Theme tours show cities’ offbeat sides

Too often travelers going to a big city for the first time – or even for a second or third – don’t get as much out of their visits as they could.

For starters, a traditional city tour can help visitors get the lay of the land. But there are lots of unusual tours that can take you deeper into the city’s psyche.

Here’s a sampling:

Boston: No visit to Beantown is complete without following the Freedom Trail, a 2 1/2-mile walk marked by red bricks or a red painted line, linking 16 historic sites – among them the Boston Common, America’s oldest public park; Granary Burying Ground, final resting place of Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Hancock; Old South Meeting House, where Adams launched the Boston Tea Party; the Paul Revere House and Old North Church, from which Revere was warned the British were coming. Daily guided tours cost $12 for adults, $6 for children (617-357-8300, www.thefreedomtrail.org).

Boston’s PhotoWalks not only provides commentary, but photographic tips for composing artistic pictures along the way. Four tours cover Beacon Hill, Footsteps to Freedom, Postcards of Boston and the Waterfront; adults $25, youth 12-17, $12 (617-851-2273, www.photowalks.com).

And then there’s the convivial Boston Irish Visitor Center’s pub tour, which features three great beers and three great pubs. The 90-minute tour departs from the BIVC, 25 Union St., at 6 p.m. Wednesdays, cost: $40 (617-723-5252; www.bostonirishvisitorscentner.com).

Chicago: Perhaps the coolest way to tour the city’s top sights is by Segway. A three-hour Segway tour covers the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Oceanarium, Adler Planetarium, Buckingham Fountain, and Millennium Park with its Crown fountains and the Cloud Gate sculpture. Tours operate daily at 10 a.m., 2 and 6 p.m. from April 1 to Nov. 15 and cost $70 (877-734-8687, www.citysegwaytours.com/Chicago).

Chicago’s neighborhoods are covered in a series of tours sponsored by the city. Tours leave from the Chicago Cultural Center at 10 a.m. and cost $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and students (312-742-1190, www.chgocitytours.com).

Or you can view Chicago’s skyscrapers and skyline on a 90-minute Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise (312-922-3432, www.architecture.org).

New Orleans: Still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, the Big Easy is easing back into tourist mode. One of the best walking tours explains the history of New Orleans and how its unique cuisine evolved; it does not include food samples, but does visit historic restaurants such as Antoine’s and explains the difference between Creole and Cajun cuisine. The two-hour walk through the French Quarter departs at 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and costs $22 (504-427-9595 or 212-209-3370, www.noculinarytours.com).

One of New Orleans’ unusual features is its above-ground cemeteries. A Cemetery Voodoo Tour takes you to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 (established in 1789) at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Saturday and at 10 a.m. Sunday, departing from Cafe Beignet, 334-B Royal St. Cost: $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and students with ID, $7 for children 6-12, free for children under 6 (504-947-2120, www.tourneworleans.com).

New York: Where do you start in such a complex city? You can get off the beaten path with a NEWrotic New York City Tour, gritty unconventional outings that can cover graffiti art in Spanish Harlem, global culture in Queens and spectacular skyline views from Roosevelt Island. Tours are by appointment for $25 an hour per person (718-575-8451, www.newroticnewyorkcitytours.com).

You can learn about the Bronx on Susan Birnbaum’s Susan Sez Walkabout, which covers such diverse places as City Island, a New England-like fishing village that includes antiques shops, art galleries, sail makers, boat yards and restaurants; and Arthur Avenue, a mix of bread stores and pastry shops. Cost: $18 to $35 (917-509-3111, www.susansez.com).

Philadelphia: No visit to Philadelphia is complete without taking a Constitutional Guided Walking Tour, a 75-minute, 1 1/4-mile stroll that puts 15 historic sites, from Independence Hall to the National Constitution Center, in perspective. The tours, daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day and on weekends in the spring and fall, begin at the Independence Visitor Center and cost $17.50 for adults, $12.50 for children ages 3-12 (215-525-1776, www.theconstitutional.com).

Philadelphia in the Movies tour visits locations of films shot in the city: “Rocky,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Philadelphia,” “Trading Places” and “Up Close and Personal,” among others. Tours run on Sundays all year from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and depart from the Independence Visitor Center. Cost: $35 (215-686-2668, www.toursignup.com/movie).

San Francisco: For something foreign in this cosmopolitan city, Chinatown has it all: sights, sounds, aromas, color. Local Tastes of the City Tours give visitors an insider’s look at Chinatown, including all sorts of Chinese cuisine. Tours depart from the Chinatown Gate daily at 10 a.m. and cost $59; family and senior rates are available (888-358-8687, www.sffoodtour.com).

For an excursion kids will love, take a Fire Engine Tour on a 13-passenger, open-air, restored 1955 red fire truck that departs from The Cannery at Fisherman’s Wharf and tools around for 75 minutes. The cost is $40 for adults, $30 for teens 13-17 and $25 for children up to age 12 (415-333-7077, www.fireenginetours.com).

Washington, D.C.: A great way to see the capital’s sights without walking your legs off is touring by bike. Bike the Sites offers an eight-mile, three-hour Capital Sites Tour that takes you from one end of the Mall to the other. Cost: $40 for adults, $30 for children 12 and under, which includes bike rental, helmet, bottled water and snack (202-842-2453, www.bikethesites.com).