{"id":84971,"date":"2017-09-03T18:21:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-03T16:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehappyjetlagger.com\/chicago-architecture-cruise\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T11:58:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T09:58:54","slug":"chicago-architecture-cruise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/chicago-architecture-cruise\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago: boat ride, architecture and the best view of the Chicago skyline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chicago\u2019s architecture<\/strong> is simply remarkable: a wild mix of diverse modernist styles can be found here. Even people who aren\u2019t interested in architecture will quickly notice this. The best way to see these artistic skyscrapers is from a boat: I\u2019ll let you in on which boat tour you shouldn\u2019t miss on your trip to Chicago! <\/p>\n\n

\"chicago-travel-guide\"<\/p>\n\n

Boat Tour in Chicago: A Quick Tour of the Architecture<\/h2>\n\n

Regular water taxis run on the Chicago River, which flows right through the heart of the city\u2014but there are also boat tours offered by various companies that let you take your time exploring Chicago from the water. The Chicago Architecture Boat Tour<\/strong> is especially recommended; on this tour, you\u2019ll also get plenty of interesting information about Chicago\u2019s architecture from local experts! <\/p>\n\n

I\u2019ve pretty much perfected my talent for speed sightseeing, but spending half a day in Chicago while jet-lagged was a real challenge. I do like to explore cities on foot or by bike (when possible). During layovers after long-haul flights, I\u2019ve found myself increasingly craving the luxury of just being driven around\u2014so I often ended up on some red hop-on-hop-off tourist buses. But in Chicago, a colleague recommended the architecture boat tour\u2014and that sounded very relaxing, too. <\/p>\n\n

Chicago: Architecture in the Second City<\/h2>\n\n

I didn\u2019t know much about Chicago itself. But the fact that Chicago is so underrated is probably nothing new. That\u2019s also reflected in Chicago\u2019s nickname: \u201cThe Second City.\u201d Second, because it\u2019s always in New York\u2019s<\/a> shadow. In a way, Chicago and New York are cut from the same cloth: big cities, steeped in history (by American standards), and towering skyscrapers. But somehow, there\u2019s just nothing particularly iconic that everyone in the world knows: no Empire State Building, no Statue of Liberty, no Big Apple. Or does anything about Chicago come to mind right away? <\/p>\n\n

Are you planning a trip to Chicago?Find more tips here!<\/a><\/p>\n\n

And yet Chicago has so much to offer! Lake Michigan, which is actually more like an ocean than a lake. The famous pan pizza<\/strong> (which I didn\u2019t try a single slice of\u2014what a shame!). Gangster stories from the old days. Art! Art! Art! And: architecture<\/strong>. And the best way to see it is on a boat tour<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

\n

Ad \/ *affiliate links<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Chicago’s architecture by boat<\/h2>\n\n

As I\u2019ve already hinted at, long-haul travel makes you lazy when it comes to sightseeing. After all, how are you supposed to get around when you fly halfway around the world in two and a half days and spend most of that time working? I highly recommend a boat tour.<\/strong> In good weather, of course. Which, admittedly, can get a little difficult in Chicago – because Chicago has another nickname: The Windy City. And the wind there can really blow you away. In our case, the Chicago wind just swept away the last little clouds and rewarded us with an absolutely fantastic blue sky! No wonder my enthusiasm for Chicago was ignited immediately. <\/p>\n\n

You can book the Chicago Architecture Boat Tour here*<\/a><\/p>\n\n

The boat tour sounded appealing. And it didn\u2019t disappoint. We chose the architecture boat tour through Chicago\u2019s skyscraper canyons. I\u2019m not sure I would have paid such close attention to the individual giant skyscrapers if I\u2019d just been striding through the streets with a stiff neck from looking up. Many of the buildings are simply impressive\u2014after all, Chicago was the birthplace of skyscrapers over a hundred years ago. So much for New York! Ha! <\/p>\n\n

\"chicago-travel-guide\"<\/figure>\n\n

The famous Buckingham Fountain<\/h2>\n\n

A little anecdote to wrap things up: On the ride back to the hotel, our driver raved to us about his hometown of Chicago, and we realized just how little of the city we\u2019d actually seen, despite having had such a great day. He enthusiastically listed all of Chicago\u2019s attractions<\/a>. None of it sounded familiar to us. Until we drove past the Buckingham Fountain\u2014a huge freestanding fountain\u2014and, as kids of the \u201990s, we immediately started singing the theme song from \u201cMarried\u2026 with Children\u201d \u2014and our driver couldn\u2019t believe that, of all the things from his Chicago, only Al Bundy had stuck in our minds here in Germany. <\/p>\n\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Tip: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

You can book the architecture boat tour on-site or online:Book the Chicago Architecture Boat Tour here*<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who knew Chicago could be so breathtaking? Definitely not my last time in Chicago \u2013 there’s so much to see! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2424,488],"tags":[2185,4203,4199,2211],"class_list":["post-84971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city-guides","category-united-states","tag-chicago","tag-city-trips-north-america","tag-city-trips-usa","tag-illinois"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neu.thehappyjetlagger.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}