Seeing Chicago From the River With Shoreline Sightseeing {Review}

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary meal for my family in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

Living in the Chicagoland area all of my life means I tend to take Chicago for granted.  There are so many tourist things I have never done, one of them being a boat tour.  The Architecture Tour is one specifically that my husband has been bugging me to do for years now.  So during our recent trip to Chicago we trekked over to Navy Pier and boarded one of Shoreline Sightseeing Chicago River cruise boats.

This Summer marks Shoreline Sightseeing’s 75th anniversary and with that they have extended their architecture river tours to 75 minutes.  Boats depart every 45 minutes, daily from the easily accessible docks at both Navy Pier and the Michigan Avenue Bridge.

So what did we think of the tour?  It was great!  You sit out in the open on the top of a boat, there are more seats underneath if you don’t want direct sun on you, and there really is no bad view since your looking up at the buildings.  Our tour guide, Sarah, was a great speaker.  She was funny and made the tour go by fast without being boring, which I was worried about.  She told us about all the architecture of the buildings along with some stories about Chicago in general like the Chicago fire, which I honestly still thought it was Mrs. O’ Leary’s cow that started the fire.

Here are some pictures I took from our tour:

This is the same boat we were on, just another one:

Glad we didn’t miss the “TRUM” building (should be TRUMP):

Drinks and snacks were sold aboard and were actually pretty cheap:

Going under one of the bridges:

I think the Architecture tour is definitely a stop for anyone visiting Chicago or even local Chicagoans who want to see Chicago in a new light.  I had no idea the history behind so many of these buildings and how they began. Even my kids who are ages 2, 6, and 7 years old enjoyed the tour.  I will say it is an expensive tour but its worth it, even if you only get to do it once.  I honestly though want to check it out at night next time because nighttime in Chicago is my favorite!  Oh and if your looking for a Classic Lake Tour or Water Taxi ride, Shoreline Sightseeing does those too!

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Catch the Architecture Tour through Shoreline Sightseeing at:

Navy Pier’s Gateway Park and Michigan Avenue Bridge