Buckingham Fountain
Kid essentials
About this place
One of the world's largest fountains, in the middle of Grant Park, with a light-and-music display after dusk. Free to visit, though it runs only from early May through October and wading isn't allowed.
How kid-friendly is it?
Nearby places
A 1910 landmark hotel on Michigan Avenue's Cultural Mile, directly across from Grant Park and walkable to Millennium Park and the Art Institute.
A major art museum on Michigan Avenue with a dedicated family learning center, free stroller loans, and free admission for children under 14.
A three-acre play garden downtown with rope nets, a play ship and a seasonal splash pad, next to two rock-climbing walls and a looping ice-skating ribbon that turns into a scooter path in summer.
Chicago's free downtown park anchored by the Cloud Gate sculpture -- "the Bean" -- with Crown Fountain's two towers spraying water over a shallow plaza for wading each summer.
A landmark 1893 athletic-club building across from Millennium Park, now a Hyatt hotel whose old lap pool is a tiled event space rather than a place to swim.
Chicago's iconic free outdoor rink at Millennium Park, open only in winter, with free lessons and skate rentals available.