The best free things to do in Chicago this month

Want to inject a bit of culture into your life on a dreary winter afternoon? You're in luck: Some of the city's marquee institutions are offering free admission days this winter. Swing by the Art Institute of Chicago on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays (you could even catch the tail end of the Barbara Kruger exhibition) or reserve a ticket at the Field Museum on January 12, 19 or 26. 

Temperatures outdoors might be in the teens, but you'll find a tropical getaway at the (somewhat) newly-reopened Lincoln Park Conservatory, a lush oasis home to more than 40,000 plants. Grab free timed tickets on Eventbrite before you visit. 

Skate under the Chicago skyline and within eyeshot of the Chicago Christmas Tree at the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park. Admission to the rink is free, and you can rent skates for $13–$15. Plus, take advantage of free skating lessons on most Saturdays and Sundays from 8am–9am, where you can learn both beginner- and intermediate-level skills. Note that you'll need to make a free online reservation for both regular skating and lessons this year, and if it seems too warm to skate, call ahead—this rink is open through March 6, weather permitting.

Situated in the heart of downtown Chicago, with the city's sweeping skyline as a backdrop, the Skating Ribbon at Maggie Daley Park is a winter attraction unlike any other. Skaters can lace up and wind around a winding ice-covered path that's twice the length of a lap around a traditional rink. This year's edition of the ribbon will be decorated with designs inspired by Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and "Starry Night" paintings, a collaboration between the art exhibition "Immersive Van Gogh" and Chicago Park District. 

Admission to the Skating Ribbon is free during weekdays if you bring your own skates; otherwise, reservations are $5 (with skates on weekends on holidays) or $16–$20 if you need to rent a pair. The Ribbon stays open through March (weather permitting) and even offers limited hours on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The Cubs may be hibernating for the winter, but Gallagher Way provides some excellent reasons to hang out in Wrigleyville during baseball's off-season. The Wrigley Field-adjacent space hosts a variety of seasonal activities, including an ice skating rink, photos with Santa and holiday movie screenings on every Wednesday in December. Once the holidays are over, the skating rink at Winterland will stick around through February 20. Visit the Winterland website for reservations, hours and additional information about programming.

The Chicago Cultural Center hosts the first comprehensive retrospective of Robert Colescott, a 20th century American painter whose incisive, large-scale work took aim at racial inequities in America—among other social ills—with humor and wit. The exhibition examines Colescott's work throughout the decades, moving through the artist's stylistic evolutions from riffs on the Bay Area Figuration of the '50s and '60s to his graphic style of the '70s and beyond, as well as his role in bolstering Black representation in art.  

Hit the ice at the Chicago Wolves Ice Rink at Rosemont's Parkway Bank Park, where you can reserve a free 45-minute skating session every day through December (including holidays); the rink will also be open on Sundays through February. Use of the rink itself is free—with skate rentals available for $8—but you'll need a credit card to hold your reservation online. 

This weekly “live magazine” is a cavalcade of culture, politics and wit featuring journalists, actors, comedians and musicians offering idiosyncratic reports on the news of the day. Head to Uptown’s iconic Green Mill for drinks, hot takes and laughs; the longstanding Saturday afternoon edition tends to run about two and a half hours.

Originally established in the late 1800s, the Maxwell Street Market brought vendors, musicians and cooks to an open-air flea market where shoppers could find just about anything they wanted. The market introduced the Maxwell Street Polish sausage, provided a venue for rising Chicago blues musicians and was immortalized in a scene in The Blues Brothers. These days, the market sets up on nearby Desplaines Street (between Roosevelt and Howard) on the first and third Sundays of every month, where visitors will find vendors hawking their wares, an abundance of delicious Mexican food and occasional performances by local bands and dance troupes. Don't let the cold or wet weather scare you away—the Maxwell Street Market takes place outdoors year-round.