Get to Know Chicago Detours Guide Morgan Lott
Being a Chicago Detours guide is very often a terrific job. We get to show people around a city we love and illuminate its history and architecture for them. Tour guests often ask us how we got into being a Chicago Detours guide or other questions about our backgrounds and interests. We figured, why not […]
What Goes Into Starting a Tour Company?
Starting a tour company is a daunting challenge! Here Amanda, our Executive Director, shares her experience as an entrepreneur with her tour company in Chicago, which was founded in 2018. In 2020, the tour company became a virtual events company. Here are her thoughts on going into small business in the travel and events industry. […]
Best Tours to Get to Know Chicago for New Chicagoans
We welcome you new Chicagoans to Chi-town. The Second City. The City of Big Shoulders. The City That Works. Urbs in Horto. The Windy City. Any city with that many names contains multitudes of experiences. It’s probably impossible to ever fully know Chicago, but Chicago Detours offers public tours that you can individually sign up for, […]
Our New Neighborhood, Food & Bar Tours
We are excited to bring you three new private Chicago neighborhood tours. Chicago is, after all, a city of neighborhoods. Each of these tours explores the history, architecture, and food created by the people who live in these distinct, though ever-changing, areas. Think outside of downtown. Think outside of deep-dish and Italian beef. Heck, think […]
2018 Badass Women of Chicago History Event Recap
Our Badass Women of Chicago History event on Monday, March 26, 2018, was awesome in many ways. An Awesome Audience Two hours before the event, we sold-out. Luckily we had a few standing room tickets available at the door. We were in an open space at the Den Theatre with a capacity of 75 seats. For […]
Chicago Tour Company 2017 Year in Review
2017 has been a big year for our Chicago tour company! So, in the spirit of many social media-enabled nostalgia trips, we here at Chicago Detours wanted to share our biggest events with you. Think of it as our 2017 in review: looking back at what we accomplished this year and then getting ready for […]
Questions from our World’s Fair Tour on Today’s Anniversary
In the 18 months since it launched, we’ve had tons of guests discover a huge piece of Chicago’s history on our “1893 World’s Fair Tour with Bars.” As anyone who has joined us knows, our guides always encourage questions from guests. Accordingly, we’ve been doing some fun research on the questions from our World’s Fair […]
Announcing the Chicago Detours Scholarship for Local History Students
We have some cool news to share! Our tour guides are very proud to help spread the word about the Chicago Detours scholarship for local history students. We want to support awesome scholars in Chicago history. And we’re also rolling out a grant program for local non-profits. We tour guides at Chicago Detours fund these […]
Why the Chicago Architectural Boat Tour is So Popular
Earlier this summer, TripAdvisor named the Chicago architectural boat tour the single most popular tour in America. That got me to wondering, what is it that makes it so popular? Sometimes our walking tour guides are hired out to lead a Chicago River boat tour, often on a private yacht charter via Anita Dee Yacht Charters. […]
Guided Field Trips in Chicago from an Educator’s Perspective
As a tour guide with Chicago Detours, I very often find myself leading field trips in Chicago that focus on the city’s history, architecture, and culture. Most of my professional life, in fact, is working as an educator of some sort. I also teach courses about cinema, the mass media, and pop culture at Harold Washington […]