Chicago Walking Tour: Explore Iconic Landmarks

Discover the iconic landmarks of Chicago on a fast-paced, 90-minute walking tour. Explore famous buildings, including the Wrigley Building and Willis Tower, and capture stunning photos along the way.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Wrigley Building - Known for its Spanish Colonial Revival style, the Wrigley Building features a distinctive white terra cotta facade.
  • Chicago Riverwalk - View the Chicago Riverwalk.
  • Aqua Tower - It’s fair to say Aqua is a star-maker, with its 2009 completion putting the city’s newest neighborhood, Lakeshore East, on the tip of…
What's Included
  • Admission to Chicago Architecture Center’s galleries
  • Guided walking tour of Chicago’s iconic buildings
  • Professional and certified guide narration
What's Not Included
  • Coat check
  • Food and drink
  • Storage for luggage and strollers
Additional Information

Must-See Chicago is a fast-paced, 90-minute introductory tour to Chicago featuring some of its most famous buildings, including the Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, the Art Institute of Chicago, Willis (Sears) Tower and more!
Get a brief overview of more than a dozen buildings—as well as Chicago landmarks like Millennium Park, the Loop and the Chicago…

Location
Chicago Architecture Center
East Wacker Drive
Meet at the Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL, 60601
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.9
(83 Ratings)
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V8958jcmarim
Jan 6, 2025
Walk with an expert - Michelle did a great job! It was a cold and rainy day and she kept the group moving. We had two people with us that had never been to Chicago and The had lots of questions. She did a great job answering the questions and trying to keep us warm.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sarahkb7097cp
Dec 19, 2024
Superb introduction to Chicago history through it’s architecture - Amazing walking tour of Chicagos famous architecture was a great introduction to the city on our first day of our visit. Wayne, our tour guide, shared his passion for the city in an engaging way, adding lots of local history to bring the sites to life. Would highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Northstar44437259581
Dec 19, 2024
A must see tour - We would highly recommend this tour (as well as Wayne, our guide) to architectural enthusiasts as well as first timers to downtown Chicago, alike. We took this c 1h45 min tour on our first day in Chicago and it was fantastic. Wayne was knowledgeable, interesting, enthusiastic and kept us as gripped as the many magnificent buildings we saw throughout the tour (which covered everything from the Wrigley building to ‘ cloud gate’ (the bean) in Millennium Park). We took in some prime real estate and learnt plenty - e.g. differing influences/styles over the decades as well as changes to ordinances and even a few remaining real estate opportunities! Thank you to Wayne for such an entertaining and informative afternoon.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R8691aujuans
Dec 12, 2024
Walking tour of Chicago - We very much enjoyed our tour with our docent Mary Ann S. She was very knowledgeable and was able to answer our questions about the buildings that we saw. She was also very knowledgeable on Chicago history and shared some amusing stories about some of the buildings and related it to the time they were built. She was also very personable and made the tour very memorable for us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trip51593982641
Dec 12, 2024
Excellent tour and exceptional docent - This was the first time we had taken this tour and we really enjoyed it. Our docent guide Mary Ann S made it a very special experience for us. Mary Ann was personable, knowledgeable, and very professional as she guided us through downtown Chicago. It was clear that she enjoyed very much what she was doing, and that was communicated to us. I hope that she is our docent on a future tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anne
Dec 11, 2024
Fabulous Introduction to Chicago’s Architectural Treaures - Our docent, Mary Ann S, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about Chicago architecture! She was very well-organized and presented interesting and fun facts that were new to us. We loved it all — the tour, the buildings, our wonderful docent!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anita414
Dec 8, 2024
The fabulous, well-told stories behind the sights - Lori gave us a wonderful tour! She knows all the history and the technical details behind the sights, but more importantly, she also knows the fascinating human stories and tells them very well. What part did scouring soap play in Chicago's history? How did a bunch of union steelworkers get a perfect gloss finish on a 110-ton assemblage of welded panels? How did Daly's people convince Picasso to design a sculpture that Picasso wouldn't even name? The CAC docents go through rigorous training and they know their stuff. They are volunteers and their passion shows. They love their city and want to share it with visitors. I have been on more than a dozen different tours in the past years and they have all been fabulous.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rogerpb6894jk
Nov 28, 2024
Great Tour and education about the city! - Our tour guide was Sally and she was wonderful. A wealth of knowledge and so very nice and kind. You get complimentary headphones and a radio that allows you to hear everything about every building. This is an outside only tour so you don’t go up in any building, but was very cool to learn some history and to see the different styles and construction methods. Great tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rachelck6437uh
Nov 19, 2024
A wonderful way to start our trip. - This was the perfect way to start our trip in Chicago. We wanted a way to kill time while we waited for our hotel, and also to get an initial understanding of the areas of the city. Our expectations were greatly exceeded. We learned a lot of really interesting things about the architecture of the city in a way that was engaging and fun for people not necessarily into architecture. We also got a great tour of the city and great recommendations of places to go and food to try. Our tour ended up only being two of us when others cancelled and I was quite worried that might be a bit too intimate for my taste. However, I was very impressed with how easy and relaxed Amanda made the tour feel, and really appreciated how focused she was on tailoring the experience to us. It was one of the highlights of our time in the city and we would recommend it to everyone going.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Paul_a
Nov 16, 2024
One of Best Chicago Walking Tours Hands Down - Amazing tour! So insightful and passionate was our tour guide Claudia Winkler! Perfect length of time and sights / stories. Highly recommend this tour! You will learn something and have photos to remember them for years! Tour guide even followed up with links in email if you wanted more information!
Review provided by Viator
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