The Art Institute of Chicago
- Time needed
- 3 hr
- Tickets
- book ahead
- Best time
- Wednesday at 11 a.m. is the strongest choice, with Monday morning similarly good. Thursday after about 5:30 p.m. is the best late-day alternative because the museum stays open until 8 p.m.; verify the calendar first, since free evenings or special programming can increase crowds.
- Time needed
- 3h
- Tickets
- Book ahead
- Best time
- Wednesday at 11 a.m.
Tickets and tours
Plan the visit
Buy a dated general-admission ticket online 1–3 days ahead to bypass the purchase queue; book about a week ahead for summer weekends, holiday weekends, or a major special exhibition. General admission is date-based rather than timed and ordinarily does not sell out weeks ahead, but confirm whether any temporary exhibition needs a separate add-on. For the quickest arrival, enter at the Modern Wing, 159 E. Monroe Street; use the busier Michigan Avenue entrance at 111 S. Michigan Avenue only if the bronze lions and historic façade are part of your plan.
When to go: Wednesday at 11 a.m. is the strongest choice, with Monday morning similarly good. Thursday after about 5:30 p.m. is the best late-day alternative because the museum stays open until 8 p.m.; verify the calendar first, since free evenings or special programming can increase crowds.
Avoid Saturday and Sunday from roughly noon to 3 p.m., plus summer weekends, school holidays, and the closing weeks of major ticketed exhibitions. Arrive at public opening (11 a.m.) on a weekday and use the Modern Wing entrance for the calmest start.
- Do not try to see everything. A smart first route is Modern Wing, modern European galleries, Impressionism/Post-Impressionism, Nighthawks and American Gothic, then the Thorne Miniature Rooms before exiting by Michigan Avenue.
- Travel light: backpacks and bags larger than 13 by 17 inches must be checked. Checkrooms are available at both the Michigan Avenue and Monroe Street entrances; leave airport luggage at your hotel.
- Wear comfortable shoes for extensive hard-floor walking. There is no formal dress code, and the coat check is particularly useful in winter.
- Personal still photography is generally allowed in collection galleries, but do not use flash, video, tripods, or selfie sticks; obey no-photo signs in temporary exhibitions and loan galleries.
- For photos, take the Michigan Avenue lions before or after your visit, then use the Bluhm Family Terrace in the Modern Wing for views over Millennium Park and the Pritzker Pavilion.
Getting there
Nearby
Worth pairing: Millennium Park · Chicago Cultural Center · Chicago Architecture Center · Chicago River architecture cruise
About The Art Institute of ChicagoShowHide
Founded in 1879 and housed since 1893 in its landmark Michigan Avenue building, the Art Institute of Chicago is an almost one-million-square-foot encyclopedic museum with about 300,000 objects. Its exceptional strengths include French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, American and modern European art, prints, photography, architecture and design, Japanese prints, and major holdings from Asia, Africa, and the ancient world; the 264,000-square-foot Renzo Piano-designed Modern Wing is a major part of the experience.
This is one of America’s great art museums, with real depth behind marquee works such as Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Hopper’s Nighthawks, Wood’s American Gothic, van Gogh’s The Bedroom, and Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day. Give it priority over most tourist attractions if you have even moderate interest in art, but skip it if art museums do not appeal to you, very young children will not tolerate a long indoor visit, or you have only a few daylight hours and would rather focus on Chicago architecture, neighborhoods, food, or the lakefront.