Take one of these best tours to explore New York City with a local by your side.
Travelers from all over the world come to New York City to experience its world-class cuisine, thriving live music and theater scene, distinctive skyline, and intriguing history. You should go about the city on your own two feet if you want to experience the Big Apple like a native New Yorker. You will undoubtedly learn more with a local guide than you would on your own. The following are the city’s top walks, according to U.S. News, which took into account expert advice and visitor feedback.
East Village Rock n’ Punk Tour by Rock Junket
Enjoy a stroll through the East Village with Rock Junket and take in New York’s renowned rock music scene. The two-hour tour stops at locations where legendary musicians like the Ramones, Blondie, and the New York Dolls have performed in the past. A stop at CBGB, which shut its doors in 2006, is one of the tour’s highlights. Guides discuss the history of the area, paying particular emphasis to the celebrated painters who formerly resided and worked there. Audiophiles find the guides to be intelligent and the experience to be a very pleasurable way to learn about the place and its interesting history. Tours start at 1 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and they cost about $45 each. Greenwich Village is only one of the musically themed tours that Rock Junket leads.
Marvel and DC Superheroes of New York Tour by TopDog
This tour may be perfect for you if you enjoy superhero comic books and the movies that are based on them. The roughly two-hour walk stops at areas where some comic book writers worked as well as landmarks that have appeared in comics and movies like the United Nations headquarters, the Chrysler Building, and Grand Central Terminal. Tour-goers like the knowledgeable instructors’ insights into both the actual New York and how the city is portrayed in comic books. This excursion is available every day at 3:30 p.m. through TopDog Tours. Tickets are roughly $35 for adults and $26 for youngsters under the age of 12. The Ghosts of Greenwich Village trip is one of the specialized tours that the organization conducts.
High Line Park and Greenwich Village Food Tour on a Manhattan Walking Tour
In the course of this three and a half-hour combo tour, you’ll visit five different eateries and take in the sights of Greenwich Village and the High Line. Your guide will provide information about the history of the High Line during the two miles of walking, as well as pointers on where to find Greenwich Village’s top independent bookstores and underground jazz clubs. Reviewers laud the intimate atmosphere of the trip, which is limited to eight people, and remark on how big the food servings are (you’ll want to arrive ravenous). The amiable tour guides, who impart a wealth of historical and architectural knowledge, are praised by tourists as well. Every day at 11 a.m., tours start. All-age tickets start at $124. Consider signing up for the company’s combination tour of Chinatown if you want to learn more.
Free Walking Tours: DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, and the Brooklyn Bridge
Take this three-hour walking tour with Free Tours by Foot to get a brief overview of Brooklyn. A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with photo opportunities and instructive detours marks the start of the trip. You will then arrive in Brooklyn Heights, a highly sought-after neighborhood that historically housed a number of well-known authors. The next stop is Dumbo, a neighborhood that was once industrial but has now been converted into a haven for artists (as in Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). At the Fulton Ferry Landing, the tour concludes. You can return to Manhattan by taking the East River Ferry from there. Guides are frequently praised for their expertise and sincerity. Reservations are necessary even if the tours are self-pay. Thursday through Sunday, tours start at 9:30 a.m. Other trips around the city are available via Free Tours by Foot, such as tours focused on street art and food.
9/11 Tour of Ground Zero
Each of the guides for the 9/11 Ground Zero Tour has a personal connection to September 11, which helps them deliver the enthusiastic, in-depth excursions that guests like. The 90-minute walking tours start at St. Paul’s Chapel, a makeshift rescue facility used during the attacks, and then go to the 9/11 Memorial. As each guide delivers a slightly different tour based on their personal experiences, guides may also make stops at various locations connected to the events. Every day at 10:30 am and 2 pm, tours are offered. Adults pay about $35 for admission, while children aged six to twelve pay $30. There are also tours that incorporate a visit to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the observatory atop One World Trade Center, or both with the 9/11 Ground Zero Tour.
Iconic Views of Central Park Tour by the Central Park Conservancy
On this 90-minute, 1.3-mile stroll across Central Park, landmarks including Cherry Hill, the Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, the Lake, and Sheep Meadow are among the places seen. The tour includes the park’s history and insider tips in addition to the prominent landmarks. The tour instructors are welcoming and knowledgeable, according to participants. On certain days at 11 a.m., tours depart from the Columbus Circle Information Kiosk. For the general public, tickets start at $15. The conservancy also provides a number of additional seasonal walks and tours that focus on other parts of the park.
Broadway Up Close Walking Tours: The Origins of Broadway
With the Broadway’s Beginnings tour, learn the inside scoop on New York’s renowned theatrical area. The Nederlander Theatre is the first stop on the approximately two-hour, half-mile stroll that also stops at a few other locations in the southern part of the neighborhood. The guides all work as professional actors or stage managers, and they discuss both Broadway legends and history as well as their own personal experiences. Participants on the tours say the knowledgeable interpreters taught them a lot about the Broadway productions. Tickets are roughly $40 for adults and $35 for those under the age of 13. Every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 11 a.m., tours are offered. Each group can have a maximum of 15 people. Other themed walking tours are available from Broadway Up Close, including one centered on the alleged ghosts of the area’s theaters.
Tommy’s New York – Candlelight Tour of the Catacombs
A network of catacombs, going back to the early 19th century, is located beneath the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral (which is a different organization from St. Patrick’s Cathedral). These catacombs contain the crypts of former New York City inhabitants and religious officials. The basilica and Tommy’s New York have an exclusive agreement that allows tourists to tour the intricate catacombs. These excursions and their guides are typically quite informative and enjoyable for travelers. The catacombs are another attraction for them. The 90-minute candlelit tour has an adult starting price of $37 and a child starting price of $30. From 10:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m., Friday through Sunday, tours leave the venue. Note: Because to church activities, tours can be canceled or delayed.
Urban Explorations: Hamilton Tour
Tourists might be interested in seeing Alexander Hamilton’s former residence given the newfound interest in him, which is undoubtedly attributable in part to the enormously successful musical based on his life. The Hamilton Tour begins at the Trinity Church cemetery, where Hamilton is interred, where the first secretary of the treasury’s voyage came to an end. The New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall are both included in the tour of the financial sector. The trip ends at Fraunces Tavern, where Alexander Hamilton and opponent Aaron Burr once dined and where visitors can choose to have a drink or a snack after the stroll. People admire guides for their skill and talent as storytellers. The everyday at 3 p.m. excursions last for two hours and cost roughly $40 per person; children under the age of five go free. A cuisine tour of the Lower East Side and a Brooklyn history tour are just two of the countless additional New York City trips that Urban Adventures offers.
Slavery and the Underground Railroad in New York City Walking Tour, Inside Out Tours
This 2.5-hour tour examines slavery in colonial New York as well as the attempts made by Africans who were held as slaves to elude capture. You’ll see a former station on the Underground Railroad and the locations of the city’s first slave market throughout the trip. The roughly 1.5-mile trip also includes stops at an archaeological site, a burial cemetery, and a memorial honoring slaves. Guides frequently receive praise from tourists for their smart and instructive narration. Every Saturday at 1 p.m. during the year, tours are given. Adult tickets are about $35, although there are discounts for kids, students, and seniors. The business also organizes trips that focus on the city’s gospel, art, and gastronomy.
SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown Tour by ExperienceFirst
The ideal route for a fascinating two-hour walk in Manhattan is made up of three nearby but quite different areas. The ExperienceFirst tour begins at the intersection of Spring Street and 6th Avenue and travels through the blocks of SoHo, where upmarket stores and residences have taken over structures that were once used as factories and slaughterhouses. It continues on to Little Italy and Chinatown, where the district is still shaped by the turbulent histories of immigrants. The three places’ rich, occasionally turbulent histories are described by the guides. Participants frequently praise the guides for being both entertaining and knowledgeable. Tours start every day at 12:00. Tickets start at roughly $35, with discounts available for kids aged four to twelve. Along with excursions that visit Wall Street and other areas of the city including the High Line and Chelsea, ExperienceFirst also provides this tour in Spanish.