What is free in Chicago on Mondays
Free museum hours in Chicago change with the day of the week. This is the list for Monday: first what is free on this day in particular, then what is free on any day.
Free on Mondays in particular0
No museum has a free slot on Mondays. Parks, viewpoints and the always-free museums are still open.
Free every day, Monday included14
- Millennium ParkLoopAlways · daily 6 am–11 pm
- Chicago Cultural CenterLoopAlways · daily 10 am–5 pm, closed on holidays. Exhibitions close 15 minutes before the building.
- Lincoln Park ZooLincoln ParkAlways · 365 days a year, 8 am–5 pm. Animal buildings open at 10 am.
- Chicago RiverwalkLoop / River NorthAlways · daily 6 am–11 pm
- Lakefront TrailLakefrontAlways · open during park hours, 6 am–11 pm. Sections close for repairs through the season, watch the signs.
- North Avenue BeachLincoln ParkAlways · beach open 6 am–11 pm all year. Swimming only with lifeguards on duty, 11 am–7 pm, from the Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day.
- The 606 (Bloomingdale Trail)Wicker Park / Logan SquareAlways · daily 6 am–11 pm
- Promontory PointHyde ParkAlways · daily 6 am–11 pm
- Graceland CemeteryUptownAlways · gates open 365 days. Fall and winter: Mon–Fri 8 am–4 pm, Sat–Sun 9 am–4 pm. Spring and summer weekdays until 6 pm.
- Museum of Contemporary PhotographySouth LoopAlways · Mon–Wed and Fri–Sat 10 am–5 pm, Thu 10 am–8 pm. Closed Sundays and major holidays.
- Maggie Daley ParkLoopAlways · daily 6 am–9 pm
- Buckingham FountainGrant ParkSeasonal · typically early May to mid-October, 8 am–11 pm, with a 20-minute major display on the hour. In 2026 it runs through October 31, weather permitting, but the hourly major display is off for the rest of the season.
- Money Museum at the Chicago FedLoopAlways · Mon–Fri 10 am–5 pm, closed on Federal Reserve Bank holidays
PAID · ONE PER CITY
If you spend on one thing in Chicago, make it this.
Chicago Architecture Center river cruise
A docent spends 90 minutes explaining more than 50 buildings from the middle of the river, an angle the Riverwalk cannot give you. You can walk the same water for free, but you will not know what you are looking at. Take a late afternoon departure.
Everything above is free. This is the only paid pick on the page, chosen because no free option replaces it.
See tickets and prices
