The single best thing a visitor can do in Chicago on their first day. A ninety-minute boat tour narrated by trained docents who explain how this city invented the skyscraper and kept pushing architecture forward for a century and a half. The buildings look different from the water — you see the whole riverfront as a living timeline of ambition.
Insider tip
Book the first morning departure for smaller crowds and the best light. Sit on the upper deck, port side.
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