Chicago Riverwalk and Magnificent Mile Audio Walk: Hancock Center, Tribune Tower, DuSable Bridge
1 hour and 40 minutes
About this experience
Chicago raised its streets, sent its river the other way, and then built a walk along the water. This route follows that story from the Magnificent Mile down to the Riverwalk. Begin beside the Hancock Center, where steel X's hold a tower up against the wind. Pass the Water Tower that survived the Great Fire, a hotel that stepped back before the law asked it to, and the Tribune Tower, set with stones from famous places. Cross the DuSable Bridge, a see-saw of steel that still lifts for boats. Then go down to the river and walk west beneath bridge after bridge: past a veterans memorial, the round towers of Marina City, a park built to flood, the vast Merchandise Mart, and a glass tower bent to the river's bend. Twelve stops, about a mile and a half, around 100 minutes, in English at your own pace. Mostly outdoors, with some stairs. Entry to the Hancock observation deck and the bridgehouse museum is not included.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Audio guide
- English
- Guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 12 stops, 2.4 km, 100 minutes Stops at Hancock Center, Water Tower, Tribune Tower GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: A weekday morning keeps the Magnificent Mile sidewalks calmest, and late afternoon puts warm light on the Riverwalk's north bank. The Riverwalk is open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. (checked 4 October 2026). To catch the Art on theMART projection from the Jetty, finish by 7:30 p.m. on a Thursday to Sunday through 27 December 2026; start about 5:45 p.m. for a 100-minute walk. Spring and fall add a bridge lift, which is worth planning around. Fall 2026 bridge lifts, from the city's schedule (checked 4 October 2026): Wed 7 Oct 9:30 a.m.; Sat 10 Oct 9:00; Sat 17 Oct 9:00; Tue 27 Oct 9:30; Thu 29 Oct 9:30; Sat 31 Oct 9:00; Wed 4 Nov 9:30; Sat 7 Nov 9:00; Sat 14 Nov 9:00. Each lift takes an average of 8 to 12 minutes. Spring 2027 dates are announced each spring. The McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., until Sunday 25 October 2026, then closed until spring 2027 (checked 4 October 2026). 360 CHICAGO, the Hancock observation deck, is open daily 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., last entry an hour before closing; adult tickets start around $27 online and more at the gate (checked 4 October 2026). Art on theMART is free to watch from the Jetty, between Wells and Franklin Streets: Thursday to Sunday, 7:30 to 8:00 p.m., 10 September to 27 December 2026 (checked 4 October 2026). On Saturday 21 November 2026 the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival closes North Michigan Avenue and Upper Wacker in the afternoon and evening (reported as 3 to 7:30 p.m.); confirm on the festival's own site before you plan around it. The walk ends at the Riverwalk's west end. The ramp up to Wacker Drive is on the west side of Franklin Street; from the top, the Clark and Lake and Washington and Wells L stops are east, and the Merchandise Mart station (Brown and Purple lines) is to the northeast, across the river. The route down to the Riverwalk, at the south end of the DuSable Bridge, is two short flights of stairs, and there is no verified step-free way at this spot. For a step-free walk: cross the bridge, walk west on the Wacker sidewalk to State Street, take the ramp on the east side of State Street down to the Riverwalk, and walk back east about fifty metres to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial before turning west again. The City lists ramps on the east side of State Street, the west side of Clark Street and the west side of Franklin Street; the Riverwalk has no elevators (checked 4 October 2026). Stop 7 can be played from Upper Wacker. The lower Riverwalk is built to flood and the City closes it in high water (it closed in the July 2023 storm); closures are posted the day of. If the lower walk is closed, stay on Upper Wacker for the same views of stops 7 to 12. When a bridge lifts, its sidewalk gates close for about 8 to 12 minutes; the DuSable Bridge is the best place to wait. The Lake Street Bridge, just beyond the last stop, has been closed to vehicles and pedestrians since 6 October 2025, with completion expected in January 2028; do not plan to cross it (checked 4 October 2026). Green and Pink Line service also changes from 13 to 26 October 2026. A building at 500 North Michigan Avenue, near stop 4, began conversion to apartments in July 2026, so expect hoarding or a covered walkway on the sidewalk there. Stop 4 looks across the avenue and still works. If the west sidewalk is fenced, cross at Grand first and look at the dome from the east side. Michigan Avenue is crossed three times, at the lights: at Delaware Place, at Grand Avenue, and at the Tribune Tower. The avenue's sidewalks are crowded at midday and on weekends. Bicycles share the Riverwalk, with some posted walk-your-bike zones. The lower walk can be windy and cold off the water, and wet near the edge. The Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, Marina City and the Merchandise Mart are private buildings: view them from the street and the Riverwalk. Never enter anything on this walk except the places named as open to visitors. Stop 10 is the site of the Eastland disaster, where 844 people died in 1915; the audio treats it plainly and briefly. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Hancock Center: A Tower That Shows How It Stands Up
875 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
Steel diagonals fight the wind. The tower narrows as it climbs, and the Magnificent Mile runs south from its foot.
- 2Day 0
Water Tower: A Pipe in a Castle Costume
806 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
A limestone castle hiding a tall pipe. This tower and its pumping station were the only public buildings left standing in the Great Fire's path.
- 3Day 0
Allerton Hotel: Stepping Back Before the Law
701 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
A 1924 hotel stepped back as it rose before any law required it. Its brick tower ends in a crown of little Italian-style towers.
- 4Day 0
Medinah Athletic Club: Same Avenue, Different Dream
505 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
A gold dome on a 1929 club. It rose on the same avenue as the Allerton, with a very different dream.
- 5Day 0
Tribune Tower: A Gothic Crown and a Wall of Souvenirs
435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
A Gothic tower won in a 1922 contest. It now wears stones taken from famous places around the world.
- 6Day 0
DuSable Bridge and the Wrigley Building: A See-Saw That Made a Street
400 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago
A 1920 bridge that made the avenue. It tips up like a see-saw, beside a tower of white terra cotta.
- 7Day 0
McCormick Bridgehouse: The River Sent Backward
99 Chicago Riverwalk, Chicago
Chicago sent its river backward. Down here at water level, you look back at the bridge.
- 8Day 0
Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Where the Street Meets the Water
Chicago Riverwalk at Wabash Avenue, Chicago
A memorial below Wacker Drive. Across the water, a glass tower steps back in stages toward the river.
- 9Day 0
Marina City: Two Concrete Sunflowers
Chicago Riverwalk at State Street, Chicago
Two round towers on the river. The first nineteen floors are a spiral parking ramp.
- 10Day 0
River Theater: A Park Built to Flood
Chicago Riverwalk at Clark Street, Chicago
Seat steps down to the water. This park was built out into the river, and it is meant to get wet.
- 11Day 0
The Jetty and the Merchandise Mart: Floating Gardens and a Giant
Chicago Riverwalk at Wells Street, Chicago
Floating gardens on the river. Across the water, a limestone giant was once the largest building in the world.
- 12Day 0
333 West Wacker and the Confluence: A Building Bent to the River
333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago
A glass tower bends with the river. Here the river's branches meet, and the Riverwalk ends.
Meeting point
Hancock Center, Chicago 875 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, US
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · Chicago Riverwalk and Magnificent Mile Audio Walk: Hancock Center, Tribune Tower, DuSable Bridge
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.