I recently went on Chicago for Chicagoans tour of Hegewisch and thought it was incredibly…read moreinteresting and well researched. I lived most of my life in Chicago and knew very little of this neighborhood, and tour guide Emily did an amazing job of presenting both the history of the neighborhood, and issues that Hegewisch is currently addressing.

Every tour I've been on has been organized, professional, and well researched. At the same time…read morethey are also very personal because the guides have a real connection to the neighborhood. I am the biggest fan and recommend this group to everyone! Thank you to all the volunteers who keep this amazing group running.

Tom was a fantastic guide on the out-of-the-way city tour. We learned so much! He's incredibly…read moreknowledgeable and so generous in answering questions. We could not have asked for a better tour and are glad it was tip-based. Thank you, Tom!

I love the flexibility of this outfit. No down payment required, easy cancellation if needed, easy…read morerescheduling if needed, and the tour guide is friendly, energetic and cheerful. We did the gangsters tour and was full of interesting Chicago history and biographical accounts of gangsters. There's even a well timed bathroom stop at the Harry Carey restaurant/museum.

During Parents' Weekend at the University of Chicago, the university offered tours of the…read moreneighborhood through Chicago Detours. My wife did this tour a couple years ago and highly recommended it, but I wasn't especially interested because I had also gone to school here and figured I knew enough about Hyde Park already. However, she insisted that it would be worth our while and so I agreed to climb on the bus. And it was the absolutely right decision, because the tour was excellent. In fact, it wasn't just a tour of Hyde Park. It included the surrounding neighborhoods of Washington Park, Kenwood, Jackson Park, and Woodlawn. Since this was a UChicago sponsored event much of the information related to the University's investment and involvement in the area. Our tour guide and founder of Chicago Detours, Amanda, is herself a graduate of UChicago and thus she had some additional insight into the relationship with the community. Though the 75-minute tour felt a little slow-going at times, there was much to learn about the vibrant but sometimes troubled history of the area. Amanda has tremendous knowledge and the excursion was both fascinating and entertaining. I can imagine that Chicago Detours would have equally interesting tours of other neighborhoods in this diverse city.

Virtual tours are such a cool thing to do right now. I attended a Yelp Elite event that was a…read morevirtual food tour of Chicago. It was incredibly informative and a good balance of history and current trends. Looking forward to attending more virtual tours, like the World's Fair and the Cruise From Your Couch Boat Tour. I loved seeing the pictures of the in-person tours and can't wait to attend some of those too.

I did the Birth of a Skyscraper tour with Mitch, and it was incredible!! I gained a deeper…read moreappreciation for Chicago's buildings. My partner even said that even though he passes by some of these buildings everyday, he didn't realize things until Mitch pointed them out! Mitch was engaging and friendly. He answered all of our questions as well, and I enjoyed his "storytelling format" of the tour. He also communicated with us about when and where we should meet. I highly recommend Free Tours by Foot for anyone visiting Chicago!

Bruce was a great guide on our Lincoln Park tour! Lots of info about Chicago's gangsters. Thank you…read moreBruce!!

Our tour guide Spencer was terrific! He was very knowledgeable about the buildings we visited and…read morehe had lots of fun and interesting stories about Chicago history. We visited the Chicago Board of Trade, the Marquette Building, the Rookery, the Alexander Calder sculpture and buildings near it, the Palmer House Hotel and the Marshall Field Building. Tour was a solid two hours and we walked about one mile. Definitely a five star experience!

Not just architecture facts, good intro or review of Chicago generally. Henry met us on time, was…read morevery clear and paced the tour perfectly.

Almost everyone you meet in Chicago who loves their city will ask when you tell them you are…read morevisiting from out of town, "Have you done the architectural boat tour?" People in Amsterdam will also ask if you have done a canal boat tour - and you have to do these when you visit these cities. Our docent volunteer guide, Steve, was excellent. He was very personable and extremely knowledgeable about the city's riverside buildings and its history. The boat staff was also hardworking and ready to help with any issues, from getting a drink at the boat's downstairs bar to handing out covers when the rain hit us. For what we paid, the 1.5 hour tour was more than worth it. I recommend sitting at the top towards the back, as you don't have to crane your neck as much when he points out places of interest. This was a truly wonderful experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Not what I expected overall but it was still a very educational experience. Scoring tickets to…read moreChicago's Architecture Center through our hotel, we used the tickets as a good time filler. Not a must see or do attraction but a great day filler activity as you explore the city. Loved the wealth of information they offer as it's valuable to understand Chicagos importance from the ground up! I thought it would be more about highlighting the amazing architectural buildings around the city but nothing like that. It's was more about the environmental impact the city has and the hurdles when designing buildings around town. The staff were friendly at check in and provided great service overall as they were kind and helpful. Small center that you may explore at your own pace and may or may not be worth the admission price. But scoring free tickets it allowed us to be selective in our day or day plans to include the activity to pay it a visit!

I honestly did not know what to expect, but this food tour was amazing. Our tour guide was very…read moreknowledgeable of Chicago and gave us a wonderful history of each place we stopped by. Being a foodie himself, we even got to talk about where some ingredients at the various restaurants come from (like California tomatoes at Lou's!). The River North Food Tour did NOT disappoint. I thought our only focus would be on food, but we even went over some architecture and history of various buildings. It was a great way to start our journey of Chicago and I absolutely loved this tour! Definitely recommend it for anyone who's coming to Chicago for the first time!

River North My…read moresister and I decided to include this food tour in our weekend plans. We gathered with 16 others (huge tour!) to meet Jake, our tour guide, around 3pm to sample some culinary highlights of the neighborhood. Having been on several food tours across the country on the east coast, west coast and in Chicago, I think that this tour was somewhere in the middle of the pack. There were some major pluses - Jake was friendly and very informative, he was sanitary and put on gloves when he handled our food (major plus), he offered a good amount of information about several key historical Chicago landmarks and he called ahead so the food was ready when we arrived at each stop. The six stops on the tour included relatively well-known restaurants - The Doughnut Vault, Lou Malnati's, Xoco, Al's Beef, Carson's barbecue and More cupcakes. At each stop we sampled fare such as a half donut, a small piece of cheese pizza, soup, a 2 inch piece of an Italian beef sandwich, half of a pulled pork slider and a mini cupcake. The food overall was pretty good. The pizza at Lou Malnati's and the pulled pork and barbecue sauce at Carson's were the best bites of the day. While the tastes equated to a nice snack, I wouldn't cancel your dinner plans! The stops were a little ways away from each other, which allowed us to get in a nice little exercise but it may have also contributed to the fact that we weren't full at the end of the tour. For the Living Social deal, this was a good tour. I'm not sure I would've felt the same way if we had paid full price. If you're a local foodie, like my sister is, this may not be the best tour for you. She had been to 5 of the 6 places before. Unlike other tours, there weren't really any "hidden gems" that we uncovered. If you yelp "best pizza Chicago" or cupcakes, etc. these places will come up. But, if you're visiting town, like I was, this is a nice way to sample the popular foods in the city. I had been to a couple of the places before but I didn't mind returning. Overall, we had a nice experience with Sidewalk Food Tours. It's nice to see that the company has expanded beyond NYC. They really have something special going on there. The food truck tour that we did about two years ago when they were starting up in Manhattan was excellent! ADDENDUM: YIKES! - Did you see the warning from Yelp? Sidewalk Tours of Chicago is soliciting five star reviews on Facebook by offering free tours???? That's not cool! Maybe that explains all the pristine reviews!!! Shame on you Sidewalk Tours!

Our guide Tanner was very entertaining. I recommend this tour. great way to see a piece of Chicago…read morewith a little interactive history.

Baylor walked around town telling us all sorts of spooky and gruesome stories. Now, I've been to…read moreChicago several times, but I learned more about locations I thought I already knew! I recommend this tour with hesitation.

Mike was amazing. We had an absolutely incredible experience with him! From the very start, he was…read moreengaging, knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about sharing the history and culture of the Chicago. He was happy to answer questions or tailor parts of the tour based on our interests. You can tell he truly care about making sure everyone has a memorable experience. If you're looking for a tour that's informative, fun, and personal, I can't recommend Mike enough. This was easily one of the highlights of our trip!

Mike, who owns an operates the tours is extremely knowledgeable in Chicago history and…read morearchitecture. It's also extremely friendly and personable. Despite having lived in Chicago before decades, I have never taken a tour or I don't learn new and interesting information. Highly recommend.

We did the 7pm - ghost and gangsters tour. Tour guide was very knowledgeable, great ghost stories…read morearound the city! We were on a bus and got off at stops to take pics, look around. I wish they would have taken us inside a spooky room, inside the Jane hull house or inside theater. It would have given more depth to tour. We try to take our teens somewhere different and this was something they had never done before. I recommend it.

Recommend. I made reservations online, and just needed your email receipt. We did the three o'clock…read moreSpeakeasy tour on a Saturday. We hopped on the tour bus at McDonalds and took off. Our guide, Eric, was fabulous. Being a high school history teacher was a big plus in his knowledge and exciting presentation. Only ten people are on a tour, so the group is intimate and easy to get through the old buildings. You buy your own drinks at the bars, or don't drink at all. There is no food. We had a good time learning some history of Prohibition. As fun and something touristy to do, this event is a bit cheesy, Hubby wanted me to add. We laughed. It was fun.