Navy Pier Chicago: Tickets and How to Visit

Navy Pier costs nothing to walk onto, and that surprises a lot of first-time visitors expecting an entry gate. General admission is free every day, the Centennial Wheel and the boat tours are what you actually pay for, and this guide gets you straight to which of those are worth it.
Price Free general entry; Centennial Wheel around $21 adult
Hours Daily 10am-10pm, later Fri/Sat in summer
Booking Wheel and cruise tickets sell out on summer weekends, book ahead
Time needed 2-3 hours, more if you’re doing a cruise and the Wheel both

Book the Chicago Architecture Center river cruise on GetYourGuide , or straight through architecture.org , the docks are a short walk from the pier entrance and this is the single best paid thing near Navy Pier.

Is the Centennial Wheel worth the money?

Yes, if a skyline view is the point of your visit. The 196-foot enclosed, climate-controlled wheel runs about $21 adult for a roughly 7-minute rotation with clear Loop and lakefront views, and there are free rides every Wednesday after 6pm if you book the released slot ahead. Skip it if you’ve already done the Skydeck or 360 CHICAGO, the view repeats itself.

The thing almost everyone at Navy Pier misses

The Smith Museum of Stained Glass runs along a lower-level corridor with 150 art glass panels, several genuine Tiffany pieces among them, free admission, and it takes 30 minutes. Nearly every visitor at Navy Pier is looking at the Ferris wheel and the lake and has no idea this collection exists one floor down. New for 2026: Summer Skate, a lakefront roller rink in the former Crystal Gardens space, opened June 18 and runs through Labor Day, the pier’s first lakefront rink.

Getting there and what’s nearby

CTA bus route 65 runs straight to Grand Avenue at the pier entrance; parking underneath runs $20-30 for 3-4 hours, so bus or rideshare beats driving for most downtown stays. Check current hours and any closures on navypier.org before you go. The Chicago Riverwalk connects the pier to the Loop on foot, and Millennium Park is about two kilometers south along the lakefront.

Where to eat and stay

Skip the pier’s tourist-priced food court where you can, River North immediately to the west has real restaurant density at every price point. For a base, compare current rates on Booking.com for something walkable to both the pier and the Loop.

Do the free walk and the Smith Museum first, then decide if the Wheel or a cruise is worth the add-on, most of what’s genuinely good here doesn’t cost anything.