Art lovers may be drawn to galleries and museums when visiting a new city, but architecture opens a window into a destination’s history and culture in an immersive way that’s perfectly designed for exceptional group experiences.

Planners who want a blueprint for group fun will find it in seven of America’s most architecturally iconic metropolises with these well-planned insights on treks, tours and other adventures.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico’s unforgettable streetscape is highlighted by its signature Pueblo Revival and Territorial styles. Group itineraries naturally focus on the historic Palace of the Governors, a 1610 adobe landmark showcasing early Spanish colonial municipal design. Nearby, the Oldest House Museum provides a unique look at low-slung, puddled-adobe construction, while the Gothic Revival Loretto Chapel presents a striking architectural contrast with its renowned and mysterious spiral staircase.

To flesh out a robust group experience, tour leaders can also book docent-led walking tours through the historic district or arrange a private tour of historic Canyon Road properties like El Zaguán, where travelers can view handcrafted vigas, latillas and classic covered portales up close. Groups can also visit the New Mexico Museum of Art to admire fine Pueblo Revival craftsmanship or step inside San Miguel Chapel — widely considered the oldest church in the entire U.S. — for a memorable look at centuries of Southwestern architectural evolution.

santafe.org

Chicago

Chicago’s celebrated skyline shows off the transformation of modern design, offering groups rich, multi-perspective ways to experience its famed skyscrapers. A great start is on the water, with the Chicago Architecture Center River Cruise, during which expert docents share the stories behind more than 50 iconic landmarks along the Chicago River.

For high-altitude vistas, Skydeck Chicago at Willis Tower allows visitors to step out onto The Ledge — glass balconies that extend over the city 1,353 feet in the air — or visit 360 Chicago Observation Deck to experience Tilt, part observation deck, part thrill ride where people step into a glass platform that leans them over the city far below.

Beyond the skyline, groups can explore interactive exhibits and detailed scale models at the Chicago Architecture Center. The venue also hosts expert-guided walking tours through the Loop, the Magnificent Mile and historic neighborhoods throughout the city.

choosechicago.com

Milwaukee

Milwaukee’s impressive architectural landscape blends 19th-century European craftsmanship with striking modern innovations along Lake Michigan. Group itineraries are often built around the Milwaukee Art Museum, an architectural icon featuring Santiago Calatrava’s Quadrant Building, renowned for its dramatic, wing-like brise-soleil screen.

For an opulent historic home tour, groups can visit the Pabst Mansion, a Gilded Age Flemish Renaissance Revival estate built for beer baron Captain Frederick Pabst. The mansion offers docent-led group walk-throughs of its ornate interior. Modern design enthusiasts can explore Frank Lloyd Wright’s Burnham Block, a rare grouping of his pioneering American System-Built Homes designed to provide quality architecture to everyday working families.

Groups can round out their explorations at the Basilica of St. Josaphat, a Polish cathedral-style landmark modeled after St. Peter’s in Rome, featuring a magnificent copper dome, salvaged stone masonry and detailed interior frescoes.

visitmilwaukee.org

San Francisco

San Francisco’s architectural panorama runs the gamut from ornate 19th-century classics to visionary modern landmarks. Groups can start in historic neighborhoods like Alamo Square, Haight-Ashbury or Pacific Heights to admire showy Queen Anne Victorians — including the famous Painted Ladies — with their intricate bay windows and decorated rooflines. On Nob Hill, Grace Cathedral offers magnificent Gothic design, including bronze doors inspired by Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise and a Chartres-patterned floor labyrinth.

In the Civic Center district, groups can marvel at San Francisco City Hall, a Beaux Arts masterpiece boasting a grand rotunda and a gold-leaf dome taller than the U.S. Capitol. Nearby, the tapered silhouette of the 1972 Transamerica Pyramid stands out among the city’s innovative skyscraper designs.

For other group outings, stroll around the grand rotunda and lagoon at the Palace of Fine Arts, the only buildings that remain from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, or head to Golden Gate Park to explore a cluster of architectural gems, including the 1878 Victorian Conservatory of Flowers, the copper-clad de Young Museum and the eco-friendly California Academy of Sciences.

sftravel.com

Miami

Miami’s architectural identity blends tropical elegance, historic grand revival styles and vivid modern street art. Group itineraries are often organized around the Art Deco Historic District along Ocean Drive, where pastel-hued, 1930s hotels showcase signature neon lighting, geometric symmetry and nautical porthole windows. Further inland, travelers can visit Mediterranean Revival landmarks, from the sprawling 100-year-old Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, an opulent Italian Renaissance-style estate featuring formal Italianate gardens set along Biscayne Bay.

To enhance the experience, planners can arrange private walking tours with the Miami Design Preservation League or book private group reservations to wander Vizcaya’s historic main house and grounds. Groups can also take guided walking or golf-cart tours through the Wynwood neighborhood, where massive outdoor murals transform building exteriors into canvas art, or they can check out the Design District, where high-end storefronts double as cutting-edge architectural installations and creative parking garage designs.

miamiandbeaches.com

New York City

The Big Apple’s architecture is showcased wherever groups go, from famous New York City skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building to historic icons like the Washington Square Arch, modeled after Paris’ Arc de Triomphe. There’s also an awesome array of organized ways for visitors to explore the city’s structural designs.

These include Architecture Boat Tours operated out of Pier 62 in conjunction with the NYC chapter of AIA; a fast-paced Architecture Photography Tour through Manhattan; a guided Rockefeller Center Tour; and a Financial District and WTC Art and Architecture Tour. Groups can also tap into docent-led neighborhood walks through SoHo’s castiron district or Greenwich Village’s historic townhouses, as well as curated programs from the Center for Architecture that offer deeper context on the city’s evolving skyline. Together, these experiences give visitors an accessible, expertly narrated look at New York’s most defining built environments.

nyctourism.com

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky’s architectural character combines industrial heritage, Gilded Age elegance and lush urban parklands. Groups can begin downtown along Whiskey Row, home to the nation’s largest collection of cast-iron facades outside New York City. The local bourbon boom has spurred substantial historic preservation in the area, exemplified by Michter’s revamping of the long-vacant Fort Nelson Building.

For grand historic homes, tour planners can arrange strolls through Old Louisville, which contains the nation’s largest contiguous collection of Victorian-era mansions. An undeniable highlight is the 1895 Conrad-Caldwell House Museum, a Richardsonian Romanesque castle offering a vivid window into elite turn-of-the-century America.

Groups can also step into literary history at The Seelbach, the 1905 hotel that was an inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” featuring free afternoon historic tours, its iconic grand staircase and an extraordinary Rookwood Pottery-clad rathskeller. To unwind, groups can escape to Cherokee Park, part of the scenic park system designed by legendary landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

gotolouisville.com