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Chicago: First Lady River Cruise & Architecture Center Combo

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$59.00 /person
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About the activity

Join a river cruise in Chicago featuring live certified guides and pre-recorded multilingual commentary. Book a combo that includes discounted entry to the world-famous Chicago Architecture Center.

  • Free cancellation
    Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
  • Instant confirmation & Mobile tickets
    Receive your ticket right away. Use your phone or print your voucher.
  • Audio guide
    French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish
  • Live guiding
    English
  • Duration
    1.5 hours
  • Includes
    • Architecture cruise on the Chicago River
    • Guaranteed seating on open-air upper decks
    • Docents trained by the Chicago Architecture Center
    • Foreign language mobile app narration
    • Discounted entry to the Chicago Architecture Center ($5 instead of $14)
    • Food and drinks (available for purchase)
Highlights & Description

Highlights

  • Feast your eyes on diverse architecture along the Chicago River
  • Enjoy unobstructed, 360-degree views from the open-air decks
  • Listen to live English commentary or pre-recorded multilingual audio
  • Learn the stories of more than 50 buildings and 13 bascule bridges
  • Gain entry to the Chicago Architecture Center at a third of the price

Description

Hop onboard the only cruise narrated by Chicago Architecture Center certified volunteer docents who will share their wealth of knowledge about Chicago’s “canyon of architecture” – the Chicago River.

Cruise down all 3 branches of the Chicago River, with unobstructed, open-air, 360-degree views of the city’s wide variety of architectural styles, including Art Deco, neoclassicism, mid-century modernism, and postmodernism. Discover how design shaped history and influenced life.

Enjoy guaranteed seating on the open-air upper decks and purchase items at the full-service cocktail and snack bars in climate-controlled interior salons. Listen as docents share stories of over 50 buildings and 13 bascule bridges along the river, and some of the iconic figures responsible for them.

If you're a non-English speaker, access a pre-recorded tour narration on your smartphone. Simply scan a QR code, download a mobile app, and connect it to the onboard Wi-Fi network. Narration is automatically triggered based on the location of the vessel on the tour route, so sit back and relax.

Use your combo ticket to also enter the CAC (Chicago Architecture Center) at a reduced price. Present your voucher at the CAC which is redeemable at any point 7 days before or after your First Lady Cruise.

Good to know before you go
  • The time booked is for your First Lady cruise. You can redeem your voucher for the CAC (Chicago Architecture Center) general admission at any time within 7 days of the First Lady cruise
  • Tour departures frequently sell out. Reserve your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment
  • Cruises operate rain or shine. Both open and covered seating are available onboard
  • Drinks (including water, soda, wine, and beer) and snacks (including chips, cookies, and nuts) are available for purchase onboard
  • For safety reasons, motorized scooters and electric wheelchairs cannot be accommodated aboard the ship. Guests who can transfer may use the activity provider's manual wheelchair based on the availability
  • Latecomers cannot be refunded
  • A portion of the proceeds from each ticket supports the Chicago Architecture Center’s non-profit educational mission
Meeting point

Reviews & Ratings

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the cancellation policy for this activity?
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
2. When will I receive the confirmation of my booking?
You will receive an email notification right after your successful payment. If you don't see it in your inbox, check your spam or junk mail folder. When the payment is completed you have the option to download your ticket directly.
3. Are mobile tickets enough or do I have to print them?
Tickets don't need to be printed. You can show your ticket from your smartphone as a PDF.
  • Adults
    3-99 years
  • Infants
    0-2 years
September 2024
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