This was a really great tour. We were on a brand new boat with relatively comfortable seating so that was nice. Weather was perfect so that always helps. The docent was very knowledgeable but it got boring after awhile as all she was talking about were the specific buildings. What I mean is...I don't want to hear that this building was made in the art deco form but what happened in the Eastland disaster, or tell me more about the great Chicago Fire. Worth the $ though. Definitely take your out of town guests to show them how amazing Chicago actually is. read more

I highly recommend this tour!!! My boyfriend and I did the 4pm tour on Saturday October 3rd and I'm saying this because our tour guide was so knowledgeable!!!!! I don't remember her name but it was just amazing how much knowledge she knew about the city and practically every building we went by. The boat was great. Bar and inside heated lounge downstairs with alcoholic drinks and some snacks available. I wouldn't mind doing this tour every time I go to Chicago. So worth it. read more

The 90 minute tour goes by in a blink due to how entertaining and enjoyable it is! Took the twilight tour on a cool late summer evening and it was my favorite activity of our trip. Parking is easy, just across the street and they will validate your parking (at a discount rate) On a lighter note... Great Pokemon Go way to hatch eggs, hit TONS of Pokestops and catch even more Pokemon - haha!! read more

The 90 min tour is full of interesting stories, facts and beautiful sight lines. I believe it is a must see when in Chicago , even if you have a modest interest in architecture. A nice blend of history, humor and high lights of the Chicago skyline. read more

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Chicago's First Lady is a great little boat for a cruise on Lake Michigan. I've hired the boat for dance parties, and though a bit small, it has always worked out well. The staff has always been friendly and accommodating. Our groups have out grown the boat, but it was definitely great when we did fit! read more

I have done this boat tour a few times. Its one of my favorite things to do with out of town guests. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and full of fantastic information about the city of Chicago. I will admit that the tour itself and the commentary can be rather dry for someone who does not have an interest in history or architecture, but for information addicts like myself, it was an absolute pleasure. Chicago is such a wonderfully beautiful city. So many of the buildings in the loop are architectural masterpieces and works of art. Really, I can't rave enough about what an attractive city Chicago is, and this boat tour is really a great way to appreciate it. Most brilliantly, I have now stuffed all these random facts about random buildings in my head, thanks to the boat tour, and can impress my friends with my knowledge of Chicago. Oh yes, and there is a fully stocked bar on board. But I must warn you, staring up at skyscrapers on a sunny day with a buzz is not the most pleasant way to experience the Chicago skyline. read more

The architecture tour is a MUST if you're visiting Chicago. It's a 90 minute river ride through the city where the guide will give backstories on the unbelievable architecture Chicago has to offer. Show up early and get a seat near the back so you get great photo opportunities from the front and back. Parking is located at 111 E. Wacker Drive and can be validated at the ticket booth. Buy your tickets on line if you go during the busy season. read more

First Lady - Trump Tower - Boating Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Since I'm originally from out of town I have had a lot of friends and family visit me in Chicago. As a result I have been on around six architectural tours. I don't mind it since there is so much to learn about Chicago's beautiful skyline. Chicago's First Lady is with out a doubt the BEST tour. The guide on my last visit was top notch. He was very entertaining and also managed to fit in a lot of good info. Do yourself a favor and give the First Lady a whirl. read more

I'm a Chicago resident, and this is one of my favorite activities--especially for my touristy friends and family who come to visit. The Chicago Architecture Foundation tour was head-and-shoulders above my previous (yet enjoyable) tour by Windella. The reason I favor it is because I learned *so* much more information on the details and evolution of Chicago architecture. The volunteer who lead our tour was fantastic and never lacked a well-timed bit of insight and history to tie together all the sights and interesting buildings we saw. Another plus was that it focused on the river which gave me a chance to see branches of the Chicago River that I'd never seen before. My previous tour with Windella included the lake which, while an amazing view, was much less interesting than the nitty-gritty details of architecture I so enjoy. Some of the facts certainly overlap between tours, but this didn't reduce my enjoyment at all. read more

I took the Architecture Foundation's boat tour for the first time on a recent trip to Chicago and I really enjoyed myself and I really enjoyed myself. Granted I'm a novice architecture student, but I found the introduction to Chicago architecture history very interesting and I learned alot about the different styles. Although, I can see how the tour might be a bit elementary though for people who are familiar with the subject, I think taking it offers some extra benefits too. For one, taking the cruise is also a great way to get some amazing shots of the city that you can't get from the street and on a nice sunny day, its really relaxing to cruise up and down the river and soak up the sun and the view. My only complaint was that I felt like the tour was a bit on the long side and the moderator did get a bit repetitive towards the end. But, I think the learnings and the view outweighed the repetitiveness read more

Nothing not to love. Very knowledgeable guide. Very artistically interesting and diverse architectural City. Loved it read more

First Lady - Boating Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I live in Chicago and have done this tour twice in three years. I was a little worried that the second trip would feel repetitive, but it didn't. We had an excellent guide, Bill the retired corporate lawyer, who shared an anecdote about litigation I recently read about in "The Death and Life of the Great Lakes" (St Louis's suit against Chicago for reversal of river flow--I wish he had discussed the Supreme Court case too!). I like too that he showed some sensitivity to the pale sausagefest that is architecture.... my friend at Foster & Partners indicates the culture persists. We were taking two out-of-town guests, one of whom had also been on the tour before, and they loved it. In the future, I might join the CAF so I can take advantage of their generous guest ticket benefits and walking tours. My professional and personal interests lean toward environmental science and ecology, so I wish there were a little more environmental context mixed in--but I understand too that this tour should not be a total downer. Anyway, go! read more

Took a sunset tour on Chicago's First Lady and I'm convinced that this is the way to see the city. Their hundreds of volunteer tour guides probably vary a bit in quality, but ours was excellent and I've heard nothing but praise from anyone else who's taken one of these tours. I learned a great deal about not only the architecture, but also the history of the city. They sell beer and wine on board, but I feel like you'd end up missing so much useful information that you're better off sitting up top during the tour and finding a place to drink after you're back on dry land! read more

First Lady - Boating Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I have taken this cruise once.. and while I am not an architect I have worked for years at 3 of the cities top firms... I can say without a doubt they were wrong on at least 25% of the buildings architects... and I know this as I worked for the firms that designed said buildings - SOM *did* design the Hancock AND the Sears Tower but they did not design the Nuveen building etc... Just now I walked down with my wife to help her take the tour while I am at work a few doors away... They charged her full price for my daughter (who is 7 months old) - 28$ for her to sleep on the tour? I looked up their website to drop them a line, thinking perhaps it was a mistake... Nope, right there in b/w - Doesn't say "full price" says "All persons must have a ticket including infants and children" Congratulations guys. I just paid for 4 tickets on your boat - they are the last 4 tickets I will ever buy. I was thinking about taking her on the tour with Mommy and Daddy and some friends for her first... Not anymore. Hope the 100 bucks goes a long way - I am pretty sure charging full price for infants is going to cost you a lot more than it just cost me. read more

Spectacular way to get an overview of the city. The guide held our attention throughout: Architecture 101 with interesting history of Chicago. He was articulate and blended facts with stories well. He made the buildings come to life and helped the audience appreciate the process of planning this city. Got a little warm at 4 on a summer evening then a little chilly. So definitely bring put on a little sunscreen, wear sun glasses, and bring a sweater. 80 minutes was just the right length. In keeping with tradition, there is a cash bar serving over prices drinks and snacks. Beautiful experience! read more

Just got off our tour. Bill, our docent was incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining! A great way to see the city! Also..**Full bar**..I've done the cruise before but the nighttime trip was gorgeous with the city lit up! read more

First Lady - Nighttime view! - Boating Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Absolutely dream for any architectural fan. Great way to see the city. Lindy is the most amazing tour guide. So incredibly knowledgeable. I want her to adopt me! Captain Joe captained the boat safely. HIGHLY recommended. read more

Such a great cruise. Our tour guide Russ was exceptionally knowledgeable. I highly recommend this cruise for first timers like us!

Wonderfully informative and interesting architecture tour that takes you on the three segments of the Chicago River downtown. It's put on by the Chicago Architecture Foundation and like the Wendella cruise, it's also on Michigan Ave at the River - but at the Southeast corner. The docent is a professionally trained VOLUNTEER - who does this for FREE (!), because she likes this shiz. She gave us some historical analysis on each building we passed and had a great speaking voice. Beautiful views (and a bar inside the boat if you so choose) - and unique photo ops you can't get from street level and definitely worth the price for $26. read more

I absolutely loved the Architecture River Cruise! Our docent was really knowledgable and engaging. This was one of the best things I did during my weekend trip to Chicago. I loved hearing the history of the river and learning about the the building along it. I live in a Harry Weese building in KC, so I was especially fascinated by all of his buildings along the tour. The only negative thing I have to comment on is the price. Over $40 for each of us. Yikes! read more

We decided to go with this river cruise tour as this was hosted by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. Seemed to be more original than the other cruise companies. We ordered our tickets in advance from Ticketmaster and picked it up at Will Call. The tour was 90 minutes long and it gave us a real good tour of downtown Chicago and all the architecture on the river. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable so that made the tour more appealing. I learned about the different eras and styles of architecture as well as the history behind each building. I was surprised to see so many old buildings/warehouses which have now been renovated into residentials. Also noticed that there is a good mix of old and new buildings. I didn't realize Chicago had so many bridges too. It was very unique to see and learn about it all that I highly recommend it for first timers. read more

When I first saw that tickets were $30 a piece, I was a little bewildered! But it was COMPLETELY worth it. It was informative and interesting. Definitely worth going on (and going on more than once). Definitely arrive early to buy tickets (1/2 an hour or so) and wait in line for a good seat. The guides are very informative and interesting to listen to. I would go again... read more

Awesome tour.. I took 2013 summer special twilight boat tour. Fortunately it rained before the commencement of tour clearing the atmosphere. Guide was quite knowledgable and narrated interesting stories about Chicago architecture. Twilight bout tour concept rocks..! read more

First Lady - Chicago skyline - captured from twilight boat tour - Boating Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

For my first trip to Chicago, I knew a river tour would be a nice activity to do to get acquainted with the city. Our boat tour was led by a docent from the historical society who was knowledgeable. She made cute jokes throughout the tour so the material and history wasn't as dry which I appreciated. I think the tour would have been better delivered by more of an entertainer. Someone who treats it as a show rather than lesson delivered enthusiastically and with humor. I found myself zoning out a handful of times. The views, as suspected, were beautiful and at times magnificent. I'd recommend booking this at the beginning of your trip to Chicago to become acquainted with the buildings. During the rest of our trip while walking the streets, we found ourselves recognizing and pointing out buildings we learned about while on the tour. There are many boat tour options offered along the riverwalk and I chose this one because it had over 2,000 reviews on Trip Advisor. Though we had an overall positive experience, I would try another boat company next time I visit to see if it's any better and more lively and entertaining. read more

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Tremendous trip, excellent guide with tons of amazing info. Tells you about almost every building in Chicago, and gives you not only historical information on the building but on the city as well. Highly recommend! read more

Worth it! Yes it's a little pricey, but it's the best way to see so much of Chcago. It's a 90 min boat ride, with a great tour guide/ volunteer docet. No tips required. Full bar aboard. Bathroom accessible. read more

Accessing the dock area is 61 steps down from Wacker ave (and same to go back up). Any accessable access is about a half-mile away from the docks and ticketing (so about an additional mile total down and back up). The boats themselves are accessable, so that's ok, but it's very sleazy that there is no mention of the impossible access to get to the boat dock. Tickets are non-refundable "by policy", so, that says they could, but choose not to. The boat ride was nice, so they get a +1 star up from a one-star review, but Grandma and Grandpa had to wave to us from above and couldn't go and we're out the cost of the tickets and having the experience together. read more

I used to hate doing the touristy shit. Since I live in San Diego, its so easy to spot the tourists, there the ones wearing the big goofy San Diego sweatshirts in the middle of summer hanging out in La Jolla. Now days I embrace it, I love doing tours in cities, you learn so much about them. I did the river tour of Chicago and had the best time. We had a nice old lady (looked like the Crypt Keeper) as our tour guide. She explained what certain buildings were and who owned them, and what they are now. the Chicago sky line is filed with giant buildings old and new, that make you feel about the size of a germ. I totally recommend people take this tour, and maybe even take a similar tour in your home town. You might learn a thing or two. read more

Wow. I never knew so much about the city and architecture in general. This tour was 90 minutes and we picked it because it is run by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. I really thought this was great, and even enjoyed looking like the ultimate Chicago tourist. I took some amazing black and white photos that I could have only taken from the boat. I think that the boat we were on was a lot nicer than some of the other companies. It was busy even in Sept. so get there early or buy tickets online! read more

Been told several times to take one of these tours through Chicago. This was great. Our guide was a former city planner and definitely knew her stuff. This is probably my third or fourth time in Chicago and I'm glad I finally got to experience this. Highly recommended. read more

Superb tour!!! It was a chilly late afternoon, but decided to take the water tour anyway. Make sure you wrap up as it is windy/cool on the water, but what a spectacular time we had! I cannot say enough great things about our tour guide. He was incredibly knowlegeable...still not sure how he remembers every building, who the architect was, what year it was built, and all the surrounding stories to go along with it. Impressive I tell you! We sat up top and there isn't a bad seat on it as there are speakers situated throughout so you'll be sure to hear them. If you're thirsty - no worries - they offer beer, water, etc. as well as a couple noshers, pretzels, etc. The beer was actually quite good - they have the run of the mill Miller Lite, but they also had a Sam Adams seasonal on draft....perfect for the cool, fall day. When the tour was over, we immediately walked several blocks north to the architecture.org store to buy a book of Chicago architecture.... There are so many tour options - we'll definitely do another one on our next trip...perhaps a walking or segway tour... I absolutely recommend this tour - you will not regret it! read more

I really enjoyed seeing all the architecture in Chicago and it generally it was a pleasant ride, but I have to say I was a little bored with the tour guide. She was nice enough but the tour was too academic for my liking. I went along with a Chicago native who told me his previous experiences were more fun because the tour guide had better stories to tell. I think it's definitely worth taking this trip, but I think it's a luck of the draw who you get as a tour guide. read more

We had our wedding on Board one of Chicago's First Lady boats. It was not only greatly priced compared to other venues in Chicago, but the service was fantastic and the experience and views aboard the boat left us and our guests wordless. Couldn't have asked for a better venue! read more

Things to know about this tour: Buy your tickets at the CAF booth at the bottom of the Mag Mile where the boat Launches. The tickets are $28 each. If you buy your tickets at the water tower center you will pay close to $35 including ticket fee so don't waste your money on admin fees and the like go direct to the booth. We took this tour 4th Nov and it was cold, OK not freezing but on the top deck after 90 minutes you start to feel it. Saying that I really enjoyed the cruise, it was informative although not massively so. We got some high level stuff about the kind of architectural types, who built what and the name of the building. Some more interesting factoids might have been slightly more useful, such as number of workers, what was there before, number of bricks. I don't know just more stuff. Still She was talking non stop our Docent and she did a good job although she sounded a bit robotic as though she was reading off an autoque. I guess she was trying to enunciate to make sure all the non english language tourists could understand her. I thought at first we were'nt going to get a seat up top as the queue was enormous when we arrived, but we were in the last 2% of the people to get on and the top deck was full and the two of us still managed to sit together. HIghly recommended tour. Shame we couldn't go out into the lake, I didn't realise their was a lock system in place so this ship cannot get way out into the lake. Only the boats at Navy pier take you into the lake for the best view of the city but then you cant get into the city to do the architectural tour, so take both tours! Have fun. read more

90 minute tour through the river with emphasis on the architecture of the city hosted by a CAF docent for $28. Excellent tour! Went in mid-June on a beautiful sunny day (yes, I risked the top deck for the sunburn and it was worth it!) and kicked back with a beer and a camera. I had read "Devil in the White City" and was therefore similar with some of the architects from the Chicago firms so I was very happy to see some of their masterpieces standing along the water. There seemed to be a lot of old warehouses along the river that are now condos - an obvious change in what the city thinks about the river (no doubt it's cleaner these days as well). Great tour - highly recommended! read more

During my 2nd trip out here I went on the River Boat Tour based on all the rave reviews on yelp. This tour is a definite must for anyone coming to Chicago on vacay. I would even recommend it for anyone who is thinking of moving here. It totally helped me out when I was trying to learn about the neighborhoods around the river. You'll see so many different condos and apartments when you're on this tour. But the main focus, of course, is the amazing architecture. The Chicago Architecture Foundation gives a very informative 90 minute tour of all the prominent buildings in Chicago. You'll learn so much about the different types of architecture and the architects behind the buildings. You will come away with a greater appreciation for Chicago's remarkable architecture. I bought my tickets for $28 at the Architecture Foundation, since I read on Yelp that it was cheaper. But while waiting in the queue to board the boat, I noticed that the ticket booth sold the same tickets for $28. I took the tour in the middle of July and it was hot and humid! My gal pals sat at the front of the boat and I think it was way better than sitting on the deck. If you don't want to get burned try finding some shade, like we did. Believe me, in the middle of summer, that river boat tour can be extremely hot! So if you're going in the summer- bring water, a hat, and get in line early so you can choose the perfect seat for the tour. read more

I'm a little biased when it comes to architecture/planning tours since I'm an urban planner ;) I've been to Chicago a handful of times but have never been on the architecture tour. I was wowwed at the knowledge of our tour guide! She knew dates, architects, construction material, and a pretty thorough history of all of the buildings along the water. Well worth the price. My favorite building is Aqua, newly built, and designed by a woman. read more

We had a really excellent tour guide. He had extensive knowledge of everything we saw, and humor to boot! (Remember: "Kiss your architect.") I never realized how residential downtown chicago is - and what a beautiful city! The planners did an excellent job. Thankfully our tour was on a gorgeous day - not a cloud in the sky. This is a MUST DO when visiting Chicago! read more

I will preface I was with a group of 15 girls trying to get on a sightseeing tour so of course there is going to be some confusion. However, I don't understand why the customer service was so bad. We we're rushing to meet everyone and thought we were buying the right ticket. We realized after the purchase we didn't go to the right boat. As we were in a rush to make it to the other boat, we ran to return our tickets. The company was so rude, we explained the issue, that we were tourists and we were on a bachelorette party and still didn't get any good service. I know they were losing four individuals business, but you would think that a tourism attraction would have some sort of customer service policy. We eventually chose to sell the tickets to other tourists for cash since the service was so bad. Shoreline was where our friends were. They held the boat for us and had a more reasonably priced ticket. In addition they let us take lots of photos at the end of the ride to document the bachelorette. read more

I've done this boat tour twice and loved it both times! Very knowledgeable guide. Take your camera, amazing pictures to be had. read more

First Lady - Boating Near Me - Chicago, Illinois