Chicago River Boat Architecture Tour

Name: Chicago River Boat Architecture Tour
Brand: Chicago River Boat Architecture Tours
SKU: 92538P1
Price: 49.00 USD
Rating: 5.0 (667 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceChicago, USA

From $49.00

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

1 hour 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Chicago is known internationally for its architectural diversity and dynamism—and this in-depth tour will introduce you to many of the city’s best-known and most influential landmarks. Meet at the pier right off Lake Shore Drive, hop aboard your boat, and set off. You’ll spy highlights ranging from Chicago’s skyscrapers and bustling Navy Pier to the famous “Bean” sculpture—and will learn about the different architectural movements that shaped the city. Upgrade your experience to a small boat with a maximum of 60 people.

This in-depth boat tour is an ideal option for architecture enthusiasts
See a new perspective on the Windy City when you explore by boat
Learn all about Chicago’s architecture and history from your guide
Discover many top Chicago landmarks, all in a single tour

What's Included

Local guide
Port pickup and drop-off
Bottled water
Coffee and/or Tea
Alcoholic Beverages
Snacks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

465 N McClurg Ct, Chicago, IL 60611, USA

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Chicago River

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Navy Pier (Pass By)

Cloud Gate (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult

Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 175 travelers

Operated by Chicago River Boat Architecture Tours

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Scott_H

Absolutely loved it. Best 90 mins spent. Jim is an incredible guide and I learned so much. Was a highlight of the visit. A must.

Reviews

5.0

667 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 667 reviews

Great and great views

Asha_S, Apr 2024

Fun and informative, the lady gave us a lot of facts. Bar and complementary coffee, juice, snacks. 10/10!

Awesome Tour

Michael_W, Apr 2024

Narrator was very knowledgeable and gave some great insight into this beautiful city and it’s architecture!

Awesome experience, learned so much.

Scott_H, Apr 2024

Absolutely loved it. Best 90 mins spent. Jim is an incredible guide and I learned so much. Was a highlight of the visit. A must.

The Chicago Architectural Boat Tour is highly recommended.

Christina_P, Apr 2024

Ed our tour guide has such a great sense of humor and his knowledge of Chicago’s history of architecture was unbelievable. So glad I finally booked this tour.

Alot of information

Lisa_G, Apr 2024

The boat is nice, chairs basic and a bit tightly packed in. The guide was very knowledgeable. He talked continuously from start to finish and spoke very fast. I missed some facts. I feel a more bullet pointed way with a breather to take it in would be my preference. Refreshments a nice touch on a hot day.

Worth the time and money

Wayne_T, Apr 2024

Very informative. Also the tour narrator spoke clearly (very important), was personable and had a good sense of humor.

Chicago Skyline

Meritxell_F, Apr 2024

Chicago is a lovely city and the trip gave us a detailed overview of the building architecture. Super interesting!

Didn’t tour to see her on stage!

Michael_D, Apr 2024

The lady narrating was very, very knowledgeable! However, she talked very fast, move the microphone away, where you couldn’t hear her and stood it front of the boat and talked about things that passed all the chairs were facing her like she was on stage. Instead, she should be in the back talking about things that are coming up, and you could see them as she’s talking about them! no one came to see her they came to look at the beautiful views and buildings! She did not speak very clearly, and acted like she was basically talking to the first two rows of people. They also overbooked and people had to stand, and then they were in your way and you couldn’t see.

Fantastic, detailed,...

Amy_H, Apr 2024

Fantastic, detailed, entertaining tour. Got there 1/2 hour early and very happy we did. The tour filled up.

Best way to see Chicago!

Julie_K, Dec 2023

Fantastic tour, especially our guide who was so knowledgable and interesting! We loved going at 4pm so that we started in daylight and ended with the city lights shining! Highly recommend for anyone, any age! Our group ranged from ages 17-85 and we all had a great time.

Great informative River Tour of Chicago Architecture

Patrick_H, Dec 2023

The tour was great, the staff were amazing. Al knows what he is talking about and he can also talk for the entire tour without interruption. Christian took good care of us making sure everyone had drinks and kept us entertained. The tour showed all the beauty of the Chicago Architecture and Al actually made it interesting. I would not recommend it for younger children or Children in general if they are not interested in buildings and some history, but adults will enjoy the scenery and quiet time on the river as well as the information they can learn about Chicago. Only complaints would be parking and Viator not being overly user friendly when booking or making changes to the reservations.

Rolling down the river on a sunny day

Alida_F, Dec 2023

The tour guide was a true Chicago native; you could tell by the way he told stories and facts about the architecture of the city. He definitely made the tour interesting! The crew were also lovely.

Chicago on the river

Michael_A, Dec 2023

Even though it was a bit chilly, the sights were marvelous. And the guide appeared most knowledgeable

Great Intro to Chicago

Catherine_P, Nov 2023

Very informative. So much information that the docent had to really speed through the presentation to get in all the words. Sometimes a little hard to understand, but context made it clear. No reservations recommending.

The guide was AMAZING! ...

Montserrat_M, Nov 2023

The guide was AMAZING! She was knowledgeable but also clear, expressive, enthusiastic, and a great communicator.

The only touristy thing you need to do

Rakesh_C, Nov 2023

The best thing to do in Chicago besides eat. The tour guide/docent knew SO MUCH about the history and architecture, she had to have got a degree in it. And she’s real cute!! 😜

MUST DO IF YOU ARE IN CHICAGO (even for a few days)!

Imane_F, Nov 2023

We loved our experience on the boat. The crew was great and the tour guide was very informative. They provided us with hot drinks and there is an upper deck (if you don’t mind sitting in the wind for a bit) but also a lower deck where there is less wind but you can also see the view by the sides of the boat. The tour guide goes over much if not all of the towers we passed by and gave great insights.

Great way to see the city from a new perspective

Jonathan_P, Oct 2023

Excellent docent, really enjoyed the perspective from the river views. First time to the city for us, fantastic collection of architecture.

Very knowledgeable guide...

Laura_T, Oct 2023

Very knowledgeable guide who was excellent, clean boat, left on time, easy to find. Facilities on board were good.

Great experience

Stephanie_C, Oct 2023

This was a very informative tour. We had an excellent guide and the boat had free soft drinks, water, coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

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