Year-Round Dates to Enjoy During the Day in Chicago

Chicago is a great place for singles to live because there's so much diversity and energy that it's almost impossible to get bored or run out of new things to do. Cheap dates in Chicago are even easier, especially with the addition of new parks, a calendar full of free city festivals and budget-friendly attractions. Here are some of the best year-round date ideas to enjoy during the day in Chicago.

Fun in Millennium Park
201 West Randolph St.
Chicago, IL 60601
(530) 464-0225
millenniumpark.org
Free-$

Chicago's Millennium Park is a playground for adults and a great place to get together for a first date, third date or umpteenth date. During warmer months, throw together a picnic basket lunch and enjoy it on the lawn of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Once winter arrives, strap on a pair of skates and get your date out on the ice rink of the McCormick Tribune Plaza. The rest of your daytime date can be filled in by exploring the park gardens, watching the faces of the Crown Fountain appear, pondering the sculpture-filled landscape, and taking self portraits in Cloud Gate's stainless steel walls. The best part of a daytime date in Millennium Park is the fact that just about everything is free, with the exception of a $10 ice-skate rental in the winter months.

Bike Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL
Free-$$

Biking Chicago is a cheap but exciting daytime date idea, and with so many trails and parks to choose from, there is plenty of fun to be had. Lake Shore Drive is by far the most popular, scenic and convenient path to follow, and with Millennium Park Bike Rentals nearby, it is the best choice. For $10 per hour or $25 for a half-day bike rental, you and your date can leisurely wind your way to the most scenic points along the lake to people watch, snap photos or get some good old exercise to work off those first-date jitters.

Chicago River Architecture Tour
Wendella Boats and Chicago Water Taxi
400 North Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 337-1446
www.wendellaboats.com
$$

Chicago is the birthplace of the skyscraper, and it's just not cool that more tourists have had the chance to experience the awesome view from the river than Chicagoans. There's no better time than now for your first ride, as 2010 will be the 75th anniversary season for the famous Chicago Wendella boat company, which gives the best architectural tours on the Chicago River. Even if you and your date are not huge architecture or history buffs, the boat rides are fun, scenic and romantic -- more so at the right time of the day. At just $22 a tour, the boat rides are a great date when you are just getting to know each other and worried about filling in time with conversation.

Stroll Through Lincoln Park Zoo
2001 N Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60614
(312) 742-2000
www.lpzoo.org
Free

At any time of the year, Lincoln Park Zoo is a great place to spend a couple hours with someone you care about. Go in the summer to see all the animals outside and enjoy the gardens, and during the winter, the zoo takes on a magical feeling all spruced up with lights for the holiday season. Admission to Lincoln Park Zoo is free, and it is easy to get to because of its convenient location just north of the downtown area.

Peruse Maxwell Street Market
University Village
548 W Roosevelt Rd.
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 922-3100
www.maxwellstreetmarket.com
Free

Maxwell Street Market is as much a part of Chicago as any of the other landmarks and traditions the city is well known for. With more than 500 vendors filling Little Italy every Sunday of the year from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., there is something for everyone, and it's a great way to spend a date. Since it is a flea market, open-air food market, and cultural experience all wrapped into one, it is the best way to see what types of things catch your date's eye. You can learn a lot about her. If you are lucky, there may even be open-air music and the chance to stop for a romantic dance.

Sources:
1. http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/index.html
2. http://www.wendellaboats.com/experience/riverarchitecturetour.aspx3. http://www.lpzoo.com/
4. http://chicago.metromix.com/style/store/maxwell-street-market-little-italy-university-village/133691/content