit museums but I always end up appreciating them when I use them. Some pieces that you might recognize at this museum are American Gothic by Grant Wood, Stacks of Wheat by Claude Monet and the Bedroom by Vincent Van Gogh and the museum has a link on the site that includes these pieces and other pieces in its collection too.

The Skydeck

I ended up visiting the Skydeck by myself. I am a little afraid of elevators and thought it would be a good bravery attempt. When I arrived at the Willis Tower where the Skydeck Observation Deck is I was excited to see that there was a Do-Rite Donuts and Chicken inside the building. I heard that the buttermilk donut here is supposed to be really good and I tried them after my trip up (they were yummy!)

Again, the Skydeck has the potential for really long waits and there is no fast pass on the CityPASS for this one-I was lucky because there was poor visibility due to low clouds so many people were going to come back later in the afternoon. I was just happy to not have big crowds and the elevator was quite speedy to the Skydeck. I didn’t realize that the Willis Tower is the 2nd tallest building in the United States. I even tried the Ledge-a perch with a glass floor 103 stories and 1450 feet from the ground. (I didn’t realize that this is a lot taller than our Seattle Space Needle. The glass floor of our Seattle landmark is only at 500 feet but from this high up I couldn’t tell the difference between the two heights.) I loved that the ledge is included with your Skydeck trip. I preferred the Skydeck to the 360 Chicago Observation Deck so if I could choose one of these building to visit it would be the Skydeck for sure. There is even a scavenger hunt for kids you can print out and bring if you have little ones in tow.

And the Aquarium and the Field Museum….

The Shedd Aquarium and The Field Museum were two stops that I didn’t think we would get to on the CityPASS this trip but because our plane was delayed we had a whole bunch of extra time in Chicago and we thought we might as well check them out. My kids would have loved the touch pools at the aquarium and the dinosaurs at the Field Museum. But by the time we got to the Field Museum my feet were extremely tired after walking nearly 30000 steps a day and I’m not a big fan of museums full of dead things so I was not the best audience. The atrium in the Field museum though is absolutely stunning and if we didn’t cram all the experiences into about 48 hours, I probably would have enjoyed it a little more.

Ultimately, the CityPASS made us thoroughly explore Chicago and kept us out of shopping malls for a while and I think that makes it a good pass if you visit the area. We saw things we wouldn’t have seen, tried things we wouldn’t have tried and stretched our boundaries which is why I travel in the first place.

Have you been to Chicago? Are there places not on the CityPASS that you would recommend? And if you know of good eateries nearby any of these places, I’d love to know as well.

(PS as stated before, I received some Chicago CityPASS tickets to try out for the sake of this review and as always the opinions on my blog are my own.)

(PSS are you curious about CityPASS in other cities? We’ve used it in Toronto, New York and Boston too)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)