A Visit to Millennium Park

One of the most popular attractions in Chicago is Millennium Park. This park is not to be missed. Our favorite part of the park was the Cloud Gate sculpture, or "the bean" as it is also referred to. 

Millennium Park is over 24 acres and is located in Chicago's Loop area in downtown. The Art Institute of Chicago is also nearby. There's also a huge children's park, the Maggie Daley Park, where kids can run around and go down slides and go across rocking bridges. Just walk across the BP Bridge if you're next to the Cloud Gate and you'll reach the playground. This stainless steel bridge was designed to create a sound barrier between the performance theater inside the park and the traffic noise below. 

The Performance theater was designed by Frank Gehry. It stands 120 feet high and has a glowing crown of stainless steel ribbons. The Crown Fountains are also worth checking out. These two 50-foot towers have faces of Chicago citizens. 

Since we were there in May, the colorful tulips were in bloom and were beautiful to photograph. Chicago's skyscrapers also towered over Millennium Park and made a stunning backdrop. This park reminded me of NYC's Central Park in a way, but smaller and easier to see everything. Everything in Chicago seemed so clean and well maintained. 

I'm thrilled I finally got to visit this park and get to see the bean, something that's been on my must see list for years! 

These photos were taken from three different visits to the park. The first day was really hot and sunny and I loved the bright blue sky. Later that day, we walked by the park again on our way back to our hotel room. We were able to see the Crown Fountains with the faces. Two days later we visited the Art Institute of Chicago and our sons wanted to play at Maggie Daley Park again. It was really cloudy and minutes after we left Millennium Park to go the Art Museum, the sky got really dark and it rained the entire time we were in the museum. 

The Performance Theater. 

No trip to Chicago is complete without checking out the popular and cool Cloud Gate! 

Standing right under the bean and looking up at all of the reflections. 

One of the bridges at Maggie Daley Park. I was surprised by how much they shook! 

Lots of slides and things to play on at Maggie Daley Park. 

The Crown Fountains. 

The BP Bridge that goes over the freeway and connects to the other side of the park where the playground is.