Navy Pier has been many things to Chicago, since it first struck out its 1006 metres into Lake Michigan in 1916. It was once a transport hub, a navy training centre, and even a place for the city to cool down in the days before air-conditioning. Now it’s the capital of fun for Chicagoans, home to circuses, fun fairs, fireworks and flower shows. It's one of the city's most popular attractions when summer arrives, and its twice-weekly firework shows begin. It's also a great launching off point for getting all nautical along Lake Michigan's 483-kilometre length.
From the Pier you can set off on sightseeing tours of the Chicago shoreline, or a romantic dining cruise, as the sun wanders towards the horizon. The boats come a-visiting here too, with the yearly arrival of a fleet of tall sailing ships in the summer. There is even a resident tall ship you can sail out on – the Tall Ship Windy – whose hour-long sailing trips give you the chance to hear tales of the Great Lakes, its pirates and its ghost ships.
While the cruisers and sailing boats offer a great perspective back onto Chicago, one of the best views is from the top of Navy Pier Ferris Wheel, which takes you up 46 metres above the pier. It's all part of a fun fair and water park complex, Pier Park, which includes an original musical carousel, a golf course and a chance to steer your own remote-controlled boat. Nearby, but separate, is the Cirque Shanghai, which runs shows with a non-stop flurry of gymnastics, tumbling, balancing and juggling, all to the frenetic backdrop of Chinese drumming.
And as well as these thrills and spills, Navy Pier can also offer up some lake-top culture. There is a theatre – the Chicago Shakespeare Theater – an IMAX cinema, and a Museum of Stained Glass, as well as Chicago's Children's Museum. Every year there's an open-air art exhibition – BIGArt at Navy Pier – which goes big with its bright-and-bold sculptures. Rounding it all off are a number of bars and restaurants, helping to keep the millions of Navy Pier's annual visitors fed and watered – while the Pier winds keep them cool, on Chicago's long hot summer evenings.
