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You are here: Home / Family Vacations / Family Vacations in Chicago / 18 Most Instagram-Worthy Spots in Chicago
The wndr Museum is full of Instagram-worthy photo ops.
The wndr Museum is full of artistic, family-friendly photo ops. Photo courtesy of Francis Son

18 Most Instagram-Worthy Spots in Chicago

November 26, 2019 //  by Jamie Bartosch//  Leave a Comment

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Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • 1. The Bean (aka Cloud Gate)
  • 2. Crown Fountain
  • 3. wndr Museum
  • 4. Street art
  • 5. Hotel rooftop bars
  • 6. Chicago Architecture tour
  • 7. Art on the Mart
  • 8. North Avenue Beach
  • 9. Willis Tower Skydeck and John Hancock's TILT
  • 10. Lawn area by the Adler Planetarium
  • 11. Navy Pier
  • 12. Famous marquees
  • 13. Food and drinks
  • 14. Famous art
  • 15. 3 Arts Club Cafe at RH
  • 16. The airplane
  • 17. Rookery
  • 18. Chicago Cultural Center

Chicago’s beauty is impressive in person, and as social media users will attest, it’s also impressive on Instagram. Here’s a list of some of the most Instagram-worthy spots in Chicago.

Reflections in The Bean, Chicago's famous sculpture, make cool Instagram photos.
Reflections in The Bean, Chicago’s famous sculpture, make cool Instagram photos. Photo by Jamie Bartosch
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and buy, TravelingMom may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you.

Chicago is packed with Instagram-worthy photo ops of its art, architecture, skyline and famous marquees guaranteed to get some IG love.

Here are some of the most Instagram-worthy spots in Chicago:

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#fallcolors in a #city sort of way. #TheBean #millenniumpark #chicago #tmom #mycity #fall #urbanart #urbanlife #citylife

A post shared by Cindy Richards (@cindy_richards) on Nov 4, 2015 at 10:44am PST

1. The Bean (aka Cloud Gate)

Chicago’s iconic public art piece is a massive bean-shaped mirror sculpture in Millennium Park. If you get up close, you’ll get some cosmic curvy reflections. In addition, you can ice skate in front of The Bean in winter.

Bring bathing suits so the kids can splash in the Crown Fountain during a 3 day itinerary in Chicago.
If you’re visiting Chicago in the summer, bring your kid’s bathing suit over to Millennium Park’s Crown Fountain. Photo credit: Andrea Guthmann

2. Crown Fountain

Next to The Bean are two 50-foot towers featuring human faces. Take a video, because when the person’s mouth opens, water pours out of the mouth onto the squealing kids below. Crown Fountain and The Bean are both included in my story on Things to Do With Kids in Millennium Park.

The wndr Museum in Chicago is filled with Instagram-worthy photo ops.
The wndr Museum in Chicago is full of artistic, family-friendly photo ops. Photo courtesy of Francis Son

3. wndr Museum

This new, kid-friendly West Loop art museum was made for Instagram, with an Infinity Mirror Room and a sequin tunnel.

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Ah, #travel It's great even when you're a tourist in your own town. #Chicago #art #family #staybridgesuitesweekends #tmom @StaybridgeSuites @travelingmom

A post shared by Cindy Richards (@cindy_richards) on Jul 15, 2015 at 2:29pm PDT

4. Street art

Giant, colorful murals decorate buildings all over the city. Instagram faves include the Welcome to Chicago mural at 2226 N. Milwaukee Ave. and the giant pink flamingo mural outside The Flamingo Rum Club in River North. Venture out to the Pilsen neighborhood and you’ll find dozens of gorgeous building murals with poignant stories behind them. Here’s a good guide to help you find them. These murals are included in my story on 12 Best Free Things to Do in Chicago with Kids.

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Heckuva #view from the #concierge suite @westin #River North @choosechicago #tmom #chicagoriver #chicagogram #mytown #chicagosbest

A post shared by Cindy Richards (@cindy_richards) on Aug 3, 2017 at 1:00pm PDT

5. Hotel rooftop bars

Just about every downtown hotel has a swanky rooftop bar or lounge where you can take selfies with a skyline backdrop (especially beautiful at night). Some rooftop standouts include Cindy’s, the restaurant at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel; LH Rooftop at LondonHouse Chicago hotel; Godfrey Hotel’s bar I|O (which has adorable, outdoor igloos in the winter); and the bars at Robey House in Wicker Park.

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#Perfect Day in @chooseChicago along the #Chicago #chicagoriver #architectureporn #reflectionporn #tmom #chicago #chicagogram

A post shared by Cindy Richards (@cindy_richards) on Aug 19, 2017 at 11:20am PDT

6. Chicago Architecture tour

The renowned Chicago Architectural Foundation boat tour, that cruises through downtown on the Chicago River, will give you lots of cool architectural and skyline photos for your Instagram story. For a cheaper and shorter option, ride the Chicago Water Taxi through downtown. There won’t be a guide, and it’s only a 10-minute ride. But it’s enough time to snap pics of the glimmering buildings, bridges and water. Here’s my guide to Getting Around on the Chicago Water Taxi.

Architecture buffs also will want to check out the University of Chicago campus and surrounding Hyde Park neighborhood. I might be biased because I work there, but it’s filled with gorgeous neo-gothic and mid-century buildings. Some are by famed architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robey House.

Art on the Mart is a digital art show on the landmark Merchandise Mart building in downtown Chicago.
Art on the Mart is a digital art show on the landmark Merchandise Mart building in downtown Chicago. Photo courtesy of Art on the Mart.

7. Art on the Mart

Grab a viewing spot on the Riverwalk and watch this moving light show on the iconic Merchandise Mart building. The shows start after sunset and run for approximately two hours.

8. North Avenue Beach

One of Chicago’s most expansive beaches also has a concrete boardwalk that juts into Lake Michigan, offering picturesque lake-and-skyline views.

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Yes. Tilt @360chiviews is #terrifying #tmom

A post shared by Cindy Richards (@cindy_richards) on Apr 5, 2016 at 4:29pm PDT

9. Willis Tower Skydeck and John Hancock’s TILT

If you dare to step into these glass boxes that jut out more than 100 stories over Chicago’s famous skyscrapers, you’ll get fun photos.

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Dark & stormy or bright & sunny? Both. #chicago

A post shared by Jamie Bartosch (@jamiebartosch) on Aug 31, 2017 at 2:24pm PDT

10. Lawn area by the Adler Planetarium

Pretty much anywhere along the Museum Campus, especially the lawn in front of the Adler Planetarium, will give you clear, full-length views of the skyline. You can sit in the grassy area, or climb down onto the lakefront rocks for skyline-and-lake selfies.

Navy Pier offers lots of great Instagram photo ops
Navy Pier offers lots of great Instagram photo ops. Photo courtesy of Choose Chicago.

11. Navy Pier

Is this pier with a Ferris wheel touristy? Yes. Does it have great, Instagram-worthy views? Also yes.

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Surreal and amazing night in Chicago. Let's go all the way #Cubs! #FlytheW #WeAreGood

A post shared by Jamie Bartosch (@jamiebartosch) on Oct 13, 2015 at 8:42pm PDT

12. Famous marquees

Day or night, the iconic Chicago signs in front of Wrigley Field (where the Chicago Cubs play) and the Chicago Theatre (downtown) look great on social media.

Creative, over-the-top food presentation at BartonG in Chicago makes for fun Instagram photos.
Creative, over-the-top food presentation at BartonG in Chicago makes for fun Instagram photos. Photo credit: Jamie Bartosch

13. Food and drinks

Many Chicago restaurants have creative presentations. Everything at Barton G. is over-the-top, like two-foot-high cotton candy served on a mannequin’s head. Cookies and doughnuts hang off the cups and straws in the milkshakes at Bombobar. In addition, Sugar Factory, which is especially popular with teens (and made my list of 22 Most Kid-Friendly Restaurants in Chicago), serves smokey drinks and things like a tiny cheeseburger stacked on a milkshake.

Even a slice of deep dish pizza being pulled out of the pan, with the cheese stretching, will be a good Chicago Instagram post. So will a photo at the famous pink neon “Rose All Day” sign behind a wall of greenery at Hampton Social.

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Chicago strong

A post shared by Patrick K Brown (@nature_architechture_pbro) on Nov 24, 2019 at 8:56pm PST

14. Famous art

Give your Instagram feed a cultural feel with some classic or thought-provoking pieces in the city’s many art museums, including The Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

15. 3 Arts Club Cafe at RH

Not only can you take selfies in the cafe’s charming atrium, but you are free to hang out in the stylishly decorated rooms of this multi-floor Restoration Hardware furniture showroom. Perfect fodder for fun Instagram photos.

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X marks the spot on way home from #TMOMDisney #tbt #Chicago

A post shared by Cindy Richards (@cindy_richards) on Apr 23, 2015 at 6:56am PDT

16. The airplane

Get a window seat when you fly in or out of Chicago, because on a clear day or night, the skyline view is mesmerizing.

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The Rookery. Perhaps the most beautiful staircase anywhere in the world. #Chicago #tmom

A post shared by Cindy Richards (@cindy_richards) on Nov 9, 2015 at 1:16pm PST

17. Rookery

Any book you pick up about art in Chicago features the stunning ceiling and staircase of this historic landmark building.

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@chiculturcenter #ChicagoCulturalCenter #Chicago #ChiTown #TiffanyCeiling #TiffanyDome

A post shared by Cori Marie (@coriander03) on Nov 24, 2019 at 4:07pm PST

18. Chicago Cultural Center

Point the camera up into this building’s two beautiful stained-glass domes for artsy Instagram pictures. The Chicago Cultural Center is right off Michigan Avenue, across from Millennium Park. In addition, it hosts free, family-friendly music, dance, art and theater events.

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Category: Family Vacations in Chicago, Free in Illinois

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