Definitely one of the must do while visiting Chicago!…read more Great boat tour with excellent docents. I ended up with a much great understanding of the Chicago buildings I was walking around or through.

Great boat tour showcasing all the beauty of the city! Each style was clearly explained by our tour…read moreguide. Highly recommend this specific tour which is run by a non profit .

We went on the architecture tour tonight. It was fun and informative. However, the amount of…read morespiders on the boat is ridiculous. When on the lower level you are hoping a spider isn't go to fall on you.

We bought tickets for a Sunday morning cruise (depart 10am) online and when we departed the boat…read morewas half full on the top level. We were blessed with perfect sunny skies and temps around 68-70 degrees the whole time. Our small group took up the one back corner of the boat and had a great time. The boat took us out through the lock into the harbor and then out around the breakwater into the open lake, around the lighthouse and then back through the lock (about an hour) to a nice cruise down river (30 mins). We turned around where the main branches come together at a Y. Along the way we learned about the history of the City, the great fire, why the lock exists, some local neighborhood history, reverse flow/pollution of the river, lots of building info/architecture new and old and about the lake. The lock and lake part of the trip was fun for the kids. I would recommend this type of tour if you have children so it keeps them a little entertained instead of hearing about buildings for 90 mins. The bathroom on board was clean. The bar area downstairs looked good, but we didn't drink or buy snacks. We walked from our hotel so I can't help you with parking. It's a couple flights of steps down to get to the loading area for the boat and the same steps back up to street level when you leave the boat. Last thing, when we got off our boat the lines for all the boat companies were long. If you hate lines, get the boat tour done early!! Thanks guys!

I went on the September 5th at the 11:30 tour. Catherine, our tour guide, was exceptional in her…read morestorytelling skills. She accurately described "the best" of Chicago and lead us on an incredible tour through the Windy City. Catherine's quick wit and charm made the experience memorable and exciting. 10/10 recommend her and this tour to anyone visiting the city.

A river tour is a must when visiting Chicago! We decided to do Shoreline Sightseeing, and it was…read moresuch a great experience. We were nervous because my mom gets motion sickness easily, and we weren't sure she'd be able to enjoy the tour. Thankfully, the water was calm enough, and she absolutely loved it! The views were beautiful, and we learned so many fun facts about the city along the way. Definitely recommend adding this to your Chicago itinerary!

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!

Booking an architecture boat tour is an absolute must when visiting Chicago!…read more We booked our tickets through Citypass which I recommend doing early as this tends to be popular and spots fill up very quickly. Our guide, Charlie was super knowledgeable and very entertaining which made the experience even better! He taught us about the history of Chicago and we got to learn so much about the city's iconic buildings. Highly recommend this tour!

Quick take: Must do in Chicago…read more Definitely go on a river boat tour if you are visiting Downtown Chicago. The tour guide was awesome. The weather was so nice. Not too hot and not too cold. Very interesting history and stories about all the businesses and buildings along the river.

Such a fun boat ride just chilling riding going in and around all the buildings and learning about…read morethe architecture and history all while taking Chicago in The staff was great and it was a nice ride and break from walking Lovely time

Such a great city for architecture, the very oldest building sitting next to the newest…read moreskyscrapers. I loved this tour...even though it rained and we had to spend part of the tour inside to stay dry without much of a view, it was still a great tour for the cost. We were warned to make a reservation cause the tours do fill up, and this was a holiday weekend. Do not leave Chicago without doing this!

The tour itself was great, and our guide was knowledgeable and did a wonderful job. We also had a…read moregreat experience with the bartenders. Unfortunately, the accessibility side of the experience could use some improvement. We had someone in our group with a disability, and it wasn't very clear how to access the boat or where the accessible route was located. We did find the ADA information on the website afterward, so we recognize that we could have looked into it more beforehand, but it does take several clicks to find and could be made much more visible. The wheelchair-accessible ramp is also about two blocks away, which can be especially difficult for someone using a cane or with limited mobility. When we asked the staff on the dock for assistance getting down, we unfortunately didn't receive much help. Overall, we enjoyed the tour itself, but clearer accessibility signage, more visible information, and a little more assistance from staff would have made a big difference. We noticed that the sightseeing tour across the water had very clear handicap-accessible signage, which might be something worth considering.

Just about everyone recommended to go on the architecture tour when they found out I was going to…read moreChicago and First Lady was the top recommendation. Chris P was a great tour guide/volunteer and an amazing storyteller. Lots of interesting tidbits on all the buildings along the river. Highly recommend to figure out the best time for a sunset tour, it was so beautiful to take photos of the Chicago skyline. Highlight of my trip!

Just went on our first sea dog cruise here in Chicago and I loved it. Ryan was amazing so was skunk…read moreand François 10 out of 10 and will be back!!!

We did the Extreme seadog boat cruise. It was an absolute blast. Our first mate had a fantastic dry…read morehumor to him. The captain was funny. We just had a great time. Highly recommend.

Keith and captain Joe were a delight. Good entertainment with good history of the city. Highly…read morerecommend.

A fantastic tour with Hillary, did not feel like 90 minutes! so knowledgeable and fun, we had a…read moregreat time.

The Barrel Run provided an exceptional experience. For my sister's 40th birthday, we arranged a…read moreprivate Prohibition Tour, which proved to be truly remarkable. Our tour guide, David, was an outstanding narrator whose extensive knowledge offered many new insights, even for those in our large group who reside in the Chicago area. Furthermore, Denise, who served as the primary point of contact for scheduling, was excellent; her communication was consistently thorough. I highly recommend The Barrel Run for anyone seeking a unique and memorable event.

If you're a craft beer fan this tour should be on your list of things to do if you're visiting…read moreChicago. You get to visit 3 breweries/brew pubs. I believe at least one of them you get a tour of, Revolution brewery was the one we got to tour. Our guide Ted was awesome, he gave us some history on the places we were going to visit along with some local Chicago history during the ride. The location were kept a surprise ahead of time so we didn't know where we were going until we got there. They do have a rotation of different breweries they tour so if you decided to go again you could possibly explore some new spots the next time around. The coolest part about the tour is the bus itself, just checkout the pictures. The seating layout makes for great interaction with the rest of the people on the tour. I happened to find out about The Barrel Run when I was looking up Chicago tours on YouTube & came across some video a couple named kovACTION made about 3 months ago. Right after watching that I knew I had to fit this in my schedule when I was in town.