A free lakefront pier with a classic carousel and a 200-foot Ferris wheel as its paid rides, plus an entrance fountain that turns into a splash pad on warm days.
A walk-up drive-in serving the neighborhood since 1960, with a long shake menu, pizza puffs, hot dogs and burgers.
A casual, family-owned all-day breakfast-lunch-dinner spot with its own published kids' menu.
A Puerto Rican restaurant and board-game cafe in Irving Park with 600-plus games, a kids' menu, high chairs and a changing room.
An Avondale fried-chicken counter with a kids' meal that comes with stickers, and a patio for overflow energy.
A free zoo where a toddler can pet a goat in the barn one minute and climb a play treehouse the next, with no ticket line to manage in between.
Classic deep-dish pizzeria with a kids' menu and a chocolate chip cookie pizza a la mode for dessert.
A Latin-inspired seafood spot at the far end of Navy Pier with lakefront patio seating and a dedicated kids' menu.
A roughly 20-year Humboldt Park institution with a multi-generational, family-heavy dining room.
The Belmont Cragin location of a Chicago-style pizza chain.
A nature museum with a walk-through butterfly haven of more than a thousand live butterflies and a separate nature-play space built for kids eight and under.
A Prohibition-themed spot for hot dogs, Italian beef, shakes and the famous chocolate cake, with a kids' menu and counter service.
The observation deck on the 94th floor of the former John Hancock Center, now branded 360 Chicago, with a fully accessible entrance and family restrooms.
A planetarium with a whole room, Planet Explorers, scaled down for toddlers, and a dome show upstairs that can hold a school-age kid's attention in the dark.
A major art museum where kids under 14 get in free, with a family learning center, tiny miniature rooms and stained glass kids recognize.
An indoor museum on the pier with a whole room set aside just for babies and toddlers.
Kids stand nose to nose with SUE the T. rex, and a hands-on PlayLab built for small children means the day does not end at the first meltdown.
A museum big enough to swallow a whole submarine, with a huge model railroad for train lovers and a water-and-air play zone for under-10s.
An aquarium built around a touch pool where small hands are actually welcome, plus a dolphin show big enough to hold a kid's attention for a whole hour.
A Chicago River and lake architecture cruise departing at the Michigan Avenue Bridge, with stroller storage and restrooms on board, run by the same family company since 1935.
An observation deck atop Willis Tower with glass "Ledge" balconies that jut out over the street, fully stroller- and wheelchair-accessible with family restrooms on site.
Home of the Chicago Cubs since 1914, with games and, on non-game days from March, guided ballpark tours that include the dugout and field.
A Lincoln Park history museum next to the zoo and conservatory, with free admission for children under 12 and accessible restrooms.
