Jay Pritzker Pavilion Amphitheater / Concert Venue

Millennium Park has multiple famous landmarks, but the Jay Pritzker Pavilion is its most prominent feature. Its twisting, stainless-steel band shell was designed by superstar architect Frank Gehry, and significant attention was paid to the venue’s acoustics. Crowds bring blankets and chairs and sprawl out over the lawn in front of the science-fiction-worthy stage. A lattice of beams over the bandstand’s lawn contains tiny speakers designed specifically to do justice to performers’ music.

Built in 2004, the pavilion has a capacity of around 11,000. Almost all concerts at the Pritzker Pavilion are free. The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra plays here, and acts such as The Decemberists and Tori Amos have had enormously popular concerts. Other Chicago arts institutions like the Lyric Opera and Steppenwolf Theatre sometimes change things up and hold performances for the masses on warm summer nights.

Other free events at the Pritzker Pavilion include the Chicago Dance Festival, in which the audience receives a dance lesson in a certain genre, followed by a dance party; morning workouts in disciplines like yoga; and movie screenings. The Chicago Dance Festival even has a winter counterpart, with instruction taking place on stage, walled off from the cold with a glass façade.

Outside food is allowed, but official park district policy forbids people bringing in alcohol. Beer is sold on-site.