anyone can join a virtual journey with us!
Public Events
For virtual travel and fun
You are welcome to individually book these virtual tours that we occasionally offer to the public. We always offer private virtual tours for corporate and university groups.
These virtual tours are great to invite a friend or family member from afar to join you.
As featured in Block Club Chicago, WBEZ, WGN Radio, Fox 32 News, NBC Chicago, and more!
What’s a virtual tour with Chicago Detours?
A expert Chicago tour guide tells stories while sharing media like 360-degree images and historic photos. Held live via Zoom.
Cozy up this winter with a live, virtual tour! All involve incredible images, forgotten stories, and new ideas.
Check back often for more remote tour dates.
$18 PER HOUSEHOLD
A DAY AT THE 1893 WORLD'S FAIR
What it was like to actually be an attendee of the fair? You’ll learn how people reached Chicago, where they stayed, what they saw, heard, ate, and more.
Friday, January 14
7pm-8pm
INNOVATIONS OF THE 1893 WORLD'S FAIR
Discover the inventions, engineering feats, and gastronomical exhibits that wowed visitors to Chicago’s most esteemed event in history.
Friday, January 28
7pm-8pm
CRUISE FROM YOUR COUCH VIRTUAL BOAT TOUR
Experience the beautiful historic and contemporary architecture along Chicago’s river in this virtual presentation that uses 360-degree Google Street View images.
Friday, February 18
7pm-8pm
BADASS WOMEN OF HISTORY VIRTUAL EVENT
Back again for Women’s History Month! Get inspired for 2022 through the overlooked stories of diverse women, like a daredevil pilot, a trailblazing sculptor, and a fierce labor union leader.
Friday, March 11
7pm-8pm
ARCHITECTURE VIDEO RENTAL
learn when you want!
Rent all the recordings of our live, “Crash Course” architectural series of virtual events for $14.99! Includes “Cruise from Your Couch Virtual Boat Tour” as a bonus!
The 12 half-hour, on-demand videos are:
- Architecture Crash Course Overview
- Chicago’s Earliest Buildings
- Early Skyscrapers
- Wright & the Prairie School
- The Human Experience of Mies and Modernism
- Bodaciously Brutalist & ‘Shoulder Pads’
Postmodernism - The Contemporary City
- The Great Chicago Fire and the Gilded Age
- Urban Planning: the White City to Wacker Drive
- The Glamorous Art Deco Age
- Urban Crisis: Redevelopment & Historic Preservation
- Chicago Homes
