Gilbert is awesome! Every tour that my senior citizens group and myself have gone on have been the…read moreBEST! Gilbert goes above and beyond to make sure his tours are the best that they can be. He is a wealth of knowledge. It is not just a basic tour, it is a tour filled with stories and the history of Chicago, its neighborhoods and everything related to your tour. Over the years, I have been on several of Gilberts tours and he puts his heart and soul in all of his tours and goes above and beyond for his guests. He loves what he does and it shows. I can't what for our tour next month!

My girlfriends and I went to Chicago last weekend and did the cupcake tour with Greg. We had a…read moregreat time. The tour was delicious, informative, and entertaining!! I wish Chicago had a walking wine and chocolate tour!! Thanks for entertaining these 4 Michigan ladies!!

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.

I was visiting some friends in Chicago and we toured the Andersonville part of Chicago with Carey…read more Her guidance was exceptional. She seemed to fit right in with our group and was laid-back but also gave us some really interesting historical facts about the neighborhood throughout the day. + Great way to find hidden jems in a neighborhood; we sampled Middle Eastern, Guatemalan, and Vietnamese cuisine throughout the course of the day. Oh and pie of course! Along with a couple cocktails at a historic speakeasy. + Carey is really easy-going and does a great job of filling you in on the various dishes offered at each restaurant, sharing her personal experiences; also she is an exquisite conversationalist that makes you feel like you've known her for a long time. + The amount of walking, distance covered, and quanitity of food is just right. A perfect activity in a great city. If you're looking for an activity that will get a group out and about, this is an ideal option.

I just went on this fantastic new tour last Sunday thru Lincoln Park/East Lakeview. Even though…read moreI'm a native of the city, Foodie & the Feast opened the doors to restaurants I've never been to before. Each place was more delicious than the one previous... and affordable too! Our tour guide Carey was energetic and informative. She spoke knowledgeably about each food stop giving interesting background about the owners, the eats and the neighborhood. This is definitely something I would recommend to out-of-towners. There is more to Chicago than the Mag Mile and this is perfect way to get away from the tourist traps and explore the city. Also, local Chicagoans will discover some hidden gems of their own. I actually can't wait to go on the other tours F & the F offer! I've been on other walking food tours and they can't compete with this one. Just as the name suggests, food that you want to feast on is the main attraction of Foodie & the Feast. With the others, it seemed like the food took a back seat to an extensive history lesson. Thanks Foodie & the Feast for keeping my mouth watering and my stomach full. When the tour ended I was completely satisfied!

Bruce was a great guide on our Lincoln Park tour! Lots of info about Chicago's gangsters. Thank you…read moreBruce!!

While the tour started out good led by Bruce and we were excited to hear about the Gangsters it…read morequickly turned into a very boring commercial for things within Chicago - pizza, hot dogs, theatre .... Bruce had a list that he kept referring to and items that he had to plug. It was a very disappointing tour -- and Even more so because I've been on FTOF all over the world and have never experienced this before, anywhere. Oh well. Weather was beautiful and enjoyed my time with my friends.

Great tour! Our…read moreguide, Katie, was funny, friendly, and knew so many cool (and creepy) facts about Chicago's crime history. We hit everything from Al Capone and the Chicago Outfit to the Tylenol Killer and the crazy history of Streeterville. Loved hearing about speakeasies like The Bad Apple, the Rock n' Roll McDonald's drama, and wild stories like Johann Hoch and H.H. Holmes. Highly recommend if you love true crime with a side of Chicago history!

The crime tour had a lot of stories about some very interesting people. It was a hot day (91+…read moredegrees and humid), and the A/C was woefully inadequate for a full bus. Our host was a young woman who knew her stuff. She never stopped talking unnecessarily, and was a speaker who kept your interest. At the start, she read off a bunch of rules that made her seem unfriendly. The tour seemed a bit rushed to me. I can also understand how some passengers would, if given more time, delay the tour an extra half hour. I wished we could have spent a little more time at the locations

Had an amazing experience at the CAC architecture tour. Our docent was incredibly knowledgeable. I…read morelearned so much, would 100% recommend!

I've visited the city many times and this is an absolute must! Such a great way to see the city and…read morelearn its history! Mark was an excellent guide and we enjoyed every minute!

I'll serially do this again. Easily the best tour I have been on in years. It was fun, funny,…read moreinformative, historic, full of wonderful architecture, local movie filming, Incredible city and lake views, river views, and more. When I come back to visit Chicago again, I will easily choose this provider to take me on a tour of the city again. It was good enough to see again and again. Our host was friendly, knowledgeable, and answered all our questions with a sense of humor. The vehicle was clean, warm, comfortable, and carries about 20 people when full, I think. On my next visit I will ask to see "The Bean" close-up.

I went on the See It All Chicago minibus tour today. It was very good; had 3 stops (near the…read morePlanetarium, the Buckingham fountain and a the Rockery. We drove past various neighborhoods, Millennium Mile and the Bean, Gold Coast art festival, etc. Avery, the driver did a great job and made the tour more fun with all his stories. Thank you!

In addition to composing captivating articles about overlooked/disappearing Chicago history, the…read moresavvy twenty-somethings running the Forgotten Chicago Web site have also recently begun hosting tours of the city. I have attended the last two FC tours, both of which were only a $5 "donation." The tours typically cover areas that aren't given much attention by other Chicago tour groups. The first tour I attended followed the trail of old Ogden Ave, and the second tour wove a meandering path on the south side from Chinatown to the ITT campus. These tours are quite different from those given by the Architecture Foundation. FC tours aren't as polished as the AF tours, but it doesn't matter because FC takes you places that you would have never otherwise known existed. On the south side tour, for example, we explored the vacant Michael Reece Hospital grounds, which was eerie at times. And how else would I have found the tiny memorial commemorating the first softball game (yes, it is located in the middle of a nearly deserted hospital campus - strange). The tours cover a lot of ground, so be prepared to do some walking. The south side tour covered about 4 miles, but every place we stopped was well worth the trek. This is not your grandma's walking tour. FC's tours are also growing in popularity. It is a great way to meet others with similar interests, and the guides always welcome input from the group. Large groups can make it difficult to hear, so make sure to get close to the guides at each stop. Once you try it, you'll want to go to every one.

What, you wanted a Frank Lloyd Wright architecture tour? Or, you were hoping to hear some juicy…read moregossip about Al Capone? Try a different tour group. These guys are neighborhood historians, and have their own nerdy, niche interests in Chicago history. You will find out a lot about the history of retail and industry in a particular area. In addition to the standard neighborhood history overview, they'll point out some interesting ghost sign, or an abandoned train entrance that tells a forgotten tale about the city. That being said, maybe not the best choice for an out-of-towner--you know--someone who doesn't know that a Mike Bilandic plaque is worth a chuckle.