The 14 best places to see dazzling 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 welcome to wander through the park, snapping photos of the various displays and taking part in a variety of activities throughout the holiday season. New this year, bask in the holiday spirit in the light lounge; 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, with free admission tickets on Mondays. 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.

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, visits with Santa, an artisan market and cozy fire pits for making s'mores. New this year are holiday drone shows, a two-story-tall ice slide and a high-flying Wave Swinger ride. You can also hop on Navy Pier's 200-foot Centennial Wheel—don't worry, all of the gondolas are fully enclosed and heated!

The Chicago Botanic Garden hosts this annual (and quick to sell out) 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 will feature dazzling installations debuting in the U.S. for the first time, plus weekly theme nights and adults-only evenings on November 21 and December 5.

Ready to get into the holiday spirit? The Morton Arboretum's annual holiday light show returns for its 12th 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 16 through January 4, vary in price based on date and time.

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)! 

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 22.

The iconic clock at State and Washington, the Frango mints—yes, we know they’re not made here anymore—and the magnificent Tiffany dome you can see up close from the fifth floor are just a few of the attractions that make this department store, one of the largest in the world, a must-see. But the holiday season is when Macy's really shines: The storefront windows are elaborately decorated to tell a story and the centerpiece of the space is a 45-foot-tall Christmas tree adorned with 1,500 ornaments. Make a reservation at the store's in-house restaurant, the Walnut Room (and try the signature chicken pot pie), for the quintessential Chicago holiday experience.

More than two million lights cover the trees, fences and structures in the Brookfield Zoo at this annual holiday event, which is open for its 43rd year this season. Guests can walk through a 300-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. New this year are two themed lighting areas and a holiday market stocked with custom ornaments and handmade gifts.

Every year, the Griffin 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 while staying warm 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.

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 Misericordia, a not-for-profit that supports more than 600 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Load up the family in the car and head to Geneva for a spectacular drive-thru light show that stretches over a mile in length. Guests will journey through light tunnels and gaze at illuminated dinosaurs, polar bears, reindeers, giant emojis, guitar-playing Santas and more, all of which are synchronized to holiday tunes.

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 late November through late December. The CTA Holiday Bus can also be seen around town during the same period. Check the CTA website for the full schedule of train and bus routes.

The commuter rail system is offering rides on special holiday trains between November 30 and December 21. You'll have six chances to hop on board one of the decorated trains, which will be filled with holiday characters. In addition, Millennium Station is also transforming into a North Pole winter wonderland where guests can enjoy treats, festive music, face painting, games and more. Other downtown stations will be decorated as well, and the holiday trains will be used in regular service throughout December. Visit the Metra website for the full schedule and to purchase tickets.