Overview
- Visit bars in the Old Town district, Wicker Park, and the Chicago Loop
- Learn about cocktails that date to the 1920s
- Enjoy a fun and informative historical tour led by an entertaining guide
- Hear about the crime syndicates of Chicago’s most notorious scofflaws, including Al Capone
- Understand the roots of the temperance movement that led to Prohibition and its consequences
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
From $45.00 USD
Lowest Price GuaranteeYour entertaining guide illuminates the underground world of Chicago’s historic speakeasies used during Prohibition and still in operation today. Learn why the sale of alcohol was banned in the US from 1920 to 1933, and discover Prohibition’s key players. Hear anecdotes about lawbreakers like Al Capone and other Chicago mobsters who became powerful during the dry years.
A coach shuttles you between four establishments, each with a different character. Pull up a stool at a cocktail lounge in Wicker Park where great blues music pumps from an old jukebox. You'll also enjoy a neighborhood bar that claims to be the oldest and longest-running tavern in the Old Town district.
Wrap up your Chicago speakeasy tour at Exchequer Pub, a Chicago Loop restaurant where historic photographs and posters line the walls of the decades-old bar.
Reviews
Viator Traveler's Reviews
Of all my Viator trips over the years abroad, this is the first tour that disappointed me. First, the tour guide. During the bus rides she had a lot of very interesting information. However she spoke very fast, with her volume lowering at the end of sentences. With so much good information the tour would seem more substantial if speaking more slowly and using a mic. Second, in just about her first sentence about the history included the word "f***ing" and shortly after that, "a**hole." Now this was funny at first. However she used these and similar expletives more often after each drinking stop until the last bus segment was "f***ing" everything. She also seemed to think it was part of the comradery and added humor to call a couple of the tourists "a**hole." REALLY? Maybe she doesn't hold her liquor well. I think she sees herself as one of those stand-up comedians whose audience comes to the theater to be insulted. It was a bore, at the least.
The tour itself - The information on the bus sans the language issues was very good. The first bar stop was excellent. The next stops went progressively downhill until the historic information inside the last bar was five minutes standing in the entrance to the packed dining room, dodging waiters and diners and trying to hear. And very little actual historic elements to see. My advice is to skip that bar and save the best first one for last. And change the guide.
