Chicago has some amazing architecture, and thanks to the Chicago River snaking through the city, you can see it all by taking an architecture boat tour. What will you see on a Chicago architecture boat tour?
Most tours start on Lake Michigan and work their way into the heart of the city. The Trump International Hotel and Tower is one of the first skyscrapers visitors are likely to see as they sit back and relax on the boat. Finished in 2009, the Trump was originally planned to be the tallest building in the world but was later scaled back and is now the second-tallest building in the U.S., behind only the Willis (Sears) Tower.
The Wilco towers – the Marina City complex composed of dual cylindrical towers – are even more impressive when you look up at them from river level.
I like how the two American flags add some color and somewhat of a regal appearance to this building.
The Wrigley Building has been standing high in Chicago since the 1920s. The giant clock on the south tower is nearly 20 feet in diameter, large enough for people to see it from far away. Cool fact: The Wrigley was the city’s first air-conditioned building.
This is my favorite piece of Chicago architecture, the one on the left. It’s called the Carbide & Carbon Building. Constructed during prohibition, the building (according to legend) was nefariously designed to look like a wine bottle, with a greenish terra cotta exterior with a narrow top highlighted by gold accents, which represent the foil on the bottle. Cool!
The boat tours pass under several of the Windy City’s drawbridges.
You can get some cool views looking up from directly underneath the bridges.
Eventually, the tours head south and approach the Willis Tower, which towers over its surrounding skyscraper neighbors, even if some odd angles don’t quite make it seem that way.
Even residential complexes look cool from the river. Everything looks better on a boat tour!
The boat tours range in price, but keep an eye out for online promotions and Groupons. Some even have bars to sell wine and beer, in case the casual boat ride itself is not enough entertainment.
Nice! I took an architecture tour of Chicago back when I was in high school. Such an amazing city…
There’s so much to see!
Cool! I took that same tour 2 years ago, while Transformers 3 was being filmed. Always interesting to have Mies van de Rohe on one side, and stuff blowing up on the other, lol.
Yes, watching Transformers filming was really fun too 🙂
Love Chicago architecture. The C&C Bldg is pretty impressive.
It sure is.
Great post! I am particularly fond of the riverway tours offered in many of the big cities including the Riverwalk in San Antonio. I will have to try this one out. Thanks for the tips.
They can sometimes be the best way to see a city.
Seems a very beautiful ride. What grand buildings, not what we see here in India!
I love boat rides, I have done it in Varanasi and Mathura, it is lovely.
Any plans of you coming down to India?
I would like to go there eventually!
I like the addition of being on the water while touring the architecture!
It’s better than walking for sure!
Great shots! This would be a really great way to see the city.
I was surprised how much of the city you can end of seeing this way.
I have taken this cruise before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Taking it again in a couple of weeks with some travel tweets coming in on May 12. Thanks for getting me psyched.
Cool, it’s one of my favorites!