Where to see twinkling Christmas lights in Chicago

To see one of the largest displays of holiday lights within city limits, you need to head to Lincoln Park Zoo, where the annual ZooLights display strings up millions of LED blubs. While most of the animals will be keeping warm inside, visitors are free to wander through the park, snapping photos of the various displays and taking part in a variety of activities throughout the holiday season. There will be new displays and and interactive programming this year, and as always, guests will also be able to enjoy hot beverages and snacks at stands throughout the park.

Admission is $7 on most weeknights and Sundays and $10 on Fridays and Saturdays. Check out the Lincoln Park Zoo website for information on special ticketed events during ZooLights, including Adults Night Out and a musical tribute to “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Time Out tip: Admission is free on Mondays.

The Chicago Botanic Garden hosts this annual display of festive lights, giving guests a host of shimmering reasons to visit the forest preserve during the holiday season. Set along an illuminated path, the after-dark experience features a series of installations to explore, including a 110-foot tunnel made up of 100,000 lights and a group of trees festooned in bulbs that "sing" holiday songs. This year, check out radiant new works created by international artists, including a Sea of Light display with thousands of LED light balls that sparkle in multiple patterns and colors to a bespoke soundtrack.

Time Out tip: Tickets sell out quickly, so book well in advance.

Navy Pier bring its winter experience back for another year, illuminating the lakefront with an outdoor light display. The dazzling program boasts a host of fun activities, including ice skating, axe throwing, live musical performances, an artisan market and cozy fire pits for making s'mores. You can also take a ride on Navy Pier's 200-foot Centennial Wheel—don't worry, all of the gondolas are fully enclosed and heated!

Time Out tip: Light Up The Lake provides a front-row view of Navy Pier's fireworks show every Saturday at 9pm.

Ready to get into the holiday spirit? The Morton Arboretum's annual holiday light show returns for its 11th anniversary as a mile-long, walk-through spectacle of LED lights and music, featuring a blend of new and returning light displays set amid 50 acres of trees. Back again this year is "Electric Illumination," a series of late-night parties with DJ-curated playlists that will synchronize progressive house and '80s dance beats with the light shows, as well as "IllumiBrew," a special evening where guests can sample beers and ciders from local breweries. Timed entry tickets for Illumination, which will run from November 18 through January 6, go on sale October 23 for nonmembers and vary in price based on date and time.

Every year, Millennium Park is adorned with an epic Christmas tree that remains on display until the beginning of the new year. The larger-than-life attraction is festooned with twinkling lights and crowned with an illuminated star. Spectators can check out the festive tree near Washington Street and Michigan Avenue through early January. Want to see the tree light up for the first time this season? The annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony returns this year on Friday, November 17.

Each November, the Magnificent Mile rings in the start of the holiday season with a parade and other festive activities along Michigan Avenue, arguably the city's most well-decorated strip during the holidays. The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival is always nice to see, but we think you'll find there's still plenty of holiday cheer to be found in taking a stroll along the street on any random evening during the season (and best of all, it's free)! 

Rosemont's Impact Field (home of the Chicago Dogs) hosts Sparkle Light Festival, which will house millions of holiday lights among winter attractions like train rides, a two-story ice slide and ice skating. Wander through five themed "villages" of lights and visit a kids zone filled with interactive activities for little ones. Older attendees can also spring for the fest's $70 Rivers Stadium Club Tickets, which include access to a premium buffet, drinks and unlimited tubing rides on the Alpine Slide. 

A city named after nature's most stunning light show deserves an equally spectacular man-made display. The Rotary Club of Aurora organizes this holiday wonderland in Phillips Park, which allows visitors to drive through and take in a series of twinkling scenes. Hop in the car, drive through the illuminated gate and keep an eye out for shimmering representations of Santa's toy factory, a holiday train and some giant snowflakes. You'll need to make an timed reservation ahead of your visit, but the experience is totally free—though if you're able to make a donation online, the proceeds will go to a selection of local charities.  

More than one million lights cover the trees, fences and structures in the Brookfield Zoo at this annual holiday event, which is open for its 42nd year this season. Guests can walk through a 600-foot-long tunnel featuring colored lights synchronized to music, spot larger-than-life illuminated animal sculptures, gaze up at a 41-foot-tall lit tree and warm up with concessions such as funnel cakes, pizza, spiced wine and hot cocoa.

Get ready for a festive ride—the CTA Holiday Train and Bus are coming to town! The train is decked out in twinkling holiday lights, with Santa and his reindeer riding outside to wave at families—you can spot the festive locomotive in CTA stations throughout the city from November 24 through December 21. The CTA Holiday Bus, on the other hand, will hit the road on November 28 and make its rounds through December 22. Check the CTA website for the full schedule of train and bus routes.

Every year, the Museum of Science and Industry puts up its four-story Grand Tree and surrounds the towering pine with more than 50 trees that represent Chicago's various communities and their respective holiday celebrations. Visitors will be able to take in even more seasonal cheer at the accompanying "Holidays of Light" exhibit, which recognizes the traditions of Chinese New Year, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Hanukkah, Visakha Puja Day and St. Lucia Day. Admission to "Christmas Around the World" and "Holidays of Light" is included with a regular Museum of Science and Industry ticket.

See Christmas lights without leaving your car at this pandemic-era innovation that allows visitors to drive through a gleaming tunnel of more than one million LED lights synchronized with holiday music. The show takes place in Bridgeport at Guarenteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox.

As usual, Six Flags Great America is open for the holidays, though you won't be able to ride any of its biggest roller coasters during your visit. This year, World of Illumination is stringing up more than one million colorful lights and hundreds of animated displays to create a drive-through Arctic Adventure. Using state-of-the-art technology, the experience will take families on a trek filled with tundra-bound animals, larger-than-life trees and a mesmerizing snowflake tunnel, with lights that are also synced to holiday tunes. On select dates, guests can step into the park afterwards to enjoy the Carousel Lights & Market, where they’ll find holiday treats, photo ops and more. Tickets start at $40 for one vehicle.

Bring a thermos of hot chocolate and a cozy blanket to accompany your ride through Willow Hill Lights, a drive-through holiday light experience in suburban Northbrook. Located at Willow Hill Golf Course, the display stretches over 2.5 miles of glittering lights and stars holiday favorites like Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman, as well as a 30-foot-tall Christmas tree. Proceeds from the show benefit TotalLink2 Community, a not-for-profit dedicated to helping young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.