[VIDEO] Explore Chicago: Navy Pier Chicago: Food, Fun, and Free Activities

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Today I am taking you for a day walk at the Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. I spent few days exploring Chicago and Navy Pier was one of those places recommneded when you visit Chicago. I am personally not a fanatic of rides in parks but one thing I love is to walk around, and sometimes do a footrip an eat a bit of everything. I have some time in my schedule after visitng the Buckingham Fountain so I decided to spend some time at walking around and just sitting doing nothing in Navy Pier. Let me share you what I saw on my day walk. If you are a visual person, have a look at the short video I created for this visit. Let’s go!

Rides, Food & Drink.. Navy Pier Chicago got you covered. Visiting Navy Pier is one of the free activities you can do in Chicago . When I say free, I mean no entrance fee to the Navy Pier ground but if you want to do the rides then that you have to pay for.

Facts About Chicago

  • Chicago is the largest city of Illinois and third largest city of the United States after New York City and Los Angeles.
  • Chicago has various nicknames including “Chi-town”, “Windy City”, “Second City,” the “City of Big Shoulders”, and “American of big cities”.
  • A unique downtown Chicago feature is its multi-leveled streets, the most well-known of which is Wacker Drive. This double-decker street comprises an upper-level riverfront boulevard and a lower-level roadway for commercial and through traffic.Chicago’s downtown area is known as “The Loop,” which refers to the area encircled by the Chicago Transit Authority’s elevated (‘L’) train tracks.The CTA operates the nation’s second largest public transportation system. In an average year, the CTA provides more than 450 million bus and train rides.

Source: choosechicago.com

Even if you do not go on rides, I find that visiting Navy Pier is a nice activity to add in Chicago itinerary if time permits. The places you visit depends on your interest and the length of time you are staying. I’ll share with you where I’ve been so far and you can decide which ones you would like to add your itinerary if you are visiting Chicago.

Let’s go check the Navy Pier!

Centennial Wheel Navy Pier

General Information

  • Address: Navy Pier, 600 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
  • Website Hours of Operation: Monday – Sunday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
  • Entrance Fee: Free (not the rides)

Eat, Drink & Be Merry 🙂

There are several dining options inside the Navy Pier, from expensive restaurants to budget and family friendly places. You can choose whatever suits your budget and preference. Here are few of the ones I saw that might be interesting (at least for me)

  • Restaurant: Harry Caray’s Tavern
  • Address: 700 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
  • Website: https://www.harrycarays.com/
  • Hours of Operation: Monday – Sunday 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Located near the main entrance to Navy Pier, Harry Caray’s Tavern offers an unbeatable waterfront location, outstanding smoked barbecue, a great selection of local craft beer and a world class collection of sports memorabilia—all combining to create the ultimate Chicago dining experience

Bar Sol, the newest restaurant on Navy Pier, features vibrant Latin-inspired food, lively music, and spectacular lakefront views, with indoor and outdoor seating, as well as outstanding private event spaces

  • Restaurant: Frio Gelato
  • Address: 600 E. Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
  • Website: https://www.friogelato.com/
  • Hours of Operation: Monday – Sunday 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM

FRÍO Gelato® is a Chicagoland artisanal gelato producer, artfully bringing Argentina’s gelato tradition to the U.S. Made by hand in an allergy-friendly, nut-free kitchen, FRÍO Gelato offers consumers a natural and unique dessert. From the ingredients and flavors to the serving techniques, guests can expect an authentic Argentine gelato experience with every visit.

  • Restaurant: Xurro
  • Address: 600 E. Grand Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
  • Website: https://www.churrofactory.com/
  • Hours of Operation: Monday – Sunday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM

Xurro specializes in Churros and other specialty desserts and treats like Funnel Cakes, Crepes and Corn on the Cob

Navy Pier’s Centennial Wheel is an iconic part of the Chicago skyline and a treasured piece of Chicago cultural history. Soaring to heights of nearly 200 feet, the Wheel offers visitors unparalleled, 360-degree views of Chicago and Lake Michigan.

How long do you need to allocate for the visit?

I view it depends on what activity you like to do. For someone like me who do not do any rides, half day is more than enough. This may not be true for family who have kids who love to go on rides. I went 2x to see the place during day and night. I always like seeing amusement places at night as it looks a lot different with all the lights one. For some reason, I find it more fun and interesting.

Highlights of the Visit

  • Navy Pier landmark is the famous Centennial Wheel. You will see this in most photos when you search for Navy Pier. It is basically a large Ferris wheel 🎡, if you are into things like this, then you should go ride it.

Just to set the expectation, Nanay Pier is not really a big amusement park or something like that. It does have few rides, which are mostly kids rides more than adults. For someone like me, it’s just a nice place to walk around and maybe grab something to eat.

What is the best time to visit?

I like visiting late afternoon to almost the sunset time so that get to see both the day and night view of the Pier. Weekends are definitely much busier but more alive. I went both weekend and weekday and the crowd difference is quite big. Definitely, weekday is not crowded so you do not spend a lot of time lining up for food or rides. But in the end, this boil down to your schedule and availability. I was pretty flexible and I had plenty of time, no rush at all so I don’t mind weekend or weekday.

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Categories: Attractions, Chicago, Travel, Travel Video, When in USA

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