Chicago Fireboat Tour: History and Architecture Cruise

Explore Chicago’s fire history and architecture on a historic fireboat cruise. Perfect for families and fire enthusiasts. Book your adventure today.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Chicago Riverwalk - Cruise Chicago on a historic Fireboat, the Fred A Busse, Engine 41, on the same waterways where our vessel once fought fires and provided emergency assistance. Our expert tour guides take us from Lake Michigan, through the Chicago locks, and onto the Chicago River. We’ll highlight architecture, history, as well as some of our…
What's Included
  • Bathrooms available onboard
  • Cruise on a piece of Chicago history
  • Expert narration of Chicago’s history & architecture
What's Not Included
  • Snacks
  • Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase onboard
Additional Information

Travel on a piece of history, learning Chicago fire history as well as Architecture! We travel on Lake Michigan and through the Chicago River seeing the sights. Perfect for Fire enthusiasts, families and everyone in between! Our flagship vessel is a retired Chicago fire boat, the Fred A Busse, Engine 41, which served Chicago from 1937 to 1981….

Location
111 N DuSable Lake Shore Dr
North DuSable Lake Shore Drive
CHICAGO FIREBOAT TOURS IS LOCATED ON THE CONCRETE PIER BETWEEN MONROE & DUSABLE HARBORS, JUST EAST OF MILLENNIUM & MAGGIE DALEY PARKS, AND ABOUT A MILE SOUTH OF NAVY PIER. WE ARE ON THE SAME DOCK AS THE MV ABEGWEIT, A 372FT BLUE & WHITE VESSEL HOUSING THE COLUMBIA YACHT CLUB.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(36 Ratings)
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_kathyham5
Oct 1, 2024
Loved this tour! - This is the second time I've taken this cruise. The first time I went with a friend; this time I brought my five grandkids. (Ages 8 -19) I wanted them to have the experience of going through the lock. They enjoyed the boat itself as much as they liked the cruise; it's really comfortable as well as being a piece of history. Every member of the crew made us feel welcome, and the tour guide did a great job.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kristyp901
Sep 30, 2024
Great time! Super knowledgeable tour guide, and friendly bartender! - I took my friend on the tour for her birthday. She absolutely loved it as did I. The boat was not crowded. The tour guide did a great job explaining everything to us. It was about a 2 hour trip which I thought was perfect. I liked that you could set outside or inside and still see everything. The history of the boat was just as cool as the history of the city. The bartender was super friendly and knowledgeable as he liked to chat with you when you came up to get a drink or snack. I highly recomend this tour as it was a super unique was to explore the city.
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Maryjz7711qj
Sep 28, 2024
Chicago Fireboat Tour is a Quality Experience - We had an excellent experience on this tour. Staff was super friendly, particularly Captain Ron & Cliff. Cliff did a superb job of describing not only the architecture but also of teaching us about the history of Chicago. His style is engaging and he clearly has an excellent sense of humor. And his singing wasn’t half bad. Highly recommend for 5 and up.
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Trishl595
Sep 22, 2024
Best tour ever - Best Chicago tour by far. Excellent tour guide (Cliff), amazing views and learned so much about the city. Will definitely go again!
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Melissa
Sep 22, 2024
Best Chicago Boat Tour - Took our 81 year mom for her birthday with the whole family. Great views from the lake and river. The tour was full of so much Chicago history not just architecture. Use spot hero to get close cheap parking. Have been on several river tours and this was the best!
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Danielle506
Sep 18, 2024
Wonderful tour - The Chicago Fireboat Tour was a great experience. The ride around the lake and the Chicago River seeing all the architecture was so beautiful. Our tour guide Cliff was amazing, so funny and knowledgeable about the area. Manny at the bar was fantastic and so friendly. Highly recommend the tour!
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Companion21378624520
Sep 14, 2024
10/10 cruise with Cliff - Excellent cruise through the heart of Chicago. Cliff the tour guide was a brilliant host, explaining all about the architectural history of the city and even sang us a song. Great way to take in Chicago from the water aboard a unique vessel rather than some of the other bigger and more commercial boats. Definitely recommend!
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Jessicam10152
Sep 11, 2024
My favorite tour so far! - Absolutely loved this tour - it was the perfect mix of laid back and informative - the team made it so interesting and personable and did not drone on and on like some other tours. It didn't feel as scripted and I love that we went on the lake AND river! Some are just the river, but it can be overwhelming to take in so much info in such a short time. Manny behind the bar was great and I loved the cool interiors and how it felt like a cabin...highly recommend this friendly tour!
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Vincent
Sep 11, 2024
Ride on some ChiTown history while learning about the history of Chicago - We had a great time on the retired fire boat. Was a cool feeling as a retired firefighter myself being on this retired engine. The tour guide Cliff was knowledgeable and they had a great selection of beers for purchase. The weather and sites were fantastic, highly recommended!
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Chrisab9393wi
Sep 9, 2024
Chicago Fireboat Tours is THE tour to choose! - So glad we picked this tour ( as there are a bunch to choose from. Besides all the other great reviews, the fact it was on a famed retired fire-boat was the deciding factor. Very cool vessel, with a bar. Great crew. On our tour Cliff was on leading the tour. Very knowledgeable , lively , and fun.
Review provided by Tripadvisor