11 Self-Guided Tours in Chicago to Build a Day Around

1.Medieval Torture Museum Ticket with Audio Guide and Ghost Hunting

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 962 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $35Our pick

Walk through Chicago’s 6,000-square-foot Medieval Torture Museum at your own pace. Your ticket includes a mobile audio guide and ghost-hunting app, with hundreds of torture, restraint, interrogation, and execution displays. Expect dim lighting, realistic wax figures, hands-on exhibits, and a decidedly adult atmosphere.

“It was an eye-opening experience to see some of the gruesome torture devices! Crazy that these things were actually used on people in midieval times.”

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2.Eastside Chicago The Heist Exploration Game and Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 10 reviews · 1 hour 35 minutes (approx.) · from $7

Use your phone to solve location-based challenges across Millennium Park and Grant Park. This 95-minute, English-language game visits Cloud Gate, Crown Fountain, Buckingham Fountain, the Art Institute, and more. Start anytime, pause when needed, and play offline with your private group.

“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.”

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3.Chicago Self-Guided Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 9 reviews · 3 to 9 hours (approx.) · from $6Best value

Use private SoundCloud and Google My Maps links to explore 15 Chicago sights at your own pace. Short English audio segments cover architecture, art, science, and local history. Start anywhere, skip stops, and spread the experience across up to six days, with admission fees paid separately.

“Very informative and interesting. The guide spoke articulately and loud enough for everyone to hear and he had interesting forklore and stories.”

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4.Chicago’s Gold Coast Hidden History: A Self-Guided Audio Walk

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 7 reviews · 50 minutes (approx.) · from $7

Follow a local historian through Chicago’s Gold Coast with the VoiceMap app. This self-guided walk links the Chicago History Museum, International Museum of Surgical Science, Three Arts Building, historic mansions, and Zebra Lounge. Offline maps and lifetime access let you walk at your own pace.

“Tour was informative. The use of visitor was klunky. Had to order the tour twice to use. Viator has committed refund one of the unneeded purchases. Walk and auto play needs some work. Price was right.”

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5.Haunted Chicago Exploration Game and Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 6 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $7

Use the Questo app to guide your private group through a two-hour Chicago scavenger hunt in Lincoln Park. Solve clues at monuments, a pond bridge, the zoo, and the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool. There is no guide, and entrance fees are separate.

“This is a scam do not buy this. You download a free app and do the scavenger hunt yourself. The app is called Questo.”

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6.Chicago Riverwalk Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 6 reviews · 1 to 2 hours (approx.) · from $14

Explore Chicago’s riverfront with a GPS-guided audio tour covering the Wrigley Building, DuSable Bridge, Marina Towers, Merchandise Mart, Tribune Tower, and more. You listen at your own pace, use offline maps, pause for photos, and return to the tour on future trips with lifetime access.

“Overall a great review of Chicago's history and architecture! The walk along the river is very enjoyable!”

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7.Chicago Millennium Park Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 5 reviews · 1 to 2 hours (approx.) · from $14

Use the Action Tour Guide app for a self-guided walk through Millennium Park. Hear stories about Cloud Gate, Crown Fountain, Pritzker Pavilion, Lurie Garden, and Nichols Bridgeway while moving at your own pace, with offline access and lifetime use.

“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.”

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8.Chicago’s Storied Neighborhood: An Audio Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 4 reviews · 40 minutes to 1 hour (approx.)

Follow a 40-minute to one-hour VoiceMap audio tour through Hyde Park, narrated by professor and activist Bill Ayers. Walk from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools past Robie House, Rockefeller Chapel, campus buildings, Washington Park, and the DuSable Museum. Offline maps let you set your own pace.

“I loved having the app so that the talking started at the correct spot. Mr Ayers personal stories really enhanced the experience. I wish there was more talking during the longer stretches of walking:”

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9.Michigan Avenue Rendezvous Walking Tour with Smartphone App

★★★★★★★★★★3.2 · 3 reviews · 2 hours · from $17

Use the Leplace World app to explore Michigan Avenue at your own pace. This private, game-style walk mixes Chicago landmarks, local history, trivia, and location-based challenges across the Magnificent Mile and Cultural Mile. Bring a fully charged smartphone and check the weather first.

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10.Chicago Haunted Ghost Tour GPS Self-Guided Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes (approx.) · from $9

Follow a one-hour GPS walking route from the Riverwalk to the Congress Plaza Hotel, stopping at the S.S. Eastland Memorial, City Hall, Death Alley, Marshall Field’s, the Palmer House, and the Fine Arts Building. The app provides English narration, themed music, and historic ghost stories.

“The stories were great and informative. The narrator was fun to listen to. Lots of walking meant great exercise.”

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11.Self-Guided Chicago Loop Tour Explore the City at Your Own Pace

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $9

Use the Drives & Detours app to explore Chicago’s Loop at your own pace. GPS-triggered audio guides you from DuSable Bridge through Millennium Park, the Rookery, and other landmarks, ending at Willis Tower. Download once, then walk offline whenever you choose.

“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!”

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