Jonathan, our tour guide, is a gem. Extremely knowledgeable, entertaining, and quick-witted. The tour itself was fascinating getting to see real places with stories rooted in the prohibition era and learn about various enterprising figures of the time. Jonathan truly showed us a great time. The tour and time spent was the highlight of visiting Chicago. Can't recommend Prohibition Tours enough! read more

My grandmother and I were in Chicago for 3 days, and decided to do the walking prohibition tour on Monday. We were a bit apprehensive due to the weather - it was supposed to be very rainy with scattered thunderstorms. It ended up raining for only an hour, I'm so glad we did it! John, the tour guide is very knowledgeable in all things prohibition. We ended up being the only people who booked so it became more personable and conversational than a normal tour might go. We had a fabulous time overall! All 3 establishments had wonderful service and spectacular drinks! 100/10 would recommend this tour to anyone! You'll find it interesting regardless if you consider yourself a "history buff" or not. read more

Best tour I've ever been on. I recommend it to anyone going to Chicago. We learned so much and had a great time.

Great opportunity to get out of downtown and see bars that have been open for a long time. Get some drinks. Learn a lot about Chicago's role in prohibition. It is great history with humor. read more

We had the best tour guide who was in character the entire tour. She gave us so much history with just the right amount of humor. After walking the streets of Chicago, for many days, it was a nice change to be driven in a beautiful van and chauffeured around the city. I recommend booking this tour! read more

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Fantastic bus tour. Jonathan was a great guide. Drinks not included with ticket which made the tour price low and allowed you the opportunity to drink as much or as little as you wanted. I chose the first option. Try the Chicago Handshake at Burwood if you have the opportunity. We loved Luckys so much, we went back after the tour for some amazing Italian food. Strongly recommend the tour. Dress is casual and no kids under 21 allowed. read more

Chicago Prohibition Tours - Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What a great tour tour. We started at a pub, Butch Macguires, next door to Mother's, which we immediately recognized from the movie About Last night. We traveled by bus to three different locations, enjoying delicious cocktails and hearing the rich history of Prohibition and organized crime. Our guide Jonathan was knowledgeable, personable, and great fun. Loved this tour! read more

Went on the Chicago Prohibition Bus Tour yesterday and had the most wonderful experience. Tour guide John provided historical information about prohibition & temperance which I never imagined. The four places we went to were Chicago establishments which have so much history & character. As a lifelong Chicagoan, I learned so much about what occurred during the prohibition era through John's inciteful narratives. Along the tour all 10 participants got to know one another and really got into the experience of each place. Chicago is "my kind of town" so if you're visiting for the first time, get some authentic pizza, an Italian beef, a hot dog run "though the garden", a Maxwell St polish and go on the Chicago Prohibition Bus Tour, you get the real Chicago Experience. Kudos to John & team! read more

So I HIGHLY recommend the Chicago Prohibition Speakeasy Tour! What a fun time! We stopped at Butch McGuires, Burwood Tap, Club Lucky, and Harry Caray's. 3 out of the 4 in our group are Chicagoans and had been to some of the establishments in the past, but we found out info that we never knew and went into rooms that we had never been before. Jonathan the tour lead was both highly entertaining and a wealth of info about not just the 4 stops, but also the time of prohibition in Chicago. We'll worth the money and time! read more

Loved it, had a work event and took a group of out towners on this and everyone loved it. Would do it again.

I had the fantastic opportunity to take the prohibition tour tonight. Elizabeth was our tour guide and she did a wonderful job with providing a great history lesson and giving drink recommendations at each bar. I really enjoyed myself and had fun meeting new people. She provided much more information at any class. She even walked around to each group and found out where they were from. It was very cool.to.fimd that she performed routes during the week and performed at Second City. This tour is definitely a must! read more

We went on the walking tour. It was a lot of fun and packed with information. I highly recommend it.

Received this message from what appears to be the owner: You are obviously an uneducated simpleton who doesn't appreciate that interesting period in American history, or the places that sprung up to fill the vacuum of no booze being service. And no food or drink? Sure glad you were not on my tour. You must have complained and whined all three hours. You poor thing. Stick to going to simple carnivals, as that seems to be your style. read more

This prohibition and speakeasy tour was the best part of our trip to Chicago! We learned so much about the history of Chicago and also the history of Prohibition in the entire US. Our tour guide Jonathan was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. Awesome experience and we will 100% recommend this tour to anyone visiting this beautiful city! read more

This was a fantastic tour! Our tour guide, Jonathan, (also one of the owners) did an amazing job!! This tour is so educational and fun!! If you haven't done this tour yet, you are missing out on a wonderful experience. I highly recommend it! read more

We ended up with a private tour with Jonathan (one of the owners) and we had an amazing time. It's always great to get a knowledge guide, but when someone is passionate about the information...it comes through. If you are looking for learning about the prohibition era, Chicago gangsters and having a good time along the way...definitely give it a try. read more

What a GREAT TIME! And our - and I mean this from the group's perspective - hats off to the tour guide Sydney! (I hope that is how she spells her name). She rocks!!!! So, there is not much to say here. If you are into having a few libations and learning about where and how those libation laws came about, this tour is for you. And if you are visiting from out of town, our group had a group of four from Indiana and a couple from Canada who enjoyed and learned a little bit of Chicago history. This is the perfect way to come together as an eclectic group of strangers and leave with a huge CHEERS! Highly recommended - Do It! read more

The tour was very informative. If you watched Boardwalk Empire or if you are just interested in the history of prohibition this tour will fill in all of the gaps. The tour guide is funny and irreverent. The four bars that you will visit serve good drinks. They are connected by history but their styles vary today from the neighborhood bar to the hipster watering hole. I did expect more on the cocktails from the era. Overall, I recommend this tour to the history buff and the cocktail aficionado. read more

We came to visit our son who is stationed in great lakes, we've been to Chicago many times and we've taken several tours and the all SUCKED! I love history and was so disappointed until yesterday when we took this prohibition tour!!! It was freaking great!!! Our tour guide made it so fun! I already knew so much about this time era and having her go over it in her own words made it even better !!! This is a must do tour. I think I got a little too tipsy and spoke to EVERYONE who would listen to me about history haha !!! I loved the group, everything was great !! Thank you read more

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Elizabeth was great! She definitely has a future in comedy and acting. And she's super cute. She also really knows her stuff! The tour was interesting, paced well, DELICIOUS DRINKS, and a lot of fun. Some info I knew from listening to the Carrie Nation podcast on Criminal, and my family's history of making kosher wine in California during prohibition, but I was no expert and learned a LOT. I would definitely recommend this to adults of drinking age! There are stairs and climbing on and off the bus, which somehow gets harder as the night progresses, so keep that in mind. read more

We've been Chicago residents for years & received the Chicago Prohibition Tour as a Christmas gift. Such a fun way to be tourists in our own town. Our guide, Sydney, was super-informative and hilarious. To know over 130 Prohibition facts is impressive. To bring them to life by putting your comedy writing degree to good use is amazing! Thanks Sydney, we'll be back! Love R.J. & Adam! Thanks again for being the best part of the tour! read more

Chicago Prohibition Tours - Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Sydney is great! What a fun time and we learned so much we never knew from high school teachings of Prohibition. Fascinating! and I look forward to again visiting the clubs/restaurants we toured and enjoyed. My only trouble was hearing at our meeting spot. We were in a back room but the noise from the very busy bar was difficult to overcome. A mic for this place would be beneficial. Or close the door between the bar and the back hallway. This was the most verbiage of the tour as it explained our plans and much significant background so I was disappointed to miss the info for lack of hearing. read more

Sydney was flipping amazing!!! Go on Fri or Sat night for her to be your guide. The drinks were great, the tour was hilarious, and the historic perspective was spot on. We went on a girls weekend and not only did we learn a lot, but we all decided to make another trip for the husbands to come along! Well worth the money and bring your cameras!!! read more

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An amazing event for my 30th birthday party. Sydney was wonderful, and so informative. The bars we went to were awesome, by the best cocktails and bar staff were at Club Lucky. This is as much about history is it is about alcohol, listen up at the beginning and pace yourself as the tour is about 3.5 hours. Cheers! Sydney even gave us a great recommendation for pizza after! read more

This tour was AMAZING! While in Chicago for a teacher conference I booked 2 tours, one which was Chicago Prohibition Tours. Our tour guide Sydney was witty, knowledgable, and made the tour such a great time. The other tour I booked with a different company was no where as fun and informative. This is a new company which is why they don't have as many reviews as some of the others. I would do this tour again in a heartbeat! Loved it sooooooo much and learned a lot of unique stories and facts. Thank you! read more

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Last Saturday, I took my family on the Chicago Prohibition Tour. There were seven of us celebrating our three adult kids' birthdays. It was the best decision I made and the kids said the most fun birthday they've ever had. The Chicago Prohibition Tour starts at the Green Door Tavern. It then goes on to three other venues... Club Lucky, Marge's Still and Exchequer. First, let me talk about our tour guide, Sydney. She was absolutely fantastic! She was engaging, so informative and extremely funny and kept our attention the whole four hours. We were so fortunate to have her guide us through the city. Second, the bus driver, I believe his name was Doug, was always ready for us at each location and drove us safely around the city. So onto the venues...the Green Door Tavern was extremely interesting and I loved going down in the basement through the secret door into this amazing bar that is as it was in the speakeasy era. The decor, the original bottles up on the shelf, the stage and the artwork were all perfect. There's a hidden door high in the bar that is behind a picture which is how they would get the liquor in to the bar downstairs. They have a burlesque show in the evenings and also show 1920s porn in this hidden bar...I so want to check that out. I had a French 75 cocktail which was very good and our group shared a poutine and chicken wings, too. This was the only bar where we were actually brought somewhere. The other three bars were just grab a drink and see the interior without going into any special areas. Of course along the way in the bus and also at each stop, there was so much history about that time period. Sydney gave us so much good information and I learned a lot. The next stop was Club Lucky and this small bar was great for a cocktail. The mixologists there are amazing, the decor is art deco and they have a nice restaurant beyond the bar. Sydney did take us to the entrance of the restaurant to give us the history of the place. I had a Catalano Sidecar cocktail here. Marge's Still was a larger bar. I had a champagne cocktail and our group shared blue cheese chips and a quesadilla. Both were very good...but those blue cheese chips were amazing. The last stop was Exchequer and my least favorite of the stops. We were planning to stay for dinner here since it was the end of the tour, but the ratings for the restaurant were not very good so we left. Please note that you start the Prohibition Tour at one location and end at another, so plan accordingly. I would highly recommend this tour with a group. If you get Sydney, you will have the best time! read more

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This was an incredible afternoon for our group! I'm so glad I came across this tour as a gift for my parents. We're locals, and learned so much from Jonathan over the course of our tour about the Prohibition era, how speakeasies really operated, some debunking of misconceptions and myths about the time period, and had some fantastic drinks across several famous and hidden gem local establishments. I highly recommend this tour for tourists and locals alike! read more

Went to this tour with a friend and we were very much looking forward to it based off of all the positive reviews. Our tour guide, Elizabeth, wasn't very good- seemed like she was reading off note cards at first, and later she got drunk and swore more than necessary. We were expecting the tour to be interactive and informative. It wasn't. Waste of money and wouldn't recommend. read more

We had a fun and informative tour. It was just the right combination of history and entertainment

Awesome tour had a great time. Great for groups and the tour guide was very informative.

Sydney was an amazingly informative and entertaining guide through the history of prohibition and Chicago. I'm so glad we did this tour. It was our firstvisit to Chicago and this gave us a fun overview. We definitely recommend the tour. The bars are nice, the drinks are fun and it's a fantastic way to tour the city; with a few cocktails in your hand. If you are visiting for the first time, or just coming back for another visit, you should do this tour and enjoy yourself. read more

Tour was excellent - rich in information of how prohibition came to be and how it was during the time in combination with touring four bars that were speakeasy's back in the day. read more

Great way to spend an afternoon. Our tour guide, Elizabeth, was very knowledgeable on the history of prohibition in the US and Chicago. And she presented the information in a very entertaining way. The tour takes you to four bars that operated back room speakeasys during prohibition. As a life long Chicagoan, they took us to places I didn't even knew exsisted. Just a note, this tour does not include drinks. You're on your own for those. I higher recommend this tour to visitors and locals. read more

Chicago Prohibition Tours - Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

So the tour is of 4 locations. You meet the tour at the 1st so they really only take you to three. It's certainly pricey considering it doesn't include any cocktails and no specials at the bars it visits. I find it odd that all the 5 star reviews are from people who don't use yelp. Seems like they maybe planted by the business. The tour also ends at a different location from where you begin with "no transportation back." So for $45 per person you get a bus ride to three bars. You really would be better off just using Uber with your friends. You can find these bars anywhere and the bartenders will tell you any story. I guess I sort of expected more. Maybe the other 5 star reviews are spot on, even though many have reviewed few others. You can find it on groupon for a better price but difficult to redeem and reserve. I would not do it again. I feel like that money was wasted. read more

I've lived in Chicago for about 8 years, so we're starting to run out of touristy things to do when out-of-town guests are visiting. This tour was recommended to us, so I took my mother, aunt, younger cousin and a couple friends along. Everyone had a great time, so it's safe to say this tour is for people of all ages (over 21 of course). It's the farthest thing from your typical touristy activities in Chicago. Sydney and Jonathan are incredibly knowledgeable on the era, we were fascinated by the stories of the key players at the time (many of them women!) and they did a great job creating a visual of how things were back then. They delivered a ton of information in a fun, colorful way. The tour included stops at 4 bars, with time for 1-2 drinks and socializing at each bar. There was enough time to order appetizers at the second stop Lucky's, the food and cocktails there were wonderful. I'd highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Chicago as well as those who consider themselves true Chicagoans, time well spent learning a new perspective on the history of the city and the Prohibition era overall. read more

Made a little weekend vacation to the end of a work trip. We had never been to Chicago before and were overwhelmed by the amount of guided tours available in the city. Many other ones were sold out already, but I feel we lucked out with this one. Being a historian and all out history nerd, this is what the hubby and I do on vacation, get in the local history of any place we visit. I have gotten into some serious arguments with guides and docents in the past, and there were no problems here. The guide seemed to have really done the research, not just providing local myths and hearsay. The guide was very colorful, very bias on some issues, but it provided great entertainment. Loved all the bars we went to, each provided something different and had completely different atmospheres. The tour included Green Door Tavern, Marge's Still, Club Lucky and I can't remember the last place we hit. It was not as interesting as the rest, seemed like it could be a bar anywhere. Highly recommend. If we had anything like this in Houston, we would take it all the time! read more

Fabulous Chicago outing, even for a resident! Our guide knew everything about Prohibition history and the mafia history of Chicago. And the bars we visited were outstanding - half of which I hadn't even known existed. They said they switch up the bars, so we might go again one day. Next time we have out-of-town guests, we plan to bring them along. Oh, and the drink specials! Excellent. read more

My wife and I took the tour as an anniversary treat for ourselves. It was super rad!!! You learn a lot and visit some great spots!!! We started at The Green Door Tavern, then went to Club Lucky Marge's Still and ended at Exchequer. Our guide, Sydney, was awesome. Highly knowledgeable about everything, really friendly and DAMN funny!!! She and our driver, Q, made the experience a great one. The only reason I'm giving four stars is b/c we didn't get to actually see all the physical Speakeasy locations within the stops. We saw one at the first spot, The Green Door Tavern, which was amazing!! Had we been able to see the other three, would have been five stars all the way. Nonetheless, I can highly recommend Chicago Prohibition Tours as a great thing to do when visiting The Windy City. We had a blast and can't wait for them to open in Nola!!! (Hint hint wink wink, Sydney!) :) read more

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Great tour. Jonathan is full of captivating information. Great stops and beverages. Didn't go to the Green Door Tavern though...

This was my first trip to Chicago and I am so glad that I decided to do this tour! My guide, Sydney, was hysterical, and that's not just the booze talking! She really made the history of it all come alive, with her detailed and colorful descriptions of the bars we went to and the historical figures involved. If you enjoy drinking, history, and making new friends, then this tour is for you! Disclaimer: not for the faint of heart, or those who tend to clutch their pearls at the slightest hint of impropriety. read more