The museum was originally built for the art school in 1879 on the corner of State Street and Adams. In 1893, the Art Institute relocated to its permanently prominent location at Michigan and Adams. Today it is Chicago’s pride and one of the nation’s largest iconic institutions. The lions that stand watch out front are often adorned with helmets when one of Chicago’s sports teams makes it into the playoffs (good thing Chicago has a lot of sports teams). You can spend an entire day exploring this labyrinth museum. The must-sees are Renzo Pianos’s Modern Wing addition from 2009, the Thorne Miniature Rooms, and the Japanese screen room–a cave-like contemplation space designed by Tadeo Ando. And of course all those famous paintings, sculptures, and objects d-arte.

Navigate the galleries with AIC’s interactive floor plan, Pathfinder.

See and save more places to create your own itinerary or modify a Bindu itinerary.

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  Photo by Anamorphic Mike