I absolutely loved this place so much, every time I come back to visit I will absolutely make time to visit, there is so much to see. I highly recommend going in the early morning so there isn’t such a crowd and you can move at your own pace without people getting in your way. There are plenty of classics, originals, and artists you haven’t heard of, it’s great. A must see for sure and the gift shop has copies of what you have seen so you can bring them home.

If you're visiting, know that it's humanly impossible to take in everything in one full day, so don't run yourself ragged trying. I have been to the Art Institute ten times over the last five years and I've just now finished seeing most of the complex. What I've seen that has stuck with me are: - how big the Murakami piece at the very top corner of the modern art wing is - the Egyptian exhibit. I have so many questions - the brushstrokes on van Gogh's Self-Portrait - seeing the same Memphis-designed chair at two different exhibits (mood) - an exhibit on ceramics that looked like trash, alien plants, etc. by Japanese artisans The maps that I picked up during my latest visit had a suggested path for what to see within two hours, showing the Art Institute is trying to get people to visit if they're short on time. The pieces are mostly uber popular ones (American Gothic, etc). I would use this as a starting point, but please take in the descriptions and feel free to wander - the curators and staff do an amazing job providing context and a sense of place for all the pieces to breathe. It's the reason I never hesitate to come back. I always enter through the steps featuring the bronze lions - it's two blocks down from the loop CTA and three from the Red Line. There are usually unaffiliated folks drumming on paint buckets outside You can enter from the modern wing as well but it's not as iconic. Logistically, you will likely need to bag check your bag if you have one, so you should do that before being told by the security team to. It is free, though, as long as you have a ticket. Beyond that, jackets seem to be fine if they're not bulky / large / wet. Water bottles are fine to bring with you, but you should obviously be careful as to when/where you drink. There are refill stations by all the bathrooms. Bathrooms are pretty clean (for a big city downtown bathroom, and for a big tourist attraction bathroom). I would 100% recommend taking a paper map (they are free!) and looking up what pieces you want to look at on the Art Institute site using their free wi-fi. Every room is numbered, but the numbering is confusing, so you will need to look up where the room where the piece is and then how to get there using your map. The gift shop is a lot. Even the postcards are overpriced versus other museums downtown, so I've never bought anything in any of my visits. Go to a locally owned bookstore and you'd find a lot of the same stuff outside of the art merch. I haven't eaten at the museum cafe, but considering how many fast casual places there are right outside, you can do a price check and see if it makes sense.

The AIC is a national treasure. There is just so much to see there that one day alone won't be enough time to experience the entire collection, so start with some exhibits of special interest to you. The impressionist galleries are just fantastic and alone would be well worth the trip and price of admission. The arms and armor collection is also magnificent and rivals that of the Met in New York City. If you have to choose, I would prioritize a visit to the AIC over the Field Museum. AIC has a more diverse collection and more space to spread out, which made it seem less overflowing. Buying tickets online will save time, but the ticket line moved pretty fast. There is a nice cafe in the back of the new building -- a bit pricey (paid $85 for lunch for 3 including tip) but the service was fast and the food was pretty good. I hope to return - this is definitely a place to experience more than once.

We went to Chicago for a week with my wife and 16 year old son. My wife and I wanted to see the Art Institute of Chicago, my son, reluctantly agreed we could add it to the itinerary. I think he ended up enjoying it more than we did! Of course there were some things that we found more interesting, artists we knew of, but we spent about 6 hours there, didn't see it all, and he was still 100% engaged. We finally left because we were hungry and wanted to get dinner. Very much on our todo again list if we get the opportunity to go back to Chicago someday.

Excellent museum. A full day experience if visiting the city. If you are lucky enough to live in Chicago you could go multiple times for a few hours and see something different each time. The museum is a bit challenging to negotiate and in house cafe / restaurant service was so-so and expensive. We paid more for lunch for 2 than we did for our entry tickets.

It is an excellent museum with unique paintings. It is too expensive 40 USD per person which is excessive, if you are an art lover you are forced to pay it. You should really consider the price. Picasso's collection is incredible, van Gogh's incredible, Monet Renoir's, Mondrian Chagall's. unforgettable

I visited on a Sunday afternoon, and the Chicago Pass allowed me to enter the museum smoothly (no need to specify a time). It was interesting to see the variations of Monet's piled-up paintings displayed side by side. The exhibition of Japanese art was planned to be expanded, and some of it was under preparation. If you go around the whole floor wide, it will take more than two hours.

This museum was just amazing to visit. The visitors guide helped us to navigate to some of the more significant pieces due to our time available. We have traveled to various museums around the world and I can say that this museum has a very impressive collection.

In my twenties I minored in art history in college. I thought about that again as I walked through this beautiful museum. Here you will be taught art history in a concise 6, 7 hours. What a collection! Very complete, from the ancient Egyptians via the Greeks and Romans to the Middle Ages, to Asian and pre-Columbian art, to impressionist and expressionist painting, and then on to the present. I really enjoyed it, suddenly it was 5 pm and I had to leave the museum, but I was far from done. In short, a reason to return to Chicago.

If in downtown Chicago, the art museum is not to be missed and if you're like me, give yourself plenty of time. But the reason for 4--and not 5--stars is below: The thing that did put a damper on my experience was in their Cafe (adjacent to the Mckinlock court/fountain). You stand in line and give your order to the counter person, take a seat---either nearby or out in the patio (weather permitting), and they will bring your order to you. That's it... After eating and looking at my receipt, I see that they had added a 20%!! tip to my order! Nothing is stated up on the menu board that they will charge an additional 20% for a "tip" to your order, and if I had I not looked over my receipt before putting it away, I wouldn't have ever known a tip was added to my bill. Now, had a credit card machine asked me for that choice, then that would be mine to decide. But is the public to subsidize the employer's payroll so they can keep THEIR wages low? What happened to service above and beyond, which THEN is deserving of a 20% tip?! No one came over to check on me, nor ask if I wanted water or anything else, etc. during the time I was there. I then asked to see the manager before I left, they did come out to speak to me and I explained how I felt about this, and the lack of any service other than bringing the food to where I sat to even be worthy of a 20% tip. She then handled the matter in refunding the tip. I feel this practice should be stopped, and give the public that tipping choice.