Location: Lincoln Park
Top Things to do in Lincoln Park
Things to do in Chicago, Illinois (IL): The Best Nature & Parks
The windy city is a cornucopia of modern art, fine dining, cutting edge comedy, and die-hard sports fans. Snap a photo of your reflection in the silver Cloud Gate sculpture at Millennium Park before heading to Grant Park to get hit with the refreshing spray of Buckingham Fountain. There are dozens of museums and theater companies in Chicago, so a cultural experience is never hard to find. You’re sure to laugh your head off at the Second City Theater, the professional launch pad of many famous comedians.
Restaurants in Chicago
1. Pritzker Family Children's Zoo
2. Kovler Sea Lion Pool
3. Lincoln Park Zoo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,859 reviews
Established in 1868, this 35-acre, beautifully landscaped zoo is one of America's last free-admission zoos. The Great Ape House has one of the best assemblages of gorillas and chimpanzees in the world.
Reviewed By Susantoot62 - Munster, United States
The Lincoln Park zoo lights for Christmas are extremely beautiful. My family and I stroll through this magnificent park and saw the incredible display of beautiful Christmas lights. Some of the lights are actually in the shape of animals of course! There is ice carving also. You can stroll enjoying hot chocolate hot coffee and other refreshments. It is great for all ages! And guess what, it is free
4. Lincoln Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 855 reviews
Home to the Lincoln Park Zoo, this popular park is also located in a neighborhood called Lincoln Park.
Reviewed By BonnieT159 - Chicago, United States
Lincoln Park is both a neighborhood in Chicago and a real park. The park houses a wonderful nature walk surrounding a lagoon, the fantastic Cafe Brauer, the only free zoo left in the US, and much open public space that is used by visitors for everything from sports to bar-b-ques and more, A great place to visit. Be sure to stop on the bridge going over the lagoon. The view of Downtown Chicago is great from here, and many movies are shot here.
5. Lincoln Park Conservatory
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 761 reviews
A Chicago institution for more than a century, the Conservatory's Main Garden blooms with more than 40,000 annuals.
Reviewed By design007 - Granger, United States
Wow. Amazing little gem and with a history. Free admission which was a nice surprise. Lincoln Park Zoo around the corner when you are done. Blooming flowers, plants and bushes like I was at the Masters. Hard to believe these hardy plants, trees , and orchids can thrive in the winter. In the summer this conservatory is open air. The smell and peacefulness is what amazes you too. A young man was on a bench reading. Relaxing, while the cold of Chicago was a few steps away. Good for all ages.
6. Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 64 reviews
Reviewed By 866TaylorB - Chicago, United States
Image a lily pond designed by Alfred Caldwell and influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, Jens Jensen and Marlin Perkins. Then visit Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool in Chicago. Located at 125 West Fullerton Parkway, between North Cannon Drive and North Stockton Drive, in Lincoln Park, next to the Lincoln Park Conservatory, north of Lincoln Park Zoo, the three-acre plot with lily pond and gardens is a picturesque oasis and an important example of Prairie School landscape architecture. Originally built in 1889, the hour-glass shaped pond had fallen into ruin by the 1930s and landscape architect Alfred Caldwell was hired to completely redesign this area of Lincoln Park in 1936-1938. He began by planting thousands of plants transported from Sauk County, Wisconsin. From 1926 to 1931, Caldwell worked for landscape artist Jens Jensen, whose influence is evident in the Sun Opening, the curving walkways, the meandering, stepping-stone limestone paths and circular benches. Frank Lloyd Wright's influence is seen in the Fullerton Parkway Gate. In the early 1950s, Lincoln Park Zoo director Marlin Perkins transformed the Lily Pool into a water exhibit featuring exotic birds and water fowl. The Lily Pool was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2002 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a National Historic Landmark in 2006. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from mid-April to mid-November with free docent tours available to the public on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
