Opened on the site of an old limestone quarry, Palmisano Park unfurls an urban prairie landscape with great views of the Chicago skyline. Locals come here to fish for bluegill in the lagoon in summer and sled the hills in winter. The winding walkways, made of recycled construction debris, are great for a stroll anytime.
Palmisano Park
Chicago
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
7.19 MILES
Built in 1914, Wrigley Field – aka the Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s home to the Chicago Cubs and…
4.95 MILES
The MSI is the largest science museum in the Western hemisphere and a place to completely geek out. Highlights include a WWII German U-boat nestled in an…
2.72 MILES
The second-largest art museum in the country, the Art Institute houses a treasure trove from around the globe. The collection of impressionist and…
2.93 MILES
There's free admission to Millennium Park, the playful heart of the city. It shines with whimsical public art, both permanent and temporary exhibits, and…
2.44 MILES
Willis Tower is Chicago's tallest building (and one of the world's loftiest). Breathe deeply during the ear-popping, 70-second elevator ride to the 103rd…
Field Museum of Natural History
2.17 MILES
The Field Museum houses some 30 million artifacts and includes everything but the kitchen sink – beetles, mummies, gemstones, Bushman the stuffed ape –…
3.79 MILES
Half-mile-long Navy Pier is one of Chicago's most-visited attractions, sporting a 196ft Ferris wheel and other carnival rides ($9 to $18 each), an IMAX…
National Museum of Mexican Art
1.6 MILES
Founded in 1982, this vibrant museum – the largest Latinx arts institution in the US – has become one of the city’s best. The vivid permanent collection…
Nearby Chicago attractions
0.93 MILES
Pilsen's art galleries are known collectively as the Chicago Arts District. There are 20 or so studios, and they tend to be small, artist-run spaces with…
0.94 MILES
Built in 1928 and originally known as the On Leong Building, this grand structure is a fantasy of Chinese architecture that makes good use of glazed terra…
0.98 MILES
Zhou B fills a massive old warehouse with galleries and studios and is the workplace of some 50 artists. The main exhibition spaces, on the 1st and 2nd…
1.04 MILES
The old Spiegel Catalog Warehouse holds more than 50 artists' studios. The best time to come is on the third Friday of the month when the studios open to…
1.09 MILES
Ping Tom stretches along the Chicago River and offers dramatic, bridge-strewn views of the skyline. Rent a kayak from the boathouse, or bring a picnic to…
6. Illinois Institute of Technology
1.2 MILES
A world-class leader in technology, industrial design and architecture, the IIT owes much of its look to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the famed mid-century…
1.25 MILES
Helmut Jahn designed State Street Village on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus. Jahn studied at IIT in his younger days, and his strip of…
1.27 MILES
The star of the Illinois Institute of Technology campus and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s undisputed masterpiece is SR Crown Hall, appropriately home to the…