Jim was excellent on the Architecture Tour. We travelled from Sheffield, England, and this was our favourite activity of the week. Jim was passionate, funny, and knowledgeable. The route was stunning, a great way to see the city. Great value for money. He also let us know about the $7 tickets for the lake cruise that we wouldn't have done otherwise. read more

This experience was fun. Cruising through the river while learning about Chicago's architecture was amazing. The boat was clean. So were the bathrooms. The view from the boat was stunning. Not to mention Jim, our tour guide. He was super nice. If you're reading this Jim, keep it up. read more

Loved it! This boat tour was my favorite part of our trip!! The boat had plenty of room. Some seating was protected from the sun with an overhang and a bar. It also had an open area with bench seats that had a good amount of lean, so that you can see the highest points. The guide was awesome. I learned a lot about Chicago's history and architecture trends over the years. A lot of the buildings "front" side faces the river, so the view is very different from the boat. The boat ride was smooth with great views. I highly recommend!!! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Just did the 60-minute architectural river tour departing from Navy Pier this past weekend and it was a fantastic experience. Our guide Ruby was awesome - engaging and funny with a perfect mix of architectural history and fun facts that kept everyone entertained. Right before docking at the end of the tour, the captain turned the boat toward the river entrance for a minute so everyone could take photos in front of the skyline, which was a nice touch. The biggest selling point for me was that all of Shoreline's tours are dog-friendly. I brought my pup Shadow along and they even gave her a treat as we were boarding. A couple tips: getting your tickets on Groupon will save you a couple bucks off retail, and bring your own water if it's a hot day - beverages on the boat are pricey. Great guide, amazing views, and pet-friendly. Highly recommend! read more

We had an amazing experience on the Chicago Architecture Tour, and a big part of that was our tour guide, Eric. Eric was exceptionally energetic, enthusiastic, and genuinely funny, which made the entire tour engaging from start to finish. Before joining the tour, I knew very little about Chicago, but Eric did an outstanding job of explaining the city's history from the ground up in a way that was easy to understand and enjoyable to follow. He seamlessly connected historical events with the evolution of Chicago's skyline, making the city come alive through his storytelling. The architectural details he shared were informative, relevant, and presented at just the right level of depth--not overwhelming, but enough to help us truly appreciate the buildings and their significance. I would highly recommend this tour, especially if you're visiting Chicago for the first time. Thanks to Eric, we left with a much deeper appreciation for the city's rich history and incredible architecture. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My ultimate core memory of Chicago aside from the food, historic landmarks, shopping and beautiful open spaces is this Chicago River Boat Architecture tour. Do not miss this! Our tour guide Kathryn was absolutely the best in educating us in the most fun and informative way. She brought every single history behind all the architecture to life as she spoke about the relevance and trivia during our 75 min sunset cruise. It was just sooo awesome. Bought our tickets thru Go City read more

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We live in Los Angeles, and adore visiting Chicago. We have done other architectural boat tours in Chicago--our daughter lives here and as she is getting married we have extra folks coming to Chi-town for the first time. Eric (our guide) was so exceptional. You cannot fake passion and enthusiasm like that. So much information clearly shared, so much knowledge (truly impressive for such a young man), and his clarity of speech such a profound bonus. Best of all when he sang to the opera house. shoreline--you have a gem with Eric. Take good care of him. We absolutely LOVED our experience! read more

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This is the second time I have done an architecture cruise in Chicago. Different company, but just as great. Took family this time. Our tour guide, Joe, was outstanding. Covered a lot of history and explained the relevance of the architecture. Would go again with this company. Took the 10:45am tour - great views and good weather. Utilized the tickets through the C3 pass. These photos had auto-captions - enjoy! read more

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Visited Chicago three times and I've done the Architecture Boat Cruise twice. If you are visiting Chicago, this is MUST to be added to your itinerary. To give some details and not spoil the whole experience, the tour guide describes the different architectural facts that surround the Chicago river. It was truly the experience that markets Chicago as a great city. read more

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Took the Shoreline Sightseeing architecture tour at noon on a clear, sunny day. The boat was comfortable with plenty of seating and good views no matter where you sat. Cruising along the river with the sun out made the city feel alive, and the skyline looked even better from the water. The guide Mary Rose was knowledgeable and mixed history with fun details about the buildings, which kept it engaging without feeling like a lecture. The tour moved at a relaxed pace, long enough to take everything in without dragging. Being out on the water in perfect weather made it even better. The tour itself was about 1 hour 15 minutes. If you're visiting Chicago, this is one of the best ways to see the city and get a sense of its architecture. Highly highly recommend. read more

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I was visiting my boyfriend (I'm from Arizona and he's a Chicago native) and was looking for something fun for us to do together, so I ended up buying the CityPASS. He's a bit of an architecture nerd, so I immediately knew we had to do the architecture tour, and I'm SO glad we did. Jim was our tour guide, and it was immediately clear how much he loves both his job and the city itself. As soon as everyone got on the boat, he was greeting people individually and even trying to use their native languages, which I thought was such a beautiful and thoughtful touch. He asked everyone where they were from, if they had any questions, and if there was anything specific they wanted to learn during the tour. The entire environment felt so friendly, welcoming, and genuinely engaging from the very beginning. His explanations and history lessons were incredibly in-depth and interesting, and even my boyfriend, who has lived in Chicago his entire life, learned new things. Jim was also absolutely hilarious, and I loved his energy the whole time. You can tell he truly enjoys sharing the history and architecture of the city with people. Overall, he gave us a priceless experience and honestly made the tour one of the highlights of our trip. Highly recommend! read more

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This was an awesome architecture tour suggested to me by my niece, and she also accompanied me. We arrived around 12:20 for the 12:30 tour. I'd recommend getting there early to get a covered spot. My niece and I were in full sunlight on a 75 degree day. Initially I felt like u was going to melt into a puddle, but cooled off considerably once we got moving - things for sweaty people to keep in mind, lol. The tour was awesome and I learned so much about architecture in general, but Chicago specifically. Idk they had so much art deco. The tour guide was great, had good personality and energy and even handled some overexuberant children very well. Highly recommend this tour! read more

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During our sunset cruise on night one(different company), we saw a smaller boat and noted the name of the company. That company was Shoreline. As it turns out, before we left we were checking and our Citypass still had entry to one place left. One of those places was a Shoreline cruise so we booked our time and started off walking to the area. Our Shoreline cruise was an architecture cruise. It was hot on this day so we ended up on the lower deck to hide from the sun. I caught most of the tour guides voice, stories, and dad jokes but this was more of a relaxing sail on the river. I did like that we got to see the river/buildings west of the main downtown area. Much like the Riverwalk, if you can squeeze in more than one cruise... definitely do one during the day and one during the evening. The bar is also downstairs and we needed some water. I assumed the prices would be higher. I was surprised that water and drinks were priced reasonably. Shoreline is worth your time whether you're looking to learn something or just cruise along. read more

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Booked both a skyline tour and an architectural boat tour through shoreline sightseeing. The booking was very quick and straightforward, guided by attentive staff. They helped us get our tickets so we could quickly get onto the boat and find out seata. The tour itself was very quality. For the architecture tour, our guide was very knowledgeable, charismatic, and funny. He made several jokes and puns making it a fun time. I ordered a wine from a delightful bartender and it was a gorgeous day. The architecture boat tour was one of the biggest highlights from the trip. The skyline tour is also enjoyable BUT there is not a live guide. The tour plays an audio recording about the history and facts about the lake, navy pier, and surrounding areas. Still absolutely gorgeous to view the city from the water. Would recommend this company and the tour but if you have to choose one, choose the architecture one! read more

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Lake Michigan Skyline Cruise in Chicago We had a 4:00p reservation for a boat tour with the Shoreline Sightseeing Lake Tour. Meeting place was at Shoreline's dock on the west end of Navy Pier. There are benches and shade trees available while you wait to board. Prior to boarding they take your photo which is available for purchase after the tour. This tour did not include a live tour guide. It is a 45-min, pre-recorded narration boat tour that was presented in two sections. The route took us out to Lake Michigan, heading both north and south on the lake. We saw many of Chicago's famous landmarks and skyscrapers and, of course, Chicago's classic skyline views. It was a nice relaxing experience. We did take another boat tour the next day with another company that had a live tour guide. Review #3817 read more

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I took a 75 minute cruise and loved every second! I wish i had booked a longer one! Josh, our guide, was excellent! He was knowledgeable and funny. The cruise covered interesting facts about the history of Chicago along with insight into the history of the ever changing architecture. it was comfortable and clean and on time!! read more

Eric was a very good speaker and staff war very nice, the entire thing was very informative thank you guys so much!

I did the architecture boat tour with shoreline sightseeing. The tour is about 75 minutes long. There are two levels on the boat. The upper level does have a small shaded section but there are not many seats there. We ended up going downstairs. You could still see but I think upstairs would be better so you can have a complete view. Our tour guide Jim was amazing. You can tell he really enjoys explaining the history of Chicago. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Great experience doing the architectural boat tour. Highly recommend it if in the Windy City. Booked through viator ... great deal for a 90 min tour. Our guide was great and very knowledgeable about the buildings, architects and the history. Gave us time to take our pics and soak in the sights. I loved all the unique stories that accompanied each building. Chicago has some great history. Easy to navigate this tour. We picked this tour up at Michigan ave. There is indoor and outdoor seating and a restroom and bar with snacks inside. If picky about seating get there early. They also take souvenir pics if you want to buy when you get off the boat. Great time exploring Chicago and loved doing it on the river green !! read more

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The best tour ever, truly. If you get the pleasure of having Jim as your host, you win ! his heart is in it, you can tell he loves what he does and it makes it so much more enjoyable! read more

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Looking for a fall activity, decided to do an architecture cruise. It was great! Navy pier is always super crowded in summer months, so I usually try to avoid going at that time. Even though it was marathon weekend, it was not crowded at all. We did the 12:30 cruise and it was pretty open. We had a row to ourselves which was nice. Kevin, our tour guide was passionate about his tour. Lots of information. The boat also sells booze and soft drinks. It has bathrooms too. Great thing to do! read more

Lovely time at the Shoreline Sightseeing 75-minute Architecture Tour. The tour is about $45-50 but we did it as part of the CityPass package. Regardless of how you book it, you will still have to reserve a designated tour time as there are limited seats on the boat. This tour left from Michigan Avenue and the Riverwalk. (There is also an option for a boat that leaves from Navy Pier if that is easier.) Once in that area you take the stairs down to the Riverwalk area and wait on line until boarding. They make a few announcements on the process while you are waiting on line...which was helpful. When ready to board, your ticket is scanned and then you proceed onto the boat. There are chairs in the center, chairs toward the back (shaded) and bench-style chairs along the sides. There is also a lower (interior) level...but since it was a nice day...mostly everyone was on the top outdoor area. It is definitely a good idea to arrive early and wait on line to board...particularly if you are a larger group and want to sit together. There were a few larger groups toward the end of the line that had to split up as they couldn't find seats together. We arrived about 20-25 minutes before the cruise departure time and had lots of seating options. The tour itself was great as it navigated through the Chicago River. The tour guide was very good...offering some great information on the buildings in and around the river. He would also walk around and take questions during his brief breaks throughout the tour. Toward the end of the tour, the boat ends up near the entrance to Lake Michigan. With the boat turned perpendicular to the city, it stops to give tour-goers an opportunity to take photos and selfies against the city backdrop....this was a great idea! There is a drink and snack shop on the bottom level...serving alcoholic drinks as well. The boat left and returned on-time which is appreciated, especially for those on a schedule. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Overall our tour guide Richard was incredible and knowledgeable. He was funny and charismatic and the tour itself was very enjoyable. The tour was only 60-75 minutes long compared to the 90 architecture tour I've taken with another company. The boat only went down the southern branch of the river and not the north after splitting from the east-west portion which is a little bit of a bummer. What I really did not enjoy was the pushiness of the pre boarding, telling us we had to take a picture with the wheel, of which they did with every single passenger group. They'd print all the images off prior to the end of your tour and try to get you to purchase them. But the unpurchased photos (majority of them) were thrown out. This was such a wasteful practice and left a bad taste in my mouth. So, prior to boarding we told the woman controlling the line that we don't want to take a picture but she was incredibly insistent and a little condescending towards our voiced concerns. We did NOT take the photo and just walked onto the boat. They claimed it was to slow down boarding (I don't really buy it), but it slowed it down so much we were late departing from the riverwalk. It did not feel genuine and seemed like a money grab, not to mention environmentally unfriendly. Loved the actual tour but it started out negatively. read more

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We just completed an architectural boat tour with our guide Eric. Despite the frigid temps, we throughly enjoyed the experience. Eric skillfully combined storytelling with architectural facts. My husband is a structural engineer and was also impressed with the knowledge imparted. Also.... As a bonus Eric serenaded us by the Opera House. :) read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Shoreline has a lot of options of architecture tour to offer. They have stalls at major intersections where they can book a tour. The staff is friendly and not pushy. The boat was comfortable; band tour guide was very knowledgeable. Lot of timing options to choose from, and also select the duration of the tour. We did Chicao river architecture night tour, and the lighting of the city was beautiful and mesmerizing. The tour was pricey but worth it. read more

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I loved how enthusiast & personable the tour guide was. I did this tour during my first visit to Chicago and enjoyed it! A great way to take in the city and learn more about the history and culture. Chicago is a beauty. The boat was spacious, the crew was nice, and the tour was on time. read more

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I really nice, relaxing, and educational experience around the Chicago rivers. I booked this using the Chicago CityPass and I would say this was a pretty good and worth the experience. It's a whole 90 minutes and you get to learn about the different architectures and stories of the old and newer Chicago. They have a bar and a few seats in the shade which is pretty nice. read more

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A Must-Do Experience in Chicago! We took the Architecture River Tour in Chicago, and it was such a fun and memorable experience! It's definitely a must when visiting the city. We started our tour from Navy Pier at around 5:45 PM, which turned out to be the perfect time, the lighting, the views, and the overall vibe were just beautiful. Our storyteller and guide, Jillian (or Jill), did an amazing job! She was engaging, knowledgeable, and passionate about Chicago's history and architecture. My daughter was truly inspired by her storytelling, and even my wife and I felt enlightened by how she shared the city's story. The ride itself was smooth and relaxing. The captain did a great job navigating the river, and everyone on board was friendly and welcoming. The 75-minute tour went by quickly because we were enjoying every moment. Overall, this was one of the highlights of our Chicago trip. Highly recommend it for anyone, families, couples, or anyone who wants to learn more about the beautiful architecture and history of this amazing city! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We did the 75 minute Chicago River Boat Architecture Tour. We just walked right up, paid and hopped right on the boat. I can't remember the tour guides name but I want to say Charlie. He was 34 years old and from the west side. He gave us a great experience and we learned so much about the architecture of the buildings. He provided fun commentary and kept my interest the whole time. The view from the boat was much prettier than I imagined and more than I saw on the streets. The boat itself was a very smooth ride. read more

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We're generally not big on things like sight-seeing and museums, but this was our second visit to Chicago, we love visiting this city and thought a boat tour might be an interesting way to see even more of it and to learn a bit about the buildings, people and architecture. We checked a few different tour companies who's boats depart from the lower end of the Chicago River. One had longer tours than we really wanted and were somewhat expensive, another operator had much shorter tours of only 45 minutes and were reasonably priced but were sold out for another 2 days, and then we found this company, Shoreline Sightseeing, which offered 75 minute tours for $49.95 which was reasonable. The tour was interesting, cruising along 3 different branches of the river, and the narrator/guide gave details and historical information about many of the buildings. The guide on our boat was a lifelong Chicago resident, so knowledgeable, and he took a few breaks and made himself available for questions or if anyone wanted information or details that weren't included in his usual banter during the cruise. They also had a bar downstairs where drinks and snacks could be purchased. In all a good experience and I'd recommend Shoreline for the length of trip vs. price. Also, on the Friday we did our tour, we were able to book our tickets and depart within the next 5 minutes - or we could've waited for later departures which happen every 1/2 hour. read more

The most amazing tour, I learned so much. The buildings are beautiful and very interesting when explained why they look that way and the evolution of the designs. The boat had a great tour guide, she was funny! The bar in the boat was good too, I had a strawberry margarita. We were scheduled for the sunset tour but we could not find the place and it was raining so we gave up the first night. We found it later that night and they allowed us to schedule for the next day. 10/10 read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

On the advice of my cousin we booked a tour at twilight (645) which was perfect. Our tour set out while there was daylight and proceeded into sundown which allowed for the lights of the buildings to sparkle against the clear evening. Under the guidance of our excellent narrator, Vincent (?), it was a great trip. He didn't hold back on what he thought of some of the buildings to come. His openness in sharing his knowledge was wonderful. Highly recommend this time of day and provider for an iconic architectural river tour is a must read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Beautiful! - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We went on the architecture tour and it was wonderful! Our guide was great and we learned so much about the city. There are restrooms and a full bar inside. Seating is first come first serve, so would get there 20-30 min early if you want to sit at the front. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Just getting to the launching area was a lot of walking. And if you didn't know about any elevators to get you to the Riverwalk level, there are lots and lots of stairs. Once on the boat, it was quite noisy and you couldn't avoid the smell of diesel exhaust. In addition the narrator of the cruise was a little out of sync as we approached a building bridge or site. And her voice on the speakers was not clear over the noise of the cruise ship. However still a lovely experience. read more

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We have used this company twice. There are two pickup locations, off Michigan Avenue or Navy Pier. I will make a note that you cannot get on at one location and off board at the other location. So just keep that in mind. There is a water taxi though. I think that the docent, Liam was very good at cracking dad jokes, very history informative and overall enjoyed the vibe. The only issue I do have is the bar area. I do not feel that the bartender on staff during our excursion was as educated in simple drinks. read more

My friend and I booked the lake skyline tour at 7:15pm specifically to catch the sunset at 7:26pm. We planned to arrive by 7pm per the directions and completely missed the confirmed time because as you see in the pictures, the address provided and hyperlinked is in a completely different location than the actual check in and departure area (a solid 10 min walking distance and we were basically jogging). Because of this, the next available time was 8pm, when it was already dark. The 1-star is because this seems like a simple fix in the confirmation email to provide hyperlinked coordinates instead that is accurate to the actual location and matches the picture in the confirmation email to avoid any confusion. The boat ride itself was perfectly fine. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - The address linked in the confirmation email is NOWHERE close to the actual check in area. - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My cousin and her daughter were coming to town and I wanted to make sure their stay was unforgettable. My cousin lived here until she was 8 and then moved to Virginia Beach when her dad joined the Navy. She had come back a few times for work , but never really got the chance to revisit her old neighborhood where we spent a lot of family time together. Her daughter had never been here, so we had to make this visit epic. I'm not even an itinerary type of girl, but I planned a days spent doing touristy stuff. Since I had done the architectural river boat tour twice in the past 15 years (and loved it), I made sure we put that on our list. We had originally planned to do a mid-afternoon trip ( on a 90-degree day, why, I don't know) ), but luckily, we were running behind. We made it just in time to board the 7:30 boat, close to sunset. Perfect! This tour was so thorough and our tour guide was so informative, we were engaged the entire 90 minutes! I discovered even more facts about the architects/architecture and exceptional engineering feats which make this city the world-class metropolis it is. I even learned the Chicago River, in 1900, was reversed to prevent sewage and other pollutants from flowing into Lake Michigan. The only thing this tour didn't include, which the other two did, was a pass through the harbors locks to the lake featuring a full view of the stunning Chicago skyline. I also wished our tour guide went into more detail about the city's founder, Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, a Haitian fur trader. Especially since the tour started at the site where he set up his trading post AND the city's most scenic and drive-able thoroughfare was recently renamed in his honor. All in all, after the tour, my lil cousin was so impressed she was convinced she wanted to move here one day! I highly recommend this tour for locals and visitors who want to learn more about our great city! read more

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Great architectural tour of the city from the river. Our guide was funny and very knowledgeable of everything. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Shoreline Sightseeing provides wonderful Chicago architecture tours! I have enjoyed their tours many times over the years. Their docents are a wealth of Chicago knowledge, and are very good presenters and teachers. The scenic courses the Shoreline Sightseeing boat tours take through the city are remarkable and beautiful. Thank you to Shoreline Sightseeing for being a wonderful part of Chicago and of Illinois. God bless. read more

A boat tour of the Chicago River was on the top of my bucket list during our short visit to the city. We arrived super early on a red-eye flight, and we weren't able to check into our hotel yet, so my boyfriend and I decided to do the architecture tour to kill time. My boyfriend purchased the CityPass tickets and for about $100 a person you can pick 3 Chicago attractions and one of them was the Shoreline Sightseeing Tour. I wanted to make sure we didn't ride on the "Chicago's Little Lady" boat tour since that was the one that was a victim of Dave Matthew's Band incident haha iykyk! Since I was so jetlagged, I honestly fell asleep on this boat tour in the beginning. The tour guide was very informative, but for me it was just nice to go for a ride on the river. The distance it covers is not as much as I thought, but the length of time was satisfying enough to get my fill of the city views. read more

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