Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you prefer exploring on your own, the CAF offers a variety of
guided walking tours. For first-time visitors, I highly recommend
two tours for an excellent introduction to the dramatic architecture
of the Loop.
Historic Skyscrapers
(daily 10am) covers buildings
built between 1880 and 1940, including the Rookery and the
Chicago Board of Trade;
Modern Skyscrapers
(daily 1pm) includes
modern masterpieces by Mies van der Rohe and postmodern works
by contemporary architects. The 2-hour tours cost $15 each for
adults and $12 each for seniors and students.
Departing from the Chicago ArchiCenter, 224 S. Michigan Ave.; a few tours leave
from the John Hancock Center, 875 N. Michigan Ave.
&
312/922-3432,
or 312/
922-TOUR for recorded information. www.architecture.org. Tickets for most walking
tours $10-$15. Subway/El: Brown, Green, Purple, or Orange line to Adams, or Red
Line to Jackson.
Untouchable Tours
The days of Al Capone are long gone, but
Chicago's notorious past is still good for business, it seems, given the
popularity of these “Gangster Tours.” The 2-hour bus trip takes you
to all of the city's old hoodlum hangouts from the Prohibition era,
including O'Banion's flower shop, the site of the St. Valentine's Day
massacre. The focus is definitely more on entertainment than history
(guides with names such as “Al Dente” and “Ice Pick” appear in cos-
tume and role-play their way through the tour), but the trip does
give you a pretty thorough overview of the city.
Departs from the southeast corner of Clark and Ohio sts.
&
773/881-1195.
www.gangstertour.com. $25 adults, $19 children. Tours depart Mon-Wed 10am;
Thurs 10am and 1pm; Fri 10am, 1 and 7:30pm; Sat 10am, 1 and 5pm; Sun 10am and
1pm.
NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS
It's a bit of a cliché to say that Chicago is a city of neighborhoods,
but if you want to see what really makes the place special, that's
where you have to go.
Sponsored by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs,
Chicago
Neighborhood Tours
(
&
312/742-1190;
www.chgocitytours.
com) are 4- to 5-hour narrated bus excursions to about a dozen
diverse communities throughout the city. Departing at 10am from
the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St., every Saturday,
the tours visit different neighborhoods, from Chinatown and his-
toric Bronzeville on the South Side to the ethnic enclaves of Devon
Avenue and Uptown on the North Side. Tickets (including a light
snack) are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors, students, and children
8 to 18. Regularly available specialty tours include Literary Chicago;
the Great Chicago Fire; Roots of Blues, Gospel & Jazz; Threads of
