City attraction passes, you gotta love them for their money-saving potential!
And if you’re visiting Chicago, you are in a great spot because you actually have a choice between attraction passes such as Go City and CityPASS.
Whenever I’m in new destinations and am in the mood to explore a few tourist attractions in a city, my go-to is to find admission tickets at a discounted price. And this is where attraction passes come in handy!
These passes can be a great way to see a lot more of a city for a lot less money, but how do you choose which brand of attraction pass is right for you? And more importantly, are they worth the money?
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at two city attraction passes, Go City and CityPASS, and dive into what they offer, how they’re similar and how they differ, so you can ultimately decide which one will be the best choice for you.
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Table of Contents
What Is A City Attraction Pass?
A city attraction pass is a ticket or pass that provides access to a selection of popular tourist attractions in a particular city. These passes often offer a discounted rate for the included attractions, making them a cost-effective option for travelers who plan to visit multiple attractions during their trip.
City attraction passes can be purchased for a set number of days, and typically include a variety of activities such as museum visits, sightseeing tours, and theme park tickets. Some even come with free transportation around a city, which is great if you plan to get around via public transportation rather than on foot or by rental car.
The two attraction passes that we’ll be looking at in detail for Chicago are Go City and CityPASS.
What Is The Chicago CityPASS?
CityPASS is a popular city attraction pass that is available in a number of cities in the United States and Canada. With a CityPASS, you get access to a selection of popular tourist attractions for just one price.
CityPASS tickets are valid for a set number of days, and typically include access to a variety of museums, sightseeing tours, and theme parks.
After you purchase your CityPASS online, you’ll receive an email afterward with an e-ticket for each individual in your party.
Depending on the attraction, you will either present your CityPASS tickets (electronically or printed), your attraction reservation, or both. If the attraction does not require advance reservations, then you’ll just need to show your CityPASS tickets–easy peasy!
CityPASS (Original Version)
At the time of writing, the Chicago CityPASS (original version) offers admission to 5 total attractions of your choosing.
You get admission to these 2 activities:
- Shedd Aquarium
- Skydeck Chicago
Plus your choice of 3 of the below:
- Field Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Museum of Science and Industry
- 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck
- Adler Planetarium
- Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture River Tour
Things To Know About The CityPASS
- Cost: Adult (12+) $139.00 | Child (4-11) $109.00
- Savings potential (compared to buying same-day box office tickets of attractions): 48%
- Validity period: 9 consecutive days starting with and including the first day you visit an attraction. You have one year from the date of purchase to start using your tickets.
- Free transportation included with pass: No
CityPASS C3 Ticket
The C3 Ticket option gives you your choice of 3 attractions instead of the 5 you get with the CityPASS.
This option is great for visitors who are shorter on time in Chicago, or for those who just want to play local tourist in their own backyard!
These attractions can be visited one time only and can be visited in any order.
Attraction options on the CityPASS C3 Ticket will include:
- Shedd Aquarium
- Skydeck Chicago
- Alder Planetarium
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Museum of Science and Industry
- 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck
- Shoreline Sightseeing Architecture River Tour
- Centennial Wheel at Navy Pier
Things To Know About CityPASS C3
- Cost: Adult (12+) $102.00 | Child (4-11) $76.00
- Savings potential (compared to buying same-day box office tickets of attractions): 29%
- Validity period: 9 consecutive days starting with and including the first day you visit an attraction. You have one year from the date of purchase to start using your tickets.
- Free transportation included with pass: No
What Is The Go City Chicago Pass?
Go City is a digital attraction pass that’s available in a variety of popular cities around the world, including San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Amsterdam, Seoul, London, Paris, Sydney and a bunch of other cities.
The Go City Pass provides easy access and admission to a city’s most popular museums and excursions. With certain excursions, you’re even able to skip the line, saving you both money and time.
In some cities like Chicago, Go City offers two versions of their passes– the All-Inclusive Pass and the Explorer Pass. Let’s compare the two.
Go City Chicago All-Inclusive Pass
The Go City All-Inclusive Pass is really great for travelers who want to see as much as possible while they’re in a destination.
With the Go City Chicago All-Inclusive Pass, you can choose between a 1, 2, 3, or 5-day pass that will give you free admission to 25+ museums and attractions throughout the city. Here’s a sample of what the pass offers:
- Shoreline Architecture River Cruise
- Skydeck Chicago
- 360 Chicago
- Shedd Aquarium
- Field Museum
- Museum Of Science And Industry
- Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus Chicago: 1-Day Classic Tour
- Alder Planetarium
- Skyline Lake Tour
- LEGOLAND Discovery Center
- Downtown Chicago TV & Movie Sites Walking Tour
- … and MORE!
You can check out the full list of included attractions here.
Things To Know About Go City All-Inclusive Pass:
- Cost:
- Adult (12+) ranges from $139 for 1-day pass to $259 for 5-day pass
- Child (3-12) $89 for 1-day pass to $189 for 5-day pass
- Savings potential (compared to buying same-day box office tickets of attractions): ~48%
- Validity period: for the duration of your pass, starting with and including the first day you visit an attraction. Non-activated Explorer and All-Inclusive passes are valid for two years from the date of purchase.
- Free transportation included with pass: No
Go City Chicago Explorer Pass
If you don’t plan on visiting a ton of different attractions and would like to handpick your activities, Go City also has an Explorer Pass. With the Explorer Pass, you’ll pay one flat fee for a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7-choice pass.
You’ll then have 60 days to use the Explorer Pass on whichever attractions you’d like. There is also no need to pick attractions ahead of time, so you’ll have the flexibility to choose attractions as you go.
A lot of the same attractions included with the All-Inclusive pass are available, but some do differ. You can check out the full list of included attractions here.
Things To Know About The Go City Explorer Pass:
- Cost:
- Adult (12+) ranges from $94 for a 2-choice pass to $209 for 7-choice pass
- Child (3-12) $59 for 2-choice pass to $149 for 7-choice pass
- Savings potential (compared to buying same-day box office tickets of attractions): ~38%
- Validity period: for the duration of your pass, starting with and including the first day you visit an attraction. Non-activated Explorer and All-Inclusive passes are valid for two years from the date of purchase.
- Free transportation included with pass: No
Pro Tip: Looking to save even more money? Buy a pass with more days or more choices. As you can see from the prices above, the Go City passes actually get cheaper from a cost-per-day perspective if you opt for more days or more choices.
For example, a 2-choice Explorer pass costs $94 for the 2 activities, which means each activity effectively costs $47 each. But, if you were to buy the 7-choice activity pass, the cost per activity drops to $30 each. That’s a big price drop!
DEAL ALERT: For a limited time, use the above link + the promo code AFFGOALL for an additional 5% off your Go City pass. This code is valid for any Go City pass in any destination!
Differences Between CityPASS and Go City
Available Cities
Go City is available in a wider range of cities around the world, while CityPASS is currently only available in cities in the United States and Canada. Both are available in Chicago.
Attractions Included
Both Go City and CityPASS offer access to a selection of popular tourist attractions in each city, but the specific attractions included in each pass may vary. In this case, you’ll find more Chicago attractions on the Go City Pass.
Pricing
Doing an apples-to-apples comparison, the cost-per-activity price for CityPASS is $27.80 ($139/5 total activities).
The cost-per-activity price for The Go City Explorer 5-choice pass is $34 ($171/5 total activities).
While it looks like CityPASS offers the better deal in this case, one thing to note is that you do have way more options with Go City that would make the passes cheaper per activity such as:
- buying a 7-choice pass to get an even steeper discount on activities.
- getting an All-Inclusive Pass for a few days and seeing an unlimited number of attractions per day.
CityPASS vs Go City: Which Is Better?
Ultimately, the decision between Go City and CityPASS will depend on your specific travel plans and preferences. If you’re planning a trip to a city that is available with both passes, it’s a good idea to compare the attractions included in each pass and their pricing to see which one offers the best value for your trip.
If you’re planning a trip to a city that is only available with one pass, then the decision is more straightforward–you only have one option.
However, in cities like San Francisco and Chicago, you have multiple attraction pass options available.
For Chicago specifically, I personally think the Go City Chicago passes give you access to a lot more variety of attractions than CityPASS does.
Plus, after years of experience using them, I’ve noticed that you can usually find the passes on sale on their site. The promo code is usually displayed right at the top of their website.
For these reasons alone, my vote goes to Go City.
This is the option I would go with because pretty much everything offered on the CityPASS is included on Go City, AND you have the option to partake in a bunch of other activities via the Go City passes.
Neither of the passes offers free public transit or cable car rides, so neither has a competitive edge on this front.
Having said that, Go City does offer the Hop-On Hop-Off Big Bus 1-Day Classic Tour as an activity on both the All-Inclusive Pass and the Explorer Pass, which will give you free transportation for at least one day!
The bonus point for transportation goes to Go City!
So, if Go City sounds like your jam, the next step is to determine which Go City ticket option is better for you–All Inclusive or Explorer?
If you have just a few days to travel and your main objective of visiting Chicago is to see as many museums and attractions as possible, then you’ll probably want to go with the All-Inclusive option. You can visit as many attractions as you want during the consecutive days your pass is active.
However, if you’re more selective about what attractions you plan on visiting OR you like taking it slow and just want to do 1-2 activities per day, then the Explorer Pass can be better for you. Because you can redeem your choices over the course of 60 days, you can really take your sweet time seeing and doing things!
DEAL ALERT: For a limited time, use the above link + the promo code AFFGOALL for an additional 5% off your Go City pass. This code is valid for any Go City pass in any destination!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is Chicago CityPASS worth it?
The Chicago CityPASS is only worth it if you are truly interested in doing the 3 included activities (Shedd Aquarium, Skydeck Chicago, Field Museum), as well as 2 other activities listed in the qualified attractions list.
If you are not interested or will not be able to make it to all five of the activities, then you might not get the full value of the pass, in which case it may make more sense to purchase individual tickets for the attractions you do plan on visiting.
What does the Chicago CityPASS include?
The Chicago CityPASS offers admission to 5 total attractions of your choosing. This is the breakdown:
You get admission to these 2:
- Shedd Aquarium
- Skydeck Chicago
Plus your choice of 3 of the below:
- Field Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Museum of Science and Industry
- 360 CHICAGO Observation Deck
- Adler Planetarium
Is the Go City Chicago Pass worth it?
For me, 98% of the time I contemplate using Go City, it’s worth the money! That means 98% of the time, I’m saving both time and money from using Go City instead of buying tickets at the box offices.
I love using Go City passes whenever I’m in a new destination chock-full of interesting museums, activities, and local tours I want to partake in.
Having said that, I don’t use Go City everywhere I go. I only use it in destinations where the attractions actually interest me. (Hint hint: not art museums). For reference, I’ve used Go City in Chicago, Oahu, and Cancun!
Ultimately, everyone’s travel style is different. If you’re like me and are not one who values art museums or spending $30+ on visits to observation decks, then you’ll need to see what else on the attraction list does interest you.
Once you have a list of all the paid attractions you’d like to do, I would recommend you do the math between the regular price of the attractions you want to visit and the total cost of the pass.
From there, you can factually determine whether or not the pass will save you money or not!
What does the Go City Chicago Pass include?
Depending on whether you get the All-Inclusive Pass or the Explorer Pass, you can pick between 25+ museums and attractions throughout Chicago.
The pass includes admission to the following heavy-hitter/iconic attractions:
- Architecture River Cruise
- Skydeck Chicago
- 360 Chicago
- Shedd Aquarium
- Field Museum
- Museum Of Science And Industry
- Alder Planetarium
- Skyline Lake Tour
- Downtown Chicago TV & Movie Sites Walking Tour
You can check out the full list of included attractions here.
Looking for more Chicago travel tips? You may also like:
Go City Pass Review Chicago: How To Have One Epic Day
25 Best Things To Do In Chicago At Night
4 Days In Chicago: Itinerary For An Epic Long Weekend
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