I have taken the CACs Architecture River Cruise nine times over the past six years, FOUR times during the month of September 2021 I love nothing more than to introduce our friends to the beauty and history of Chicago through this tour. AND, each time I go on it, I learn something new. The River Cruise is a virtual museum of the modern skyscraper and it is always fascinating to float by these masterpieces with the knowledgeable guidance of the amazing docents who lead these tours.

Great ride, so informative, you cannot imagine how much smarter youll be after this. Boat is great, has refreshments, easy and comfortable. But the host is an easy 90% of your value.

Highly recommend the river tour offered through the Chicago Architecture Center! Our volunteer docent was very informative and you knew she was doing it for the love of it, not for tips. Great way to learn about the magnificent buildings that surround you in downtown Chicago.

The Chicago Architecture Foundation Center River Cruise is an ideal way to casually tour this impressive cityscape. The Centers docent delivered a mix of architecture and city history, all from an amazing vantage point for photos and videos.

We loved our Chicago River boat cruise with docent Jess. The opportunity to see many of the citys high rise icons from the water way that is literally at the citys heart was in itself a joy. But with commentary that placed them in historical and social context, and stylistic observations that enhanced even this former architect and student of architectural historys understanding, it was also an educational treat. Judging from the reactions of those around us, the tour appealed to a range of observer experience, and their enthusiastic applause reflected the fun we all had.

Another great tour led by the informed docents from CAC. This time we took the Gold Coast: Astor St historic mansions 90-min walking tour. Its an amazing, beautiful, and interesting neighborhood. Perfect amount of time on a nice evening and not at all strenuous for those of us who might be out of shape 🙂. All ages--young to old--were part of our group & seemed interested and happy, as we were. (Tip: Jot down the addresses of the places for sale to look up later & get a peak inside these private homes!) Only quibbles would be for a little more updated info and a reminder for guide to be extra loud. Cant wait to take the Gold Coast: Dearborn walking tour on our next visit. Another favorite tour is their riverboat architecture tour which weve done a couple times. Dont visit Chicago without doing that one either!

Nice place to visit of youre around. vert affordable price. Iconic view of Chicago Tribune tower right from the window and they also have a nice giftshop.

Highly recommend the boat tour!! Excellent gift shop as well, featuring educational things, gifts and handmade items.

Pairs nicely with the architecture boat tour. Visit the showroom before or after the tour - the boat is right across the street! These folks are passionate about their city and speak with great knowledge about architecture.

Great cruise with a great storyteller. Becky was very friendly and had vast knowledge of the Chicago buildings.

Basically, a local booster venue. The should pay you to receive their hype. Tribute to one of their contributors was overkill. Gist: He was well dressed, and got his name on prestige projects.

Awesome place and experience of learning about the citys architecture and history. Im looking forward to coming back!

The boat tour was a great experience. 90 minutes in total. Knowledgeable docent with lots of interesting information about Chicagos buildings along the river.The exhibits/museum, however, is more of a single exhibit with a store attached. For $14 you can watch a short video, check out some model buildings upstairs, and then thats it because technically you couldve gone to the gift shop without paying an admissions fee. If you buy the museum ticket with your boat tour price you save some money but Im not sure its even worth it at that rate. Dont get me wrong, it was still interesting. I just expected more for the sticker price.

High quality exhibits, though you get the sense the strength of the places lies in the tours and knowledge of the guides. Would come back for river or other tours - they launch from here and you can sign up on site.

We recently took a delightful 2- hour ‘L’’ architecture tour with Tim.He took care before and throughout to keep us mindful and safe, although there is nothing especially dangerous about riding the L.We were off the train most of the time looking at and discussing the styles, history and unique features of dozens of buildings as well as the stations themselves.Tim welcomed and answered all of our questions.I’m sure all of the volunteer guides share this passion and would highly recommend this and other CAC tours.

This review is for the Chicago Architecture Center itself, not the boat tour - though I highly recommend the boat tour as well (look for Chicagos First Lady Cruises for those reviews).The CAC was very cool. Its pretty small... youll get through it in maybe 40-90 minutes, depending on how much of the information you want to read. The interactive display is very interesting. I visited before my CAC boat tour, and the boat tour made we want to go back and visit the museum again now that I recognized many of the famous skyscrapers. If you have any interest in architecture at all, youll like it. If you know someone who studies architecture or is an architect, this is a good place to get them a gift.

A must if you are in Chicago for the architecture. Learn about the past present and future of Chicago. If you do one of the river architecture tours, you can get in for $5!

The Chicago Architectural Center (CAC) is the primary place to immerse yourself into the history and current status of Chicagos fabulous architecture. It also features a 3D model of Chicagos Central Area which is regularly updated to stay abreast of the ever changing building landscape. See CACs exhibits on skyscrapers around the world. There is also a fabulous store where you can buy great Chicago souvenirs and novelties related to architecture. See CACs website for over 80 architectural walking tours hosted by expertly informed docents and the highly acclaimed CAC Chicago riverboat tour.

Our tour guide from the Chicago Architecture Center was amazing on Chicagos First Lady. It is the 3rd time I have taken the tour over the years and each time I learn something new and fascinating! Highly recommend

Attractive gift shop but honestly the gifts are mostly touristy t shirts and trinkets. Before the shop moved to its new location they had cool architectural prints and Frank Lloyd Wright reproduction lamps and things like that.

This is the go to place for Chicago walking tours. The docents are very knowledgeable and fun. Each tour has a different feel because there are over 450 volunteer docents. The exhibits at the center are great. The model of downtown is fantastic and there is a short video that highlights parts of Chicago history. The organization also puts on special events like Engineering Fest and Chicago Open House. I can’t recommend this place enough. Lastly, the river boat tours with Chicago’s First Lady are the best in town and a great activity for locals and tourists alike.

Fantastic insight into the history of the city, its people, and its architecture.

We took a tour on the Chicago First Lady through the Chicago Architectural Center. It was fabulous. We had Cynthia for a docent during the ride, and as I told her afterward, I couldnt believe how many facts about these buildings she could remember. Plus she hardly took a breath for the 90-minute ride. (She told me what rigorous training the docents actually went through for 6 months!) I want to take this tour at least one more time, if not more. It was so much fun, I learned so much. Chicago is a gorgeous city, and you can see so much of it from the river.Thank you CAC, and thank you Cynthia!!

This was an outstanding tour! You could probably only do one tour and if that’s the case, choose this one! Very knowledgeable tour guide. She spoke very well and even was patient enough to wait when it was too noisy for us to hear. The Soundsystem was very good and the boat was very comfortable. A great tour! Highly recommended!!!

Interested in architecture or not, CAC is a great activity for locals and visitors. They offer so many informative guided walking tours, I still havent had time to take their famous guided river cruise. A couple of favorites are the Pedway tour and the L Loop tour. If youre going on two or more tours, consider membership. It pays for itself pretty quickly.

Pretty cool displays, especially the interactive map of the Loop downstairs. But for the price, I was expecting more. It’s quite small, and a lot of the content upstairs was confusingly laid out, without any clear semblance of organization or informative write ups on the actual buildings they were representing.

The architecture boat tour is fantastic. Ive done it twice now and will do it again next time Im in Chicago. Its a lot of history and a lot of architecture and it helped that today the weather was gorgeous

Had a great tour guide and learned a lot. It was a great way to see the city from a different perspective. Would highly recommend.

Best tours in Chicago!They are the OFFICIAL institution for tours in Chicago.The tour presenters (also known as docents) have an immense amount of knowledge on Chicagos history and architecture. Add to that, the fact that many of them have lived in the city throughout their lives - you end up with a living encyclopedia giving you the tour. They are friendly and well spoken.Also, the visitors hub has an amazing model of the city and a great presentation on Chicago.Please take the river tour - it is Chicagos No 1 attraction. HOWEVER, please also take as many walking tours as well as bus tours as you can.Every tour teaches you something new, even for long lived Chicagoans. The tours are always fun and interactive. They also offer tours in many languages and they are very flexible when requesting private tours for large numbers.I am a member of the Architecture Center and I get to take many tours for free (at no additional cost after you buy the membership). They offer tours that talk about not only architecture, but also artistic movements, food, neighborhoods, etc.You really get your moneys worth during OPEN HOUSE CHICAGO. When you get to visit many buildings that are usually closed to the public and YOU DONT HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE.Please support this institution.

It opens at 10 am CST during pandemic although the website says 9:30 am. The walking tour is highly recommended. I think you can only purchase ticket for the walking tour on site.

Very interesting! Worth the visit.

If your booked one of their tours, you get in at a discounted price! The space has some interesting exhibit on Chicago and skyscrapers around the world. Nice gift shop if you are an architecture buff! I took their architecture cruise and it is very well organized and the narration from our guide was so so good. It only she was knowledgeable but also funny as hell! Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Weve had a membership at CAC for several years. Its a great organization. Knowledgeable people, excellent tours, and great exhibits. This is one of the best ways to get to know Chicago.

We took the boat tour for Tuesday, September 2 at 11 AM. Our docent was very good and well-informed but he needs to stop talking when we are going under one of the many bridges in Chicago. We were unable to hear him, so we missed some of the info for that reason.

A great introduction to Chicagos architectural focus. Small museum/educational center highlighting influential architects.

Nice boat tour and informative. A bit expensive trip though. Do not go there in winter since winds ruins the fun.

Very neat little museum. Can upgrade for $5 if you do the adjacent boat tour

Nice little museum of architecture. The gift store is very classy.

The best river tour and a fantastic museum for anyone who enjoys the history of cities

Hands-down a must see if you are in Chicago! Located just south of the river, you get an amazing and breathtaking view of some iconic architecture right at the beginning of your time there. I learned so much from the volunteers they had in the galleries and my love for Chicago grew 10 times the day we went! So much history and so many amazing architectural models to see. If you want to know about how Chicago was established and why it became the city it is today, this is the place to go! The scaled model of Chicago is unprecedented and an icon of the city! We planned to go on the boat tour but decided to go to just the museum instead. It was only $12 to get in (as of November 2019) and worth every penny! They could easily charge more!

If you really are interested in buildings around the world and stories about them, you need to go! They also have a model of the city with a video. Great place to understand Chicago!

I am an Exhibit Host at Chicago Arch. The new exhibit (9/2021) on Helmut Jahn is so informative with video, models & script.

A must do if you’re in Chicago. The guided boat tour is phenomenal as well.

Fantastic every time, a fantastic way to spend your afternoon/evening and see the city from a different perspective. Every docent puts their own spin on the tour so you never get the same experience twice.

I had a wonderful experience on the Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise. Our docent Lindy was spectacular, knowledgable, and an absolute delight. I highly recommend their 90 minute tour, which will leave no one disappointed. They have a full bar and restrooms in their air conditioned salon on the boat as well.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the walking tour of River Walk West today with Constance.Professional and entertaining. Hope to be on another of her tours.Charlie and Cathy Shriver

What an amazing place! Just some models of buildings present and buildings to come along with the history and lay out of future plans, just amazing! Many, many thanks to Debbie Sherman-Rodak for everything you did to make my first venture to the windy city an absolutely wonderful day!

Participated in a Legos build event today at the Center. Good fun with our oldest granddaughter.Love the exhibits, and the wealth of information available in the gift shop.

Interesting place to visit if you like architecture. I went to the Center last year. This year we did the Frank Lloyd Wright Tour which took four hours. You take a coach to his home and studio in Oak Park Chicago, then walk around the neighbourhood to see other homes he designed. You end up with a guided tour of Unity Temple which Frank designed. It was tiring and raining but well worth the effort. I took a few pictures on my phone and have posted them for you to view.

Beautiful collection of models and info on some of the worlds most beautiful and largest buildings.

We did 2 tours with CAF; Historic Neighborhood Tour in the morning which gave us the general history of Chicago and then details of neighborhoods as we drove around the city, and the Twilight tour in the evening which explained Chicagos rich architecture and its evolution. It was amazing. The Twilight tour is very well timed. We had very well informed ladies who were our tour guides for each tour. Worth the money!

Very informative river tour. The guide had wonderful insight into all the incredible buildings shown around the Chicago riverfront. We lucked out with wonderful weather. The dock location was easy to get to.

Such a great museum here! Highly recommend the short movie. You can spend about an hour here so its great if you need something short to do. Also, there are wonderful views of the city if the weather is cold or miserable.

OMG! I see why this is the #1 thing to do in Chicago. We went on the 5:15 sunset tour through the city. Victor was our tour guide and he was SOOOOOOOOOOOO amazing. Informative, educated, and HILARIOUS. I really liked his style of guiding. He did an amazing job. I honestly want to go again. I know there is something new to see each time. This is a MUST DO in the city.

Had a scheduled tour at Oak Park at 2 today and the tour guide was a no show. The tickets said to meet at 167 Forest at the FLW rock in Austin Gardens. That is where I was with my husband and two others. They had received an email switching the tour from another address to the 167 Forest address. It took a while to get through to CAC by phone. They were unapologetic. They said they had sent an email changing the address. None of us received that email. We are only in Chicago for a few days and this was a big waste of our time here. Loving Chicago except for this. The one positive was that we had a lovely conversation with the other two people waiting.We were all offered our money back but as we are all members that was little consolation. We have been on excellent CAC tours. This episode was very disappointing.

Excellent tours! An experience one should enjoy while in Chicago day or night. David was our informative, engaging, fun guide! I highly recommend it! enjoyed it so much we went in the evening to see the buildings lit up at night. There were multiple fireworks displays as well.

River tour was awesome. Our docent really knew her stuff. 90 minutes flew by.

Mary Jo with the boat tour is the absolute best! Highly recommend for new visitors to the city

The river cruise these folks put on IS the best in Chicago. Informative host explaining all the details of local landmarks. And the full bar isnt all that more expensive than area restaurants.

Overpriced and not worth the price. We spent fifteen minutes in the center and really had nothing else to view so left.

They offer superb tour of the city. I am sure, everyone can find an appropriate tour for their taste.We took their river tour, which was super informative. In 90 minutes, the guide talked about almost 70 building. The pace of the tour is very good. They first go west (in) through the main branch. Then go up to the north branch up until the goose island, and turn back. Next, they go through the south branch all the way down to S Canal St. bridge. In the last part of the trip, the tour takes you out from the main branch, up to the key (do not go out to the lake), where you can see whole skyline of Chicago. It is more expensive than the other tours but worth every penny.

We moved out of Chicago the day the new location opened. But we finally made it back to Chicago this week and this was our first stop. We were not disappointed!! The models of the city are super cool. There is enough history to keep you interested and engaged but it’s not so much that it’s boring. The models in the second floor are also cool. I highly recommend stopping by!

Definitely a neat place to visit if youre a fan of architecture.

$15.00 to get in or $10.00 if you are a student.I really enjoyed it. Not a lot to see, however, if you like architecture and city history, you can spend quite a bit of time checking every detail.

Very well-made models with the explanation for each building.

Creative, lots of books about Chicago and architecture! You need to check it out if you love Chicago.+ Update 2021This place has moved right next to the river which is better. The admission fee in my opinion is set a little too high because there arent many things to see inside.

Really cool scale models and a fantastic presentation about the city of Chicago. Boat tour was very nice as well. The presenter was knowledge and entertaining.

Very interesting place. Spent about an hour there. Not too crowded

Updated review:As of early 2019 the move is done and the new place is beautiful! Besides the original model that is much expanded, there are now several very large scale models of tall structures from around the world, all built 91:1 scale as I recall.Be sure to watch the short movie by the city model. I found it very informative in spite of having watched numerous channel 11 PBS documentaries about Chicago architecture.Full ADA wheelchair accessibility inside and out too. Thanks!Original review:On 3/20/2018 the Chicago model is moving to 111 E. Wacker Dr. (see pic of sign) Other photos also show the new location is now being remodeled and an artist rendering of the future finished product.This model has always been GREAT. I can’t wait to see the NEW and IMPROVED model!

Mike was a great docent and Bob was so informative as well! Very knowledgeable!

This building was an absolutely awesome experience. Aside from the tours that the company offers, they also have the building that has multiple exhibits inside. We did not do a tour due to our short time in the city, but the exhibits in the building were very cool and informational. The 3D aspects of the building were very realistic. The building itself is self guided, but there are many tour guides that are walking around answering questions and elaborating on the exhibits. The front desk lady honored our student membership without us having our ID’s on us, which was very cool! You can spend hours here or just a quick forty five minutes. I definitely recommend. I believe that it is best to start with the exhibit upstairs and then move downstairs to that exhibit and watch the film. Super cool building!

So much history.....A great for any architect to visit

We went on the Hotel Boom tour. Great choices if buildings and a very knowledgable guide.

Farnsworth House in Plano, Il. Fabulous tour guides, both on the bus and at Farnsworth House. Loved the whole program!

The boat tour was awesome! The actual museum exhibit is a little sparse with content but a conversation with a volunteer docent will more than make up for it.

Underwhelming for an aspiring urbanist and history nerd. Surprisingly little on Chicago’s vernacular architecture but a whole floor to celebrate supertall starchitect skyscrapers around the world. Best part was the city model and historical video. Can’t speak to the tours but they’re quite expensive.

I really loved this place- very lovely detailed mini-models, and very informative!

Disappointing. Lower level has a generalist’s introduction to vernacular architectural styles in Chicago. Could have included more depth on Neo-Classical and Prairie School styles, for example. Upstairs centers on contemporary skyscrapers, mostly the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai (tenuous connection to Chicago as the company that built it is Chicago-based).

Came to see the new Ohare airport models, well worth the visit. Havent been to rest of exhibits, but they seem cool.

Dont miss the Chicago Model City by the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The CAF hosts tours and events all year including the narrated Chicago River Tour (See photos below).Also dont miss the one weekend a year in October when the Chicago Architectural Foundation hosts Open House Chicago. 200 buildings are often on the tour.

I booked two tickets and was later unable to go due to a family emergency at all. I asked if they would reschedule or provide a gift certificate for future use. They were not accommodating at all.UPDATE: Chicago Architecture Center reached out and sent me a replacement ticket voucher that could be used in the future.Thank you CAC!

Awesome placeWe visit Lego architecture had a lot of fun play with legoWhen Im in Chicago with kids we always came to build lego

Chicago Architecture Foundation river boat tour is fantastic. Brent, the tour guide, was very knowledgeable #chiarchitecture #brent #CFLcruises #CAFcruise

The Chicago Architecture Foundation is a fantastic organisation which has the most brilliant guides who sell the architecture of Chicago to visitors in the most brilliant ways. I have been on nearly all of their tours over the years and can not possibly recommend them any more highly.

Well laid out center dedicated to the beautiful architecture of Chicago!

Have to see all new architecture museum..

Very very very interesting time in Chicago!!!

Great shop for gifts but a little pricy.Go through the shop and in the center court of the building you can visit a full 3D model of Chicago with explanations of planned urban development and architecture ideas.Opposite of the shop through the court yard is an architecture lab where participants can use white Lego bricks to design buildings.

Great place and very informative. Take the tour and the river tour as well!

Cool models of all sorts of local and international structures. Great new location includes a lecture hall. Right on the river with gorgeous view!

The Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) was founded in 1966 to save the historic Glessner House. Since then, CAF has grown to become one of the largest cultural organizations in Chicago. For more than 50 years, our 450 volunteer docents and our educators have shared the stories of Chicago architecture with millions of Chicagoans and visitors. In 2016, CAF served more than 670,000 people.

Great tour! Learned a lot about the city!

This feels like a must-see for any Chicagoan. Simple, accessible, and compelling.

Excellent information on both Skyscraper development and the history of Building Tall in Chicago.

ENGINEERING FEST the kiddos had a great time!

Very cool. The storyline with the model city was great.

Learned alot

Learned a lot, spectacular location!

A good stop when in Chicago hanging out at the BEAN off S Michigan Ave. Every thing you need to know about architecture of this wonderful city.

Disappointing customer service. I would suggest going with another company if possible, tons of better options in Chicago!