Is the Chicago CityPass Worth It?

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Chicago has a lot of amazing tourist destinations. If you’re planning a Chicago vacation, you might be wondering how you can visit a number of attractions while still keeping your trip affordable.

Well, one solution is to get a Chicago CityPASS.

With the Chicago Citypass, you buy one pass that will get you admission into 5 Chicago attractions.

Here’s what’s included, as well as what it normally costs an adult if you were visiting each attraction separately:

• Skydeck Chicago ($69.00)
• Shedd Aquarium ($60.90)

And then you can choose 3 out of these 6 activities:

• 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck ($59.00)
• Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture River Tour ($52.00)
• Field Museum ($46.00)
• Art Institute of Chicago ($40.00)
• Adler Planetarium ($40.00)
• Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ($37.95)

Now, if you were going to visit the 5 most expensive of those attractions individually, this would cost you $69.00 + $60.90 + $59.00 + $52.00 + $46.00 = $286.90.

The Chicago CityPASS only costs $144.00.  This means you’ve saved about 50%!

But that’s only if you visit the 5 most expensive attractions. What if you chose less expensive activities? Or fewer than 5? Would this Chicago sightseeing pass still be worth it?

Today, we’re going to take a look at just that! We’ll see when the Chicago City Pass is – and isn’t – worth it. We’ll be looking at the adult prices, which is for people ages 12 years old and up.

NOTE: The following is an in-depth cost breakdown. If you don’t care about the why (i.e. the math) and just want to jump to WHEN it will (or won’t) save you money, skip down to the conclusion.

Visiting 4 or 5 Attractions

What if you only wanted to visit the 4 cheapest attractions?

In that case, you’d choose the 3 cheapest out of the 6 choices, and you’d also choose Shedd Aquarium for your 4th attraction (as it is cheaper than Skydeck Chicago).

So that would be:

• Art Institute of Chicago ($40.00)
• Adler Planetarium ($40.00)
• Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ($37.95)
• Shedd Aquarium ($60.90)

Without the CityPASS, it would cost $40.00 + $40.00 + $37.95 + $60.90 = $178.85.

Since the price of the Chicago CityPASS is $144.00, you would save $178.85 – $144.00 = $34.85.

And if you did any other combination of 4 attractions – or 5 attractions – that would raise the total cost of the attractions over $178.85. So the Chicago CityPASS would be saving you even more money.

The biggest savings would be the very first example we gave, with those 5 most expensive attractions. In that case, you would save $286.90 – $144.00 = $142.90.

Visiting 3 Attractions

If you’ll be visiting 3 attractions, it all depends on which 3 attractions you want.

So let’s break it down! We’re going to look at three different scenarios, and they all involve how many (if any) you want to visit of the three most expensive activities.

No Skydeck, Aquarium or Observation Deck

What if you did NOT want to go to the three most expensive attractions (Skydeck Chicago at $69.00, Shedd Aquarium at $60.90, and 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck at $59.00)?

If you don’t include any of those three, then the most expensive 3 you could choose would be:

• Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture River Tour ($52.00)
• Field Museum ($46.00)
• either Art Institute of Chicago ($40.00) OR Adler Planetarium ($40.00)

And that would cost $52.00 + $46.00 + $40.00 = $138.00. Since the CityPass costs $144.00, you would NOT want to get the CityPass as it would actually be more expensive. The only other activity you could include in your 3, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, is the cheapest of all ($37.95) so you still would be better off not getting the CityPass.

Skydeck But No Aquarium or Observation Deck

If you choose Skydeck Chicago and the two cheapest activities, that would be:

• Skydeck Chicago ($69.00)
• either Art Institute of Chicago ($40.00) OR Adler Planetarium ($40.00)
• Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ($37.95)

If you paid for them separately, it would cost $69.00 + $40.00 + $37.95 = $146.95. This is more expensive that the CityPass, which costs $144.00. So you would save money with the CityPass. Specifically, you would save $2.95. And replacing those second and third attractions with more expensive ones (that aren’t Aquarium or Observation Deck) would make your savings even greater.

The biggest savings would be for Skydeck Chicago and the two most expensive activities (that aren’t Aquarium or Observation Deck):

• Skydeck Chicago ($69.00)
• Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture River Tour ($52.00)
• Field Museum ($46.00)

Without the CityPass, those would cost $69.00 + $52.00 + $46.00 = $167.00. And since the CityPass is only $144.00, you would save $167.00 – $144.00 = $23.00.

Either Aquarium or Observation Deck, and No Skydeck

This is the “gray area”, so to speak.

There are 20 different combinations of attractions if you include either Shedd Aquarium OR 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck, as well as two other attractions (that are not Skydeck, Shedd Aquarium, or 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck).

And it really depends on the combination as to whether or not you’ll save money.

There are 7 combinations that will NOT save you money. All of these, when purchased separately, add up to a sum that is less than the cost of the CityPass, $144.00.

$59.00 (360 CHICAGO Observation Deck) + $46.00 (Field Museum) + $37.95 (Griffin Museum of Science and Industry) = $142.95

$60.90 (Shedd Aquarium) + $40.00 (Art Institute of Chicago) + $40.00 (Adler Planetarium) = $140.90

$59.00 (360 CHICAGO Observation Deck) + $40.00 (Art Institute of Chicago) + $40.00 (Adler Planetarium) = $139.00

$60.90 (Shedd Aquarium) + $40.00 (Art Institute of Chicago) + $37.95 (Griffin Museum of Science and Industry) = $138.85

$60.90 (Shedd Aquarium) + $40.00 (Adler Planetarium) + $37.95 (Griffin Museum of Science and Industry) = $138.85

$59.00 (360 CHICAGO Observation Deck) + $40.00 (Art Institute of Chicago) + $37.95 (Griffin Museum of Science and Industry) = $136.95

$59.00 (360 CHICAGO Observation Deck) + $40.00 (Adler Planetarium) + $37.95 (Griffin Museum of Science and Industry) = $136.95

And there are 13 that WILL save you money. If you were to buy them separately, the total cost would be greater than the cost of the CityPass, which is $144.00.

At Least 2 of Skydeck, Aquarium or Observation Deck

Suppose you chose at least two of those three most expensive attractions (which are Skydeck Chicago at $69.00, Shedd Aquarium at $60.90, and 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck at $59.00)?

We’re going to look at the cheapest way you could do that. If you combined the cheapest of those two with the cheapest of the remaining attractions, it would be:

• Shedd Aquarium ($60.90)
• 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck ($59.00)
• Griffin Museum of Science and Industry ($37.95)

Since $60.90 + $59.00 + $37.95 = $157.85 and $157.85 > $144.00 (the cost of the CityPass), it would be more expensive to buy them separately. Thus, you will save money with the City Pass, or more precisely, you would save $157.85 – $144.00 = $13.85. And if you chose Skydeck Chicago instead of one of the first two, or any of the other attractions instead of Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, you’d actually save even more money with the CityPass.

In fact, to maximize your savings in this case, you should choose the 2 most expensive of Skydeck Chicago, Shedd Aquarium, and 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck, as well as the  most expensive of the other attractions. This would be:

• Skydeck Chicago ($69.00)
• Shedd Aquarium ($60.90)
• Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture River Tour ($52.00)

That would normally cost $69.00 + $60.90 + $52.00 = $181.90. So with the CityPass, you would save $181.90 – $144.00 = $37.90.

Visiting 1 or 2 Attractions

Let’s say you planned on stopping by the 2 most expensive attractions.

Those would be:

• Skydeck Chicago ($69.00)
• Shedd Aquarium ($60.90)

Without the CityPass, you’d pay $69.00 + $60.90 = $129.90. And that is less expensive than the Chicago CityPass.

If you picked 2 cheaper attractions, or just 1 attraction, that would also be less expensive than the Chicago CityPass. So the CityPass would not be saving you any money.

Conclusion

Whether or not the CityPass saves you money depends on how many attractions you plan on visiting during your trip, as well as which attractions you choose.

• 4 or 5 Attractions: The CityPass will save you between $34.85 to $142.90
• 3 Attractions, No Skydeck, Aquarium or Observation Deck: The CityPass will not save you money
• 3 Attractions, Skydeck But No Aquarium or Observation Deck: The CityPass will save you between $2.95 to $23.00
• 3 Attractions, Either Aquarium or Observation Deck, and No Skydeck: Depends on the attractions
• 3 Attractions, At Least 2 of Skydeck, Aquarium or Observation Deck: The CityPass will save you between $13.85 to $37.90
• 1 or 2 Attractions: The CityPass will not save you money

tl;dr The CityPass will save you money if you visit 4 or 5 attractions. It will not save you money if you only visit 1 or 2 attractions. And if you visit 3 attractions, it depends.

You can click here to purchase the Chicago CityPass for your next Chicago vacation.

Additional Notes

Before your trip, make sure to check if the attractions you want to visit require reservations. (For example, at the time of writing this, advanced reservations are required for Skydeck Chicago, 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck, Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, and Shoreline Sightseeing, and recommended for the Shedd Aquarium.)

Choosing One or Two Activities

Now, if you have decided after this you only want to do one or two activities that would be cheaper than buying the Chicago CityPass, then click here to book them:

• Skydeck Chicago
• Field Museum
• 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck
• Art Institute of Chicago
• Shedd Aquarium
• Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
• Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture River Tour
• Adler Planetarium

More Ways to Save in Chicago

For additional ways to make your trip cheaper, make sure you check out our guide to planning a Chicago vacation on a budget. You’ll find ways to save money on your flight, hotel, other fun things to do, and more.

Comparison to Explorer Pass

Wondering how the Chicago CityPASS stacks up next to the Chicago Explorer Pass?  Click here to see a side-by-side comparison!