Chicago rewards the thrifty: a free zoo in Lincoln Park, a free conservatory in Garfield Park, beaches and an 18-mile lakefront trail that cost nothing, and Illinois-resident free days at world-class museums. Add $4 Maxwell Street polish and you eat well for pocket change.
One of the last free-admission zoos in the US, open 365 days since 1868. The Regenstein African Journey, Kovler Lion House and Pepper Family Wildlife Center cost nothing; grounds open 10:00 (buildings 10:00-16:30 in winter, later in summer). Donations optional.
Two acres under glass on the West Side, designed by Jens Jensen in 1908 and billed as landscape art under glass. The Fern Room, Desert House and Palm House are free year-round, Wed-Sun 09:00-17:00. Reserve a free timed ticket online.
The 1897 former public library on Michigan Avenue holds the world's largest Tiffany stained-glass dome (38 feet across) plus free rotating art exhibitions and free lunchtime concerts. Open daily 10:00-17:00 with no ticket at any point.
An elevated 2.7-mile rail line converted to a park running through Wicker Park, Bucktown, Humboldt Park and Logan Square. Free, open 06:00-23:00, with ramps every quarter mile, art installations and skyline views west toward sunset.
Chicago's Chinatown along Wentworth south of Cermak serves dim sum at a fraction of Loop prices — steamer baskets $4-7 at MingHin and Cai. Bakeries like Chiu Quon sell pork buns and egg tarts for $2. Walk the Nine Dragon Wall and Ping Tom Park free.
Open 24 hours since 1939 at Union and Roosevelt, this stand invented the Maxwell Street Polish: grilled sausage on a bun buried in caramelized onions with sport peppers and mustard, around $5.50. Cash and card, no seats, eat standing at the counter.
The Mexican-American heart of Chicago: murals cover the walls along 16th Street and 18th Street, the National Museum of Mexican Art is permanently free, and taquerias like Carnitas Uruapan sell carnitas by the pound for roughly $12.
The Taylor Street original from 1938 serves Italian beef sliced thin, dipped in gravy and topped with giardiniera for about $9. Order it 'dipped, hot' and eat leaning over the counter in the classic Chicago stance, feet apart, elbows down.
Ride the Brown Line around the Loop tracks for a self-guided architecture tour at eye level with third-floor windows. A single $2.50 fare or a $5 unlimited day pass covers it; sit in the front car for the sharpest turns at Lake and Wells.
A free sand beach with a boathouse shaped like an ocean liner, 15 minutes from downtown. The 18.5-mile Lakefront Trail runs past it; walking south to Oak Street Beach delivers the postcard skyline view that paid tours charge for.
A Japanese strolling garden on the Wooded Island in Jackson Park, a remnant of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, with waterfalls, a moon bridge and stone lanterns. Free, open dawn to dusk, and near-empty most weekday afternoons.
The 13th-floor rooftop above Millennium Park gives the same view as paid observation decks. Walking in costs nothing; nurse one drink around $16 instead of paying $35 for Skydeck, or use the free game room downstairs at Game Room bar.