The Christmas Tree Crawl Experience Chicago At The Holidays

We booked The Christmas Tree Crawl Experience in Chicago through TripAdvisor on December 13, and we had amazing time. The tour was enjoyable regardless of the cold and windy weather indicative of the season, thanks to the excellent knowledge of our guide, Hillary, who combined insight into architecture and history with her outstanding knowledge of Christmas traditions to create a memorable tour experience. We are planning to return next year.

My sister and I spent a few days in Chicago right before Christmas, and we did this tour on a lark… And it was absolutely delightful. It’s an inside and outside walking tour of downtown, highlighting all kinds of Christmas decorations. Hilary (who also happens to own the company) was a fantastic guide – knowledgeable, fun, super warm, and full of historical and architectural information along with the festive Christmas stuff. Completely, utterly delightful.

My sister and I did this while in Chicago for a few days. It was so fun and charming and festive. Hilary (who actually owns the tour company) could not have been more knowledgeable - and she’s a freaking delight. The tour ends at the Palmer House, which is a gorgeous, historic hotel (super festive at Christmas). Fantastic guide, fantastic tour!

This tour was a total disappointment. Our guide took a call as soon as we were about to start. Walked away from the entire group and was on his phone for 15 minutes. We were all just standing there in the cold waiting. He then told us he had to make some “changes” to the tour. He started walking extremely fast and was way in front of us all. By the time we got to the first stop two people already left the tour. The first stop, we could not even go in to see the tree. At the second indoor stop 5 people decided they wanted to quit the tour so he had to spend another 10 minutes trying to give them a refund, while we all just stood inside this office building. Third stop he gave us very frozen Frango mints in the dirty underground train station. Kept showing us Christmas pictures from a ratty notebook. We ended up exiting the tour at Macy’s. This was a poorly run tour with only 1 Christmas tree being seen. The guide seemed very overwhelmed and unprepared.

Highly recommended! We brought our 4 year old along expecting to abandon after 30 minutes or so, but the boy loved the full 2 hours. Perfect mix of indoor/outdoor with a bathroom break. Scott was fantastic as guide. I’ve been to Chicago this time of year a dozen times, and learned/saw MANY new things - wish I had done this way sooner! There were 20 total in the group (5 in our family), and everyone was so nice! I would do this again!!!

Scott gave a group of 20 including 5 from our family an excellent tour, stopping at about 8 different places to share interesting details about the buildings paying special attention to Christmas. We visited the famous Marshall Fields department store and traveled up 7 successive escalators to visit the Walnut Room (restaurant) within which is a highly decorated Christmas tree. The 2 hours flew by and we ended up at the Palmer House Hotel where we were staying. Highly recommended!

Great value lots of insights that I had no idea about! It was also great to walk around Chicago and behind the ropes to get inside several places I had no idea existed

This was a phenomenal experience. I loved learning about the history of the city as well as the history of Christmas. Scott was a phenomenal tour guide who obviously was passionate about history. I learned so much cool and interesting stuff about the city. I can't wait to book my next tour!

Scott was great! We saw so many beautiful buildings that I had never seen before despite growing up in the area. Will definitely be going back.

Viewing the various Christmas trees was fun, but for me, learning new “fun facts” about Chicago, the history behind some of our favorite Christmas traditions, and several downtown buildings was well worth the price, thanks to our guide Scott.

The Christmas tree walking tour that we had with Hillary was amazing! She did an excellent job of keeping the group involved and entertained. She was very knowledgeable about the history, traditions, architecture, and locations that we saw. I would HIGHLY recommend this tour, and Hillary to anyone! Thank you so much Hillary for giving our family a memorable Christmas experience! Megan B.

SCOTT was Amazing! He was so knowledgeable and he made the whole tour! Great information and beautiful trees!

Scott was amazing. Great attitude and appreciation for Chicago and the history of Christmas decorations. The stop in Marshall Field’s was my favorite. Nice chance to warm up, grab some chocolates, and a warm drink.

Bundle up and be ready to shed as well but it’s worth it! The tour guide was knowledgeable, he welcoming questions and was helpful.

Hit some great spots. Tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history. Considering the cold temperatures, never got cold. Good combination of being outdoors & indoors.

Scott did an amazing job showing us all the sites. It was a highlight of our trip. I would highly recommend it. I saw things I would never never see otherwise.

The tour does a great job at merging both indoor and outdoor spots while discussing the history of the buildings along with Christmastime lore!

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour fun! He even walked us back to the Christkrindlmarket afterwards!

This tour is historical and festive. Whole fam enjoyed- Walking was manageable and Scott showed us sites we would have never found on our own.

This is an enjoyable romp around several historic buildings that have lovely Christmas trees. It is also a very informative tour on the history of Christmas, Santa , Rudolph and the jolly green giant. The tour guide had an expansive knowledge of Chicago history and the Christmas holiday. He enjoyed his role and clearly had a theatre background.

Hilary was a wonderful tour guide. Such a fun way to see Christmas trees and learn the history of Christmas through Chicago’s eyes.

I live in the area and visit Chicago often, I thought I knew everything about the city with the amount of tours I have done throughout the years. I highly recommend this tour. It’s a fun, entertaining tour and I learned a lot about Chicago’s Christmas traditions and how they came to be. Heath was our guide and his knowledge and passion for the city made for a great tour. Give this tour a try it will for sure get you in the holiday spirit!!

It was a wonderful tour with a wonderful hostess. Saw some amazing places and amazing trees. I’d definitely recommend this anyone who loves Christmas!!

The tour guide rocked he was fun and knew a lot. He was also up beat and made the whole experience better!

We LOVED the Christmas Tree Crawl! Fun, entertaining, educational, a decent but not overwhelming walk with Hillary, our guide who knows her stuff and whose passion for it shows. A perfect mix of indoor and outdoor locations and even a Frango Mint! We've done many different Christmas activities around the city and this is one of the most unique and memorable. No better way to get into the holiday spirit!

My husband and I took this tour on our empty nesters do Christmas in Chicago trip. I love Christmas decorations and we hadn’t done a tour in Chicago in a few years. Our tour guide was the owner of the company and was filled with knowledge about the city, the decorations and local architecture. I was worried that I would get so cold that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself but there were plenty of inside stops that warmed me back up. We saw some beautiful trees, took some fabulous photos and had lots of fun. I would recommend having dinner reservations in the Millennium Park area around or after 6pm afterwards. Many restaurants that you usually didn’t need reservations for were closed for private holiday parties.

Hillary is a wealth of knowledge and knows exactly where to go in Chicago. She is also very friendly and welcoming, if not a bit cheeky. We learned so much about the city and its tremendous influence on our society and culture. It was so much fun.

I would highly recommend this tour. Hillary was an awesome tour guide and explained some of the history of the buildings that we were going into. She also takes great pics!! I give this tour 5 stars for sure. Very enjoyable!!

Hillary is so charming! We had a pretty big group of strangers at the beginning and she magically transformed us into a group that watched out for each other ❤️ She knows some history related to Christmas traditions and we saw some beautiful trees!! She gets A++

Hillary did a great job with just enough detail without getting into the weeds. Can’t wait to try the sugar cookie recipe

Our tour guide, Heath, was outstanding! His passion and knowledge of Chicago made the tour enjoyable despite the FRIGID temperatures!

I bought 2 of these tours for my architect husband for his 60th birthday and we both LOVED them! Hillary is a wealth of information and took us into amazing spaces that one doesn’t know to go visit. A great way to celebrate Christmas in Chicago (and architects’ birthdays).

The total walking length was 2 miles but we only saw about 4 or 5 actual holiday decorations. For the price I would have thought we would see more

Fantastic! So much fun! Saw trees we would haven’t thought of. Learned so much about the history of Christmas and the city of Chicago. Well worth it! A must do!

This was an absolutely AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!! Hillary planned a custom engagement Chicago Christmas Tour. Her attention to detail, knowledge of the city and it's history, and her outgoing enthusiasm and presentation of everything kept me and my now fiancee captivated and engaged the entire time. We were lucky to have Hillary and would recommend this tour to anyone!

I did the virtual tour. Hillary is a fantastic, engaging speaker. Her photos of Chicago are excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire sixty minutes and look forward to attending an in-person tour when in Chicago. She brought in her family's traditions, which made this more than just a history lesson. I lived in the Chicago area for five years. I became fascinated by the city and its history and am an "amateur historian." Although I knew many of the facts she discussed, I learned much.

I just completed the virtual Christmas Tree Crawl Experience in Chicago! It was marvelous! Hillary Marzec was very informative, entertaining and endearing with her stories of Christmas. She even shared her family with us. Based on the virtual tour, I am determined to be in Chicago for a few days next year to enjoy all the city has to offer. A big "thank you" to Hillary; I hope to meet you in person in 2022!

Just a wonderful presentation, great memories and facts, simply an entertaining and learning experience. And after the last year or so, it knocked some of the Grinch out of me. Hillary does a terrific job. I highly recommend one of her tours.

This was a virtual tour online. It was wonderfully led by Hillary Marzec, a warm, engaging, and very knowledgeable tour guide. I grew up in Chicago and I had high expectations. Her virtual Christmas tour did not disappoint plus I learned many things I did not know, like the fact that the wildly popular Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer was the creation of the Montgomery Wards Department Store in Chicago! I don't think Hillary missed a thing. The time flew by. Highly recommend if you are going to Chicago and want ideas of things to see this time of year, and -- when Covid is finally over -- a real tour, which we hope to do in a few months when we visit the city.

Attended a virtual Christmas tour, talking about Chicago Christmas traditions. Hillary is very knowledgeable yet conversational in her presentation. Looking forward to an opportunity to participate in one of the tours on person.

I’ve done two tours with them....both fantastic! Such great presentations! She is so full of delightful facts!

This was our first tour with Hillary and it was amazing! She was on time, informative, and so fun! She took us to places we would have never otherwise seen on our own and gave us little bits of history along the way. She was so engaging and fun we will definitely book another tour with her in the future! Don't hesitate to take any of her tours! Thank you Hillary for a magical night!

Although we have lived in the Chicagoland area for most of our lives, this was the first walking tour of the city. We hit a jackpot! Hillary was great, interesting, entertaining and totally enjoyable. We will be using Inside Chicago Tours again! Bob and Mary Frazier!