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Chicago's Gold Coast Hidden History: A Self-Guided Audio Walk

4.48 reviewsCity tours

  • 50 minutes
  • Guided in English
  • Instant confirmation
  • Mobile ticket

Highlights

Amy Bizzarri, author of 111 Places in Chicago That You Must Not Miss, takes you on a fascinating self-guided audio tour of hidden historical spots in Chicago's gilded Gold Coast. Peep behind the gates of the original Playboy Mansion, walk along a wooden block-paved alley, sip a Faster Pussycat in Chicago's oldest piano bar and more as you enjoy a delightful walk through time in this exclusive Chicago neighborhood. The starting point is the Chicago History Museum, located at 1601 N. Clark Street. The tour is ready whenever you are and the audio plays automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone's GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline.

Inclusions

What's included

  • VoiceMap Application
  • Lifetime access to Hidden History in Chicago's Gold Coast tour
  • Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

What's not

  • Smartphone
  • Transportation
  • Food/Drink
  • Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route

Itinerary

  1. While at the Chicago History Museum you'll want to check out the newly restored dioramas which depict Chicago's rise from a desolate frontier outpost to the bustling city of today. You'll also find the South Side Elevated Railroad. Its the first-ever elevated rapid transit line in Chicago and was used to shuttle fair goers to the World's Columbian Exposition. You'll also be able to view the deathbed of Abraham Lincoln.

    Passes by

  2. For anyone looking to have chills sent up their spine, the International Museum of Surgical Science delivers. The exhibits here deal with various aspects of Eastern and Western medicine. The museum itself is housed in a 1917 mansion designed as a Chicago-style interpretation of the Petit Trianon of Versailles.

    Passes by

  3. An outstanding Chicago night out on the town always ends piano side, sipping Lemondrops and singing along with the piano man into the wee hours at the Zebra Lounge. Hidden in the lobby of a vintage apartment building in the glam Gold Coast, the Zebra Lounge has been swinging with live piano players seven nights a week since 1929.

    Passes by

Cancellation

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Reviews

4.4

  • 54
  • 43
  • 31
  • 20
  • 10

Ratings come from 8 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

Meeting point
Before arrival, please install the VoiceMap mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. This is a self-guided audio tour that you can start, pause, or restart at any time and complete at your own pace. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
Pickup
Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
Ticket type
Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group size
Up to 10 travellers
Operated by
VoiceMap Audio Tours
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels

How it compares in Chicago

  • Its from-price is 89% below the median of the 106 city tours we list in Chicago.
  • It is shorter than most of them.
  • By number of reviews it ranks 59 of 106.

About Chicago

Chicago is a Great Lakes city on Lake Michigan, famed for skyscraper architecture, deep-dish pizza, blues and jazz and a long lakefront of parks.

Chicago rebuilt itself after the fire of 1871 and became the cradle of the skyscraper. The Chicago River runs through the Loop, where tall towers rise, and boat tours explain the architecture from the water. Millennium Park's mirrored Cloud Gate sculpture, known as the Bean, and the Art Institute of Chicago, with its Impressionist paintings, are close together. Willis Tower has a glass-floored observation deck.

Top-ranked sights in Chicago: Navy Pier, Wrigley Building, The Magnificent Mile.

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