Chicago Detours

These are not your grandma's architecture tour! Our guided tours of architecture, history, and culture bring curious people to explore stories and places locals don't even know. We offer regularly scheduled tours for the public, and private group tours for corporate team-building, student groups, and convention groups. Founded by Amanda Scotese, a former Rick Steves tour guide, Chicago Detours designs tours as fun, educational experiences. With five stars on both Yelp and TripAdvisor, it is one of top-rated tour companies in Chicago. Public tours are by foot and stay mostly indoors, making them great activities for any time of year. Options include the "Loop Interior Architecture Walking Tour," which explores beautiful building interiors and the underground Pedway System, and the "Historic Chicago Walking Bar Tour," which digs into Chicago's entertainment history of social clubs, jazz music, prohibition and theater. Other public tours include "Best Architecture Walking Tour Since Sliced Bread" and "1893 World's Fair Walking Tour with Bars and Food." Private group tours include the above options as well as tours by coach equipped with screens for presentation of historic images. Our historic bar tours, both by foot and by bus, are the most popular with private groups. Your group will eat, drink and learn about how Chicago has had fun over history. The "Big Shoulders Historic Bar and Food Bus Tour" visits Bridgeport, Chicago's oldest neighborhood, which was home to workers for the nearby Chicago Stock Yards. The "Jazz, Blues & Beyond by Bus" tour explores Chicago neighborhoods north to south for a fun, up-close connection with the cultural history of Chicago's music. Groups get exclusive access inside a building with relics from its time as a 1930s jazz club, and to top off this memorable experience, a blues musician comes on board for a performance and harmonica lesson. Other private tours include "Chicago Neighborhoods and Cultural Diversity by Bus" and "Old Polonia and Wicker Park Tour with Food." Step-on guide services available for private group tours. Tours include lively guide commentary, an interactive group dynamic, and extras like media presentation and special gifts. Rather than a standard lecture format, these tours actively involve guests in a memorable experience that inspires new perspectives of the city's architecture and history