Chicago Fireboat Tour: Historic Architecture Cruise

246 Ratings

Chicago

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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

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Highlights

Chicago River - Discover the fascinating history and details of the Chicago River.

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 beverages

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

(246 Ratings)

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Carlo_c

Nov 15, 2025

Fantastic. Friendly crew.... - Fantastic. Friendly crew. Worh the price. Great experience and would definetely recommend to others.❤️

Review provided by Viator

F4220vxdavidd

Nov 7, 2025

Great experience - Great experience. Friendly and informative staff. Small bar onboard and was surprised at how many things we learned and how relaxing it is.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Dream27872234658

Nov 5, 2025

A ride on the Fred A. Busse Fireboat is a MUST for anyone who lives in or visits Chicago! - The Boat: A ride on a decommissioned fireboat is a super cool experience. It's spacious, there is a bar with drinks and snacks, and it's basically a museum on the water. The Tour: Holy History Bat Man! My father has lived in Chicago for most of his life and was amazed at how much he didn't know. The tour guide was flawless. He explained everything in detail and truly made it fun. The Staff: Friendly, professional, considerate (my father is older and blind in one eye so they told us we could get on first to make sure he got situated comfortably), and just a pleasure to be around. We can't say enough good things about this tour! Thank you for a fantastic experience!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Alejandro

Nov 3, 2025

The best option - The extra tour on the lake adds the plus of wonderful skylines. The guide is very good and tells interesting and valuable anecdotes. Highly recommended.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Michaelf442

Oct 30, 2025

Definitely “ a must do “ - There were 3 of us. This was a great experience. It is a smaller boat. Very well operated, maintained and had a great narrator on board. We sat in the front area for most of the tour, beautiful day though chilly. This is for anyone wanting to feel the drop in Lochs and hear current & historical information on the buildings along the Lake. Fun excursion

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Michelle_b

Oct 26, 2025

Great tour. The view from... - Great tour. The view from the lake is amazing. River architecture tours are good but this is a bit extra plus fireboat!

Review provided by Viator

Jennifer_s

Oct 26, 2025

The people who did the... - The people who did the tour were great, informative and friendly. The boat was cool as it was historical. It was comfortable with the bow open with seating and the back area enclosed and warm. Drinks and snacks were available and reasonably priced. Great time!

Review provided by Viator

Linda_p

Oct 26, 2025

Chicago by Lake and River - Be prepared for a very entertaining 1 hour tour on the river and 1 hour on the lake. Tour boat cozy and historic with a very knowledgeable guide.

Review provided by Viator

Connector07008569606

Oct 22, 2025

Best Architectural Tour - I'm so glad we got to go on the Chicago Fireboat cruise! The whole crew was so welcoming and the fact that they held the boat for us (we were 6 minutes late) gave them an immediate 5 stars but the experience alone warranted the full 5 as well. Going from the lake, through the locks and into the river then back again was super cool and a first for everyone in our party. We did the 4pm tour so we got to see the sunset at the end which was so gorgeous! Highly recommend!!!

Review provided by Tripadvisor

C9441qlkathyb

Oct 20, 2025

great time on Fireboat river and lake cruise - learned a lot about Chicago - The whole experience was wonderful- learned alot about Chicago and loved going through the lock- totally worth the price

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Check Availability

From $47

up to 15 guests

1 - Adult