Cheap Date Ideas: 10 Easy Plans That Cost Little or Nothing in Chicago

Spend a daytime date looking at animals together at Lincoln Park Zoo, where entry is free and the gates open 365 days a year.

The grounds open at 8am and the buildings at 10am, so you can start early or make a longer outing of it. In December, ZooLights fills the grounds with holiday lights.

Take a tropical stroll among palms and ferns at Garfield Park Conservatory in East Garfield Park. Thousands of plants fill eight indoor display gardens, with another 12 acres of outdoor gardens to explore in summer.

Admission is free and donations are welcome, but reservations are required online. The conservatory is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, open Wednesday from 10am to 8pm, and Thursday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

Wander through four greenhouse display houses together at Lincoln Park Conservatory: the Palm House, Fern Room, Orchid House, and Show House. It is a date that needs little planning.

Admission is free. Visit Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm; the conservatory is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Bring a picnic to Millennium Park for a summer date in the Loop. Summer brings free concerts, movies, and festivals to the Pritzker Pavilion lawn, and you can usually pack your own picnic.

The free downtown park is open daily from 6am to 11pm, leaving time for a morning stroll or a late walk.

Take an unhurried walk through Osaka Garden, a quiet Japanese garden on Wooded Island in Jackson Park. The garden dates to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

Nobody pays to get in, though the garden suggests a $10 donation per visitor. The garden is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm, closed Mondays, and limited to 50 guests at a time. Photography, picnics, and dogs are not allowed. Work to revitalize and expand the garden is underway.

If you both enjoy books, explore the Poetry Foundation's River North gallery and poetry library, which holds more than 40,000 volumes. Library entry and public events are free.

Visit Wednesday through Saturday from 11am to 5pm for a late-morning or afternoon date.

Walk past copper pot stills on Koval Distillery's production floor, then taste three spirits with a guide. Tours cost $12 per person, making it a low-cost way to learn something together.

Each tour lasts 45 minutes. The Classic Tour runs Saturday at 1pm and Sunday at 2pm, while the Whiskey Tour runs Saturday at 3pm. Tastings are for guests 21 and older; book ahead, since weekend tours can sell out.

Catch a free show on most Mondays at Empty Bottle, a live-music club in Ukrainian Village. Local and touring acts share the lineup, giving you the chance to hear someone new together.

All shows are for guests 21 and older.

Walk and talk above street level on The 606, a 2.7-mile trail linking Bucktown, Wicker Park, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park. Art installations and a sunset observatory give you stops along the way.

The trail is open daily from 6am to 11pm, so you can plan your walk around sunset.

Explore art together at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, with plenty to look at and discuss. Illinois residents get free admission on Tuesdays from 5pm to 9pm, and anyone 18 and under enters free.

The museum is open Tuesday from 10am to 9pm and other days from 10am to 5pm, with Mondays closed. Buying advance tickets online is encouraged.