Best Arts and Culture Places in Chicago

"Navy Pier combines everything you could ever hope for in an area of a city you're visiting, and it has placed it right on the shores of Lake Michigan. There are shops, places to eat, boat tours, mini golf and a Ferris wheel. You might also find the Children's Museum of interest if you're there with family."

"Head over to Navy Pier to go up on the Centennial Ferris Wheel!. A fun way to get an amazing view of Chicago and the lakefront. You can get tickets through the Go Chicago Explorer Pass or check with the Loew’s hotel – they sometimes have specials going where you can get tickets with your stay."

"Now, I see it as a convenient spot for my 2 year old to get his wiggles out. With activities for every season, Navy Pier is worth a visit. The Children’s Museum is a great choice for rainy days."

"Much like the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art is an architectural masterpiece containing some of the world’s most important creative gems."

"A group of art patrons who felt the great Art Institute was unresponsive to modern work founded the MCA in 1967, and it has remained…"

"Founded in 2012, Aspect/Ratio is a contemporary gallery that showcases work by an international cast of contemporary artists, including local visual artist Nick Albertson, New York-based videographer Casilda Sánchez and Cuban conceptual artist Alejandro Figueredo Díaz-Perera. Their represented artists have been exhibited internationally at many major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Featured image: Aspect / Ratio, the View of Solid Echoes by Jean Alexander Frater, Nick Albertson exhibition, via Artsland."

"With a passion for video art that only grew when he moved to Chicago in the 2000s, Miami-born Jefferson Godard – a part-time professor of interior architecture at Columbia College Chicago – founded Aspect/Ratio Projects in 2012. Since then, this West Town gallery has become the number one destination for contemporary video art and performance art in the city, hosting a range of well-received exhibitions. It represents internationally recognized artists, including Sharon Louden, Casilda Sánchez and Guy Ben-Ner."

"The Renaissance Society is a kunsthalle-style museum that presents about 4 exhibits a year from international artists. It focuses on contemporary art and is located at the University of Chicago."

"Since its founding in 1987, the Catherine Edelman Gallery has established itself as one of the leading galleries in the US devoted to the exhibition of prominent living photographers, alongside new & young talent. To date the Catherine Edelman Gallery has hosted 245 public exhibitions, featuring more than 200 artists. The gallery is currently open by appointment only."

"The artists exhibited at the Catherine Edelman Gallery push the boundaries of what can be done with a camera. The gallery focuses exclusively on the medium of photography – from landscape and fashion editorial to street shots and socially conscious work – with shows by established names, including Sebastião Salgado and Annie Leibovitz, as well as up-and-comers."

"The main focus of the Catherine Edelman Gallery is on the medium of photography. From landscapes to fashion photoshoots to street shots and socially conscious shots, at this gallery, you can experience it all. The artists represented by this gallery go beyond their boundaries to do something different with their cameras."

"This center dedicated to the famous artist is located in Jefferson Park, and with its bright mural you can’t miss it. You can check out an iPod at the front desk for a self-guided tour, or visit the first Thursday of the month at 2pm for a thirty-minute guided tour."

"Floriole functioned as a stand at Chicago's beloved Green City Market for nearly five years before it became a brick-and-mortar restaurant. As such, expect market-driven fare that prizes freshness and seasonality above all else. Those priorities manifest in menu items like late-season roasted tomato and swiss chard quiche, ricotta toast topped with plums and honey, and pea salad with radishes, turnips, and spring onions."

"Restaurants Cafés Lincoln Park. With an assortment of breads, tasty sandwiches and seriously delicious cookies in its repertoire, this airy Lincoln Park bakery-café certainly has range. But Floriole’s soul is its French pastry, skillfully executed by owner Sandra Holl."

"This bright cafe and bakery is known for their rustic French pastries, made using fresh ingredients sourced from local, sustainable farms. Head straight to the dessert case to choose from a rotating selection of from-scratch goodies, like croissants, Basque cake, fruit galettes, and more."

"Restaurants Bakeries West Loop. Chef Stephanie Izard's culinary empire got a little sweeter last year with the opening of Sugargoat, a bakery housed inside Little Goat Diner that features the creations of Izard and pastry chef Faith Taheny. Inspired by each chef's in-home baking experiments during quarantine and the flavors of their childhood (think fries dipped in milkshakes and pancakes topped with lots of maple syrup), Sugargoat serves a rotating menu of cakes, pies, cookies and cupcake, along with muffins, bagels, scones and croissants in the morning (plus Dark Matter coffee)."

"Restaurants Bakeries West Loop. Chef Stephanie Izard's culinary empire gets a little sweeter with the opening of Sugargoat, a bakery housed inside Little Goat Diner that features the creations of Izard and pastry chef Faith Taheny. Inspired by each chef's in-home baking experiments during quarantine and the flavors of their childhood (think fries dipped in milkshakes and pancakes topped with lots of maple syrup), Sugargoat serves a rotating menu of cakes, pies, cookies and cupcake, along with muffins, bagels, scones and croissants in the morning (plus Dark Matter coffee)."

"Who hasn't been quarantine baking and snarfing more sweets than ever?. That includes Chicago Chef Stephanie Izard and Pastry Chef Faith Taheny who launched Sugargoat, a walk up bakery and sweets shop inside of Little Goat Diner in late 2020. Sugargoat stocks luscious items to-go (and national delivery), including cakes, pies, cookies and cupcakes, as well as muffins, bagels, scones, and croissants in the morning."

"Hidden in a cobblestone alley, RM Champagne Salon is a West Loop gem exemplifying a Euro-inspired ambiance with contemporary flair. Warming and most definitely romantic, this hideaway haven is a French bistro, giving up impeccable eats such as their Lobster Mac & Cheese or Steak Frites. Chandeliers decorate the ceiling, and their marble fireplace takes the limelight."

"With excellent food and a European tone, RM Champagne Salon is simultaneously dainty and unpretentious. Enjoy the abundant champagne and mini-dessert selections, and if you’re in a hungrier mood, peruse their various entrees that range from lobster mac and cheese to salmon tartare. If the weather is nice, grab a table on the brick patio draped with string lights."

"Photo courtesy of RM Champagne Salon on rmchampagnesalon.com. A quaint, European inspired place. The salon is made even more cozy with the installation of marble fireplaces and a roomy patio."

"Diners will feel right at home at this cozy Lincoln Park bistro. Chef Dominique Tougne’s rustic approach to regional specialties offers dishes like duck confit tart, braised rabbit, and the signature qualidu — quail, duck, and foie gras in bordelaise sauce. The restaurant also recently converted its private dining space into a speakeasy lounge, called Ooh La La, that serves classic French cocktails and bar bites."

"Chez Moi serves a traditional French menu prepared by a French Chef. The restaurant’s menu is created by Chef Dominique who has a passion for sharing French cuisine. In addition, he cooked and trained under great culinary chefs."

"Chez Moi is a traditional French Bistro located on Halsted in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago that is small and rarely crowded, making it a local favorite."

"We went to Mon Ami Gabi for Restaurant Week last year and absolutely loved it. Amazing french bread, delicious entrees and escargot so good we almost placed a 2nd order. If you like french food and a classy dining experience, this place is a must!"

"Shopping Chocolate and candy Hyde Park. This Michigan-based brand might be best known for its decadent slabs of fudge, but you'd be remiss to not check out the tubs of creamy, small-batch ice cream also tucked under its glass display cases. Classic flavors are loaded up with treats like caramel, nuts, chocolate chips and other dreamy confections (yes, including fudge), then piled into house-made waffle cones that you can smell baking from across the block."

"Restaurants Ice cream parlors Beverly. For more than 80 years, the awning-covered picnic tables of this South Side ice-cream shop have been packed with locals indulging their sweet tooth. The signature five-flavor Rainbow Cone features layers of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (vanilla with cherries and walnuts), pistachio and orange sherbet stacked one on top of the other to form an unbeatable classic."

"Editor's Note: There's no photo available at the time of writing. Original Rainbow Cone is an iconic seasonal ice cream shop in Chicago that serves a wide array of desserts including banana splits, cones, sundaes, and shakes. This long-standing ice cream parlor offers layers of delectable orange sherbet, pistachio, Palmer House, strawberry, and chocolate flavors in a deliciously looking sugar cone."

"The only thing better than photographing the rainbow is eating the rainbow. This is a Chicago favorite that can always be found at the Taste of Chicago and Lollapalooza."