Looking For Something Different?
Customized Group and Private Tours are the Answer
There’s more to Chicago than just downtown.
The city has 77 distinct and vibrant neighborhoods which include old and reborn communities, historic districts, centers of business and commerce, and vast spaces that are dedicated to parks, entertainment, and culture.
The neighborhoods listed on this page represent some of our favorites and we can design a customized private tour for you and your group (up to a maximum of 20) to any of them. (Sorry but our tours are unable to accommodate children under 12 years old.)
To get things started, let us know what your interests are by completing our Contact Us form or calling us at 312-532-7124. Pricing will be determined by number of guests, location, inclusions, timing, etc. A member of the L Stop team will work with you to create a memorable experience.
Contact us today! We can’t wait to show you this amazing city!
Andersonville | Argyle Street
If you’re looking for a taste of Scandinavia…
Located about eight miles north of the Loop, Andersonville is a diverse, thriving community that is part of the greater Edgewater and Uptown neighborhoods. In the days following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Andersonville had the second largest concentration of Swedish residents in the world outside of Stockholm. Today the neighborhood retains much of its Scandinavian charm and culture with a wide array of historic architecture, museums, galleries and a host of Swedish-influenced restaurants, taverns and retail shops.
Just east of Andersonville is the West Argyle Street Historic District, a community within the Uptown neighborhood that covers 41 acres and is centered near the intersection of Sheridan Road and Argyle Street. An affordable lakeside community for many years, it transitioned in the 1960s into a pan-Asian district featuring Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Japanese and Chinese businesses, leading to the area’s former nicknames of “New Chinatown,” “Little Saigon” and Little Vietnam.”
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
Chinatown
Want to experience the Far East in the Midwest? Visit Chinatown.
A little more than two miles south of the Loop (Chicago’s central business district) is Chinatown, home to a number of restaurants, grocery stores, gift shops, banks, service business, cultural institutions, and approximately 16,000 area residents — 90 percent of which are of Chinese descent. Chinese first migrated to Chicago in 1869 via the first Transcontinental Railroad to escape violence and persecution that had broken out in California.
Today’s Chinatown neighborhood was first settled in 1912 when a Chinese merchants association constructed a building that could house 15 stores, 30 apartments and the association’s headquarters.
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
Loop
The Loop, Chicago’s downtown business district, takes its name from the elevated railway system (the “L”) which encircles the entire area in a loop-shaped pattern.
The beating heart of Chicago, the Loop is home to a wide variety of sites and attractions — Millennium Park, the Chicago Cultural Center, Art Institute, Riverwalk, Jewelers Row, the Theatre District, Printers Row, Willis Tower and the renowned Harold Washington Library Center. It also features fine dining, shopping, museums, outdoor public art and much more.
Best known for its stunning mix of historic and modern building and architectural styles, the Loop is the birthplace of the world’s first modern skyscraper and today is home to a number of other famous and pioneering structures that were built in the years just following the Great Chicago Fire (1871).
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
Old Town
There’s always something new in “Old Town.”
Originally called “The Cabbage Patch” and later “North Town,” this Near North Side neighborhood received its name in the 1940s when a local art fair, the “Old Town Holiday,” became popular and local residents adopted the moniker for their community. The Old Town Triangle Association, a neighborhood residents group, gets its name from three streets that form a triangle surrounding the neighborhood — Ogden Avenue, North Avenue and Clark Street.
In addition to street after tree-lined street of beautifully restored Victorian houses and flats, Old Town is home to The Second City, Zanies Comedy Club, boutiques, emporiums, a bevy of interesting family-owned restaurants and taverns, and of course, the famous Old Town Art Fair, which occurs annually the second weekend in June.
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
Pilsen
Visit Pilsen, ranked #10 on Forbes magazine’s list of the “15 Coolest Neighborhoods in the World.”
Located 4.5 miles south of Chicago’s Loop, Pilsen got its name from blue-collar Bohemian immigrants who thought it reminded them of Pilsen, a city in the Czech Republic. During its first 150 years, Pilsen was Chicago’s distinctive eastern European enclave. In 1950, the first wave of Mexican immigrants began to move into the community.
Today, Pilsen is 80 percent Latino, however, many of the commercial buildings and homes located throughout the neighborhood still reflect the architecture and style of the community’s early residents. It’s a fascinating neighborhood — filled with outdoor murals, beautiful churches, cultural institutions, great restaurants, and much more.
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
Prairie Avenue District
Take a stroll down “the street of the elite” and more.
Get a sense of how the city’s wealthiest residents lived around the turn of the century and what remains today in the Prairie Avenue District. This fascinating Chicago neighborhood is home to many historic sites such as Motor Row, the former Chess Records, the oldest house in the city, the landmark Second Presbyterian Church and the historic Glessner House. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The Near South Side community was once known as “the Fifth Avenue” of Chicago and home to some of the country’s richest residents.
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
River North | Streeterville
There’s a lot to discover just north of the Loop.
River North and Streeterville are both located on the north bank of the Chicago River — River North occupies the western portion of the river bank and Streeterville occupies the eastern portion. While it’s obvious how River North got its name, Streeterville is named after a scalawag steamboat captain, George Wellington Streeter, who beached his 35-ton boat on a nearby sandbar in 1886, claimed the land for his own and that it was not subject to the laws of Illinois or Chicago. He was evicted by Chicago police in 1893.
During Streeter’s “reign,” the neighborhood resembled a shantytown. Today, ironically, both River North and Streeterville are among the most prosperous and well-to-do areas of the city. River North contains popular restaurants and bars, landmark architecture, art galleries, museums, and culture. Streeterville is home to the Magnificent Mile (Chicago’s premier shopping district), Navy Pier, several of the city’s tallest skyscrapers, and the downtown campus of Northwestern University, which includes several affiliated hospitals and the university’s law school.
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
West Loop | Fulton Market
Check out a Near West Side neighborhood renaissance.
What used to be nothing but factories and warehouses has recently been transformed into one of Chicago’s fastest-growing neighborhoods with trendy restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and a host of new residential construction — high rises, lofts, renovated walk-ups — all within a few blocks of downtown Chicago.
In this neighborhood, you’ll find everything from sushi bars to sports pubs, art galleries, a French Market, antique shops, design showrooms, and Chicago’s Greektown neighborhood, which is located at Halsted Street and Jackson Blvd.
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!
Wicker Park | Bucktown
From stately mansions to trendy boutiques and craft breweries, Bucktown and Wicker Park have it all.
Located on Chicago’s near Northwest Side, Wicker Park and Bucktown are neighborhoods that have experienced a lot of change over the years. Both areas were settled by Germans and Scandinavians in 1870; were home to several rich beer barons at the turn of the century (their restored mansions survive); welcomed waves of Polish immigrants between 1900-1930; experienced decline in the 1960s and 70s; and experienced a rebirth in the 1980s and ‘90s when artists, yuppies, and others were attracted by cheap rents and the area’s close proximity to downtown.
Today, Wicker Park and Bucktown are models of what gentrification can do for a community. Here you will find quaint shops and boutiques, award-winning restaurants, lively bars and taverns, art galleries, restored vintage hotels, and a 1930s-era bank building that has been converted into a friendly, neighborhood drug store — with most of the bank’s features still intact.
Interested in touring this neighborhood with your group? Contact us today!