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 type
Tours by Location
Fort Sheridan by Bus
Discover stunningly beautiful Fort Sheridan, a residential area just north of Chicago with more than 60 buildings designed by Holabird and Roche.
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.
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
Ce tour, en français, comprend des gratte-ciel historiques et modernes de Chicago. Pour tracer l’histoire de ces bâtiments nous commençons par des monuments classés du XIXème siècle et terminons avec un gratte-ciel de ce siècle.
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 art galleries. See how commercial and industrial buildings incorporate design elements…
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 and diverse residences on this delightful walk along three blocks of the multifaceted Dearborn Street. Learn the history of this storied Near North neighborhood, which was established in the wake of the 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.
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.
Graceland Cemetery: Women of Influence
During Chicago’s period of growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women played a hugely influential role by participating in the Underground Railroad, exhibiting the first Modern Art paintings, creating the juvenile justice system and even…
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.
Grant Park Secrets
Grant Park’s landscape is both front yard and recreation spot for Chicago. But did you know that the area was once under water? Or that at one time it housed an airfield, a major league sports team and the tomb of a Civil War hero? Join us as we unlock…
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.
Hidden (Mostly Indoor) Art
Walk with us and find the truly fine art hiding in building lobbies across the Loop—and a few on the buildings themselves. Find out why these pieces are placed where they are, discover new artists and learn how the art and the buildings complement each…
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.
Hidden (Mostly Outdoor) Art
See what you might not see—fine art hidden in the open. Find out why what’s there is there, discover artists new to you, see old friends in new ways and learn why building owners and managers want art at their buildings.
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.
Highland Park
Trace the history of Highland Park from pioneer settlement to summer retreat for wealthy Chicagoans to year-round suburb. Encounter residential architectural styles ranging from log cabins to Historic Revival mansions to Prairie School and International…
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.