Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate — 'the Bean' — is the sculpture that every visitor photographs and that somehow remains genuinely astonishing no matter how many times you see it. The 110-ton polished steel ellipse reflects and distorts the Chicago skyline in a liquid-mercury panorama that changes with every shift in light and weather. But Cloud Gate is only one element of a park that is itself Chicago's greatest public space: the Pritzker Pavilion (Frank Gehry's bandshell for free summer concerts), the Crown Fountain (two 50-foot LED towers projecting faces of Chicagoans that spit water), the Lurie Garden (a hidden perennial garden below street level), and the BP pedestrian bridge. The park opened in 2004, years late and over budget, and the city forgave every delay because the result is this.
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Cloud Gate at sunrise before the crowds — the skyline reflection on the polished surface without bodies in the way is a different experience than the midday tourist version. The Pritzker Pavilion for a free summer concert (check the Grant Park Music Festival schedule). The Lurie Garden for a quiet escape from the Loop's intensity. The Crown Fountain for the art and the joy of watching children play in the water features. Walk the Nichols Bridgeway to the Modern Wing of the Art Institute.
Sunrise on a clear morning for Cloud Gate photography and the park to yourself. Summer evenings for the Grant Park Music Festival — free classical and jazz concerts in the Pritzker Pavilion, bring a blanket for the lawn. The park is open year-round and has a winter quality — Cloud Gate reflecting snow and grey sky — that is its own kind of beautiful.
Free admission to the park and all its permanent installations. The Grant Park Music Festival (June-September) offers free concerts most Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. The Crown Fountain operates roughly May through October. The Lurie Garden is open daily and is one of the quietest spaces in the Loop. The park is wheelchair accessible. Cloud Gate is not called 'the Bean' by the artist, who reportedly dislikes the nickname — locals use it universally anyway. The park sits atop a parking garage and train tracks, which is an engineering achievement that the surface beauty conceals.