Featured Tour
Remembering Stanley Tigerman Bus Tour
This special tour honors the legacy of Chicago architect Stanley Tigerman, who passed away in June. While…
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.
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.
Hidden Gems
Explore some of Chicago’s less familiar sites, or discover an unusual CAC tour offering you might not have heard about.
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
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…
Historic Skyscrapers
Chicago is home to some of the world’s earliest skyscrapers. Get an up-close look at these 19th Century…
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.
Hidden Gems
Explore some of Chicago’s less familiar sites, or discover an unusual CAC tour offering you might not have heard about.
2 Tours in this collection
Union Station: Icon of a Great Age
Union Station is seen every day by thousands of commuters—and yet, not really seen! Slow down and take…
Monroe Building and Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Come discover the Monroe Building—Chicago's architectural gem hidden in plain sight! See its gorgeous…
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Tours by type
Tours by Location
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…
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.
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…
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gothic Revival Architecture
Hidden among Chicago’s Modern buildings is a rich collection of Gothic architecture. Discover why architects from the late-19th to mid-20th centuries revived this style from the Middle Ages. See beautiful interiors and a few surprising exteriors!
Note: No upcoming departures are currently scheduled for this one-time only tour. To learn about other CAC tours and events, sign up to receive our monthly e-news at architecture.org/email.
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…
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.
Graceland Cemetery: Symbols in Stone
As we explore a venerable section of Graceland Cemetery, we’ll discuss the meanings of and changes to gravestone symbols and shapes, from Victorian times to the present day. We’ll see a variety of obelisks and mausoleums, as well as distinctive memorials…
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.