Like many Chicagoans, I get seasick at the thought of visiting a tourist-packed Navy Pier on a summer Saturday. But within the shadow of the pier’s Ferris wheel are overlooked treasures for locals.
AFTERNOON
My wife and I packed up the kids, stymied our dislike of caricature artists and explored the Chicago Children’s Museum within Navy Pier (700 E. Grand Ave., 312-527-1000, chicagochildrensmuseum.org). Children under age 1 and Chicago Public Schools teachers are free, so the four of us paid just $16 admission, and it was worth every cent. Three floors of exhibits enable wee ones to splash in fountains, flirt with digital butterflies, climb into treehouses and unearth dinosaur bones. I was as giddy as my toddler. (The museum is closed for improvements this Tuesday through Friday.)
Having built an appetite, we headed west to Fox & Obel (401 E. Illinois, 312-410-7301, fox-obel.com) for gourmet sandwiches and imported soft drinks. But the real highlight was touring the exotic foods on display in the adjoining market — salads made of squid, spike-covered fruits and massive fish chilling on ice. “Marlin!” chirped my daughter, thinking she’d spotted Nemo’s cartoon father. “Dinner!” I replied.
To burn off the chocolate muffin we had for dessert, we strolled south down McClurg Court, past the Ogden Slip to the Centennial Fountain and Water Park (300 N. McClurg Ct. 312-751-6633), where a water cannon blasts a stream over the Chicago River on the hour and a man-made waterfall mists visitors’ faces. Literally and figuratively cool.
EVENING
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Having delivered the kids to a sitter, we started our evening at Milton Lee Olive Park (500 N. Lake Shore Drive), a hidden, verdant gem offering a tree-canopied stroll, wide patches of lawn studded with huge circular fountains and a view of Navy Pier that makes it look downright quaint.
Of course, a better view is 70 floors up at Cite, the restaurant atop Lake Point Tower (505 N. Lake Shore Drive, 312-644-4050, citechicago.com). The decor is a bit dated and the prices are high, but the view is dizzying. We sipped a drink and nibbled an appetizer at the small lounge before strolling the circular restaurant to get a 360-degree view of the city — Navy Pier to the east, the skyline to the west and beaches below.
Leaving Cite might have been the best part; the plunging elevator trip down 700 feet was as good as any ride on the Ferris wheel.