Lurie Garden

My sister came here for her wedding pictures because she was aiming for a pretty immediate surrounding with the Skyline in the background. I think she had like 4 – 5 different spots in this 5-​acre garden where she was able to take pictures. So yes, this garden makes a great scenery in your pictures, and you should do your photo shoot here too! Why? Because after taking your pictures here, you can walk to other parts of Millennium park such as the «Cloud Gate» to take pictures there as well! Heck if you got the energy to walk around in your dress, you can walk 10 minute to Buckingham Fountain and take pictures there too!!!

A meadow in the heart of the city. My only critique is that it’s not any bigger! Make sure to take a stroll through and sit a spell when in the neighborhood.

Stumbled upon this garden. Not crowded and a great little place to getaway from the neighboring more populated attractions.

The Lurie Garden is a cool little garden that is at the end of Millennium Park off Monroe Street. It was built in 2004 and according to records this garden cost $ 13.2M to build and has a fund set aside in the amount of $ 10M to maintain this gardens upkeep. This has been covered by Ann Lurie, who the garden is named after. Thanks to The Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation, this garden would not be possible.
This is a great place to visit and walk around. I find it very peaceful here and definitely a great place to relax and read a book, have a picnic or take pictures. I noticed that a few people come here with their family and have professional pictures taken using the backdrop of the garden. It makes for a great picture.
If you are in Chicago and love strolling through gardens, this is a great place to stop.
[Review #318] (Seventieth Eighth Review of 2015)

The Lurie garden is hidden in the Millennial Park. I stumbled upon this beautiful garden by accident when I was on my way to the bean. It is completely surrounded by greenery and is a good place to go to when trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. The view in this small garden is so pretty as there were many blooming flowers. Great place to relax and enjoy the outdoors!

A truly peaceful hidden gem located in the heart of the Loop!
This is the *perfect* spot to visit on a lunch break when you’ve had an absolutely rough day at the office and just want to get away for a little while. Sitting in the garden makes you forget that you’re in the middle of a large, busy and noisy city since it’s so beautiful and serene.
I discovered this little gem last year while on a lunch break as I walked around Millennium Park. The garden is located directly across from the Art Institute and behind Crown Fountain. You can also enter the garden from the Pritzker Pavilion.
Wooden benches are nestled in various alcoves in the garden. On warm days, you can eat your lunch and bask in the golden rays of the sun. I’ve been able to claim a whole bench to myself, zone out, takes notes for upcoming fanfiction stories I want to write while listening to music. It can be difficult to claim a bench all to yourself depending on what time of the day it is and how nice it is outside. The benches are big enough that you can claim one end while someone is at the other.
You can also easily get to the Maggie Daley Park via the skating ribbon, which becomes a paved walkway in the warmer months.
I highly recommend checking this place out — especially if you’re a busy Loop office worker looking for a place to *relax* on your lunch break. I know I’ll find myself at the garden when I can, especially since it’s steps away from my office.

Just a few steps away from Millennium Park/​Grant Park/​Cloud Gate is this small garden that allows you to enjoy the pretty seasonal flowers and soak in the Chicago skyline. Nothing too special about this place. Just a small garden to walk around in and get a few picture opportunity.

This garden in the middle of the city is so pretty! I love looking at flowers. :) It’s kind of amazing to look out at all the flowers and then see the skyscrapers shooting up right behind them.
There is a cute fountain /​man-​made river thing running through the garden, and I saw a lot of people sitting along the edge with their feet dipped into the water on a hot August afternoon. I suppose it was a nice way to cool off, but I got kind of grossed out seeing all those bare feet in the water. I mean, how clean could it be, with everyone’s sweaty and smelling feet soaking in the water?! :O

Lurie Gardens are beautiful in bloom, offering a wonderful overview of some of the best native flowers in season. While you’ll feel you are not in the middle of a huge city, the skyline behind the flower gardens makes for a spectacular scene.

It’s my front yard basically: thank you for Chicago for taking care of my garden :) Smallish but a nice addition to the lakeside parks and a nice place to relax in the middle of the city: there is a nice strip of grass on the southeast side, or many removed benches off the main path. Not as crowded as the surrounding blocks: not people free either but something about the nature absorbs the sound and calms obnoxiousness. Not a traditional seeming garden with flowers etc, it feels more like a prairie by the lake. The buildings of the loop rise up above making a nice photo opportunity for photographers.

So pretty! Great spot for photos. It’s so nice to see some plant-​life in this concrete jungle. Nice place to go during the week when there are less tourists.

With the skyline in the background and great fragrances in the air. I’m a fan!

Super pretty with the landscaping. Great place to cool feet in water off boardwalk. A place to go sit and relax while keeping cool.

I’m surprised there’s only one review for Lurie Garden to date. As packed as I’ve seen it in the summer, I’d think there’d be a few people who’ve cooled their feet in the wish pond who’d have come here to express their delight!
I’ve never dipped a toe there, but I can tell you… those people look content. I’m content just looking at them! It’s an interesting sight — to see a line of folks, pants legs rolled up or tan legs stretched out, feet dangling in the water… each person facing a smooth block wall. (Jeanine H. has a good photo of the wish pond/​wall)
In the summertime, the garden is bursting with unruly but still well contained flowers, Illinois prairie plants and greenery. Nature! After the first frost, things die off pretty quickly. I happened through the garden (note, you are walking along mostly on concrete though there are paths of wood chips in select areas. This is a true «city garden,» people, bordered by some pretty busy roads.) Anyway, I happened through in the Fall when certain dead plants were being removed and I appreciated the care that the groundskeepers displayed.
Yes, it is the more «classically lovely» garden in the summertime, but the harsher months still present their own aesthetic that I find both thought-​provoking and photo-​worthy. Regardless the season, I always prefer to cut through the garden than to walk Michigan Ave if I’m on foot between say… the Art Institute and Wildberry Café.
Cut-​through, linger, stop n smell the roses, snap a photo, dip a toe, make a wish.

Lurie Garden is an oasis in Millennium Park, and in the City, itself. If you need a break from the tourists at the Bean, the Art Institute, or you’re just wanting to connect with nature after work, Lurie can provide tranquility, stat.
I like the focus on Illinois prairie plants, and the paths are secluded and quiet. Security guards do patrol, so you never feel unsafe. Except watch out for red-​winged blackbirds, at times they do divebomb the unsuspecting!
Dip your toes in the slow-​running stream, I do believe it brings good luck. Or at least it’s refreshing! Lurie needed it’s own Unilocal profile, because you can always Check-​In, before Checking Out!