Things to do high in Chicago

Here's the thing about being high in Chicago: this city built a world-class lineup of places to stare at stuff. Dinosaurs, planets, fish, impressionist paintings, a jungle in a glass house on the West Side. These are the best things to do high in Chicago, why each one works for a baked brain and how to make the visit smooth. Consume at home, not on site (every place below is public or a no-smoking building), and take transit.

The Adler Planetarium

The Adler sits at the tip of Northerly Island on the Museum Campus, sticking out into the lake. That's step one: the walk out there gives you the best skyline view in the city, the whole downtown wall lit up across the water. Inside, the sky shows put the universe on a dome over your head and you sink back in your seat and feel very, very small. That's a good feeling, trust us.

Go at dusk if you can. Walk out to the point behind the building after, and look back at the city. That view is why people move here.

The Field Museum

A short walk from the Adler. The Field has Sue, one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever found, plus a giant titanosaur cast stretched across the main hall that makes you feel like a mouse. Then there's the Egypt exhibit with a walk-through tomb, and halls of gems, taxidermy dioramas and meteorites. It's enormous. Pick two or three areas, don't try to do it all, and sit on the benches when you need to. Nobody's grading you.

Shedd Aquarium

The third Museum Campus giant. Belugas, sea otters, sharks, a huge Caribbean reef tank in the middle of the building where you can watch a diver feed the fish. Wild Reef downstairs is the high highlight, a dim room where sharks glide right over your head. You'll stand there way longer than you planned. Tickets go up and down by season and package, check before you go.

The Art Institute of Chicago

One of the great art museums on the planet, in the middle of Michigan Avenue, guarded by two bronze lions. Hopper's Nighthawks. Seurat's dot painting of the park (stand close, then walk back slowly, it's a trip). Chagall's America Windows glowing blue. The Thorne Miniature Rooms downstairs, tiny perfect rooms you'll want to crawl into. The Art Institute is big and calm and high is a great way to see it. Pick a wing, wander, sit.

Garfield Park Conservatory

On the West Side, right off the Green Line, there's a glass palace full of jungle. The Garfield Park Conservatory is one of the largest conservatories in the country, and in the middle of a Chicago January, walking into the warm, wet Fern Room feels like getting rescued. Prehistoric ferns, a lagoon, the sound of water. It's free to visit (they do suggest a donation and sometimes ask you to reserve a time). This is the single best thing to do high in Chicago in winter, and we'll fight about it.

Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory

Lincoln Park Zoo is free, open year round and right on the lakefront. Lions, gorillas, red pandas, the penguins. Next to it is the Lincoln Park Conservatory, a smaller Victorian glass house that's also free. Do both, then walk to the pond by the old Café Brauer building and watch the skyline over the water. See the Lincoln Park guide.

The 606 trail

The 606 is an old rail line turned into a raised trail running east-west through Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square and Humboldt Park. It's a few miles long, sits above street level, and it's lovely for a slow walk or bike ride at sunset, looking down into back yards and across rooftops. Weekends get crowded with bikes and strollers. Weekday evenings are the move. See the Wicker Park guide.

The lakefront path and the beaches

The lakefront trail runs along nearly the whole length of the city, about 18 miles of path between the lake and the park. Bike it, walk it, sit on the rocks and watch the water change color. The beaches are free and run from the North Side all the way south. North Avenue Beach is the busy one with the skyline view. Montrose Beach is bigger and calmer with a dog beach and a bird sanctuary nearby. Loyola Beach up in Rogers Park is a local neighborhood beach. Further south there are long quiet stretches near Hyde Park.

A Chicago beach on the first truly hot day of summer is one of the happiest places in America. Just remember the beaches and parks are public property, so the sesh happens at home first. More on that in where you can sesh.

Architecture by the river

The Chicago Architecture Center's river cruise is the tourist thing that locals secretly love. You float down the Chicago River while a guide explains why every building looks the way it does, and you crane your neck at a hundred years of skyscrapers. If boats aren't your thing, walk the Riverwalk along the main branch and look up. Then cross Michigan Avenue and look at the Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower. Then go to Millennium Park and lie under the Bean. Yes, lie under it. See the River North and Loop guide.

Museum of Science and Industry

Down in Hyde Park. A real German U-boat (U-505), a coal mine you ride down into, a model train layout of Chicago to Seattle, a tornado machine, baby chicks hatching. It's a lot. Pace yourself. See the Hyde Park guide.

Record stores and arcades

Chicago is a record store city. Wicker Park, Logan Square and the North Side are full of shops with crates to dig through, listening stations and staff with strong opinions. Flipping through records high is an excellent way to lose an afternoon. Bring a list or you will come home with eight albums you didn't plan on.

Barcade-style spots are around too, bars full of old arcade cabinets and pinball machines, and a few neighborhood ones have been at it for years. High pinball is either your best game ever or a comedy. Both are fine.

How to do a museum day high

Buy tickets online ahead of time, since lines at the Museum Campus can be long on weekends and in summer. Go on a weekday if you can, the crowds are way smaller. Eat before you go, because museum food is expensive and you'll be distracted by dinosaurs. Bring water. Pick a few things you really want to see and let everything else be a bonus. And give yourself permission to sit down. Every big museum in Chicago has benches for a reason.

Quick picks

• Freezing outside: Garfield Park Conservatory, Art Institute, Field Museum.
• Perfect summer day: lakefront path to North Avenue or Montrose Beach, then tacos.
• Want to feel small: the Adler at dusk.
• Want to sit in the dark: the Shedd's shark reef, or a movie at the Music Box.
• Low energy: Lincoln Park Zoo, free and flat.