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.

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!

I love the flexibility of this outfit. No down payment required, easy cancellation if needed, easy…read morerescheduling if needed, and the tour guide is friendly, energetic and cheerful. We did the gangsters tour and was full of interesting Chicago history and biographical accounts of gangsters. There's even a well timed bathroom stop at the Harry Carey restaurant/museum.

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.

Great guide. Very knowledgeable about the interior, exterior, architect and history. Had photos of…read moremovies shot in the specific locations. Took time to answer questions.

This was fantastic! I've always believed the tour guide is what makes or breaks an experience…read more Access aside, these building designs are fascinating but Colleen turned them into a memorable story about the history of Chicago's innovative commercial architecture. She is a professional and I assume others who work for this company are as well. In my opinion, the tour ​structure and pace were optimal. She set us up with an introduction to each building, gave us time to absorb it and then went into details. We had a member of our group who can't always keep up physically so I was prepared to drop out but the pace was very accommodating because the actual distance between buildings is short and there are accessibility doors / elevators at each since they serve a modern population. We'd sign up anytime for any other tour Colleen leads!

Excellent experience, it was a beautiful day, we went on Saturday May 9-2026. Bill was the person…read moregiven the information, he was excellent, knew very well all the history of Chicago and the buildings. We were a group of 4 and we sat on the front of the boat, it was a good choice.

I had an amazing experience! I went on May 31 and Ciara amazing! She went out of her way to help…read moreme find the perfect souvenir. She was knowledgeable, friendly and customer service was a 10 out of 10 she was what made the experience so great! If she wouldn't have gone on her way to assist me, I would've walked out without a souvenir!

I did the Birth of a Skyscraper tour with Mitch, and it was incredible!! I gained a deeper…read moreappreciation for Chicago's buildings. My partner even said that even though he passes by some of these buildings everyday, he didn't realize things until Mitch pointed them out! Mitch was engaging and friendly. He answered all of our questions as well, and I enjoyed his "storytelling format" of the tour. He also communicated with us about when and where we should meet. I highly recommend Free Tours by Foot for anyone visiting Chicago!

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

We did the Chicago Walking Food & Walking Tour with Braeden and would highly recommend. Braeden was…read morea great tour guide- easy to hear, very knowledgeable, and super friendly! Food was great and got to see a lot of the city.

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!

Highly recommend!…read more Easy to book online. Came in early June, 12:00pm reservation. I had booked a tour a year before but had to cancel last minute due to illness and they refunded me 100% the day before. Line started 30 minutes before the departure time so get there early if you want a specific spot. Chairs on top as well as some benches on the side. Seating area downstairs, bar, and complimentary water, lemonade, coffee/ tea. Nice bathrooms on board. Ed was an amazing tour guide, very knowledgeable and Chicago local who knows his history of the city!! Informative and funny! *Note: This is the only tour I've been on so I have nothing to compare it too. Some of the other tours looked bigger, I would probably try another one next time just to compare.

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.