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.

We did the Gold Coast walking tour and saw everything from the original Playboy mansion, to a house…read morethat was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was a very interesting tour, but it's not for kids. There's a lot of walking, and it's gonna be boring for little ones, so leave them at home! The tour guide was totally awesome. He was very knowledgeable, and he made the tour interesting and fun. The reservation process and all communication leading up to the event were flawless. And it's true that there is no set price for this tour - this is not a scam. You reserve your spot online ahead of time, and at the end of the tour, you pay whatever you think it was worth. We paid $20 per person - I'm not sure if that was too much, or too little. Bottom line: use this tour company. You will not regret it!

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!

It was super enjoyable. Learned a lot of history about the city of Chicago. Max is so energetic and…read morejust good time! You won't regret it. Take the tour.

Review for the WALKING TOUR: went with my family. The stories and the locations were not the only…read morehighlights, but the skill and presentation of the storyteller as well. Sophia was amazing, engaging and was full of energy/passion. We saw a deal at Groupon for $28 and we decided to take a chance on the activity. You don't go in any buildings, except one - the Palmer House Hotel. It was a good place for a break in the tour, though no scary stories were told about it. My feedback for the tour company is to add more stories if possible, I feel like there could be a little bit more added compared to the other tours I've been on. Parking: Use spot hero beforehand to find the best deal closest to Hoyt's tavern (meet up spot). Picked the spot near Dunkin Donuts for $10.99 and 5 min walk away. FYI: The tour does NOT circle back close to where they originally started. We ended the tour about 20 min walk away. So just keep that in mind. We were fine with it and even got to stop by one of our favorite Gelato places in Paris, Amorino on the way back. Discovered they have a store here along the walking tour.

Henry was an amazing guide. He brought his passion for architecture and engineering to our Art Deco…read moretour, showing us the optimism and opulence of the era. I can't recommend this tour enough.

Colleen was great during our Chicago interior architecture tour. We went to six different buildings…read moreand she had super interesting points to share during each stop. She was thoughtful in offering restroom breaks during the two hour tour. Would absolutely recommend this tour - I have been to Chicago multiple times and learned more on this tour than I ever did in my previous visits combined. Fun way to see the city and stay (mostly) warm since it's a tour of the interior of buildings :)

We just toured the Old Post Office with John. He did a great job! The space is amazing and…read morestories compelling.

Took the Art Deco tour yesterday, what a great way to learn about some of the history of Chicago as…read morewell as the gorgeous buildings!! Our guide was knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting. Unfortunately I flew out yesterday afterwards, but will definitely be back to check out the Center as well.

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

While the tour started out good led by Bruce and we were excited to hear about the Gangsters it…read morequickly turned into a very boring commercial for things within Chicago - pizza, hot dogs, theatre .... Bruce had a list that he kept referring to and items that he had to plug. It was a very disappointing tour -- and Even more so because I've been on FTOF all over the world and have never experienced this before, anywhere. Oh well. Weather was beautiful and enjoyed my time with my friends.

Wyatt led a great Chinatown tour. A great selection of dishes from different parts of China…read moreincluding some really unexpected dishes. Our guide gave really interesting historical and cultural context and accommodated all food preferences within the group. I highly recommend this tour

We did the Chinatown walking food tour this past weekend and it was amazing!!! Highly recommend…read moredoing this even if you live in the Chicagoland area. Valarie was our guide and she was terrific! Took us to 5 really great spots that we will be going back to for a full dining experience. Valarie gave us a lot of Chinese history and how it related to food, and the people in our group were all friendly and made for an enjoyable experience. I couldn't recommend doing one of their tours more. Do it!!

Route 66, also known as "The Mother Road", officially begins in downtown Chicago. The starting…read morepoint is marked by a sign & plaque on Michigan Ave, near the intersection of South Michigan & East Adams; across from the Art Institute of Chicago. The route originally ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, California

Route 66 starts, or ends, in Chicago at the intersection of Jackson and Jefferson and ends in Santa…read moreMonica, CA. Today, 85 % of the original roads are still drivable. "Get Your Chicks on Route 66."

Super amazing experience. Carla was even more amazing and went above and beyond and took a picture…read moreof us and sent it to me because I was scared of damaging my phone so I did not bring one. That's where guys were amazing and for first timers we felt extremely comfortable and shockingly we did not flip over! We can NOT wait to come back! Reccomend the Historical Tour!

I am so happy to have had the opportunity to try this tour with some other Yelpers. Let me just say…read morethat I have tried A LOT of food tours (both Chicago Food Planet neighborhood tours and TWO chocolate neighborhood tours) and this one ranks up there in the top! Out of all the tours I've done, I learned the most of Chicago history here. We not only stopped off at food locations but also at historic landmarks (i.e. The Drake hotel). It was a rainy AND windy Chicago Sunday, but despite the weather I had an awesome time! Lynn did a really great job with our tour and handled the weather situation without difficulty. What a great easy going guy! We visited: --Pizano's Pizza (I may have found my new favorite pizza spot. The deep dish and thin crust pizza were delicious! I am still trying to figure out how they get that crust so crispy!) --Sarah's (The brownie was definitely good...I've never met a bad brownie, but it was not the best I've had) --Downtown Dog's (Good Chicago hot dog--stay away from those peppers!) --Heaven on Seven (The gumbo was really delicious! I may have to come back to try more food!) --Billy Goat Tavern & Grill (I've lived in Chicago for over 4 years and FINALLY made it to this place! Sadly, the cheeseburger was not good. But I enjoyed learning about the history of the Original Tavern and the Billy Goat. Definitely a Chicago tourist spot to visit, if not eat at) --The Purple Pig (I've been wanting to check this place out too!!! That strawberry ice cream IS DELICIOUS!!!!! It tasted like something from my childhood!!! Very nostalgic for me! The outdoor seating was very nice! I enjoyed visiting ALL the locations on our tour, but my favorite EATERIES were Pizano's, Heaven on Seven, and The Purple Pig. For $44 you definitely get your money's worth if not more. The tour guarantees enough for lunch, but I can tell you that you'll be filled up for dinner too!! LOTS OF FOOD to keep you full. I started cramping towards the end from eating so much!! Just a note for those that decide to come, I recommend NOT driving. Your parking meter will expire. The tour is longer than 2 hours and the tour does not end where it begins. Also, the tour is designed for sit down dining so that you will always have a nice comfortable seat and a nice ICE cold drink (so you're not drinking the warm water you've been carrying around). The tour is NOT rushed at all which I enjoyed A LOT. You can also shop during the tour stops too, which many food tours don't allow. The duration of my tour was from 11am to 2:45pm. I recommend keeping your schedule for the entire day open so that you don't feel rushed to get somewhere else. I would definitely recommend this tour to my friends!

Every person I asked for a suggestion about what to do when in the city and everyone said to take…read morean architecture tour. They were right. I paid for the Gropuon which made our tickets half price. The one thing Is will say is that the parking directions for were confusing to me - I could have parked much closer but ended up going to the wrong location. This was something the tickets warned about but I just didn't figure it out. There was a bar and food on board but I didn't partake. We decided to do the nighttime tour per the suggestion of those who told me about the tour and I'm happy to have done so. The buildings were so beautiful and the lights were great. Next visit I will try the day time tour. It was an excellent way to spend 90 minutes and learn some really cool facts about a great city. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Chicago.

Chicago riverboat architectural historical tour on main branch of river. Time to cruise…read more Nonstop 90 minutes. Talk about the architectural sky scraper wonders. foremost. Mind blowing enormously tall. Alot of humor and details on rental price @$400,000 a year. Famous people like Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey lived here. Willis seats tower 100 stories tall 1,052 in the Windy City Sky! It's the tallest! there are 37 drawbridges on the main branch river. That's all the facts in my head could remember. The river is alive! The buildings taller than Sequoia redwood trees or Oregon Douglas Fir. Glass, concrete and steel in assorted shapes - seemingly alive like a living tree. I feel the energy of the river and the buildings standing tall. Worth the moolah.