Even before you start talking about animals, Lincoln Park Zoo is exceptional, with a splendid view of Chicago’s skyline, beautiful parkland location, and proximity to other area attractions. It’s also one of the last major cultural attractions in the United States that’s free. As you wander amid the zoo’s large, old shade trees and naturalistic enclosures, past broad lagoons filled with swans and flamingos and pools where sea lions frolic, you get the feeling everything is comfortable here. Everything is also very visible. Clear barriers in many exhibits permit incredible closeness to creatures. At the underwater window into the polar bear pool, compare your hand to the massive paws of the great white bears. Stand only inches from penguins and puffins in the seabird house, or view an African lake from underwater. In the center of the McCormick Bird house, barriers vanish, and you are surrounded by lush plants and free-flying birds. As you wander, look for Zoo Notes, placards where zookeepers alert you to what’s happening, such as the introduction of a shy Himalayan Takin to a prospective mate or a newborn primate. This zoo has the animals you expect, but it has lots you might not, from naked mole-rats to fruit bats. And for urbanites to whom a cow seems as exotic as a lion, there is the Farm-in-the-Zoo, where tidy wooden barns and sheds create the feel of an old-fashioned farm.