Ice Skating at Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois
Chicago can be a rough place to be in winter – below-freezing temperatures, howling winds, and driving snow can force all but the hardiest souls inside for the season. But there is one reason to venture outdoors: free ice skating at Millennium Park. From November to March a rink is set up in the park were would-be Dorothy Hamills can practice their moves. Strap on your skates (rentals are available for $10) and a few triple salchows later, you may hardly even notice the cold.
Chicago's giant curving steel sculpture known as "The Bean" was actually titled Cloud Gate by the artist Anish Kapoor. It's probably the most photographed piece in Millennium Park because of the reflective surfaces that allow visitors to capture the city skyline, the sky and themselves in all different moods throughout the year. However, Chicago is infamous for windy blustery weather and long icy winters so when your pictures of the Cloud Gate reflect a dull cloudy sky, take yourself indoors for some hot chocolate and watch the Chicago pageantry from a warm cozy location.
Water meets video. Literally—at Chicago’s Crown Fountain, where water cascades from the tops of twin 50-foot slabs to flow down over huge LED screens animated with an ever-changing display of faces. The scale is monumental. Tightly cropped video portraits fill the facing sides of the towers that bookend a shallow, black-granite reflecting pool. The video sequence is mesmerizing. A face appears in slowed motion—a blink here, a breath there. You wait, relax, watch. Has time stopped? Suddenly the lips pucker and a great stream of water shoots out of the mouth. The fountain is a gargoyle! You’re back to the future. Kids chime with delight, running and jumping under the exhilarating spray. Architect/artist Juame Plensa captures his audience with technological innovation but he captivates it with ancient fascinations, water and humanity. It’s art and nature and electronics in harmonic convergence. Makes ya wanna splash! Makes ya wanna dance!
Ever wonder what it would feel like to explore Navy Pier or Old Town with the lake breeze on your face and the wind whipping your hair? Look no further than a guided neighborhood tour with Bike and Roll. They provide the bikes and knowledgeable staff, all you have to do is show up ready to hit the streets. Faster than walking but still close enough to the action, bikes are the ideal way to see some of Chicago's coolest neighborhoods. The trips vary, from the tour around the President's Hyde Park neighborhood to a jaunt past some of the most adorable houses in Lincoln Park. If you like one, try them all!
Beautiful. Clean. Refreshing. Millennium Park should be your first and last stop when visiting Chicago. If not for any other reason, you’d have plenty of memorable photos. Whether you’re a tourist, businessman, or it’s a romantic getaway, pictures are often taken when you travel. So when you visit Chicago, you must stop by, pass through, or hangout, in Millennium Park. The scenery is phenomenal. There’s much to do while strolling through the park. Indoor and outdoor performances at Harris Theater and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, an outdoor ice skating rink that sits alongside Park & Grill restaurant, and beautiful landscaping in Lurie Garden, which has over 250 plants. There’s also a huge water-spurting mouth fountain that has a photo embedded, a giant mirrored bean, and several sculptures showcased throughout the park. Millennium Park is perfect for a nice walk in the spring, summer, or winter.
Chicago can be a rough place to be in winter – below-freezing temperatures, howling winds, and driving snow can force all but the hardiest souls inside for the season. But there is one reason to venture outdoors: free ice skating at Millennium Park. From November to March a rink is set up in the park were would-be Dorothy Hamills can practice their moves. Strap on your skates (rentals are available for $10) and a few triple salchows later, you may hardly even notice the cold.
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