By Nora Lindqvist · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure
Skydeck Chicago
Willis Tower Skydeck and The Ledge Ticket
4.6 (5,158) · from $47.10
If you want one observation deck in Chicago, I’d book the Willis Tower Skydeck: at 412.7 m it is the highest, and its standard ticket costs $47.10, rated 4.64 from 5,158 reviews. The cheaper alternative among Chicago observation decks is 360 Chicago on the Magnificent Mile at $27, rated 4.45 from 3,857 reviews. There is no free paid-deck ticket in my data. I’d go about an hour before sunset, and September was the clearest month in 2025.
| Tour | From | Rating | Length | Free cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willis Tower Skydeck and The Ledge Ticket | $47.10 | ★ 4.6 (5,158) | 45 minutes | Yes | Check availability |
| 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck Ticket | $27 | ★ 4.5 (3,857) | 45 minutes - 1 hour | Yes | Check availability |
| 360 Chicago Observation Deck Sip and View Ticket | $44 | ★ 4.5 (425) | 1.5 hours | Yes | Check availability |
Two paid decks answer the search for an observation deck in Chicago: the Skydeck in Willis Tower, and 360 Chicago in the former John Hancock Center. The Skydeck height is the deck height listed on Wikipedia’s list of public observation decks, and the 360 Chicago height is the 1,030 feet the official site gives. Prices are the cheapest standard ticket on GetYourGuide. Each deck name opens its own ticket page.
| Deck | Deck height | Open-air? | Price from | Top ticket rating | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willis Tower Skydeck | 412.7 m (103rd floor) | Enclosed, with The Ledge glass boxes | $47.10 | 4.64 from 5,158 | Tickets |
| 360 Chicago | 1,030 ft, about 314 m (94th floor) | Enclosed, with the TILT windows as an extra | $27 | 4.45 from 3,857 | Tickets |
Neither deck is an open-air deck in my data, which is the main difference from a city like New York. So the choice here is height against price, and the part of the skyline you want in the frame. The two are about 2.5 km (1.5 miles) apart in a straight line, so you could do both in a day, and my Willis Tower vs 360 Chicago comparison goes through that choice in detail.
The Skydeck is the one I’d book first, because it is the highest observation deck in the city and the building is the icon. According to Wikipedia, the Willis Tower opened in 1973 as the world’s tallest building and the Skydeck is the highest observation deck in the United States. The deck is on the 103rd floor, and The Ledge is a set of glass boxes that stick out from it. At 412.7 m the horizon is about 72.5 km on a clear day, per the horizon formula.
Skydeck Chicago
My pick: The plain ticket I'd start from: timed entry to the 103rd floor and The Ledge, with the most reviews of any Willis Tower option.
from
$47.10
If you want a guide as well as the view, the Skydeck ticket with a digital tour adds an audio walk through the city for $82.90, but it has a single review so I treat it as untested. For the whole list of options see Willis Tower tickets, where I compare all four.
WeGoTrip USA
My pick: A Skydeck ticket with a digital tour for people who want commentary, but only one review so far.
from
$82.90
360 Chicago is my pick when price and the lakefront matter. It is on the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan Avenue, the building still commonly called the John Hancock Center, which Wikipedia says was completed in 1969. It sits north of the river, so the lake and the Loop are both in the view. The $27 ticket is the cheapest of the Chicago observation decks and includes the CloudBar level and the lower exhibit.
360 Chicago Observation Deck
My pick: My default for 360 Chicago: $27, skip-the-line entry to the 94th floor, and the most reviewed ticket on this deck.
from
$27
If you would buy a drink anyway, the Sip and View ticket at $44 includes one CloudBar drink and lists 1.5 hours for the visit. TILT, the windows that lean out from the building, is sold separately, with tickets from $35 on the official site. The full breakdown is on the 360 Chicago tickets page.
360 Chicago Observation Deck
My pick: The slower visit: $44 with one CloudBar drink, rated 4.51 from 425 reviews.
from
$44
You can see the Chicago skyline without a ticket, though never from as high up. Google Maps lists the places below in my data, and I use them as an add-on to a deck. The Adler Planetarium Skyline Walk is rated 4.8 from 1,193 reviews and is about 3.8 km from 360 Chicago, with the skyline across the water. Millennium Park is rated 4.8 from 94,270 reviews and about 1.2 km from Willis Tower, as the crow flies. Navy Pier has its own observation deck at 4.8 from 93 reviews.
Scenic spot
4.8 · 1,193 Google reviews
517 E Solidarity Dr, Chicago, IL 60605, United States
Observation deck
4.8 · 93 Google reviews
600 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611, United States
Tourist attraction
4.8 · 94,270 Google reviews
Chicago, IL 60602, United States
Tourist attraction
4.8 · 23,612 Google reviews
Chicago, IL 60601, United States
Scenic spot
4.9 · 16 Google reviews
1623 S Lumber St, Chicago, IL 60616, United States
I have no rooftop bar prices in my data, so I will not quote any. What I can say is that 360 Chicago has the CloudBar on the 94th floor, where the official site says you can order a cocktail, mocktail or snack, so a drink with a view is part of that visit.
The weather is the same for both decks, so I use the Willis Tower’s year of data for the city. Per Open-Meteo, September was the clearest month in 2025 at 34 percent cloud cover, followed by August at 45 percent and October at 47 percent. December was the cloudiest at 81 percent, then February at 70 percent. Sunset runs from 16:20 in December to 20:27 in June.
| Month | Sunset (Chicago time) | Cloud cover | Sunshine a day | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16:45 | 57% | 6.8 h | 7 |
| Feb | 17:24 | 70% | 6.3 h | 7 |
| Mar | 18:57 | 61% | 8.6 h | 11 |
| Apr | 19:31 | 66% | 8.8 h | 12 |
| May | 20:04 | 62% | 10 h | 10 |
| Jun | 20:27 | 50% | 12 h | 10 |
| Jul | 20:23 | 56% | 11.4 h | 13 |
| Augclearest | 19:50 | 45% | 12.4 h | 5 |
| Sepclearest | 18:59 | 34% | 10.8 h | 6 |
| Octclearest | 18:08 | 47% | 8.5 h | 6 |
| Nov | 16:29 | 64% | 5.8 h | 9 |
| Dec | 16:20 | 81% | 4 h | 12 |
Sunset planner
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book this entry time (50 min before sunset)
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sunset, Chicago time
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typical cloud cover that week
Sunset and cloud cover for the same dates in 2025 at the deck (Open-Meteo historical weather (ERA5), 2025); sunset moves by about a minute between years.
My rule for either deck is to arrive 45 to 60 minutes before sunset, so you see Chicago in daylight, at dusk and lit up on one ticket. The Skydeck’s official winter hours end at 8 PM, while 360 Chicago is open 9 AM to 11 PM per Google Maps, so in December the 16:20 sunset leaves time on both. In summer the Skydeck hours need checking, so I’d look at the official site first.
The higher the observation deck in Chicago, the further the horizon. The calculator below uses the Skydeck height of 412.7 m. On a clear day you are limited by haze and cloud before you are limited by geometry, which is why the month matters more than a few metres of height.
Calculator
413 m · 1355 ft
km
to the horizon ( miles)
km
with typical atmospheric refraction
Geometric horizon d ≈ 3.57 × √h (km, h in metres); refraction adds about 8%. Haze and clouds usually limit the real view first. Formula: Distance to the horizon.
Yes, and the distance is small. From the coordinates in my data, Willis Tower and 360 Chicago are 2.5 km (1.5 miles) apart in a straight line, and Millennium Park lies between them: it is 1.2 km (0.7 miles) from Willis Tower and 1.8 km (1.1 miles) from 360 Chicago. That makes a natural day, with the Skydeck in the morning, a walk through the park and along the Chicago Riverwalk, and 360 Chicago at sunset. The Riverwalk is 1.2 km (0.7 miles) from 360 Chicago.
I would not book both for the same hour, though. Each visit takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour on the standard ticket per the listings, and both decks have a security line, so I’d leave a gap of at least three hours for the walk and a meal. If you only have time for one sunset, I’d spend it at 360 Chicago, where the lake is part of the frame.
The gap between the two cheapest tickets is $20.10, and I think it is explained by height and The Ledge. A Willis Tower ticket at $47.10 buys the highest deck in the United States, according to Wikipedia, and timed entry to the glass boxes. A 360 Chicago ticket at $27 buys the 94th floor and the lower exhibit, and the extras, TILT and drinks, are sold on top. If you add a CloudBar drink the 360 Chicago ticket costs $44, which brings it close to the Skydeck price.
For everything above those two, I would be careful. The Skydeck night drive with a river cruise is $204 and the 360 Chicago private architecture walk is $390, and each has only a handful of reviews, so I’d treat both as premium formats and not as better tickets. For a group, the plain ticket at either deck is the product I would price first.
Calculator
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from per person, before any child or group discount
Prices are the lowest per-person prices on GetYourGuide when I last checked; the final price depends on the date, time slot and age.
I’ve kept this list to one line per visitor, so you can find yourself quickly.
If you can only afford one of the Chicago observation decks, I’d book the Skydeck. If you can afford two, I’d add 360 Chicago at sunset, since its lake view and bar are different enough from the Skydeck to justify a second ticket.
For a first visit I'd book the Willis Tower Skydeck: it is the higher deck at 412.7 m, and its standard ticket is rated 4.64 from 5,158 reviews at $47.10. 360 Chicago is the better value at $27 and has the lake in the frame, so I'd pick it if you are on a budget or want a drink with the view.
Skydeck is higher and has The Ledge glass boxes. 360 Chicago sits on the Magnificent Mile, costs $20.10 less for a standard ticket and has the CloudBar. On Google Maps, Skydeck Chicago has 4.6 from 37,885 reviews and 360 Chicago has 4.5 from 21,450. I'd choose Skydeck for height and 360 for price.
Neither of the two paid decks I compare has a free ticket. For a free view of the skyline, Google Maps lists the Adler Planetarium Skyline Walk at 4.8 from 1,193 reviews, Navy Pier Observation Deck at 4.8 and Millennium Park at 4.8. They are at ground level, so they show the skyline instead of looking down on it.
On GetYourGuide the standard 360 CHICAGO ticket costs $27, and the Sip and View ticket with one drink costs $44. The official site lists $27 online and $35 at the gate, so booking ahead is cheaper. TILT, the leaning windows, is extra, with tickets from $35 on the official site.
I think so at $27, rated 4.45 from 3,857 reviews, because it is the cheapest deck in the city and the lake is part of the view. Some reviewers call it overpriced, so I'd buy the plain ticket, skip the extras unless you want them, and go on a clear day.
I found no official wait time. The listing says all guests join the same security line at 875 N Michigan and that waits can be longer at busy times. I'd arrive 15 minutes before your slot, allow 45 minutes to 1 hour for the visit, and book a weekday slot if you can.
About an hour before sunset, so you see the city in daylight and then lit. The deck is open 9 AM to 11 PM per Google Maps. In 2025 weather data September was the clearest month at 33 percent cloud cover, and December the cloudiest at 81 percent.
I found no free ticket. The official site lists a Chicago CityPASS that includes 50 percent off 360 CHICAGO Fast Pass admission, and discounted rates for groups of 20 or more. Booking online at $27 beats the $35 gate price, so I would not wait to buy at the door.