After window shopping at Water Tower Place, Ben brought us to the Navy Pier.

When Ben first visited Chicago in 2008, he was not aware of the free trolley service and he actually walked to the Pier. So, it’s walkable from the Magnificent Mile.

The free Navy Pier Trolley was packed.

Navy Pier is a pier built along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It serves as a commercial pier, for entertainment, as a Navy training center and a public gathering place.

Our first stop is at the McDonalds to get some cold drinks.

I had ice-coffee while Ben had real fruit smoothies and Nanzaro had Mocha.

After the drink, we went to the Crystal Garden on the upper deck.

The Crystal Garden is an indoor botanical garden. It is a six-story glass atrium with a 50 foot arched ceiling. The live palm trees look majestic.

Besides lush foliage, there is a also a dancing “leapfrog” fountains.

Exiting the Crystal Garden, we then proceeded to the Pier Park. It’s a landscaped area with rides like the musical carousel on the photo above.

The most iconic ride is the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel. It was constructed as a landmark for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

The view of Chicago’s skyline from the pier.

You can take sight seeing cruises at the pier but we did not as it is not cheap besides there were long line-up.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater is another major attraction at the pier.

The pier is very long.  This is the end of the pier.

We decided to go back via the indoor section of the pier. There were restaurants, place to sit down along the inside walk.

We came upon a display of stained glasses by Tiffany Glass & Decorating Co.

After the long walk at the pier, we took the free trolley ride back to Michigan Avenue.