Saints & Gangsters Walking and Boat Tour The boyfriend and I decided to play tourist in our own city for once. We thought it would be a fun experience learning some history about Chicago, especially old school gangsters (who doesn't love a good Al Capone story?). Our tour guide was Ian, whom we immediately connected with as a fellow Chicago native and Southsider. Chicago's history is so rich, it can't be contained in a two hour tour. I did appreciate that Ian took us to what was left of Cabrini-Green, a sliver of Chicago history that was stained by horrible violence thanks to government neglect. Don't worry, tourists - it's now surrounded by glamorous condo buildings and a coffee shop on every corner. It was very refreshing how Ian did not sugar coat anything about the city's history. You know, Chicago is not the best city in the world, but it's our home. I would recommend that you try to use a bathroom way before you get on the tour. Unfortunately there are no public bathrooms when you meet at the plaza. read more

Great informative tour of one most interesting buildings in Chicago. Adam was fantastic!

From our first email Hillary went above and beyond. In addition to planning and leading our private tour, she provided the necessary public trans travel details, a selection of vegan friendly (life of traveling with my sister) restaurants and suggestions for a night on the town. Hillary's tour was engaging, informative and fun. Walking around with Hilary is like have a backstage pass to Chicago's deep history. Her tour lead us through soaring interiors and intricate exterior spaces. Her style is a mix of story-telling, "Look and Find" book, riddle solving and lighthearted nerd facts. Toward the end of the tour Hillary asked if we need a drink of water or had a desire to see a specific building. When I told her that we needed donuts she led us to famous Chicago hole-in-the-wall spot. She then convinced the girl working the cashier to watch my sister's camera so we could pop over to the Look Out floor in the government building next-door. (This building did not allow cameras). We were then able to sip on our coffee and nosh on glaze from inside the Chicago skyline. For the cherry on top, Hillary extended the tour to fit in the city's most beautiful building. I'm not going to tell you which building, because you need to experience the surprise for yourself. read more

Inside Chicago Walking Tours - Californians in a need of a break from a Chicago March day find a happy interior to warm up in, plus our tour guide! - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed our tour with Frankie last week, "Open Your Eyes: Chicago's Underground Pedway & Other Secrets of the Loop." Our guide, Frankie, was knowledgeable about the architecture and history of the buildings we visited. She is and personable and was accommodating of guests' requests for a stop "here" or a photo op "there." At one point, she offered us two options for finishing the tour, which was great, because several guests had already been to one location, so the group opted for the other route. Other than the stop at Macy's, I had never been inside any of the other buildings we visited. It was really great to learn about the Pedway and see new sights in Chicago. Highly recommend! read more

We had Adam. (Not Jim) I personally loved hearing all the history of Chicago that as a kid who grew up in the burbs I never knew any of the stuff he talked about except maybe that the art sculptures existed. Easy short walk was nice. read more

The tour guide was knowledgeable and pleasant and engaged the group. The architectural treasures were wonderful surprises. Thank you. read more

I was visiting my son at college, has some free time, and decided at the last minute to book this tour. I did the "dazzling interiors of the loop" and now I'm hooked on learning everything I can about the history of Chicago and its architecture. Hilary (the owner and tour guide) was incredible. She was funny and knowledgable and made a group of strangers feel completely at ease walking around together. I plan on doing several more of her tours when I am in the city. read more

I've lived in this city for over ten years and have always wanted to do an architecture tour. We have so much hidden history of which I know nothing about! So I was thrilled with my experience with Inside Chicago Walking Tours. Our tour guide, Hillary was personable, knowledgeable and made the tours fun! Best part of the experience by far: being able to walk inside the buildings and hear more details and stories that I never would have known otherwise. Living in Chicago, I pass these old historic buildings often and always wonder what's in there; too intimidated to wander in not knowing what's public access. So it was great having a guided tour from someone who knows where you can access those hidden historic gems in the city. I left the tour feeling so proud of my hometown and its rich history! Loved my first tour and excited to try other ones! read more

Inside Chicago Walking Tours - On LaSalle Street in front of the Board of Trade Building. - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I went for the underground walkways but got so much more. The love for the city and job is apparent. Not to mention the fun energy while learning a lot of fun facts/areas. Highly recommend! read more

My sister and I used a Groupon to book this tour so we chose the River North tour based on timing . Turns out we were the only ones on the tour so Hilary asked us what we wanted to see. Like everyone else we've been to Chicago several times for the shopping and the shows and food but we got to see a whole new version of Chicago. We saw churches, old buildings with great descriptions of the architecture and historical tidbits that were all within a few blocks of Michigan Ave. the walk was leisurely and paced to enjoy the sights. Hilary knows a lot and shares history in a fun, entertaining fashion. The time went by quickly and we felt like we made a new friend when we were done. read more

I came to Chicago with my girlfriends at the end of August 2015 for vacation and we decided to do a few tours to get a good cultural experience of the city. I did some research before our trip and stumbled upon Inside Chicago Walking Tours. There are a number of touring companies, but I decided to go with this one because they had a deal at the time. I'm so glad that we did this tour and had a chance to meet Hillary. She's so passionate about what she does. She owns this company and guides all of the tours herself. Her personality is so vibrant and she knows what she's talking about. She's friendly and has a wealth of information to provide about all of the architecture and history of Chicago. I highly recommend her! read more

Looking up is a little less a problem in a big city with skyscrapers, but there is so much to see on the street and inside buildings if we just look up. Hillary does an outstanding job with her walking tours. They are educational, informative, fun, and interesting. She also takes time to get to know her guests so she can customize the tour content and make other recommendations for fun things to do in Chicago. On our Historic Masterpieces tour, we examined buildings that I otherwise would have simply passed by, and what a shame that would have been! These buildings all had fascinating stories and inside revealed jaw-dropping craftsmanship and beauty. If you have more than a couple days in Chicago, you must take at least one of these Inside Chicago Walking Tours! read more

Kylie is the best! The tour was so brilliant, time flew by like a Chicago fire! Kylie spoke and hidden designs became real, history jumping alive. What a treat! read more

Just attended Hillary's Time Traveller Tour and it was FANTASTIC! Especially for those of us who grew up in Chicago, and maybe heard our parents and grandparents who saw these amazing sights. I've done a couple of her other virtual tours (covid, you know) and they were equally as great. Can't wait to do one of the walking tours, too! read more

This tour, especially Hilary's wisdom, knowledge and charisma, was the best thing we've ever experienced in Chicago! We booked the Architecture and Cemetery Tour a few days before our arrival. When we met Hilary in the lobby she informed us that we were the only people on the tour! I was so happy she didn't cancel, instead she offered us the most amazing private tour! She shared so much knowledge and her obvious passion for the city and it's architecture made it so special. She made us feel very comfortable and like VIPs! What an amazing experience! Thank you Hilary!!! read more

The tour was great! Tour guide Frankie had a lot of knowledge to share and was very friendly. The tour takes you places you likely wont go/find on your own. A perfect way to spend two hours! read more

I did the World Within: Dazzling Interiors tour with Adam. It was spectacular. The places we visited were exceptional and Adam guided us through the ins and outs of the interiors that were really quite dazzling in an expert manner. read more

Such a great experience! Kylie was a wonderful guide and provided us with lots of information on the beautiful architecture of the city.

A cool tour that shows sights you may otherwise miss. Guide was very knowledgeable. Highly recommend!

On a girls weekend in Chicago, we took the Inside Chicago walking tour. As former Chicagoans, we were not sure what to expect. Hillary was a terrific tour guide & each of us walked away with a completely new appreciation of the beautiful Chicago architecture. Thank you Hillary for making the tour fun, informative & a tremendous learning experience. A fantastic value at $30. read more

Great tour with Adam today. Friendly knowledgeable and clearly loves this city. Interesting for both me as a Chicago native and my friend who is visiting from Germany. Thank you!! read more

Five friends came with me today on a private 2-hr tour of a slice of Chicago with Hillary from Inside Chicago. We had a blast walking from LaSalle and Adam's to State and Lake through some exceptional historic interiors. Hillary is a natural storyteller who is steeped in the architectural and design history of the city. It was so much fun! We'd highly recommend her tours to natives or out-of-town visitors. It was a GREAT way to spend an afternoon! read more

You can only see that much of Downtown Chicago after a couple of days of walking around, so this is a great addition to your explorations, you get a lot of info and the walks between buildings are short. You get to see a side of the city that you would have never guessed it exists. Or maybe you are interested in architecture or history and then you will enjoy it even more. Booked this tour from TripAdvisor but you can find it locally too or google it, it's inexpensive and totally worth it. The bigger the group the more fun you'll have, but the smaller the group the more questions you can ask, or you can get the best of both worlds and ask questions anyway like we did. Hillary knows more that she can squeeze in a tour presentation, we got more insight about some elevator doors that I ever thought possible just for asking a building security person! Yes, there's interesting stuff about elevator doors, I didn't think much about them either! Tip her well. she is doing a great job, and text or call if you have extra requests (like pick up times and locations) she will do her best to accommodate you. read more

Inside Chicago Walking Tours - The Rookery - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I think I got lucky that our tour wasn't sold out (which meant I could ask a lot more questions than I might have otherwise), but it would probably still have been awesome with Hillary at the helm. This isn't just someone spouting a script and then moving on. Hillary clearly lives and breathes local history, and ebulliently shares her natural curiosity for what's behind everything we see and experience in everyday city life. To boot, I was the only person on the tour who hadn't done another tour with Hillary before. They had each done different tours, too, before coming to this one. That should say a lot about her as a guide. Maybe she should look into a tour stamp card ;) All in all, I discovered this tour on Yelp last night and booked it because it was conveniently timed, not sold out, and easy to get to the meeting point from my hotel-- and I'm really grateful to my fellow Yelpers for it. The two hours flew by, and I learned a lot about the area's history. Thanks, Hillary! read more

Just took a virtual Christmas tour of Chicago with Hillary Marzec. It was wonderful. So informative and interesting. So well thought out and researched. Loved it! I will definitely be booking a live walking tour with Inside Chicago Walking Tours when I visit Chicago in the near future! read more

Wonderful tour. The buildings downtown are beautiful but the information we got on this tour and the glimpses inside added so much to our appreciation of the beauty and history of Chicago. Next time we're in town we plan to try another of Hillary's tours. read more

Inside Chicago Walking Tours - Willis Tower - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This tourwas just simply great. She paced it really well, gave us wonderful history and knowledge/appreciation of architecture and Chicago, was funny and friendly, and the buildings were wonderful. Highly recommend! read more

We took the "Explore Stunning Interior Architecture" walking tour of the Chicago Loop with Hillary, owner of Inside Chicago Walking Tours. It was the highlight of our visit (my first!) to Chicago, and one no one should miss. Hillary is very knowledgeable about the history and architecture of Chicago, and showed us four stunning buildings that most people typically simply walk past on their way somewhere. What a treat to get to see the gorgeous inside of each of these buildings! Hillary offers several different tours, and we will definitely plan to take another tour with her the next time we are in Chicago. Highly recommend!! read more

During the COVID-19 crisis, Inside Chicago is offering virtual tours on Zoom. I attended Hillary's "A Virtual Time-Travel Tour of Chicago's InterContinental Hotel" and "River Architecture: A Live, Improvised Virtual Tour of Chicago River Architecture PLUS Interiors." They were both excellent and are the best virtual activities I've attended over these past couple months. Hillary is a wonderful tour guide who can bust out an impressive French accent. Immediately, I emailed a good friend who lives in Chicago and told her to attend Hillary's tours. I've recently attended in-person foot tours in Washington, DC; Seattle; and San Francisco; and Hillary's tours (though virtual for the moment) rank alongside the very best. Her tours are a great combination of storyteller and subject matter. It's easy to see why she is a top-reviewed tour guide on TripAdvisor. I sincerely hope to attend more of her virtual tours and to attend in-person one day if I'm in Chicago. I'm really glad I found Inside Chicago on Eventbrite. If you have interest in history, culture, and/or architecture, don't miss out on Inside Chicago!! read more

I just watched a virtual tour given by Hillary Marzec , owner of Inside Chicago Walking Tours, who has a fantastic knowledge of buildings along and around the Chicago River. We were able to not just see the outside of the buildings, but inside photos as well. The presentation lasted well over an hour as Hillary answered many questions posted by the 1,000 people who responded to the Zoom invitation. Many positive comments were posted in chat for her to see. You can find this presentation on YouTube from September 2-16, 2020......totally worth your time if you like Chicago history. read more

This was my first time in Chicago and I'm really glad I chose this tour, Hillary is very knowledgable and has a very fun way to engage you in interesting facts and history. I would definitely recommend this tour for anyone visiting or even locals wanting to know more about this amazing city. read more

I booked a tour for a virtual international professional exchange group, and Hillary did a fantastic job! Despite the virtual format that was necessary during COVID, she managed to wow us with her photos and in-depth knowledge about the architectural history of Chicago. I will definitely take her tour in person the next time I visit! read more

We really hit the jackpot when we found this tour. Our guide Adam was witty, knowledgeable, and fun. We ventured into the lobbies and public areas of several known and not-so-known Chicago buildings only to be completely wow'd by what we saw. Adam gave us a history of each of the buildings including some great insights into the architectural features and styles of each. Adam had great stories and anecdotes to share at each tour stop. We were continuously delighted throughout the 2 hours. This tour is recommended not just for tourists but for Chicagoans looking for a lively, entertaining way to explore their own city. The tour was priced well and structured so that we didn't walk too long or too far between spots. Adam is a talented tour guide and we feel very lucky he was assigned to our little group. If you're looking for a special way to experience Chicago, be sure to sign up for this fabulous tour! read more

Just attended Chicago River Architecture Virtual Boat Tour by Hillary Marzec (owner of Inside Chicago Walking Tours). It was OUTSTANDING!!! Since COVID-19 I have been attending zoom meetings both personally and professionally. I have NEVER been on a webinar where there were 1,000 participants!! The tour was filled with historic information, exterior pictures, and interior pictures. Great job Hillary!! Thank you. :-) read more

Inside Chicago is a fantastic owner-operated, local walking tour company!! Get to know the city and learn about its amazing hidden gems along with famous architectural marvels. Hillary has put great effort in to her tours and it shows, we really felt like we saw parts of Chicago that would have been missed without her insight. She is so personable and a very knowledgeable guide; her love of Chicago's public art and architecture is apparent at every stop. We took The World Within, and I have no doubt that each tour is just as great! Highly recommended and great value for money. read more

The tour is great for our-of-towners to get to Chicago architecture and landmarks. We took the Look Up Look Down tour and it was fun. Our guide is Adam, who is funny and knowledgeable. He shared lots of cool facts about the buildings, Chicago history and people. Will have to try their other tours/routes next time I've got a friend in town asking me to show them around. read more

Hillary was great! She took us to some real hidden gems that we wouldn't have seen had we not done this tour! If you enjoy walking and want to see more of Chicago than the "hipster" sites, hit up Hillary and do this walking tour! I would be surprised if you didn't enjoy it! read more

Hillary was an amazing, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable guide to this wonderful walking tour. The buildings we visited, with their grand architectural styles, were so beautiful. Truly worth two hours of your time to see something a little different in Chicago. read more

I have done walking tours in other cities, but this one was the best. The secrets of the loop tour was informative, funny, and really opened our eyes to see the things sitting in plain sight while gaining an appreciation for the design and craftsmanship associated with Chicago architecture. Hillary is a gem: inclusive, funny, smart and really informed, but grounded and self deprecating too. Fourteen people were on our tour and she connected with all, answered questions, and made suggestions about things to do and see. What a fantastic experience and I would recommend starting any Chicago visit with her. read more

Hillary was an enthusiastic tour guide who's very passionate about Chicago. Full of insight that I don't think we would have gotten elsewhere. Well worth the money. We did the the tour "beyond the boat" and I do recommend doing a boat tour first. It gives you a good reference for the insight you will get. Will have to try one of her other tours the next time we're in town. read more