Navy Pier - what is the best day to go?

We are planning a visit to Chicago in mid-July. We are trying to decide whether to visit Navy Pier on a Wednesday or a Friday/Saturday. Are any of these days less crowded than the others? I know there are less performances on Wednesday than on Fri/Sat --- will we be missing something? Can you spend an entire day at the Pier and stay to watch the fireworks - is there enough to do?

Navy Pier - what is the best day to go?

You don%26#39;t need to spend a whole day at NP. A few hours at the most is all you need. A weekday will be less crowded than the weekend.

Navy Pier - what is the best day to go?

I would do Navy Pier as part of day spent either going up the lakefront or in combination with a trip to North Michigan Ave.

Depending on age/conditioning, it is reasonable to walk from the Adler/Shedd to Navy Pier and it is a beautiful walk. You could do those places in the morning/early afternoon and then hit the pier later in the day.

As somebody who lives within sight of NP, I don%26#39;t see a lot of interest in the ';attractions'; on the pier. Most are way too ';touristy'; in the worst sense of the word (being a tourist is great -- attractions that try and sell overpriced junk to tourists are bad, and the pier has a lot of that).

The great thing about the pier is simply walking out to the end and seeing the views. The beer garden towards the end is a nice place to enjoy an evening. The fireworks, and even Shakespeare Rep, are worth seeing. But most of the pier is just not worth it.

In summary, I would plan on a half hour to walk comfortably walk from one end of the pier up and around the other, and in addition, might allow some additional time for just hanging out at the end enjoying the views.

Unless you want to play mini golf. It can be great fun but when a lot of people are playing, it all gets backed up and can take over an hour, sometimes two. Not fun for anyone who decided to just sit and watch.