Chicago CityPASS: Glorious Autumn Travel at a Discount
Download this page in PDF formatFrom the museums framed by Grant Park’s multi-hued foliage to downtown skyscrapers rising through the crisp fall air, autumn is a spectacular time to visit Chicago. Summer temperatures have dropped, crowds are smaller, and refreshingly cool breezes waft in from Lake Michigan.
The best way to experience Chicago’s fall pleasures is with Chicago CityPASS, a booklet of prepaid tickets that saves travelers nearly half off combined admission costs to the Windy City’s top must-see attractions: The Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, and either Skydeck Chicago or the John Hancock Observatory. Even better, Chicago CityPASS users save time, skipping the main entrance ticket lines at most attractions.
A Chicago CityPASS ticket booklet costs $69 for adults (a value of $134.60) and $59 for kids, ages 3-11 (a value of $114.50). Respectively, Chicago CityPASS saves 49 and 48 percent off regular adult and child admission prices.
Grant Park, whose 1927 Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain is an elegant downtown focal point, also offers Chicago’s prettiest lakefront views. The park’s expanse of beautiful grounds are perfect for strolling among falling leaves; and its Museum Campus area is home to three CityPASS destinations: The Field Museum,Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium.
At The Field Museum, Chicago CityPASS opens the door to more than 26 million exotic artifacts, including the skeleton of a razor-toothed Tyrannosaurus rex. Nicknamed “Sue,” the skeleton represents the largest, most complete and best preserved T. rex ever discovered. The museum also chronicles ancient peoples, from the Aztec empire in The Ancient Americas exhibit to Inside Ancient Egypt, which features 23 mummies, a 2,500-year-old shrine to the cat goddess Bastet, and a re-created, life-size burial tomb that visitors can explore.
In the Field’s Underground Adventure exhibit, enthralled kids and adults can see what life is like for creatures that live deep under the soil. Lastly, visitors shouldn’t miss the redesigned and updated Grainger Hall of Gems.
Exploring the nearby Adler Planetarium provides far more than just a show about our skies. Visitors see the restored Gemini 12 spacecraft and learn the fascinating story behind America’s race to the moon. The museum stays on the cutting edge of audience appeal with exhibits like CyberSpace, whose computerized VisionStations provide realistic, immersive experiences of the Universe; and the Planet Explorers exhibition, where families with young children can embark on a modern-day space adventure. Two theater shows — including 3-D films in the Universe Theater — are included with Chicago CityPASS admission.
The Shedd Aquarium is also located on Museum Campus in Grant Park. Here, visitors can experience the largest indoor marine mammal habitat in the world: the magnificent Oceanarium. The exhibit contains beluga whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Alaska sea otters and penguins. Seventy-nine additional habitats contain rays, octopuses, blue iguanas, jellies and brilliant corals. Descend into the Wild Reef exhibit for a diver’s-eye view of sharks, garden eels and other creatures populating this diverse marine metropolis.
A few miles south of Grant Park is the Museum of Science and Industry, whose dramatically colonnaded, beaux arts-style building houses the largest science center in the Western Hemisphere. A Chicago CityPASS whisks visitors past long admission lines and into this expansive, scientific theme park. Guests can experience the capture of the U-505, a WWII German submarine (the only German sub in the United States); engage in a challenging game of Mindball, using only brainwaves topush a ball into their opponent’s goal; or stand before a swirling, 40-foot, indoor tornado to learn about vortices and air pressure. Chicago CityPASS also includes admission to one show in MSI’s Omnimax theater.
The remaining Chicago CityPASS ticket gives holders a choice between two sky-high adventures: admission to Skydeck Chicago and The Ledge or a trip to the top of the John Hancock Observatory.
Skydeck Chicago is located atop Willis Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. On a clear day, visitors to Skydeck can see 40-50 miles (64-80 km) to the horizon, but it’s the view from The Ledge that is the most thrilling. The Ledge (actually four boxes of clear glass that jut out from the tower’s 103rd floor) rewards daring visitors with a head-spinning perspective 1,353 feet (412 m) straight down.
At the John Hancock Observatory, CityPASS holders receive Fast Pass admission to the observatory, a complimentary multimedia Sky Tour, and free coffee with a view in the 94th-floor Espression by Lavazza café. Highlights of the observatory’s 360-degree view include Lake Michigan, Wrigley Field, Navy Pier and the North Shore. The observatory’s open-air Skywalk (also on the 94th floor) is one of the best places from which to have your hair ruffled by the Windy City’s famous breezes.
Purchase Chicago CityPASS online at citypass.com or at any Chicago CityPASS attraction. The ticket booklets are valid for nine consecutive days, beginning with the first day of use.
For travelers who crave both savings and convenience, the CityPASS concept showcases the best attractions in North America’s most exciting destinations at an incredible discount. CityPASS ticket booklets are available for New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California and Toronto. For more information on CityPASS and its partner cities and attractions, visit citypass.com
