Tours, tickets and day trips in Chicago
The sights with published visitor numbers, the heritage listings, and the towns close enough for a day out.
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Shedd Aquarium | 1,948,395 | 2015 |
| Art Institute of Chicago | 1,549,057 | 2015 |
| Kenneth C. Griffin Museum of Science and Industry | 1,495,476 | 2015 |
| Field Museum of Natural History | 1,280,000 | http |
| Adler Planetarium | 550,379 | 2015 |
| Division station (CTA Logan Square branch) | 353,570 | 1948 |
| Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum | 307,938 | 2015 |
| Chicago History Museum | 240,000 | http |
| Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago | 238,131 | 2015 |
| National Museum of Mexican Art | 158,895 | 2015 |
The busiest is Shedd Aquarium at 1,948,395 visitors in 2015. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
Day trips from Chicago
| Route | Country | Distance | Estimated time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago to Naperville | United States | 42 km (26 mi) | about 41 min |
| Chicago to Joliet | United States | 51 km (32 mi) | about 50 min |
| Chicago to Elgin | United States | 56 km (35 mi) | about 55 min |
| Chicago to Aurora | United States | 56 km (35 mi) | about 55 min |
| Chicago to South Bend | United States | 118 km (73 mi) | about 1 h 55 min |
| Chicago to Rockford | United States | 128 km (80 mi) | about 2 h 5 min |
| Chicago to Milwaukee | United States | 134 km (83 mi) | about 2 h 11 min |
| Chicago to Madison | United States | 198 km (123 mi) | about 3 h 13 min |
| Chicago to Indianapolis | United States | 263 km (164 mi) | about 4 h 17 min |
| Chicago to Fort Wayne | United States | 225 km (140 mi) | about 3 h 39 min |
| Chicago to Grand Rapids | United States | 204 km (127 mi) | about 3 h 20 min |
Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.
Where to book tours and tickets
We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.
Common questions
What is the most visited attraction in Chicago?
Shedd Aquarium, with 1,948,395 visitors in 2015 (Wikidata).
How are the journey times on this page worked out?
From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.