Chicago · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
12 tours
Good self-guided tours fill up fast here, especially between June and the first hard freeze. These 12 are the strongest of them, with current prices and what separates one from the next.
Chicago’s Medieval Torture Museum includes an audio guide and ghost-hunting app, with hands-on displays for a spooky 1.5-hour visit.
“There is a lot to see and interact with. Be mindful that lighting is very dim when you enter. However, this is unlike any traditional museum I have been to--aquarium, history, etc. I definitely recommend it.”
A self-guided Millennium Park and Grant Park exploration game in Chicago. Offline on your phone, flexible timing, $7.20 per person.
“There were several interesting things to see, but we missed others. The instructions for how to get from one site to another were miserable. The "challenge" was full of silly questions - not worth the trouble of trying to figure them out.”
A low-cost self-guided audio tour linking Chicago’s top sights, from Union Station to the Bean, with short stories you play on your schedule.
“Very informative and interesting. The guide spoke articulately and loud enough for everyone to hear and he had interesting forklore and stories.”
Self-guided 50-minute Gold Coast audio walk with offline GPS, local historian stories, and a piano lounge finish for $7.99.
“I discovered some new places to visit, like the Museum of Medical Science, and the Three Arts Building. I also coupled this tour with the Chicago History Museum, which is really cool. Overall, it is a very enjoyable walk, and you can do the tour at your own pace. Beautiful historical homes in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood.”
Follow haunted clues on a self-led Chicago smartphone scavenger hunt from Chicago History Museum to Lincoln Park Zoo in about 2 hours for $7.20.
“This is a scam do not buy this. You download a free app and do the scavenger hunt yourself. The app is called Questo.”
Chicago Riverwalk smartphone audio tour with offline GPS, 12 landmark stories, and lifetime access for $14.99 per person.
“Overall a great review of Chicago's history and architecture! The walk along the river is very enjoyable!”
Walk Lincoln sites in Springfield at your own pace with location-triggered audio, offline maps, and lifetime access for $14.99.
“Great narration and easy to use! We’ve used other tours from the same app, and those worked well, too.”
A self-guided audio walk through Millennium Park, hitting The Bean, Crown Fountain, and more, with offline GPS and lifetime access.
“Self paced walking tour so we could stop & listen, check side info. or just stop for a hot dog and lemonade between spots. Only complaint is when it says only run the tour, it really is only the tour. The couple times I toggled over to take a photo it stopped & I had to re-start it. No big deal, it picked up with where we were.”
A self-guided Hyde Park audio walk narrated by Bill Ayers, using the VoiceMap app with offline listening, from UChicago to Washington Park.
“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 Loop audio walk with GPS-triggered stories at major sights like the Bean, fountains, and Millennium Park for $9.99.
“Wonderful time experiencing Chicago through this walking tour. Great content through audio, gps mapping allowed for perfectly timed information and the map was easy to follow. Very enjoyable!”
2-hour Michigan Avenue scavenger-hunt walk with the Leplace World app. Answer trivia, complete challenges, and explore the Magnificent Mile.
A low-cost GPS ghost walk through downtown Chicago, from the Riverwalk to the Congress Plaza Hotel, all outdoors and mostly under 90 minutes.
“The stories were great and informative. The narrator was fun to listen to. Lots of walking meant great exercise.”
