Guided Tours/Excursions

» Highlights of Chicago Tour: SOLD OUT
Sunday, August 23, 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
$42 per person (lunch not included; there will be time to buy your own lunch at Navy Pier)
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» Exclusive Guided Tour of the Art Institute: Masterpieces and the Modern Wing: Cancelled
Sunday, August 23, 12:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
$75 per person (lunch not included)
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» Architectural River Cruise
Monday, August 24, 9:15 a.m. - 12:00 noon
$39 per person
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» A Young Man on a Mission: Frank Lloyd Wright in Oak Park -- Exclusive Escorted Tour: Cancelled
Tuesday, August 25, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
$66 per person (lunch not included)
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TOUR DESCRIPTIONS

Highlights of Chicago Tour SOLD OUT
Sunday, August 23, 9:00 - 1:00 p.m.
$42 per person (lunch not included; there will be time to buy your own lunch at Navy Pier)

Those famous Chicago winds have blown in a massive transformation.  Chicago’s motto, "City in a Garden," is much more than a catchy slogan.  Lines of newly planted trees grace lush parkways and gardens.  Planters filled with varieties of vibrant plants and flowers line the streets.  The extraordinary and vast Millennium Park stretches from Michigan Avenue to the glorious lakefront.  Navy Pier - Chicago's number one tourist attraction - imparts a carnival-like atmosphere to the city year-round.  The ever-increasing shopping attractions along the Magnificent Mile, the expanding theatre scene, and a plethora of world-class museums fill the city with effervescence and variety. 

It is impossible to visit ALL the wonderful sights in Chicago; but guests can see major new, exciting, and unique additions on an all-encompassing tour covering the city's major features in the downtown area, north and south sides. They will see Chicago’s vistas from major parks, including Grant, Lincoln and new and impressive Millennium Park.  Chicagoans take great pride in the city's major contribution to world architecture.  In the place where it all began in the 1880s, guests will learn how modern styles evolved and produced the ever-increasing panorama of bewildering structures, and experience first-hand why multitudes acclaim Chicago as "an outdoor museum of architecture."

Occupying pride of place on the tour are the varied views of the city's crown jewel: Lake Michigan.  The enormity of the over 300-mile long and over 100 mile wide body of fresh water gives new meaning to the term "inland sea."  Guests will learn how the early city planners separated the city’s commerce and buildings from the beaches, parks and inviting lakeshore and discover why over 30 million visitors each year say, "Chicago is my kind of town." 

Architectural River Cruise
Monday, August 24, 9:15 a.m. - 12:00 noon
$39 per person

(Guests will walk to the Riverboat from the Marriott.)

The cool mist off the lake, the magnificence of the city skyline and the tranquility of lapping waves set the mood for a wistful afternoon cruising the Chicago River. Visitors and Chicagoans alike say that the best way to really see the city's profile is on architectural cruise along the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.  Guests will learn how in the 19th Century, the modern city grew from a trading post to become the world's fastest growing metropolis. 

Guests will view an extraordinary array of great structures, including Lake Point Tower, Wrigley Building, IBM Building, NBC Tower, Tribune Tower, Civic Opera House, Sears Tower, Marina City, Board of Trade, and scores more.  An architectural docent will provide live narration featuring an overview of architecture and history. Guests will find out little known facts about the history of Chicago’s buildings, without the omission of the juicier details-scandal, corruption, conflict: all the material that makes for great entertainment.

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