Millennium Park451

Located in downtown Chicago on Michigan Avenue, between Randolph and Monroe Streets, the 24.5-acre Millennium Park is a center for world-class art, music, architecture and landscape design, offering everything from interactive public art and ice skating to al fresco dining and free classical music presentations.

Among the park's prominent features are the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue of its kind in the United States; the kid-pleasing and interactive Crown Fountain (two 50-foot tall glass block towers at either end of a reflecting pool) by Jaume Plensa; the contemporary Lurie Garden; and Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate sculpture, which is hugely popular with adults and kids alike.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a beautiful and sophisticated outdoor concert venue, is visible from Michigan Avenue and beyond. It's the permanent home of the Grant Park Music Festival.

The BP Bridge is a sinuous pedestrian bridge that links Millennium Park with the eastern portion of Grant Park and provides incomparable views of the city's skyline, Grant Park, and Lake Michigan.

A three-block long walkway, the Chase Promenade crosses the park and provides an area for year-round festivals, fairs, exhibitions, and family events.

The Crown Fountain is a major addition to the city's world-renowned public art collection, and when the weather is warm kids flock to splash and play beneath the spray from its 50 foot towers.

The Boeing Galleries are lined on either side by a row of graceful sycamore trees, and a series of black granite steps run along each gallery's east side. A black granite staircase connects the south Gallery with the Fountain, making it a great spot for families to picnic in the city.

The Harris Theater for Music and Dance seats 1,525 and offers programs ranging from classical ballet and contemporary dance to classical, chamber, opera, and folk music.

Millennium Park's Lurie Garden is defined by sculpted hedgerows and pedestrian pathways.

Cloud Gate, the 110-ton elliptical sculpture designed by the celebrated British artist Anish Kapoor, is better known in Chicago as "The Bean." But its kid-appeal is equal to that of the Crown Fountain. Walking in, around and under the mirror-like sculpture is akin to walking in a fun house, and the reflections generated by Cloud Gate include not only the people surrounding it, but also the Chicago skyline and the rest of Millennium park!

At the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Washington Street, the 16,000 square-foot McCormick Tribune Ice Skating Rink offers visitors one of the best views of Chicago's famed Michigan Avenue. Operating from November to March (weather permitting), the rink offers skate rental, a warming lobby and public lockers.

Throughout the entire year, visitors can dine in the new Park Grill, a 300-seat restaurant that sits directly beside the Ice Rink in McCormick Tribune Plaza. In the warm-weather months, the Ice Rink is converted into a 150-seat star-lit dining area.

Tree-lined Wrigley Square is an inviting open space for visitors to relax on the lawn or stroll paths. The Square is anchored by the Millennium Monument, known to many as the peristyle.

At Randolph Street and Columbus Drive is a 300-space, heated indoor Bicycle Parking facility that provides lockers, showers, a snack bar with outdoor summer seating, bike repair, bike rental and other amenities.