Featured Tour
Holiday Lights, City Lights
Don’t let the cold weather deter you from admiring Chicago’s stunning architecture! Hop aboard Big…
Find Your Chicago Architecture Tour
Chicago is known around the world for its architecture. Whether you tour downtown or a neighborhood, our expert docent guides will tell you the stories behind the buildings. Visit iconic skyscrapers, elegant hotels or the legendary houses of Frank Lloyd Wright. With more than 85 tours to choose from, we won't blame you if you can't pick just one.
Recommended Tours
Most Popular
Choose one of CAC’s acclaimed architecture tours, from a selection of our guests’ perennial favorites.
Signature Tours
Select a tour of architectural treasures throughout Chicago and its suburbs, brought to life as only a CAC docent can.
Indoor Tours
Explore the great indoors! These 45-60 minute building tours let you explore Chicago's architecture while staying warm.
New & Noteworthy Tours
Discover all of CAC’s newest architecture tours—including tours that feature recent upgrades or the timely building topics you want to know about most.
Most Popular
Choose one of CAC’s acclaimed architecture tours, from a selection of our guests’ perennial favorites.
5 Tours in this collection
Must-See Chicago
Must-See Chicago is a fast-paced, 90-minute introductory tour to Chicago featuring some of its most famous…
Architectural Highlights by Bus
Discover the exciting diversity of Chicago architecture on this wide-ranging odyssey, which traces the…
Historic Treasures of Chicago’s Golden Age
Learn about the great architectural landmarks of Michigan Avenue and State Street, with glimpses inside…
Elevated Architecture: Downtown "L" Train
Explore Chicago’s amazing architecture from the unique perspective of elevated trains and station platforms…
Art Deco Skyscrapers: The Riverfront
Tour the lobbies of five opulent Art Deco skyscrapers built near the banks of the Chicago River during…
Signature Tours
Select a tour of architectural treasures throughout Chicago and its suburbs, brought to life as only a CAC docent can.
5 Tours in this collection
Chicago Icons: Connecting Past and Present
This lively overview of Chicago architecture explores iconic buildings from the 1890s to present. We'll…
Chicago Modern
Chicago is recognized as a leader in Modern architecture, a style that revolutionized our visual world…
Chicago Architecture: A Walk Through Time
Get a comprehensive look at Chicago's architectural history on this unique tour that covers buildings…
Hotel Boom: Making Old New Again
Chicago is experiencing a surge in tourism, resulting in the creative repurpose of historic skyscrapers…
Historic Skyscrapers
Chicago is home to some of the world’s earliest skyscrapers. Get an up-close look at these 19th Century…
Indoor Tours
Explore the great indoors! These 45-60 minute building tours let you explore Chicago's architecture while staying warm.
5 Tours in this collection
Rookery Building
Explore the interior and exterior of one of Chicago’s most famous and beloved historic buildings: The…
Reliance Building (Alise Chicago)
Marvel at the original marble, mahogany doors and decorative wrought iron found throughout the two lobbies…
Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
Experience the allure of a historic, exclusive men's club transformed into a 21st century luxury hotel…
Union Station: Icon of a Great Age
Seen everyday by thousands and not really seen! Take a tour of the iconic landmarked Great Hall of Union…
Merchandise Mart
Once the largest building in the world, the Merchandise Mart remains a center for commercial and residential…
New & Noteworthy Tours
Discover all of CAC’s newest architecture tours—including tours that feature recent upgrades or the timely building topics you want to know about most.
6 Tours in this collection
Holiday Lights, City Lights
Don’t let the cold weather deter you from admiring Chicago’s stunning architecture! Hop aboard Big…
Mod & Merry: A Farnsworth House Holiday
Take a special bus ride with the CAC on December 15 to Plano, Illinois, to see Mies van der Rohe’s…
Illinois Center Pedway
Take a warm walk and see the cool architecture of the Illinois Center Pedway. Learn how an abandoned…
Art Deco Skyscrapers: The Loop
Tour the lobbies of Art Deco masterpieces built in the heart of Chicago’s financial district during…
Chicago Pedway
Discover the fascinating “city below the city” used by Chicagoans every day—the Pedway. From the…
Chicago Shakespeare Theater & The Yard
Since its opening on Navy Pier in 1999, Chicago Shakespeare Theater has grown to be one of the largest…
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Tours by Location
Beverly (North): Elegance on the Ridge
Once home to some of Chicago’s wealthiest families, Beverly’s mansions are still among the most beautiful in the city. During this tour we’ll view some of Beverly’s mansions along with homes that are merely large and unique.
Note: No upcoming departures are currently scheduled for this tour. To learn about other CAC tours and events, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
Beverly (South): A Castle, Mansions and More
Tour one of Chicago’s most fascinating neighborhoods, Beverly. Explore two houses built just after the Great Fire of 1871, a Frank Lloyd Wright home and a true Chicago castle. This tour showcases part of Chicago’s Longwood Drive Landmark District…
Note: Scheduled departures for this tour will return next season. To be notified when tickets for our next tour season go on sale, email tickets@architecture.org.
Bike Humboldt, the 606 and Palmer Square
This leisurely ride takes us through some of Chicago’s constructed natural beauty. We’ll bike along a route that was once the city’s edge while examining a historic boulevard and park designed by William LeBaron Jenney and Jens Jensen. As we ride…
Note: Scheduled departures for this tour will return next season. To be notified when tickets for our next tour season go on sale, email tickets@architecture.org.
Bohemian National Cemetery
Discover a wealth of stories told in stone and bronze at Bohemian National Cemetery. Since 1877, Bohemian National has remained the cemetery of choice for Chicago’s Bohemian and Czech immigrant communities. In this beautiful space, immigrants have vividly…
Note: Scheduled departures for this tour will return next season. To be notified when tickets for our next tour season go on sale, email tickets@architecture.org.
Bronzeville
Once home to European-American merchants, Bronzeville is now primarily an African-American community as a result of the Great Migration. See how this historic neighborhood celebrates its fascinating past as it looks to the future.
Note: No upcoming departures are currently scheduled for this tour. To learn about other CAC tours and events, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
Bungalow Belt by Bus
Between World War I and the Great Depression, more than 80,000 bungalows were built in Chicago. These one-and-a-half story homes—with detailed masonry and windows, dormered roofs, sheltered entrances and neat lawns—signified the pursuit of the American…
Note: The annual departure of this special CAC tour will be scheduled again next year. To get tour updates, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
Calvary Cemetery: Catholics in Chicago
Join us as we visit Chicagoland's oldest Catholic cemetery to see the resting places of prominent Irish and Italian Americans, including Chicago mayor Jane Byrne, as well as three other Chicago mayors. On this tour we will examine the rise of Catholics…
Note: No upcoming departures are currently scheduled for this tour. To learn about other CAC tours and events, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
Chicago Athletic Association Hotel
Experience the allure of a historic, exclusive men's club transformed into a 21st century luxury hotel. You will see old world craftsmanship restored to its original elegance, plus renovated and newly added spaces.
Chicago Board of Trade Building
The Chicago Board of Trade is a Loop icon anchoring the LaSalle Street financial corridor. We’ll see newly designed and renovated spaces, historical art and the massive traders’ vault within the three architecturally distinct Board of Trade buildings…
Chicago Murals
Highlights from this brand new tour include murals in a park and a union hall, ranging from the Progressive Era to contemporary murals.
Note: No upcoming departures are currently scheduled for this tour. To learn about other CAC tours and events, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
Chicago Pedway
Discover the fascinating “city below the city” used by Chicagoans every day—the Pedway. From the Thompson Center to Block 37 to the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, our one and half mile walking tour introduces the history, design and unique surprises of…
Chicago Shakespeare Theater & The Yard
Since its opening on Navy Pier in 1999, Chicago Shakespeare Theater has grown to be one of the largest theater companies in the city. Explore the theater’s three performance venues, including The Yard, a newly constructed, flexible year-round stage…
Chicago's Amazing Fair of 1893
CAC's family tour, Chicago's Amazing Fair of 1893, is designed for those with elementary-aged children. It tells the stories of the World's Fair of 1893 in such a way that all family members are sure to enjoy.
Note: No upcoming departures are currently scheduled for this tour. To learn about other CAC tours and events, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
Churches By Bus
Explore a church turned Buddhist temple, a Benedictine monastery that also happens to be a bed & breakfast and several other houses of worship in Bridgeport. This tour has six stops that cover a variety of architectural styles from the late 19th Century…
Note: The annual departure of this special CAC tour will be scheduled again next year. To get tour updates, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
Civil War and Chicago's Role: Rosehill Cemetery
Hear the stories of the heroes, villains and ordinary citizens on this visit to Rosehill Cemetery. Learn about men who were instrumental in the nomination of Lincoln, discover the role of newspaper editors in this struggle and see how women contributed…
Note: Scheduled departures for this tour will return next season. To be notified when tickets for our next tour season go on sale, email tickets@architecture.org.