Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL

Photo: Céline from Paris, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

MuseumsArt loverRainy-day pick

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a museum in Chicago, IL, part of the Chicago guide. Cost: under $25.

220 E Chicago Ave · Chicago, IL

Why you should go…

A block off Michigan Avenue, the MCA is one of the world's largest contemporary art museums, known for headline-making exhibitions, its 2017 Takashi Murakami show drew record crowds, alongside a collection spanning surrealism, minimalism, and conceptual art from 1945 onward. The grand staircase and terraced sculpture garden are destinations in themselves, and Marisol restaurant handles lunch. Adults pay $21, visitors under 18 enter free, and Illinois residents get in free on Tuesdays.

  • #contemporary art
  • #museum
  • #streeterville
  • #exhibitions
  • #art

What's around here?

The closest stops to Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    Quirky Fun

    Chicago Crime Tours

    $25–$50

    Guided bus tours through Chicago's Prohibition-era mob history and notorious crime landmarks.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sightseeing
    Date Night

    360 CHICAGO Observation Deck

    $25–$50

    Lake-and-skyline views from 1,000 feet up, plus TILT, the glass ledge that leans you over Michigan Avenue.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Chicago Water Tower

    Free

    See the castle-like limestone tower that survived the 1871 fire, now a small city art gallery.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums
    History Buff

    International Museum of Surgical Science

    $25–$50

    The only North American museum devoted to the history of surgery, set in a Gold Coast mansion on Lake Shore Drive.

    0.9 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Chicago History Museum

    Under $25

    You trace Chicago's story through restored dioramas, a vintage L car and hands-on galleries at Clark Street and North Avenue in Lincoln Park.

    1.1 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Iconic

    The Art Institute of Chicago

    $25–$50

    Home of American Gothic and a world-famous Impressionist collection, guarded by two bronze lions.

    1.2 mi awayMore like this

Near Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

More of the same kind

Keep exploring