NYC can make something as simple as a walk an inspiring adventure—even if it’s just heading along the sidewalk to take in the sights and sounds. Being on foot is the best way to get to know the City.
So to get the most out of your visit, or just for the fun of exploring a new neighborhood, we’re inviting you to walk like a New Yorker (well, maybe not quite as fast or while eating a slice, as the habit is here), with the help of a New Yorker. Get familiar with some of our favorite walking tours around all five boroughs.
SusanSez NYC Walkabouts
The Bronx
Good for: architecture fans, baseball lovers
Price: Starting at $49.87, custom tour options available
Length: around 3 hours
Experience an authentic slice of the City with Susan Birnbaum of SusanSez NYC Walkabouts as she guides visitors around the Bronx, from Yankee Stadium to the Grand Concourse to Arthur Avenue. Birnbaum can put together custom tours, such as one that focuses on art deco architecture along Grand Concourse, showcasing historic buildings and their 1920s and ’30s facades and ornate lobbies. Learn stories about the famous folks that lived and worked here, such as when Joe DiMaggio stayed at the Concourse Plaza Hotel (as did many Yankees greats back in the day).
Like A Local Tours: Sustainable Brooklyn Food & Fashion Tour.
Brooklyn
Like A Local Tours: Sustainable Brooklyn Food & Fashion Tour
Good for: eco-friendly shoppers, groups of three or more
Price: $650 minimum for 1 to 4 people; $85 for each additional person
Length: 3 hours
A good time for a good cause is promised on this forward-thinking private tour through the best of Williamsburg’s artisanal and eco-conscious food, fashion and design. Learn to lessen your environmental impact while making room for funky vintage finds, one-of-a-kind antiques, small-batch global brands and vegan treats. Stops include Williamsburg pillars like Artist & Fleas and Awoke Vintage, with time to enjoy tacos at Tacombi or a coffee and vegan treats at Black Brick.
Christopher Street Tours: Village Pride Walking Tour
Manhattan
Christopher Street Tours: Village Pride Walking Tour
Good for: LGBTQ+ history enthusiasts, first-time visitors
Price: $49
Length: 2 hours
Explore the roots of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the neighborhood where it all began. This walking tour through the West Village visits key landmarks like the site of the historic Stonewall Uprising, as well as former gathering places of queer activists, artists and everyday New Yorkers who pushed for change. Along the way, guides share both historical context and anecdotes as well as personal perspectives. The tour ends at the LGBT Community Center on West 13th Street, where you can explore more ways to get involved.
NYC Bagel Tour
Good for: carb-loaders, food historians
Price: $69
Length: 2 hours
Dive into the City’s bagel scene with NYC Bagel Tours. You’ll visit three top shops to get the (w)hole picture on how bagels are made; learn about their rich cultural history in NYC and abroad; and, of course, sample a variety of bagels, bagel sandwiches and cream cheeses. The standard tour covers a leisurely mile-long route in Manhattan from Chelsea to Times Square, but NYC Bagel Tours also offers private experiences, like the 2.5-hour Brooklyn-based Bagel Crafting tour that NYC Tourism took ($1,000 for up to 8 people), which included a bagel-rolling session.
Seneca Village Tour
Good for: fans of hidden histories
Price: $33; discounts for children, veterans/active military and visitors with disabilities
Length: 90 minutes
Tucked along the western edge of Central Park, Seneca Village was once home to one of the largest communities of free Black property owners in pre–Civil War New York City. Walk through the area where homes, churches and a school once stood while learning the story of how a neighborhood and community was erased to make way for development of the park. Explore how the community formed, what daily life was like and what its legacy is today on this 90-minute tour.
Queens
Food on Foot Tours: International Express Queens
Food on Foot Tours: International Express Queens
Good for: people who like surprises, on-the-go eaters
Price: $49–$69, with a pay-as-you-go option
Length: ~4.5 hours, counting transportation time
Go ahead, have a taco under the 7 train. Helmed by a native New Yorker, Food on Foot Tours takes you on a culinary trip around Queens, where the journey is just as important as the stops. This isn’t your usual sort of walking food tour with a set menu at each place; instead, it’s a hop-on hop-off subway adventure with up to 40 people participating, so expect to mingle. The menu is up to you; pick whatever you’d like at each stop. You can choose a pay-as-you-go model or get a ticket with a prepaid food credit. The stops themselves are a surprise, but you’ll hit international neighborhoods like Flushing and Jackson Heights while visiting where locals eat and hang out.
Historic Richmond Town
Staten Island
Good for: amateur historians
Price: $10, free admission for children 5 and under
Length: 75 minutes
Historic Richmond Town’s costumed interpreters celebrate ordinary people from the 1770s, 1820s and 1860s. Across the village’s campus, they demonstrate trades, reenact the rituals of domestic life and give daily talks on everything from the fashion of the time to innovations that helped build the country. Walk along Main Street, where the County Courthouse was the center of town, or stroll to the Outer Village, set against a forest on the town’s outskirts. General admission gets you access to the historical museum and walking tours; outside of summer, the guided tours on offer are typically the Two Centuries Tour and the 1820s Village Life Tour.
Visitors can find additional guides that specialize in a range of tours across New York City at ganyc.org.
