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Exploring The Windy City By Boat
When you generally think of how you're going to explore a new city, your first thought is usually walking the streets or taking public transit, but in Chicago the riverwalk is the up and coming area to take in the city. Chicago's new phrase is "a city within a garden" with the hope to be more in tune with their natural habitat and less like their past of being a brick city.
A recent trip to Chicago left me with one of my favorite ways to explore somewhere new, by boat tour. Viewing Chicago and its history on a cruise through the city's river canals with a cocktail in hand was the ultimate city experience for me. The riverwalk downtown is the spot to catch an architecture cruise and is an excellent jump off location to explore the windy city or as I called it after the cruise, the city in the sky.
The available architecture cruises are by the plenty so don't worry too much about planning ahead. The tours start downtown at the riverwalk and generally go through the same routes and areas in the city. Even though the cruises are focused on the architecture, it's also more of the all around story and history of Chicago which you will appreciate and find interesting.
The Tour
The tour itself runs about an hour and a half, and takes off from the main riverwalk docks off of Michigan Ave downtown. Hopefully you score a guide on the loudspeaker who was like mine, a volunteer who truly loved telling people about his city. It will make it all the better. Our guide started out with explaining the different styles of architecture and how to recognize the building's design style. Then he navigated the city by its buildings, explaining some history, and timelines in the creation and development. Equally he would highlight their destruction or downfall either by demolition or by extreme events like fires or wind.
The jaw dropping views, the decadence of the buildings and their development, the design style quizzes on whether a building is Art Deco or Modernism, make the architecture cruise an engaging voyage around somewhere unique. I would definitely recommend the architecture cruises for any new or returning travelers exploring the city.
The dedication, the risk and the task itself of creating Chicago is incredible. The hardships the city has faced, the rebuilds from extreme events in its past like the great Chicago fires all contribute to how the city has shaped today. The city has grown from blocking out all green places and nature to opening up and embracing it. In the past buildings were facing away from the waterways flowing through the city, today people walk the waterways, live by them and want them to be seen again. Built for modernization, the city continues to grow and change harboring new design styles and a more sustainable future for its inhabitants.
Architecture Cruise Information
Company: Shoreline Sightseeing https://shorelinesightseeing.com/
Price: $41.00 Adult, $22.00 Child
Make a Reservation: I chose 5:00pm to view the sunset on my tour which made for perfect pictures and getting off the water before the evening chill.
Address: Michigan Ave docks
Enjoy exploring Chicago!
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