Around the world, Chicago is known for its outstanding architecture. The Illinois city is home to scores of structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a good way for visitors to admire that part of the Windy City’s legacy is from the water.
A number of companies—including Chicago’s First Lady Cruises from the Chicago Architecture Center; Mercury, Chicago’s Skyline Cruiseline; Wendella Boats; and Entertainment Cruises—offer guided architecture cruises on the Chicago River. These excursions showcase a range of old and newer buildings that help tell the city’s history.
Arnaldo Altoran of Choose Chicago says a visit to the Chicago Architecture Center provides a perfect complement to a cruise. Located on the waterfront along Wacker Drive where the boat tours depart, the new center opened last August.
Exhibits such as the Chicago City Model Experience and Building Tall include scale models of famous skyscrapers and information on more than 4,000 of the city’s buildings that have helped Chicago earn the moniker “City of Architecture.”
To learn more, email Arnaldo Altoran of Choose Chicago or go to choosechicago.com.
Top Attractions
Millennium Park
Navy Pier
the Art Institute of Chicago
Top Culinary Options
Chicago Food Planet Tours
dinner and the blues packages at Andy’s Jazz Club
Buddy Guy’s Legends
Kingston Mines
Top photo: Guided architecture cruise on the Chicago River
Photo by architecture.org