Downtown Chicago TV & Movie Sites Tour Tickets

Like New York City or Los Angeles, many films and television series occur in Chicago. Whether you know it at first glance or not, these sites are real and sometimes a daily sight for Chicagoans. Whether you’re a big Batman fanatic or just appreciate a good city skyline, a walking tour will show you another side of the Windy City. Get downtown Chicago TV and movie sites tour tickets on TodayTix!

Along this 2-hour walking tour, you will discover over two dozen filming locations. Some, like the Art Institute of Chicago, will be immediately recognized for their 15 minutes of fame thanks to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. While others, like Bruce Wayne’s penthouse from The Dark Knight, may take a few minutes to recognize.

With huge incentives for filmmakers to shoot on-location in Chicago or Illinois, more and more TV shows and movies are being made in Chicago. It’s no coincidence that you recognize the El Trains in certain scenes or can see Lake Michigan shimmering in Shameless – Chicago’s locations are booming.

Get ready for movie trivia and book tickets for the downtown Chicago TV and movie sites tour.

The tour showcases over 30 film locations. Although Chicago still has a long way to go until it catches up with Los Angeles, there’s a reason why filming has always been such a large part of the city’s dynamic. Chicago’s film history goes back to before the rise of Hollywood. Inventor Thomas Edison presented the first commercial motion-picture machine at the World’s Columbian in Chicago in 1893.

Filmmaker John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club) loved Chicago. But he wasn’t alone. A lot of classics were filmed there, including Risky Business, The Untouchables, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, to name a few.

What to Watch For

• Teen comedy director John Hughes loved filming from his home base in Chicago. Many of his films, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off were shot here.
• Chicago’s filming industry began early in the game in part because Thomas Edison wanted a lot of control over filmmakers using his patented equipment. Moving to Chicago gave those artists more freedom.
• TV shows like The Bear, which takes place in Chicago, offer an aesthetic glimpse into the city. There’s plenty of culture here to pull from in the Windy City.