'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.

Every time someone proposes to go on a Chicago River Cruise I groan. Why would you want to go on a…read moreboat for an hour when I can see the buildings perfectly fine from here? I've already done the cruise, why would I do it again? I end up going along with the group and doing a cruise, and I love it every time. On the river is the best way to experience the skyline of Chicago. You get to see the best of the best and hear history behind it. Even though this is a tourist trap, it is one of the few that I've been on that I actually think it is worth it.

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.

This was something my wife really wanted to do when we went to Chicago a couple weeks ago during…read moreSpring Break, and I am glad she did because I absolutely loved it. We got the home/studio tour and our guide, Marie, was phenomenal. We also paid extra for the self-guided tour of the neighborhood which comes with a map of about 10 homes or so and a device you carry to play pre-recorded information about each home. I think we paid about $40/person and I consider that a fair price.

Maureen was a wonderful guide. We went on a cold day and got a private tour as no one else was…read morethere. Love the house and studio tour. I lathered a lot. Maureen pointed out lots of details you would have missed if walking around on your own. Gift shop has many great selections. I purchased something for my brother in law who is an architect. Highly recommend a visit while you're in Chicago.

Think Jeopardy-Chicago edition. Cliff is an excellent narrator and will give you information you…read morenever realized you wanted ...or needed. We learned about the architectural features of the beautiful buildings. The historical Chicago fires. Movie trivia. Why Chicago is really called " The Windy City" and why Manhattan got its name for good measure. Guess which building sits on a landfill. Why the lake is cleaner than its ever been. Experience a boat lock. The history the fire boat played in Chicago's history. Our party of 5 took the 3 pm trip on Memorial Weekend. It was a beautiful, beautiful day. Our boat was comfortable and not as crowded as all of the other tours we passed. It is a veteran owned business. Tours begin Patrick's Day through October! "May you have fair winds and fortunate seas!"

We went on a tour at the end of April. The boarding process was easy. The staff was very friendly…read moreand helpful. They were always willing to answer questions. I received great beer recommendations from the bartender, and the guide was super knowledgeable. The boat is also FANTASTIC. It's really cool to be learning the history of Chicago while riding on a piece of Chicago history,

The tour was everything which was advertised. Our 90 minute Chicago river architectural cruise…read moredeparted from the Ogden slip (465 N McClurg Ct). The boat staff were all helpful and very friendly. I selected this cruise for my wife and I because it was led by someone with some real architecture knowledge. Our guide, Bryan, had a degree in architectural history and was from the Chicago area. He was very friendly and knowledgeable about all the buildings along our path on the main branch as well as north and south branches of the Chicago river. We found the tour very informative and fun. Bryan was not someone who was just trained to be a guide but we found him to be an expert in this field. I appreciated that they did not push the sale of drinks, but told us where on the boat to purchase them if you wanted anything to drink. They also politely asked that if you wanted to talk to your friends, spouse, etc, to please go below deck so others could listen to the presentation. I'd highly recommend this company and our guide, Bryan.

Curated review of Chicagos built environment. Learned a lot…read moreand enjoyed a boat ride without the massive crowd.

This was one of the cheaper tour options, so my expectations were low - but Josh did an outstanding…read morejob! Very informative and entertaining.

Great $$, Plenty of room on the boat and wonderful commentator! I would definitely recommendread more

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.

Wonderful experience on an awesome ship. Definitely a worthwhile and unique experience with the…read morefireworks cruise, I look forward to a day time sailing in the future. The crew were very friendly and knowledgeable. Outstanding all around.

The Tall Ship Windy is a fun way to see the harbor from a vantage point that most of us never get!…read moreIt was a fun way to spend some time with friends and family while being out on the lake, the only sound being the wind in your sails. And the occasional pop of a top from the on-board bar with snacks and drinks. And sometimes a sea shanty. And the tales of Lake Michigan piracy from Andy the Kidd, our fine narrator for the voyage! And the firing of a canon at the lighthouse. But other than that, very peaceful!

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.

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!