This was beautiful! Amazing views, perfect length, and our tour guide was awesome! If you're coming to Chicago this is a must see! read more

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Really great tour to catch in Chicago. What better way to see the city than on a boat?? My tour guide Becky made the experience so much fun and was very knowledgeable. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Tour from Michigan Ave - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We decided to jump on the Architecture Tour after spotting the boat from the Pier. Even in the cold KEVIN did not disappoint. A great tour and he made such a difference. Passersby looked on in envy at our boat as he was telling the story of Chicago. The highlight of our trip! Thank you! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - KEVIN!! - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Architectural tour. As a native Chicagoan, I became a tourist for the sake of my little nuclear fam. I booked this for online beforehand, unsure of which tour. I recall pleasant childhood memories of being on a boat in downtown Chicago. It was a hot day but the trip was great. I learned so much from the tour guide as he explained the interesting history of city of Chicago and how downtown has developed in the last decade. It reignited my pride for my hometown. I highly recommend this tour for both tourists and Chicagoans! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Merch Mart. Did you know? 7.5 Mile's of walking with in the building. Learned this from the architectural boat tour. - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Starting my river cruise I politely asked the first gate agent to let my mom down the stairs as she just had surgery. She told us that we absolutely cannot make any exceptions. Mins later after hassling getting her to the boat . The same ticket agent let ppl down. That was unacceptable and I felt discriminated against. 4pm take off on July 1st. read more

Our friend from Chicago told us, "if there's anything you should do in your short time there, hop on an Architecture Boat Cruise..." and this was the first thing we did! We got the Chicago Explorer Pass (3 attractions) and it was totally worth it with a discount from work on top of it, saved some money and glad that the Architecture Boat Cruise was an attraction. Shoreline boats are decent size, the top with plenty of chairs...but you get that strong sun on you. The bottom, not many chairs but nice and shady. Sitting at the bottom was harder to hear the guide, but the top was too hot. The best thing is they serve alcohol! Why not sip on rose while taking a nice relaxing cruise around Chicago and staring at beautiful buildings? Yes please! read more

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For visitors and residents alike, the Shoreline Sightseeing tour is bound to be informative and entertaining. While visiting a friend in Chicago recently, she recommended it as an afternoon activity. It was a tour that she had done several times before, but always enjoyed, and I was more than game. After meeting at Navy Pier, we were welcomed aboard and our tour began. Our guide works as a middle school history teacher in the south side of the city and has been a lifelong resident of Chicago. As the boat crept up the Chicago river, he took us through the history of the city, from its founding and naming after a pungent plant (onion or garlic, depending on which account you have read). We cruised past both new and old buildings and he pointed out the architecture that was specific to a certain era, or had great feats of engineering to create the buildings that we saw as we cruised. It was a definite highlight to my trip to Chicago. The time that we cruised flew by, and I found myself wishing it could have lasted even longer! The whole boat gave our guide a round of applause as we pulled back up to the dock, a testament to us all feeling the same. Don't hesitate to add Shoreline Sightseeing to your list of must-do activities on your next visit to the Windy City! read more

The sightseeing was very cool and we saw a good amount of Chicago. The history on the buildings was great and the tour guide did a great job. The bar serves drinks and the Baileys's hot chocolate was really good (it could also be cuz I was freezing). I do recommend doing this especially if you have city pass. After the tour one can appreciate Chicago's architecture a whole lot more. If it's raining there is a small part that is covered and they offer towels to dry the seats. I would say it's best to go during sunset to see the buildings lit up on the way back and still appreciate the architectural work. If you have any questions at the end they give you a chance to asked them when exiting. read more

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We had an amazing tour today. It was a very chilly 30 degrees on this New Year's Day! Lair, our captain, was very kind and made sure that my 7 year old (Matthew) was warm and entertained. Richard, our docent, was very knowledgeable and engaging. Thank you for the wonderful trip. I give this crew 2 thumbs up! read more

Extremely pleased with this adventure and our guide Rachael. Very very VERY knowledgeable I probably retained only 10% of what she shared. The city skyline is simply awesome to experience from the river and hearing about all the styles and designs of all the architecture was so interesting. The 75 minute tour was filled with information with some trivial things as well which kept everyone engaged. Well worth the price of admission, they even have a bar onboard. I'd definitely do this again when I get back to this awesome city. read more

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Andrew was awesome narrator! Very informative, educational session on Saturday but he presented the info in fun way. Jokes were awesome! Will highly recommend! Must do thing in Chicago read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Trump tower - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The Chicago River Architecture Tour is a must do for locals and tourists alike! Antonio was our tour guide, and he kept us engaged with deep expertise of the history of Chicago told through the distinctive architecture and funny stories for the entire 75 minutes. It is the appropriate amount of information and detail to see the city in a new light but not get overwhelmed where you forget everything you just learned! A great way to get outside and see Chicago from a one-of-a-kind viewpoint! read more

As a first timer in Chicago, I was excited to go on an Architecture Boat Tour to learn about the city's history! Unfortunately, it started to rain about 15 minutes into the tour and that spoiled the experience for me. It isn't the tour's fault, obviously, but they don't provide ponchos since we were on a double decker boat. We took cover under the canopy at the back of the boat but I couldn't see a thing. It's an architecture tour so being able to see the architecture is the main attraction. However, I'm still giving this tour 4 stars because of our tour guide, Brandon. Big props to him for holding it down in the rain! He was very knowledgeable about the history of the buildings and maintained his optimism despite having a smaller audience, since more than half of the group went down to the bottom floor to shelter from the rain. Like Brandon mentioned, the Chicago skyline is always changing so I'd come back for another tour if I visit again--hopefully on a sunnier day. read more

Went on the Architecture tour that departed from Michigan avenue with them last year. The cruise itself is a great way to spend 75 minutes enjoying the Chicago river and the wonderful architecture we have here in our great city! Our tour guide was great and so informative about the architecture and history behind the buildings on the tour. Current prices are $43 for adults and $24 for children. To receive $5.00 off each adult ticket and $3.00 off each child enter discount code Web2018 in the Cart! You can also add this as one of your choices on the Chicago Go Card You can purchase tickets same day, but, get there early if that's what you want to do. They do sell drinks and snacks, but you are allowed to bring your own if you want. On a sunny day, make sure you apply sunscreen and wear a hat, on a cloudy day, bring a sweater and an umbrella, there is no cover or shelter of any kind. A must do for tourists and Chicagoans alike! read more

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We took the Chicago river tour on St. Patrick's Day. The river was beautiful and bright green. Victor was the tour guide. He knew so much about the local architecture, we appreciated his knowledge. He was also extremely funny, which helped us take our mind off the freezing, cold, wind, read more

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Brooke made this river tour so fun and interesting. Appreciate her narrating Chicago's architectural history. Definitely a must do for first timers. read more

This was a pleasure. I really loved this tour. It has been 34 years since I was last in Chicago and this tour was so worth the wait. Line moved swiftly and Tour Guide was A Hoot. Tour time was 3:15 and the weather was GREAT. Posted video to my Facebook for all to see and hopefully lure more reluctant tourist Chicago Way. read more

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Fantastic tour! The tour guy we had was great, really knew all about Chicago and where to get the best whatever you are looking for. Great history and architecture tour. Would even do it again when I go back read more

Stephanie was our guide on the architectural boat tour a few days ago. What a great time!! The sights were amazing, the boat ride spectacular and stephanie was a real charmer. She was funny and informative. This tour really shows off the beauty of the windy city. read more

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Absolutely amazing boat ride and tour guide. We were blessed with receiving Brooke as our tour guide and she was phenomenal. Made the tour a knowledgeable and magical experience. 10/10 would recommend, will definitely be coming back in the summer! read more

My husband and I decided to take the hour long architectural tour. The tour started and ended at the Michigan Avenue dock. The boat has two levels with a bathroom and a bar on the first level. The tour gave us an opportunity to learn about over 40 Chicago landmarks. When the tour was over we knew all about Chicago's famous skyline and the history behind the buildings. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, witty and very entertaining. read more

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Tour guide was amazing! What a beautiful, informative, enjoyable experience. We learned so much about Chicago and the boat ride was an absolute treat. read more

One of the best decisions I've ever made. Decided to do the night tour because a lot of people in the city said to take the night tour since Chicago at night is a great attraction. We were greeting with the heart warming welcome. I went to the Chicago Night Architecture Cruise with Patrick being the tour guide for the night. He was the best tour guide for the night. Told me the history of Chicago and all the architectures and skyscrapers that are built in the city. Patrick was very knowledgeable and knew everything about the history of the architectures. He was also engaging and made the whole crew on the cruise laugh. It exceeded my expectation and I would definitely go again if I go visit the city again. I love going on the boat ride and would recommend to anyone interested in knowing the history of Chicago and love to go see the beautiful night lights of the city. read more

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Awesome tour. The architecture of Chicago is so impressive. The city where the skyscraper was born has a real life timeline of skyscrapers from the 1920s up to the current date, always pushing the latest engineering innovations. This tour was great because we had an awesome guide in Kyle. He is a teacher and it showed by his passion to remember history so well. Master story teller. We highly recommend this tour. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This was a super cool way to tour the architecture and structures in Chicago. It was a very nicely paced informative tour. Our tour guide Jack, was awesome. He ensured the tour would have lots of "Edutainment", both educational and entertaining. There were so many cool facts about the city. I left knowing so much more than I did before. If you are visiting the city and want to gain some knowledge on the structure and history, I definitely recommend Shoreline Sightseeing! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Boat - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We did a 75 minute architecture tour through City Pass since this is one of the highly recommended attractions to do in Chicago and it did not disappoint. The staff made sure the boat was reset and clean before the next tour. The dock was easy to find and everyone was super friendly. Our tour guide was very entertaining and informative. There's a bar, though the wait to get a drink took my husband 15 mins to get so he missed that part of the tour. Overall, I highly recommend this tour! read more

The tour guide Dennis was very knowledgeable, loved listening to him point out architectural highlights about each building, like the Great Chicago fire, how the structural architecture changed depending on the economy, etc. After the tour, I stopped calling Marina City as the corn cob building. JK. All the more reason to call it that after knowing its residential prices. Anyway, we booked the tour long before but somehow the weather was 95 on our tour date. Even though it was hot, the tour was enjoyable. Our tour started at Navy Pier but our boat didn't have a top deck which was a bummer. But on the whole, it was a well-spent 75 minutes. Be prepared for a bunch of kids. Don't forget to take water and sun screen. There's alcohol on the boat, the bar accepts cash and major credit cards. read more

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Exceptional architectural tour of Chicago! Spiro was a fantastic guide and knew so much about the history of Chicago and architecture. Onboard bar available. Highly recommend! read more

The Architectural Boat Tour was incredible today. The best part was Kyle, our tour guide. He was so funny, knowledgable and genuinely passionate about the information he was sharing with us. I wish I got to tell him in person, but he was chatting with a different guest when I left. He made our trip fun, very informative and authentic. The views were incredible and I walked away knowing much more about Chicago then I ever did before. Perfect for a first time visitor like myself. Chicago is beautiful and Shoreline Sightseeing is lucky to have Kyle guiding the way! Thank you Kyle and Shoreline Sightseeing! read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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A great way to see the buildings of Chicago and learn more about architecture. Our tour guide was fantastic- super engaging and knowledgeable. We went on a fall evening and it was perfect! The 75 minute tour was a little long with 2 kids under 2, but we made it! The bar in the bar has drinks and snacks available for purchase. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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If you love history, architecture, or just sightseeing in general, you're going to want to take this architecture river boat cruise tour. We boarded the boat for the mid afternoon cruise and got a seat near the back. The boat was probably about half full, so we didn't feel cramped or too close to others. There's a full bar on the boat, as well as restrooms if you need it. Our tour guide Becky was the best! Her sarcastic humor was right on point with us and we enjoyed every minute of this tour. We learned that the skyscraper was actually founded in Chicago. And had the great fire of Chicago never happened, the city would look vastly different than it does currently. There were lots of interesting facts, historical points, and things to see. I would say this is a "must" when visiting Chicago. read more

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We do it everyone we're in Chicago. So beautiful and fun. Worth the money and you can drink and relax.

Great! So much info, the buildings of course are gorgeous. Boat was slow so good for people who can't take speed. Me personally I would've loved to zoom across the river, but that's not what this tour is about. Bar was nice for some drinks and snacks. Price was to be expected for a touristy event. Would definitely do it again! read more

Tour was great. Very fun, entertaining information about the architecture of all the buildings and history. Definitely recommend if you are interested. Tour Guide Stephanie was excellent! read more

This was a last minute to do thing while I'm here in Chicago.. I am so glad I did ... bought ticket it's right in front of the pier waited a few minutes to board great seats our tour guid was very knowledgeable about the buildings and it was an Amazing tour!! A definite Must when visiting Chicago oh did i mention they have restrooms on board and a mini bar too! A win win for all read more

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If it's your first time or are new to the city, then this is highly recommended. In my Chicago trip, i decided to go on the architectural tour very last minute and it was worth everything. Ben, the tour leader, was great, entertaining and knowledgeable and he really knew his facts very well. It was a little cold in the first week of December but still very much worth it. I feel like even if i was a local Chicagoan I would still highly recommend this experience at least once. A lot of great photo opportunities and very informative. read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Chicago River front at the end of tour - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ended up taking the parents on Shoreline Sightseeing Lake tour while we were visiting Navy Pier. While I would fork over the extra money to see the Architecture river tour again, I'll say the Lake Tour isn't so bad for the price (~$25 per person after taxes) and lasted about 45 minutes. PROS: -Excellent views of the Chicago skyline from the lake -Easy to buy tickets right in front of the dock along Navy Pier and board boat a stone's throw away CONS: -Tour is automated voice over rather than someone talking specifically about Chicago history & iconic builds as I've experienced in other tours If it's your first time visiting Chicago, I'd definitely consider taking a boat tour either on the Lake or Architecture river tour. Also make sure to bring a jacket as it does get a bit breezy once you make your way out to the lake. 'Til next time, cheers! 239/365 read more

Shoreline Sightseeing - Views from the Lake Tour - Architectural Tours Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Clear, autumn day = perfect time for sightseeing on the water! I found this tour while perusing Groupon: two tickets for $67! The architecture tour was great. David the docent made it fun and entertaining for the hour long tour with lots of 411. A great way to see some of Chicago with a little history lesson! read more

We went for the architectural tour with Jim. Jim was very knowledgeable, and his passion for the history and architecture was infectious. He was very genuine with his love for the city and showed us the side of Chicago we didn't know. Additionally, he was a great photographer. He took the best pictures of us. We would totally go back again. It was a great experience. read more

We had a great time taking in Chicago on this tour. Our Docent, Rickey, was engaging, knowledgeable and entertaining. Other companies offer similar tours so I can't compare it to those but I can say this one was well worth it. If you get a chance to do it, you definitely should. read more