Chicago · AUDIO TOURS
Good audio tours fill up weeks ahead; the great ones go first. Below: the 6 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
A spooky 1.5-hour torture museum in Chicago with an audio guide and a ghost-hunting app, plus plenty of photo-ready, interactive displays.
“Very enlightening museum with a well done audio tour. We are very fortunate to be in more civilized times!”
Chicago self-guided audio tour for $6 with story stops from Union Station to the Bean and Riverwalk, flexible for 3 to 9 hours.
“Not happy with what I received, to be honest.. In the itiner I saw grandiose things to see and hear about, and then I received a max 3-4 min, but in case of 9 sight of the total 15, 1 min or less content?? I ended up frustratedly reading the internet on my own for 3-5 sights after listening to the podcast, then I stopped listening at all and just google myself.. The content, about all sights adds up less then 30 min!!! 5$ is not a big amount but if I purchase an audio-guide I expect to get something which lasts longer then setting up a soundcloud user.. I…”
A budget self-guided Gold Coast audio walk with offline GPS, local historian narration, and three standout stops in about 50 minutes.
“Tour was informative. The use of visitor was klunky. Had to order the tour twice to use. Viator has committed refund one of the unneeded purchases. Walk and auto play needs some work. Price was right.”
A self-guided Hyde Park audio walk with Bill Ayers, covering UChicago landmarks, Washington Park, and the DuSable Museum area via VoiceMap.
“Worse than one could ever expect your walking in silence majority of the time and very limited information is given! We didn’t even go into the university original buildings at all. Complete waste of time.”
Self-guided Chicago scavenger hunt with GPS audio. Solve puzzles from Navy Pier to top landmarks, walk 5 km, and pay $8.42.
“A fun way to get to explore a great part of the city. We learned and laughed and high-fived our way through the clues. And genuinely enjoyed the locations. Many pictures were taken! We only had an afternoon to complete but we did it and didn’t feel rushed at all. We didn’t go into any of the big locations but it left an idea of what we could do/visit the next time we’re here. We had a blast!”
Self-guided VoiceMap audio walk through Chicago’s Loop, River North, Theater District, and Millennium Park, ending at the Route 66 Begin sign.
“Avoid it like the plague. It requires an app that is supposed to take you on a self-guided tour. The app didn't work despite multiple attempts. Every time I hit Start Tour, it took me back to the previous screen. Also made several attempts to call the support line and naturally got no answer. Not only did I waste $30 for the non-working app, I also wasted $40 for parking in downtown Chicago.”
Every kind of day out in the city, and the best of each.
