Your Free Chicago Walking Tour will start off with everyone going around and introducing themselves. Share your name, where you’re from — do you have a fun fact about yourself or your hometown? This will help everyone become familiar with each other. It’s so much easier to talk to someone when you know their name. The guide will then introduce themselves, go over some important details and provide a briefing.
Our tours run, on average, last right around 2 hours. Your time is precious and we want to make sure we make the most of it. Rarely do we actually cover more than 2 miles (1.75km). You can find more details on time and distance on our Tour Calendar.
The end of the tour can sometimes be the most helpful. The guide will make themselves available to answer questions, make recommendations and otherwise do their best to make sure that the rest of your Chicago experience is as good as it can be.
We’re a team of native Chicago guides from all different backgrounds that share one common interest: the incredible city of Chicago and helping all visitors get a great taste for what Chicago has to offer. We want to make sure that tourists from the Chicago suburbs and tourists from halfway across the globe meet new people, have fun and learn something new and exciting about Chicago.
We believe that you should decide the value of your tour and what it’s worth to you. You might have heard the phrase, “pay what you would like” – same thing here. If you end up loving it, and we think you will- then tip your guide accordingly. If you hated it and could not have been more bored, no problem. Just leave whenever you want.
We do not want you to pay anything unless you love it. Guaranteed or it’s free. See how that works?
Free Chicago Walking Tours is a member of the Free Tour Community, a global network of independent local initiatives operating in the pay-what-you-wish model. Check out the link to find us also in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and many other cities in the US and across the globe! Check out all of the local operators: https://freetourcommunity.com/
Expect to be paired up with tourists from all over the world as well as tourists from the Chicago area. We’ve worked hard developing marketing geared towards Chicago natives, and there is a reason for this. We want our fellow tour-goers to engage and ask questions to each other. A few different perspectives on what to do next or the best spot for deep dish pizza will enhance your time in Chicago.
There are a couple of things, especially as a first-time Chicago visitor, that we encourage you to do to make the most of your tour.
Use the form below to send us an email.
Free Chicago Walking Tours
847-875-5655