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Chicago Architecture and True Crime Tour

Recommended by 100% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Chicago, USA
Popular pick
Booked 5+ times last week!
  • 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

5.0
·
· Lauren_S ·
Dec 2025
This tour was fascinating and Joseph was such an engaging tour guide! A majority of the tour was spent inside looking at interior architecture, with brief walks outside to get to the next destination (much appreciated on this 10 degree winter day!) Would definitely book again
· Kaitlyn_K ·
Dec 2025
Great tour! Joseph was very informative and gave a great tour hitting all the highlights. Also stops inside a lot which is nice for the cold days. Would definitely recommend!

Overview

There are lots of ways to take in Chicago’s architectural sights, but most tours don’t mix things up by teaching you about the city’s dark criminal past. On this combination architecture and true crime walking tour, explore with a local guide and listen to intriguing stories as you explore downtown landmarks such as Chase Tower, Palmer House, and much more.
  • A walking tour helps you uncover details you’d otherwise miss
  • Explore the city without having to plan a route or handle logistics
  • Learn a city of Chicago that most guidebooks don’t teach you
  • Enjoy the chance to socialize with like-minded true crime-lovers

What's Included

  • Local guide
  • Gratuity

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • 118 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60603, USA

    We’ll meet under the Palmer House canopy on the Wabash side, right next to Poké Poké.

End point

  • Christkindlmarket Chicago
    50 W Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602, USA

    5 minute walk from starting point

Itinerary

1

Palmer House Hilton Historic Lobby

10 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

2

Downtown / The Loop

1 hour 10 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

3

Chase Tower

10 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Transportation is wheelchair accessible
  • Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 999 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

5.0
based on 334 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

David was the best!

Markie_B, Mar 2026
We needed something to do for a couple hours until we had to head to the airport. We looked into one of the boat architecture tours, but sadly, they were all booked. This ended up being an amazing thing, because we REALLY enjoyed our tour and time with David. David is clearly passionate about the information he presents and it was lovely spending time with him. The buildings we viewed were beautiful and it was great to place factual information into how things came to be. I would recommend to anyone and the true crime information was a really fun addition to the tour!

A Little Something for Everyone

Leslie_W, Mar 2026
This tour is as the perfect mix of architecture, history, true crime, and pop culture for us—a little something for everyone. We loved that most of the stops were indoors so we could hear our guide well and dip out of the blustery cold for a bit each time.

We had a great time!...

Karen_P, Dec 2025
We had a great time! Joseph is passionate about his job! We went on a bitter cold day and enjoyed popping in and out of the different venues!

Fun Historical Walking Tour

JessicaBredemus, Dec 2025
Super fun and interesting tour. We joined at the last minute as something to do while in Chicago for the day. Saw a lot of different buildings and learned about the history and architecture. Plus a perfect blend of creepy murder history as well.

Great tour!

Kaitlyn_K, Dec 2025
Great tour! Joseph was very informative and gave a great tour hitting all the highlights. Also stops inside a lot which is nice for the cold days. Would definitely recommend!

This tour was fascinating...

Lauren_S, Dec 2025
This tour was fascinating and Joseph was such an engaging tour guide! A majority of the tour was spent inside looking at interior architecture, with brief walks outside to get to the next destination (much appreciated on this 10 degree winter day!) Would definitely book again

I was a little worried to...

Lucy_W, Dec 2025
I was a little worried to do this in the winter, but it was a wonderful balance of time spent indoors and outdoors. Kris was so knowledgeable and engaging and we both had a great time!

My husband and I had a...

Margaret_S, Nov 2025
My husband and I had a great time on this tour. Our guide David was very knowledgeable and passionate. The buildings were spectacular and the true crime stories were wild.

There is quite a bit of...

Jen_S, Nov 2025
There is quite a bit of walking, partly indoors partly outdoors. Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide.

Great tour with a perfect...

Stefanie_H, Nov 2025
Great tour with a perfect combination of architecture and crime. David was a great guide and answered all our questions and more!

Would recommend

Genevieve_G, Nov 2025
Joseph is obviously super passionate about this tour. Loved his extra timid bits in between the spiels. Will definitely be recommending this tour to people in the future.

Great tour guide was...

Chloe_P, Nov 2025
Great tour guide was really knowledgeable! Had a lot of fun and learned a lot of cool things! Would definitely recommend!

Get ready to have your...

Victor_M, Nov 2025
Get ready to have your mind blown on so many real facts on Chicago architecture! You will get your steps in while listening to some bone chilling events!

Great tour!

Donna_R, Nov 2025
Knowledgeable and friendly tour guide. Learned a lot about the city and despite being cold we thoroughly enjoyed it. Would highly recommend!

10/10 Awesome Experience!

Madelyn_L, Nov 2025
We had such an awesome time! Roan was a great guide and was really knowledgeable. The tour covered the perfect amount of content. We got to go inside a few really interesting buildings, hear some good history/stories, and see a lot of the city. I felt like we saw and learned a ton in just an hour and a half! Definitely worth the money and would recommend to anyone visiting!

Great Experience!

Taylor_L, Nov 2025
Johnathan was great! Very informative & had a great voice for storytelling & setting the scene. He was very personable & even had some good stories that weren’t related to Chicago’s architecture, haha. Would definitely recommend!

Architecture-Crime Tour

Victoria_T, Nov 2025
It was a casual walking tour of the beautiful architecture in Chicago, coupled with true crime stories.

Surprisingly wonderful

Vanesa_S, Nov 2025
This experience was so great! David was an amazing guide with a tremendous amount of knowledge of the architecture and history of Chicago! We had such a great time!

Fantastic Tour

Melissa_T, Nov 2025
David was such a fantastic, knowledgeable host! We learned a lot about some really cool architecture in the city, and some really interesting true crime stories! Would definitely recommend this tour to others.

High School Friend Reunion

Wendi_F, Nov 2025
Good walking tour. Owner is building his business and shows enthusiasm for that! He is knowledgeable about the history and a Chicago native. Thank you!

Joseph was informed and...

Soo_P, Nov 2025
Joseph was informed and engaging guide. Would definitely recommend this activity. Will do another tour in the future

Fun tour

Lalita_J, Oct 2025
A fun and easy tour through the loop, the Halloween edition with the spooky stories were a fun addition

Great tour

Dawn_D, Oct 2025
This tour was great! We saw spectacular and historical Chicago landmarks and learned some history. David was so knowledgeable and catered toward our interests. Recommend this experience!

Amazing tour

Erin_R, Oct 2025
My parents traveled from Texas to visit my partner and me. This was a highlight of their trip. Our tour guide, David, was phenomenal. We were engaged throughout the tour whether we were visiting beautiful buildings or listening to spooky stories. I’d recommend this tour especially if you are doing an architecture boat tour. They compliment each other wonderfully.

Dave was very interesting...

Irene_M, Oct 2025
Dave was very interesting as he led us throughout the tour. Dave is a wealth of knowledge as he explained and highlighted the beauty of the architecture intermingling stories of.crimes during the tour.

Great Tour!

Joni_R, Oct 2025
So much fun and so interesting. Loved the architecture and the true crime stories. Joseph did a great job and was full of information!

The guide was great and...

Nathan_M, Oct 2025
The guide was great and very knowledgeable. The tour was informative and we saw some cool buildings.!

My date and I were fans...

Dave_L, Oct 2025
My date and I were fans of Jonas - she described him as likable, charming, and sarcastic in a good way. Tour was fun and learned quite a few things

Lack Substance

Johan_K, Oct 2025
Tour need substance and facts. Very little architectural knowledge. Guide does not have proper knowledge of architecture.

Great tour!

Dave_L, Oct 2025
We loved the combination of architecture and real life crime stories. Very entertaining and well paced!

From $35.00

per person

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 8 days in advance.

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