Navy Pier, Chicago: What It Is and How to Use It

The Smith Museum of Stained Glass inside Navy Pier is one of the more genuinely overlooked attractions in Chicago. It runs along a lower-level corridor with 150 art glass panels, Tiffany pieces, prairie-style windows, 20th-century examples, installed in proper display cases with good lighting and essentially no visitors, because most people at Navy Pier are looking at the Ferris wheel and the lake and have no idea it exists. It is free. It takes 30 minutes. This disproportion between quality and attention is strange and very Chicago.

Navy Pier extends 3,300 feet into Lake Michigan from the city’s north lakefront at the end of Grand Avenue. It opened in 1916 as a commercial and shipping facility, was used as a training base during both world wars, then sat mostly derelict until a renovation in the 1990s turned it into a public entertainment complex. A further renovation completed in 2016 added the current Centennial Wheel, updated the food options, and reconfigured Polk Bros Park at the pier’s shore entrance. It now draws around 9 million visitors per year, making it consistently one of the most visited attractions in the Midwest.

The pier is not a subtle place. It is a large, tourist-oriented commercial complex with rides, restaurants, retail, a theatre, and continuous events programming. Chicago residents mostly avoid it except for the summer fireworks. For visitors to the city, it functions as a useful orientation point and a reliable way to see the lakefront and skyline from the water.

The Centennial Wheel

The 196-foot Ferris wheel at the pier’s midpoint is the most recognisable feature. The gondolas are enclosed and climate-controlled, which makes it functional year-round. A full rotation takes about 7 minutes; the view from the top looks west over the skyline and north and south along the lakefront. Ticket around $18 per adult. The views on a clear day are genuinely good: you can see the full Loop skyline, Millennium Park, Grant Park, and the curve of the lakeshore in both directions.

The original Ferris wheel was installed for the pier’s centenary in 1995; the current replacement was installed in 2016 with a larger diameter and modern gondola design.

Lake Michigan Architecture Cruises

Several boat tour operators depart from the pier’s south dock. Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise (CAC) is the most informative option: the 90-minute tour runs down the Chicago River from the pier entrance through the Loop, covering the major architectural landmarks with commentary from certified docents. It concentrates on the river canyon rather than the lake, which means the views are of office buildings at close range rather than the open water. Tickets around $48 to $55 per adult; book in advance in summer.

For lake-only cruises with more focus on the skyline view from the water, Shoreline Sightseeing operates 30-minute narrated lake tours departing directly from the pier docks. Around $30 per adult.

Architectural boat tours are one of the more efficient ways to understand Chicago’s building history. The concentration of steel-frame construction, modernist towers, and postmodern experiments within the Loop is unmatched in any American city, and seeing it from the river level is different from street level in a useful way.

Polk Bros Park and the Lakefront Trail

The entrance plaza to the pier, Polk Bros Park, connects to the Lakefront Trail, Chicago’s 18.5-mile paved path running along the shore from Ardmore Avenue in the north to 71st Street in the south. The trail is shared by cyclists and pedestrians. Renting a bicycle at the pier entrance (Bike and Roll Chicago operates here) and riding either north toward Lincoln Park or south toward Millennium Park and Museum Campus covers the best sections of the trail in 2 to 3 hours. Bike rental around $15 per hour.

The lakefront itself, particularly in summer, is one of the best things about Chicago. The public beaches along the north and south stretches are free, Oak Street Beach and North Avenue Beach are the most used, and the combination of city skyline visible from the sand and water is an experience specific to the city.

Chicago Children’s Museum

The Chicago Children’s Museum occupies part of the pier’s interior with hands-on exhibits aimed at children 10 and under. Entry around $17. Practical for families with young children who need an indoor option, particularly in cold or rainy weather.

Smith Museum of Stained Glass

A small but genuinely good collection of 150 stained glass panels installed in display cases along a lower-level corridor inside the pier. The pieces span American art glass from the late 19th century through the 20th, including a few Tiffany pieces and examples of prairie-style work associated with Chicago’s architectural tradition. Free admission. Often missed by visitors focused on the exterior attractions; worth 30 minutes.

Where to Eat

The pier’s food options are tourist-priced and heavily branded. For a meal on the pier, Offshore on the upper level has a rooftop terrace and lake views; it is expensive (mains around $28 to $50) but the setting compensates. The Billy Goat Tavern outpost on the pier is a tourist-focused version of the original on Lower Michigan Avenue, useful as a quick sandwich stop rather than a destination.

Better eating is a short walk or taxi ride away. River North immediately to the west has dozens of restaurants at every price point. Girl and the Goat (800 W Randolph St, in the Fulton Market district, 15 minutes by taxi) is the most-cited Chicago restaurant for good reason: the small plates format and house-made ingredients reflect the city’s food culture better than anything on or near the pier.

Where to Stay

Loews Chicago Hotel (455 N Park Drive): within walking distance of the pier on the north side of the river. Mid-upper range, reliable, around $180 to $320 per night.

Hyatt Regency Chicago (151 E Wacker Drive): at the river, a large convention hotel with competitive rates for its location, around $140 to $250 per night.

Graduate Chicago (formerly Hotel Versey, Halsted): budget-friendly option in the Lincoln Park neighbourhood, around $110 to $180 per night; 15 minutes by taxi from the pier.

Practical Notes

The pier is open daily year-round from 10:00 to 22:00 (later on Fridays and Saturdays in summer). Parking underneath the pier costs $20 to $30 for 3 to 4 hours; arriving by CTA bus (Route 65, Grand Avenue) or taxi is more practical from most downtown hotels. Summer fireworks over the lake take place on Wednesday and Saturday evenings from late May through early September; the pier fills considerably on these evenings.

The lakefront location means wind off the lake, which can drop the perceived temperature significantly even on warm days. A layer is useful outside peak summer months.