If you're planning to visit the Art Constitute of Chicago, I'll give you off-white warning that you may want to schedule a nap in your afternoon. With more than 300,000 works in its permanent collection, spanning 5,000 years of creativity, the gargantuan and seemingly always-expanding campus is the second-largest fine art museum in the country, at well-nigh ane one thousand thousand square feet. You lot'll need to current of air your style through the maze-like galleries and ancient displays of pottery and other items that people tiptoe past to get to the more pop halls.

The Art Institute is an encyclopedic fine art museum, which means at that place's a picayune bit of everything, from everywhere—Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan art; Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art; African art; American art; American decorative fine art; pottery; bronzes; sculpture; installations; modern art; miniatures and more. That's a good thing if you lot're a true art lover interested in spending an entire mean solar day here. It's a challenge if you just want a quick walk through before packing other museums into a compact visit.

If you're short on time, the Art Institute'southward must-sees include its extensive collection of Impressionist and Mail-Impressionist fine art, which is considered one of the finest in the world. Since 2009, the blusterous, light-filled Modern Fly has been showcasing the museum'south all-encompassing collection of 20th- and 21st-century fine art. And two of the museum'due south near beloved works are on brandish in the American art, pre-1950 gallery: American Gothic by Grant Forest and Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

To aid you navigate the endless halls, visit the Art Establish's website and download the new free app, which offers 50 unlike tours and makes the museum experience more manageable than getting lost on your own. A separate app guides you through Impressionist works, enriching your visit with detailed descriptions of the art and the artists who created information technology.

If y'all've visiting with kids, finish past the Ryan Pedagogy Heart in the Mod Fly, where kids and teens can sit down at a workstation and get hands-on lessons from artists. Children too love the Thorne Miniature Rooms, where dollhouse-like structures, all constructed to scale, showcase European and American homes, buildings, and interiors. The Art Institute offers a variety of lectures and workshops, so check their calendar to see what's happening during your visit.

A word of advice: The Art Institute can go incredibly crowded on weekends. If y'all can avert visiting on a Sat or Sunday, do so. Many people don't realize that the museum is, indeed, open on Monday, which makes it a not bad time to visit. Also, many visitors are unaware of the late Thursday hours, and then consider visiting so, as well, to avoid rush hour.

If you go hungry during your visit, stop by the museum's Caffe Moderno for soups, salads, and sandwiches, or visit Terzo Piano for a more elegant, sit-down repast. And salvage time for the enormous gift store, which sells beautiful art, jewelry, accessories, books, and more. Allow at least 3 hours.