This was an informative and fascinating "off the beaten path" tour that included the history and inter-related ecology for the LA River and adjacent human communities (Silver Lake, Echo Park, Frogtown/Elysian Valley). We particularly enjoyed exploring the numerous secret stairways, and seeing the diversity of architectural styles of the homes. Our tour guide (Chris), was very knowledgeable and seemed to genuinely enjoy giving the tour. He had many stories related to the area to tell, and illustrated points about the history using his iPad as a visual aid. He has obviously spent a great time studying the history of LA, the Master Plan for the LA River Restoration, and must have committed hours of time reviewing community property mapping and historical documentation. In summary, my wife and I found it be a very worthwhile and enjoyable experience. I would highly recommend this tour! As an added bonus, Chris may bring along his dog, who has a wonderful disposition, and seemed to enjoy the tour as much as we did!

Chris is by far the most knowledgeable guide we’ve ever encountered. His ability to recollect historical facts and dates is amazing. He’s a walking encyclopedia! Make sure to bring some cash with you because you’re going to want to give him a huge tip after his walking tour of LA.

This was pure delight! Our guide Chris was extremely knowledgeable and a great storyteller. The 3 hour walk gave us enterraining insight in downtown LA’s culture, history and architecture.

This was the first tour we (husband and I) had on our California vacation. This was an amazing tour. The guide was extremely knowledgeable of Los Angeles history and architecture, and presented the information in a clear and engaging manner. We have taken many similar tours in other travel locations and the quality can vary. The guide carried a tablet that allowed him to show historical photos and other support materials of historic significance without fumbling with a binder as we have experienced on other tours. We walked at a pace that was reasonable for the participants. His breadth of knowledge was impressive and he shared many random details about the historical buildings. For buildings of significance we did not go into, like City Hall, he provided pictures and pertinent information about how to access for a closer view on our own later. He showed us many hidden gems within the downtown district that would not have been found on our own. While it is a great tour, there is a LOT of walking and may not be ideal for small children that get tired of walking easily. The tour was well-timed and ended perfectly at Grand Central Market where there were almost endless options for lunch.

Chris is a fantastic tour guide! He is knowledgeable, friendly, and gives you a great perspective on downtown LA's history and architecture. Thanks Chris for your expertise.

Our guide, Chris, was very friendly and knowledgeable and kept a good pace. I wondered if 3 hours would seem too long but the time went quickly and we were able to see a lot. I worked in downtown LA for 6 years back in the 90’s and never thought of it as a place to tour but it is. I would recommend this tour to locals, not just tourists.

Such an interesting tour that turned my perception of DTLA on its head, and showed that Los Angeles truly does have walkable pockets that are worth exploring. Chris’s stories about the buildings, their architects, workers, inhabitants and the land that they’re built on, made them come alive. Great way to see DTLA and spend a few hours learning about the city, whether you’re a tourist or a local!

Our private tour with Chris was excellent. Chris is extremely knowledgeable, very friendly and happy to accommodate as required. We had a pickup from Anaheim and an additional hour to see the sights of LA and it was highly worthwhile. I would recommend Chris to anyone keen to get a more informed view of LA. A private tour is excellent for those wanting to customize the day to those areas/items you are more interested in. Thanks Chris!

I had booked tours with Chris before and knew it was the perfect fit for our workgroup's wellness day/ out of the office! This was well-organized and Chris was impressive with his knowledge, humor, research, and personableness. Everyone was so complimentary of his and the experience, well after the tour was over. Additionally, he covers a variety of historical crimes stories with respect to the victims and without unwarranted glorification.

What a great tour. These were sights you would never see on a traditional tour. Chris was so knowledgeable. You can tell he has done tons of research including talking with the people in the neighborhoods we visited. He was very helpful with the LA experience and offered several suggestions for future visits.

Chris was very knowledgeable and very animated in his descriptions of both the LA river as well as the secret staircases through the neighborhoods. We love hiking and greatly enjoyed it!! We saw a part of LA that we would have never seen with driving on the expressway. I would highly recommend it!

Your guide is awesome. Has a lot of LA history to share and is very friendly and enjoys what he does. The stairs are very interesting as is the area we toured: Silver Lake. I really enjoyed learning about the historical events and time line as well

Had an awesome tour of downtown with Chris. He is an encyclopedia with lots of great info. We went inside buildings, admired architecture from outside, saw hidden locations and great view points. I highly recommend if coming to LA.

Chris was a fantastic tour leader, he was exceptionally knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about the topic. We learnt so much about downtown LA and he also responded wonderfully two questions. We would highly recommend this to with Chris.

We did the perfect day in Malibu and it was so mush more than that, Chris picked us up and took us to a secluded beach for a lovely picnic, he had even gone to the trouble of getting a birthday cake made for my wife's 40th, it was a really pretty setting before he took us off to the Paramount ranch to go horse riding, again it was just a brilliant setting and really enjoyable, we finished off our day wine tasting, it was all round just a fantastic birthday treat for my wife, Chris was brilliant, there when we wanted to ask questions or needed advice, but also discreet to allow us some time to just soak up what was an amazing day.