Featured Tour
Historic Treasures of Chicago’s Golden Age
Learn about the great architectural landmarks of Michigan Avenue and State Street, with glimpses inside…
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.
One-Time Bus Tours
Get on a bus to see more of the city! Choose from several special one-time bus tours. Save up to 35% by booking multiple tours.
Most Popular
Choose one of CAC’s acclaimed architecture tours, from a selection of our guests’ perennial favorites.
6 Tours in this collection
Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise aboard Chicago's First Lady
#1 boat tour in Chicago according to TripAdvisor user reviews! Looking for the ultimate Chicago architecture…
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.
6 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
Want a quick introduction to Chicago’s magnificent architecture? This 90-minute tour takes a comprehensive…
Hotel Boom: Making Old New Again
Chicago is experiencing a surge in tourism, resulting in the creative repurpose of historic skyscrapers…
Discover Chicago's Historic Neighborhoods
CAC has partnered with Big Bus Chicago for a tour that explores Chicago's mosaic of neighborhoods. Every…
Historic Skyscrapers
Chicago is home to some of the world’s earliest skyscrapers. Get an up-close look at these 19th Century…
One-Time Bus Tours
Get on a bus to see more of the city! Choose from several special one-time bus tours. Save up to 35% by booking multiple tours.
8 Tours in this collection
Berwyn
Learn about the history of Berwyn, an idiosyncratic suburb with fascinating architecture, including an…
Concrete Chicago
Get a behind-the-scenes look at one of Chicago’s most popular building materials: concrete! We’ll…
Frank Lloyd Wright Neighborhoods by Bus
Follow Frank Lloyd Wright's career from 1899 to 1913, when his designs changed the face of the American…
Parks and Boulevards by Bus
Join us on a leisurely summertime drive along Chicago’s stunning western boulevards, through Columbus…
Emerging Chicago
Discover what’s new and exciting in the city’s built environment on the 15th annual Emerging Chicago…
Churches By Bus
Once a year, a caravan of buses travels to a new area of the city to appreciate architecturally significant…
Chicago Murals: Rogers Park
Join us on our third annual Chicago Murals tour, this year in Rogers Park. We’ll walk along the Mile…
Sustainability in Chicago
Hear what architects, developers and the city are doing to make existing and newly constructed buildings…
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Tours by Location
Evanston Along the Lake
This walk through Evanston's Lakeshore Historic District explores a variety of churches and residences in the town that became Daniel Burnham's "country retreat" and which is still considered one of Chicago's most desirable suburbs.
Explore Chinatown
Discover the art, architecture and history of Chinatown on this 90-minute walk, which includes stops at a Chinese bakery and a former Italian church. The tour concludes near some of Chinatown’s tastiest restaurants, convenient for those wanting to stay…
Farnsworth House by Bus
Farnsworth House—the famous glass house along the bank of the Fox River—is one of the world’s great architectural masterpieces, designed by Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1951. A founder and leader of the modernist movement in Europe, Mies lived…
Farnsworth House Plus
Farnsworth House—the famous glass house along the bank of the Fox River—is one of the world’s great architectural masterpieces, designed by Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1951. A founder and leader of the modernist movement in Europe, Mies lived…
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.
Fine Arts Building
Discover this treasure trove on Michigan Avenue and learn how it went from a carriage showroom to a high-profile artists’ colony that housed tenants like Frank Lloyd Wright, Lorado Taft and Harriet Monroe.
Food and Architecture of 1893
On this "see and taste" walking tour, you can imagine what Chicago looked like during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, while tasting new foods that were introduced at the fair.
Fort Sheridan
Discover the history and architecture of Fort Sheridan, a former military base listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Designed by one of Chicago's most influential architects, Holabird and Roche, its buildings served military purposes from…
Frank Lloyd Wright by Bus
Discover the neighborhood where Wright's famed Prairie Style of architecture evolved. The tour includes bus transportation to and from Oak Park with commentary, a one-hour interior tour of Wright’s Home and Studio and a walking tour of the Frank Lloyd…
Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park
Oak Park is home to the world’s largest collection of buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Join us on this tour to view the exteriors of a rich selection of Wright's structures, including Prairie style and Victorian homes.
Frank Lloyd Wright Neighborhoods by Bus
Follow Frank Lloyd Wright's career from 1899 to 1913, when his designs changed the face of the American family home. See more than 25 homes, including the Martin, Cheney and Roberts homes, which are not featured on any other CAC tour.
French Language: Historic and Modern Skyscrapers
Cette visite unique, vous offrira un aperçu complet de l’architecture de Chicago. Tout en écoutant l’histoire de la ville, vous verrez, dans l’ordre chronologique, quelques-uns de ses buildings les plus anciens, ainsi que des tours ultra-hautes…
Fulton-Randolph Market: From Gritty to Gourmet
Discover the fascinating 150-year evolution of the Fulton-Randolph Market District from food wholesaling and meatpacking to gourmet restaurants, technology hubs and boutique hotels.
Gold Coast: Astor Street
Discover the architectural treasures of the Gold Coast, one of Chicago’s most affluent neighborhoods. This tour covers residential architecture along Lake Shore Drive and in the Astor Street Historic District.
Gold Coast: Dearborn Street
See some of Chicago's most beautiful residences and an early 1900s church on this delightful walk along three blocks of Dearborn Street. Learn the history of this storied Near North neighborhood, established in the wake of the Great Chicago Fire.
Graceland Cemetery
Beautiful and serene, Graceland Cemetery is a treasured oasis in the center of our bustling city. Notables interred here are Chicago's movers and shakers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Daniel Burnham, Potter Palmer, Charles Wacker, George…