Where would we get it from, what will we see, how long is it and approx. cost?
thanks!

There are many. The Chicago Architectural Society's river tour is the best. There are all kinds of others that go out into Lake Michigan for various periods of time. You will get most of them from either Navy Pier itself or downtown lakefront areas.

Do a google on Chicago Lake Michigan boat tours and you will get the specifics. They are constantly changing, as are the times, vendors etc. They even have flat bottomed boats out of Navy Pier that speedboat etc. Dinner cruises etc. are also available. Of course, time of the year is vital, as different months will have different schedules.

Do a Google search on Chicago cruises. You will find the vast majority of Fodors posters recommend the Architectual Foundation cruise. It's the best!

Curious

the website for the architecture cruise is www.architecture.org.

Here's a link to a comparison of the cruises

http://www.chicagotraveler.com/boat_tours.htm

It really depends on what you want from the cruise. If it's architecture and commentary, the Architecture Foundation cruise is great but it is just on the river.

If you want to see the skyline, pick one of the cruises that go out on Lake Michigan.

There are cruises that do both, the problem is that you have to go in and out of the locks and you spend 10 or so minutes each way in the locks.

There are also lunch and dinner cruises, I've only done the Spirit of Chicago and for me it wasn't a good value, the food was just OK and it was expensive. The Odyssey is even more.

It really depends on what you are looking for etc...The Odyssey is the most expensive and fancy.

Eevn though it only goes on the river, the Architectural Foundation tour is by far the best and most informative. You can get great views of the skyline from the area by the planetarium.

The name of the BEST operator for architectural cruises is Shoreline Marine Co. They are by far the largest cruise company in Chicago and the most reputable.