The architecture tour is mandatory for first-time visitors. This is absolutely the best way to see and learn about all the skyscrapers of Chicago, with a smidge of other history occasionally thrown in. Excellent tour guide -- like an interesting Architecture 101 class. Tickets are expensive ($46/person, no discount for kids), but 2 adults and 4 hard-to-please children ages 11 to 18 all liked it. Tips: You might want to bring a sweater for the breezier parts. Sit on top deck toward back--good view and near speakers. read more

I have lived in the city of Chicago for almost 9 years and have never ventured out on Chicago's First Lady for the architectural tour (or any other boat tour for that matter). I work downtown every day and see these building all the time, so I thought I would be bored with the tour. I was WRONG - - it was amazing to see the city in this way. First of all, I don't know much about architecture, so the cruise was enlightening. It was also really neat to see the city from different parts of the river - - not the usual view of the city. I would suggest this tour to anyone - - even those who have lived in the city for years! read more

When we first entered the boat it was a mystical land of architecture being unraveled. As a breeze was blowing our boat we took a breath of vital Chicago architecture. Our docent was one of the best docents of the CAF that we had ever met. This tour we really recommend to anyone who is ready to dig down into 20th century Chicago. Though at first some people might turn down the chance of going on this tour, YOU shouldn't. This tour was practically one of the best developed tours by the CAF. We also recommend going in breezy weather in the summer. Everything from Mid-century modern to using the Chicago River as a hydroelectric source beholds you in this tour. read more

Good picture taking tour and the bar on the boat was a nice touch. Bartender was funny and a good guy.!

I have been on several tours in Chicago. I went on the Wandella tour which is right across the street from Chicago's First Lady and the facts, knowledge and humor I got from the Wandella tour far surpassed Chicago's First Lady. I'm not sure if the guide just started but there was a lot of "um" and awkward pauses and repetition when she didn't know what to say. Half of the key points and fun facts I gained from the Wandella tour were never shared on the Chicago's First Lady. My whole family was in town and I thought it would be great tour but I was sadly disappointed. read more

This boat tour was awesome. Our guide, Judith, was so knowledgeable and entertaining. She knew everything about the buildings and told the most interesting stories. I highly recommend it. read more

i loved it. great 1 1/2 hour tour on the river introducing history, architecture, sights and sounds of chicago. our docent was entertaining and informative. i'm glad i listened to everyone who'd ever visited or lived in chicago and said this is a must do! picked up a sandwich at pastoral (a few blocks away - separate review), walked to the easy access boat dock, picked up my ticket, carried on my lunch and enjoyed my sunny tour! full bar/byob for those interested. read more

The 90 min cruise is a must for first time visitors. Aboard on the first floor there is a full bar with decent prices. The second floor deck has comfortable seating with spectacular views up close of some of the most gorgeous buildings in Chicago along the river. Our tour guide was informative and pleasant. The scenery is breathtaking. Chicago is a beautiful city. Boat cruises are rain or shine no refunds. It down poured during our cruise and the volunteer tour guide (who by the way don't accept tips) was a champ as she endured the rain and wind on the top deck even though most people went downstairs to take cover and dry off. Bring a poncho if rain is expected or buy one there for $2. Finding the ticket stand was kind of tricky since you have to go down 3 flights of stairs and the ticket booth is on the river level. There's a small blue cover and sign on the street corner and that's where you go down the stairs. read more

This is the second time I've done the architectural tour, and the first for many of my family members that were with me (including 3 boys under the age of 13). Everyone had a blast! Our tour guide, Barb, was super fantastic! I have no idea how she remembers the number of facts she shared with us, but she was unbelievably knowledgable and a joy to listen to. The tour winds through the Chicago River and highlights the remarkable architecture the City has to offer. Extremely interesting and a lovely way to spend a day on the river. I would definitely do this tour again to pick up new information. And Barb says the infrastructure changes all the time, so I'm guessing that by the time we go back there will be new things to learn. So much fun! read more

Went on a their architectural tour. Our docent was informative and knowledgeable. Boat ride was smooth and departure time and return time was prompt. Boat was spacious which made for a really nice ride. Highly recommended for any tourist. read more

My husband and I had a wonderful time on the cruise. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable & pleasant. And the views...absolutely gorgeous. Seating was comfortable. It was our favorite tour of the city. Such a wonderful experience!! A must do in Chicago. read more

Well organized boat tour. The ride was smooth, the speaker had a very clear voice, and knowledgeable of the buildings without being choppy. I didn't get sick on the boat ride and felt very comfortable. I recommend this tour to anyone since it shows a lot of the city that you may not be able to see on foot. read more

This was a great place. Amazing how the volunteer narrator literally had something to say about every building and it was well done from start to finish. If you get cold or hot, you can go below deck, still see and hear and they have a full bar downstairs too :-) read more

The tour was amazing, only thing o would change is the length of the tour and have better speaker inside so that the people inside could actually get a decent tour they paid for. read more

A must do tour when in Chicago! We bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed the great views!

I chartered Chicago's Leading Lady the largest in their flight for a private reception. It was a great event for 260 people. The boat pulled right up to our hotel the Sheraton and everyone loaded right on. We hung out for a while and then cruised up the river and back again. The First Lady staff was amazing along with Captain Rich. When I got on the boat there had been a miscommunicaton on my part of the setup and they had too many tables. They immediately started clearing them and found somewhere to store them on the fly. Their staff was amazing! So friendly and flexible. I would definately use them again. read more

Went on a cold fall day, but the tour was still great! Tip: you can buy tickets at the dock, and there is a bar on the boat! Great way to see cool buildings and learn a little more about Chicago!! read more

Family was visiting Chicago and, wanting them to appreciate Chicago's beauty, we booked a Friday morning architecture cruise. The one sponsored by the Architecture Foundation is the way to go; this was our 5th time, and the guide was once again excellent and enthusiastic and I learned something new, as I have on all previous tours. The guides are volunteers and they know their stuff; ours spoke of the time they have spent with architects to learn more about the buildings on the tour. They pitch to the right level; the tour feels neither too jargon-filled or dumbed-down. The operation beyond the guide was, once again, highly professional. Our guests were very impressed with the tour AND our great city! There is just no better way to get a fast appreciation for Chicago than a cruise of its river. read more

Great way to see the architecture of Chicago. Very knowledgeable guide. I've done another boat tour in Chicago with a different group and this one was much more comfortable. This boar has plenty of chairs others have benches Highly recommend this tour. read more

We had the best time on the architectural boat tour. It was a highlight of our trip to Chicago and our docent, Lance, was as informative and engaging as a guide could be. This is simply not to be missed. read more

We did not get past the ticket counter because the person behind the window was totally not interested in her job. Went across the river to Shoreline Tours and had an amazing experience. Don't waste your time at First Lady, go direct to Shoreline. read more

...GO TO WENDELLA TOURS.......... First Lady Tours: Very Bad experience that cost me $56.00 non-refundable: In an attempt to be ready for the next day, I bought the tickets form "Architecture Foundation" on Michigan and Monroe ( Unnecessary, as you can buy them right by the docks) and made it there few minutes later than their suggested "20 minutes early".... Rude lady inside the booth while pointing at me finished her Cell phone conversation before attending to us, just to remind us that we are late and when i asked for remedy; "YOU NEED TO TAKE IT WITH TICKETMASTER", flew out of her mouth in such rapid speed, without waiting for me to finish my question, as if she practiced it in front of a mirror in hopes of using it so eagerly on multiple customers everyday! I even asked her if we could sit and wait for their next tour and maybe someone just like us will be late and we can use our famous "Already Purchased-Non refundable" Tickets. She RUDELY replied " YOU STILL NEED TO PAY"...and ... "OUR 3:00 O'CLOCK IS FULL".... as if she and her crystal ball knew that there will be no room for me and my wife on our anniversary on their sad, sad, small, tiny boat. So we went back up, cross the river on Wacker Drive and so Happily were welcomed to "WENDELLA TOURS" at last minute, without a 20 minutes early arrival rule or "WE KNOW THE FUTURE AND WE ARE ALL BOOKED" attitude we received by Chicago's First Lady's welcome wagon !!! WENDELLA boat had plenty of room for the two of us to walk around and take pictures, unlike small deck for First Lady Tours. Ironically in this case, it was WENDELLA Boat's captain that waited for us a few minutes longer while we bought the tickets, Great Deck space, and plenty of smiling faces. After all, it is the experience you will remember and how you were welcomed. read more

We rented the Little Lady for a party on a Saturday night. We had a blast. The captain and crew were great. The folks at the office were responsive and the fee was reasonable. We loved it. Beware of their 'approved catering list' - there are not a lot of good choices. read more

This tour is a must for anyone visiting Chicago. It is a bit pricey, but if the money is supporting a good cause, I'm okay with it. We went on a Sunday morning and, perhaps because of the chilly, rainy weather, were able to walk up to the ticket window at 9:20am and buy our tickets for the 9:30am boat. We learned a lot about the various architectural styles of the buildings and a bit about Chicago's history, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly in spite of the weather (they sell ponchos on the boat for $2). Not just knowledgeable, the guide was also quite entertaining: if you have your bridal shower as a private event on the boat, for a small fee, he'll do the tour topless. read more

we had a terrible weather day but regardless, i stuck it out with my umbrella on the upper deck with a hot chocolate. hot chocolate was delicious, and the tour was good. our guide was a docent from a museum - the tour was incredibly detailed. for someone with not much knowledge, i didn't need such a detailed description of every building we went by. was a great way to see the city and really enjoyed cruising, but some more stories of the city and its culture would have been nice as well, so it wasn't chalk full of dates and names of people i don't remember. would recommend this tour to architecture lovers read more

I highly recommend this tour and plan on going again!. I took my friends from England along with my Mom and husband on Chicago's First Lady architectural boat tour. My guests from England were here for one day and can't thank me enough for their extraordinary sightseeing experience. What a wonderful way to show Chicago to out-of-town guests! My husband now wants to take our children so they can learn more about our great city too! The hospitality from the crew and amazing knowledge from the docent really made the tour a great experience. read more

This tour came highly recommended and it didn't let us down. Our speaker was awesome and knew everything about every building. The views were spectacular and the bar on the lower air-conditioned level was even a bigger plus. Highly recommend this if this is your first time to Chicago. read more

Exceptional tour guide. Great way to learn about the city. You can tell that the guides are very passionate about Chicago's architecture. This is a must if you visit! read more

We took the Architectural Foundation Boat Tour in July and we have done this 2 times before. We absolutely love the boat ride on the river and the tour guides are always fantastic! Our most recent docent Dick Clark was knowledgeable, fun, and a great lecturer. Can't say enough great things about these tours. read more

This was a Chicago highlight for us. The 90 minute river cruise was narrated by an excellent docent who was able to talk about the buildings and their history for the full trip without ever being boring! Throughout the rest of our visit in Chicago we would see the local buildings through her eyes and use the information she had given us to learn/enjoy the rest of our time in Chicago. We went on the cruise on a chilly November day, but with a bit of sun, an engaging guide and such fabulous architecture we spent most of our time outside taking photos and enjoying the view. Some hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps also helped. read more

Recently took the architectural tour cruise with a fantastic docent/volunteer Joni! It happened to be on a gorgeous spring day, so very comfortable weather-wise. Easy to find location, good signage to proper dock via cruise times, despite my hearing loss was able to hear docent very well (sat close to mounted speaker). My friends and I very much enjoyed this cruise and would go again! The only negative was the lack of bathroom facilities in the dock area. That would have been good to know before going down all those stairs! read more

Have to echo the other reviews. Excellent time; excellent docent (Patricia); and very much worth the money. Highly recommend.

I thought about having my wedding here, but I found out from a friend that they charge extra for bartender staffing, etc and never actually pay it to the employees--they pocket the money and pay the staff less than $10 per hour. It's horrible that they charge such large service fees and don't actually give it to the people working. I'm not sure if that's illegal, but think twice before spending so much money on service you may not receive. read more

I ordered my ticket online several days in advance, as I was attending a large conference in Chicago and was told that I would have some free time on Saturday afternoon. I purchased a ticket online for the 1:30 p.m. tour. Unfortunately, the conference went longer than expected on Saturday, and when I realized this in the morning I immediately called Chicago's First Lady to see if I could exchange my ticket for a later time in the afternoon. NO ONE ANSWERS THE PHONE! So, I took to the internet and emailed them, explaining the situation and advising them that I was not able to make the 1:30 pm tour, and asking if I could switch it to a later time. Their response was "Tickets are non refundable and non changeable. Please join us at your scheduled ticketed time." Because I didn't want to spend another $50 on a ticket I had to forgo the tour. Unfortunate that they are not more customer friendly. So be forewarned! They are NOT flexible and are extremely difficult to actually get ahold of. read more

We loved the Architectural Foundation Tour. Docent Bill, a retired lawyer, had a love for the city and a wealth of knowledge. This was clearly an educational tour- casual discussions were discouraged. I would recommend it for visiters and locals who desire an overview of the structures and the policies that made Chicago an architectural gem. We went on 10am tour- it did fill up. read more

My firm enjoyed a lovely boat party aboard Chicago's First Lady Cruises. Our guests had a wonderful time and were thrilled that they were invited on board. For some this was their first time and others look forward to coming year after year. Captain Tom and the Chicago's First Lady Cruises staff were incredibly thoughtful, friendly and helpful. We cruised the Chicago River in style and gazed up at the impressive scenery. Despite it being a hot summer day, the breeze on the top deck and AC in the main cabin kept everyone cool. We look forward to next year! read more

I have been a lifelong Chicagoan, but have never actually taken this tour until this past weekend and I must say it was great. Our tour guide was named Dick, and besides being freakishly knowledgeable, he was entertaining and funny too. The tour lasted one and a half hours, which to me was the perfect amount of time. Having cocktails being served below was a nice touch. At the end of our tour, the guide refused to accept any kind of gratuities, but said if you liked it, just review us on yelp. So here I am posting a review. I have never posted a review for anything I've purchased before, but this tour was that good. read more

My husband and I took this cruise July 2014 when we vacationed in Chicago for a week. We are in our early 30's. We highly disliked the cruise. It was recommended by a lot of people but it was not a great experience. From what I have heard perhaps we got a very poor tour guide. Our tour guide was a female who referred to herself as an "archit-geek." Her tour consisted of literally telling us the names of the architect's and who they collaborated with, firms they worked with/for, etc. We found it very boring and an hour an a half was too much. I was personally hoping to hear from facts on my cruise....how tall the buildings were, how much steel and glass were used, how much money it costs per month to live there, etc. - interesting things like that. And other people told me they received that kind of info on their cruise. Ours was a very poor experience. We also went midday, 2pm, and so it was pretty hot. I don't recall the times of the cruises but I would recommend something in a cooler time of the day if you are going in the summer-time. On a positive note, the views from the cruise are great and you can get some very cool pictures. read more

Horrible Tour. If you are going into architecture you may benefit from the information however if it rains you are soaked cold and catch a fever. I understand they have no control over the weather but they do over a cover they can put on the boat so everyone doesn't get wet, or hike up the air conditioning. You can not hear anything being said when you go below to get out of the rain. What a mess. I do not recommend this tour. Check out a dvd from your library on this cruise and sit back and relax. read more