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Chicago Things to Do and Chicago Attractions

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Recreation and Outdoors in Chicago

Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago Botanic Garden
Opened in 1972, the Chicago Botanic Garden is one of the most-visited public gardens in the nation. Spread across 385 acres, its 23 display gardens and three native habitats occupy nine islands that are surrounded by lakes. Read more

Garfield Park Conservatory
One of the largest conservatories in the nation, Garfield Park Conservatory is known as "landscape art under glass." Occupying 4.5 acres in the 184-acre Garfield Park, the conservatory grows thousands of plants each year for use in the city's parks. Display houses include the Sweet House, full of chocolate, sugar cane, fig, and pineapple plants, and the Aroid House, where 16 lily pads surround a tranquil lagoon. Read more

Grant Park

Grant Park
Often called Chicago's front yard, 319-acre Grant Park is a lush recreational respite in the city. Named for 18th U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, the park's main attraction is the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain. Constructed in a Beaux Arts style, the fountain's main jet spouts water 150 feet in the air.
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Crown Fountain, Millenium Park

Millennium Park
Once property of the Illinois Central Railroad, the present-day 24.5-acre Millennium Park was first conceived in 1998. Today, the Chicago icon is full of landmarks, most notably the outdoor concert venue Jay Pritzker Pavilion; the interactive Crown Fountain; the Lurie Garden, a 2.5-acre space meant to commemorate the city's beginnings as a flat marsh; and the dazzling, stainless steel Cloud Gate Sculpture. Read more