Took the Art Deco tour yesterday, what a great way to learn about some of the history of Chicago as…read morewell as the gorgeous buildings!! Our guide was knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting. Unfortunately I flew out yesterday afterwards, but will definitely be back to check out the Center as well.

Entry to the museum is only five dollars if you show them your ticket from the First Lady boat…read moretour. The ground floor has a short eight minute clip with information about the city. There is also a great display of the city as well as a Wrigley ballpark exhibit. Unfortunately, the upstairs is currently being renovated, so there was not a lot to see this trip. They have a great gift shop.

Absolutely beautiful!!! I needed a place to relax after my…read moreflight into Chicago. While I waited on my daughter's flight to come in (about 5 hours later). Next trip I'll be planning a picnic either when we land or before we fly out. What a beautiful and well maintained space. Filled with so much information and respect for America's heroes. Can't wait to come back!

Built in 1975, this memorial honors the men and women of Des Plaines who have served our country in…read morethe armed forces from the Civil War to the present day. This was a collaborative effort by the city, local VFW and local American Legion Post. The pavilion hosts numerous events including the annual Memorial Day services, the Live at the Lake summer entertainment series, Concert Band performances, the summer Movies in the Park and the annual Fall Fest. They were selling Christmas tress while I was there. The restroom facilities are also co-located here. The Pavilion is well maintained and consist of a bandshell and a walk way that has a plaque detailing every war from the Civil War to the Afghanistan War. Inside the bandshell you will find plaques with the name of the Des Plaines veteran that lost their life and which war it occurred. The center of the bandshell has the seal of all 5 of the US armed forces. There is a flag pole and a brick walkway leading from the bandshell and ends in a small circle. Because the pavilion provides somewhat protection from the elements, homeless people seek refuge here. This is a small, but fitting tribute to the honorable veterans that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Spring Valley has a Nature Center and also features the Heritage Farm. It's really a neat place for…read morea walk as you walk through a wooded area for about 5-7 minutes and then you see the farm houses with animal barns along with a few trails to follow. Spring Valley is a refuge of about 135 acres comprised of fields, forests, marshes, brooks and streams. Some trails are wood beamed while others are rocks and grass. It's a really enjoyable place to spend a few hours by yourself, with friends and family. Parking and entrances to the park are available on both sides 1) off Schaumburg Road 2) off Plum Grove Road.

I have been going here since the 80's and it is even better than ever now. I love taking my…read moredaughter for a hike to the farm after enjoying the nature center building. It is awesome how so many aspects of Spring Valley have remained the same while wonderful upgrades and additions have been made, too! Definitely a place that we will continue to visit throughout the year!

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.

Never disappoints! Best carmel apples! Crisp apple and generous toppings! Everyone raves about…read morethem!

Toffee and dark chockatecturtkes are amazing. The best toffee ever. Nice candy outlet.read more

My grandmother and I were in Chicago for 3 days, and decided to do the walking prohibition tour on…read moreMonday. We were a bit apprehensive due to the weather - it was supposed to be very rainy with scattered thunderstorms. It ended up raining for only an hour, I'm so glad we did it! John, the tour guide is very knowledgeable in all things prohibition. We ended up being the only people who booked so it became more personable and conversational than a normal tour might go. We had a fabulous time overall! All 3 establishments had wonderful service and spectacular drinks! 100/10 would recommend this tour to anyone! You'll find it interesting regardless if you consider yourself a "history buff" or not.

Best tour I've ever been on. I recommend it to anyone going to Chicago. We learned so much and had…read morea great time.

Just went on the tour today. Frank is a really nice man and the tour is Great fun. Entertaining and…read moreI was totally captivated by the stories. There's other "Mob" tours but this is one where the guy giving the tour was actually there. He grew up with all these people around him and his family. Along with his book which I also highly recommend, I would say the entire tale is fascinating and I cannot wait for it to be a movie. After the tour you really feel empathy for what this guy and his family was put through as a result of the mafia street life. If you're visiting the city, or if you are a local, take this tour, you'll love it!

This was probably one of the best tours I've been on, and my fiancé (who has very high standards…read moreabout these things) agrees. We booked a tour for Saturday at 2 pm. There were some technical difficulties and the TV system on the bus ended up not working. Mr. Frank Calabrese Jr was very professional and good-humored about the situation. He offered everyone on the bus the opportunity to come back free of charge so that we may have the full experience with the photos he had been intending to show us. He proceeded to do the tour without the presentation, which honestly was great in itself. He is a very good story-teller, and had a great narrative. He had notes with him but only referenced them a few times to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. Everything was super authentic and off the cuff. I loved that we went around Chicago and we were able to get glimpses of how the city was like in the 60s-90s. What made this tour so great was that these stories were first-hand. It didn't come from someone who spent hours studying the history; this was his real life. He was very genuine about his experiences, and his anecdote about his kids at the very end of the tour made me tear up a bit. He even invited us to stay for happy hour at the Chop House to have a drink with him to talk. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone, regardless of whether you know the mob history or not. I personally didn't know too much, and still was captivated by his stories. He does have a book (which I definitely intend to read) and a movie in the works!

We chartered a bus during the COVID19 rush and we were very surprised with the attentiveness the…read moredriver had. He wiped down all luggage before it when in the coach. Everyone cleaned there hands when entering the coach. Driver and all riders were wearing mask. I felt very safe and appreciate the extra effort. Thank you!

Thru 1990's and 2000's was Chicago's premier tour operator. Wish they were still around. There was…read morenone better

When you arrive the signs are very clear. We almost got looped in with the wrong time and the…read moreemployees were very helpful in ensuring we made it to the right boat! A side note there is a Peet's coffee right above this that you can stop in for a snack. They also have a full bar and snacks available for purchase on the boat which was a surprise to me! The bathrooms on board are super clean as well. Now, the best part was Scott! Our tour was engaging, fun, and very informative. You can barely feel yourself moving which is wild! I got a ton of great photos and learned so much about the city. I would do this exact tour again it was so fun. They do have lots of options to choose from!

'Wendella Tours & Cruises' has been in existence since I was a kid, and I am in my 60s now…read more Everyone visiting Chicago should take this tour of the Chicago River and it's surrounding architecture at least once. Everyone who lives in Chicago should take this tour many times, because when family and friends visit Chi-town, they MUST be taken on this tour. Then the more friends and family coming to see you, the more time you take this tour with them. - It's Obligatory. So every time a visitor comes town, I treat them to an afternoon tour on Wendella Tours & Cruises. It's not just that Wendella offers an amazing service - it's that this service is necessary in order to understand Chicago's unique architectural heritage.

Great first time kayaking! The views were breathtaking and the staff member was very informative…read moreand kind to us. I will be doing this regularly. It's a great way to explore downtown Chicago and connect with yourself.

First, it says when booking that it will be two hours. The start time is 8:15. So I told my…read morebabysitter an end time based off of that. The day of the tour we get a text saying it will be three hours. That meant we had to scramble to see if our babysitter could stay at least an hour longer. Second, they put a green light on each kayak on each so it can be seen at night on the river (we did the fireworks tour). I am not exaggerating when I say half of the kayaks on the tour lights were out on the way to the fireworks. That made me feel unsafe and anxious. It also made it more difficult to figure out who our tour guides were because at least two tour guides' lights went out as well. Third, they directed us to "park" (not sure how else to put it) for the fireworks in a spot that the other kayak tour groups seemed to very clearly know was to be avoided because a giant boat was going to dock there. This resulted in our group being yelled at by another kayaking group that we should leave for our own safety because a boat was going to dock there. Then the boat was descending upon us and we had to play kayak-frogger across the river in a mad dash at the last minute while the giant boat honked and played sirens because we were in its way. Again, felt very unsafe. For a person looking for a a casual, fun kayaking experience, this whole thing was too stressful. Would not recommend. Other kayaking places we saw on the water seemed more organized and safety-conscious.