If you're planning to visit the Art Institute of Chicago, I'll give yous fair warning that you may desire 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 ever-expanding campus is the 2nd-largest art museum in the state, at nearly i one thousand thousand square feet. Yous'll need to wind your manner through the maze-like galleries and aboriginal displays of pottery and other items that people tiptoe past to get to the more popular halls.

The Art Institute is an encyclopedic art museum, which ways there's a trivial bit of everything, from everywhere—Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan art; Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art; African fine art; American art; American decorative art; pottery; bronzes; sculpture; installations; modernistic art; miniatures and more. That's a adept thing if you're a true art lover interested in spending an entire day hither. It's a claiming if you simply want a quick walk through before packing other museums into a compact visit.

If you're short on time, the Fine art Institute'south must-sees include its extensive collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, which is considered i of the finest in the world. Since 2009, the airy, light-filled Mod Fly has been showcasing the museum's extensive collection of 20th- and 21st-century art. And two of the museum's well-nigh honey works are on display in the American art, pre-1950 gallery: American Gothic past Grant Wood and Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

To assistance y'all navigate the countless halls, visit the Art Institute's website and download the new free app, which offers 50 different 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 you've visiting with kids, cease past the Ryan Teaching Center in the Modern Wing, where kids and teens can sit at a workstation and get hands-on lessons from artists. Children also love the Thorne Miniature Rooms, where dollhouse-like structures, all constructed to scale, showcase European and American homes, buildings, and interiors. The Art Establish offers a multifariousness of lectures and workshops, so check their agenda to see what'south happening during your visit.

A word of advice: The Art Institute can become incredibly crowded on weekends. If you tin avoid visiting on a Sabbatum or Dominicus, exercise and so. Many people don't realize that the museum is, indeed, open on Mon, which makes it a great time to visit. Also, many visitors are unaware of the late Th hours, and then consider visiting then, too, to avoid rush hr.

If y'all get hungry during your visit, finish 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 shop, which sells cute art, jewelry, accessories, books, and more. Allow at least 3 hours.