Our Chicago Architecture Tour will lead you along the Riverwalk through the history of the industrial landscape that is home to the world’s first skyscraper
Walk with us as the sun sets through downtown Chicago hearing some of the most gruesome and creepy Chicago stories. Expect more history and humor than hauntings.
Join us on the Free Chicago Loop Tour of Downtown Chicago. Learn about history, architecture and other hidden treasures. Tours run on a pay-what-you-want basis.
On the Chicago Pedway tour, we will navigate and explore the Chicago's series of mostly indoor tunnels, bridges, and paths throughout the downtown Loop.
You will learn about Chicago's greatest triumphs as well as her most devastating tragedies. You will see the birthplace of the city where the original army settlements were. Since this tour is on foot, you will get to pause and really appreciate each architectural gem.
Join Free Tours by Foot as we venture through one of Chicago’s well-known neighborhoods, Lincoln Park. Famous for hidden gems, hired guns, and hot guitars, our guide will lead you through the neighborhood to view the unique and residential streets.
We provide a platform for local, freelance tour guides to lead walking tours as well as ghost and architecture tours at no upfront cost, so that you may enjoy a worry-free quality sightseeing experience.
Walking tours are our forte, and we offer a number of daily and weekly pay-what-you-like walking tours of Chicago as well as completely free self-guided options.
You could browse the tours that we have by clicking the links below, by scrolling our public calendar (also below) or it just might be best to go directly to our booking page.
There’s no cost to book our walking tours.
We have roughly 1000 reviews with a rating of 5 out of 5 stars and with 97% of reviewers rating us as very good or excellent.
We are so well-reviewed, yet TripAdvisor seems to hide us from you (probably because they can’t sell our tours for commission). Read the reviews for yourself.
Excellent4.9★★★★★ Based on 258 reviews from review us onDENIS V. ★★★★★ Chicago, the Windy City, deserves a solid 5-star rating! It's simply magnificent with its breathtaking skyline, beautiful lakefront, and a vibrant cultural scene. The city's charm is irresistible, making you want to come back again and again. From its iconic architecture to the friendly locals, Chicago never disappoints. A must-visit destination!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️gal M. ★★★★★ אחלי סיור, עם china המדריכה. היה מעולהA Z (. ★★★★★ Had a great tour listening to the rise of skyscraper architecture with China! Highly recommend booking a tour and exploring the city in this easy and accessible way!Massimo S. ★★★★☆ Veramente comoda da girare a piedi!Vanessa B ★★★★★ What a fantastic organization! Did a night time haunted/history tour with Kelly on a Sunday night. Got some great stories, photos, and exercise! Pay what you feel the tour is worth at the end. Definitely worth it!Christjanna M. ★★★★★ I was traveling by myself and this was a great way to get my trip started. Learned some history, saw cool buildings/art, walked a lot and got some good recommendations for what to do with the rest of my day. Highly recommend any tour with Aram!Su R c ★★★★★ To experience the real Chicago that too in an inexpensive fashion join their walking tours.They have different tours offered by them to suit your taste.I did their loop tour and architecture tour.Both were super informative.The guides were jolly and cracking jokes at the right moment.TIP: Book at least 3-7 days in advance to get confirmation from them before joining the tourLisa S. ★★★★★ Really enjoyed Aram's walking tour of Chicago🏙️Great guide with the perfect pace and voice!Lots of interesting facts and pointed out so many things you might not notice on your own and told you the history behind them!Thanks for a Great Tour Aram!Mitchell C. ★★★★★ Great tour this morning with Aram! Highly recommend.Filipe W. ★★★★★ Sally B. ★★★★★ We loved our Loop tour with Andy. He was so knowledgeable and interesting. He gave great advice about where to eat. Would definitely recommend.Eric ★★★★★ J’ai fait deux tours à Chicago et ils étaient tous deux excellents. Les guides Aram et Bruce étaient fantastiques, chacun amène son expérience et sa personnalité et rendent la promenade enrichissante et chaleureuse. Des 7 free tours auxquels j’ai participé durant ces 15 jours aux États Unis, ceux de Chicago ont été de loin les meilleurs. Chaudement recommandé !Cynthia ★★★★★ I did the Loop tour with Aram. He shared a lot of info and recommendations. He’s an excellent speaker and easy to understand. I recommend his tours to anyone.Тагирова М. ★★★★★ In March 2023 I took 2 tours by this company at Chicago: Lincoln Park & Gangster Tour (guide Bruce) and Loop and Millennium Park Tour (guide Mike). Both tours were wonderful and super informative. Every time I travel I try to go to a tour by Free Tours by Foot. Highly recommend!Francy L ★★★★★ Excellent way to know more about ChicagoMarilia H ★★★★★ Bruce was our amazing guide! Well versed in everything Chicago, he knew by heart every single address, dates and details of history. So impressive! Tour was very pleasant and didn't feel rushed. Great for a cold day.liron K. ★★★★★ Carolina Ríos T. ★★★★★ My guide was Mike, an extremely kind person who seems to enjoy a lot telling people the fun facts and history of Chicago. Very recommended 👌🏻Hiromi S. ★★★★★ An amazing tour. Love this company. So informative and learned tons about Chicago history. Scott was amazing! Highly recommended.Brianna S. ★★★★★ Scott is greatEmily A. ★★★★★ I’ve done two tours with them now and loved every minute. Guided were engaging and knowledge. I can’t recommend this tour enough. It’s nice to get up close to the buildings as they talk and point out details and tell stories. Their tours are a must do in Chicago!Carol C. ★★★★★ I just did a haunted tour with Andy today and it was incredible. Despite not being a Chicago native himself, the guy know knows his Chicago history more than the typical Chicago local. He has done his homework and seems like the guy who is always improving to give the best tours possible. He explains the dark side of Chicago. It isn't just rainbows. Chicago is the home to several serial killers and his knowledge about that is beyond informative. Aside he is very friendly, funny and kind. He seems to have a genuine passion about Chicago. The good and the ugly. Behind the buildings, there is a lot of haunted and dark history with some twisted corruption. I totally recommend a tour with Andy and I am sure the rest of the team is great as well.fabiola C. ★★★★☆ Adriana fue extraordinaria super recomendaciones que nos dio y en español 🙂 Solamente los spots en donde nos paramos casi no hay para sentarseMaría Cecilia V. ★★★★★ alejandra estrada G. ★★★★★ I did the Riverwalk & Historical Tour with Aram and hd a great time! Our guide Aran was awesome, very knowledgeable and and entertainer, so he kept things interesting and fun the whole time. I highly recommend doing this tour, and if possible the other ones they offer! Next time I come to Chicago, I’m definitely booking another tour with them!Tamara M. ★★★★★ Aram is a fantastic guide. He’s knowledgeable about the city, it’s architecture and it’s history. He’s also very personable and entertaining. This is a great tour for tourists and locals alike! As a lifelong resident, I learned a few things that I did not know about my city. If you’re wondering if you should do the Chicago Riverwalk tour, do it!Meghan H. ★★★★★ Our tour was absolutely incredible. Mitch was our guide for the haunted history tour and he was phenomenal. He was very sweet and friendly, made sure we were all safe and happy, and was an excellent guide. He knew so much about everything, is a wonderful storyteller, and even added humor to it, but he was also very careful to be sensitive about the tragedies we were discussing. Overall it was an absolutely amazing experience, and I really appreciated allowing us to pay what we could. I was only in town for one night for business, and my budget wasn't huge. Thank you for giving us an amazing experience anyway! I've been on a lot of ghost tours in a lot of places, and this was definitely one of my favorites!Laila Dalla T. ★★★★★ I did a tour with Andy today and he was one of the best guides ever: funny, knowledgeable, individual, giving first hand insights and much more! Guides like Andy make cities appear like hidden gems!Karen S. ★★★★★ 👌👌👌Yvonne ★★★★★ GermanBrother113 ★★★★★ Went on the Millennium Park and Loop Tour with Sean, and had a great time. Very knowledgeable guide, fun stories and good pace throughout the tour.Definitely recommend it when you get to Chicago and don’t have to much time, he shows that part of town very well!Rosaria D. ★★★★★ We went on 3 of these tours in Chicago. Our guide was Arhem for 2 of them and Mitchell for the mob tour. They were absolutely outstanding. I had my 2 teenage sons with me and they loved it too. The tour felt like someone telling you a story of the city. I’m very well travelled and this was excellent!!!Marie-Noelle G. ★★★★★ The walking tour was fantastic thanks to Aaron knowledge of the city. You can see that he is really passionate about Chicago.Will be back for more!Carmel G. ★★★★☆ Hugh M. ★★★★★ I did the downtown tour with Aram and it was well worth it. A lot of places and things I wouldn’t have known or discovered by myselfLexa S. ★★★★★ Aram was such an engaging tour guide and the information he shared on The Birth of a Skyscraper tour was fascinating, educational and entertaining! Thoroughly enjoyed this tour and would strongly recommend it!Harman B. ★★★★★ Yvonne R. ★★★★★ Brian is a knowledgeable, humorous,pleasant guide. Most of the tour centers around the architecture of Chicago buildings. Not much walking.Ellen G. ★★★★★ We did the 2 hour walking tour Aram - a highlight of out time in Chicago and would highly recommend! We have done lots of these tours but this was by far our favourite. We saw and appreciated things we would have otherwise missed. Aram was an excellent guide.Fiorella P. ★★★★★ I went in a walking tour today and Andy was our guide. I loved it! It was the perfect length and combination of topics and places. Andy was very nice, funny and gave us great advice (which I followed, and it’s the best advice). I would recommend this tour to anyone visiting or living in the city.Su Lynn L. ★★★★★ Joined the loop and millenium park tour. Had Aram as our guide and he was really great- he shared lots of interesting facts about the city along with amusing anecdotes, and showed us a few hidden sights. Highly recommend this tour!Lin el A. ★★★★★ Chicago imprescindibleDrake M. ★★★★★ When you are in Chicago, you have to take one of their top notch tours! Doesn't matter if you are a visitor or a resident, you will be entertained and learn so much about this great city. If you get a choice, choose Andy as your guide! What an energetic, knowledgeable guy! Andy was so funny and he made our stay in town so much more meaningful. We found ourselves looking at the cityscape in a new way and even quoting Andy as we made our way around for the next few days!Florence M. ★★★★★ Really enjoyed the walking tour of the Loop with Aram, which worked well despite the rain! Interesting art, architecture and history. Aram was really funny, welcoming and knowledgeable, highly recommend a tour with him!Michael A. ★★★★★ I've been on four of the Free Tours by Foot tours in Chicago so far. Each was with a different tour guide and all four were fantastic! The guides were extremely informative and each had their own style. It's a great way to get outside, meet people visiting from all over, and learn about the city.I've done the Birth of a Skyscraper: Architecture Tour with Aram, the Lincoln Park and Gangster Tour with Mitch, the Holiday Tour with Andy, and most recently the Winter Loop Tour with Mike.Highly recommend them all!William H. ★★★★★ Bruce was our guide, he's passionate and knowledgeable of the Windy City, great experience.Marly R. ★★★★★ I really enjoyed this tour through Lincoln Park gangsters tour.Penny C. ★★★★★ Bruce was our tour guide in Chicago and was excellent! Highly recommend!
Our premiere Chicago walking tours are great day or night and serve as introductions to the city, Chicago history and cover the many of the main tourist attractions.
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Our Regularly Scheduled Tours
The Birth of the Skyscraper: Architecture Tour is a great way to discover and appreciate the incredible landscape of buildings in Chicago and it ends in Grant Park near the famed Buckingham Fountain.
The Riverwalk and Chicago History Tour follows the path of the Chicago River and focuses on the history of Chicago, the Chicago Flag, and the beautiful buildings that line the river.
North Loop and Millennium Park Tour, which covers a great portion of Chicago’s downtown Loop neighborhood, public art, and ends in Millennium Park.
Our Chicago Ghost Tour -Haunting History is for folks who love haunting history and creepy tales of the dark side of the White City.
On The Magnificent Mile Tour, you will discover fun Chicago facts like the history of deep dish pizza while exploring our most popular downtown area.
Weekly Tours
Our Gold Coast Tour meanders through the history of high society where you will be introduced to the glamorous residential neighborhood built around Lakeshore Drive.
Explore Lincoln Park on our Lincoln Park and Gangster Tour to appreciate a unique neighborhood scattered with hidden history including tales of Chicago Gangsters.
We also offer a West Loop tour which combines great storytelling for history buffs with great photo ops for those more in the “sightseeing” mood!
We offer tours year-round, even in Chicago's winter, but we take into account the need to be seasonably appropriate for walking tours. Check out our special Winter offers:
In the winter, we offer a Pedway Tour that explores the indoor tunnels and paths to discover Chicago architecture and arts in a warmer way.
There is also a Winter Loop option where we will spend about half of the time outdoors looking up at the skyscrapers and the other half will be spent inside exquisite public buildings and lobbies.
Our Winter Architecture Tour explores the unique landscape of buildings in the downtown area while also popping into many lovely lobbies for warmth! This tour is abbreviated and adjusted for our Chicago winters.
We also offer our guiding services for private groups, families, or school groups where we can guide you in the Loop, the South Side and anywhere else in Chicago.
