Having only a limited number of days in New York to check items off our bucket list, we needed an…read moreexcellent guide with a plethora of knowledge and enough spare energy to keep us going. I fortunately found New York Historical Tours under the ownership and direction of Kevin Draper, CEO (Chief Experience Officer). My wife and I had used a private tour guide while in Scotland, and had a wonderful one on one experience ~ away from groups and tailored to fit our style of tourism. Kevin was incredibly knowledgable, affable, professional and customized our bucket list to 1) see the Statue of Liberty with pedestal access and the new museum, 2) get a brief but comprehensive history of Ellis Island without disembarking, 3) work our way to Katz's Delicatessen (we are big "When Harry Met Sally" fans) all the while getting a feel and history of the local neighborhoods, as well as learning how to use the Metro system to develop a nice level of familiarity and comfort in the East Side of Manhattan where we were staying. A standout feature on a tour with Kevin is his attention to detail in planning our time together. I call him the Master of Timing and Positioning. For example he suggested catching the first ferry to the Statue of LIberty. When we met him, he had already purchased our tickets. While on the ferry, he kept us comfortably shaded, then took us to key positions to get the best views of Lady Liberty while giving us an incredibly interesting history of the Statue. By the time we left the island, it was getting swamped with tourists and school groups. Superb timing indeed. On the way to the Metro, he pointed out the very interesting history of Battery Park and surrounding buildings and branch of the Smithsonian museum. We wound our way through Little Italy, Chinatown, Nolita and Jewish neighborhoods on the way to Katz's. Amazingly the line was short, but a madhouse inside. Kevin knew how to maneuver to the right cutter, get a table and we had a delicious lunch. As we left, the line had grown to over a block long with over an hour wait. Again the Master's timing was impeccable. He gave us more fascinating history of different areas as we headed back to the Metropolitan Museum where we ended our incredible tour. Our 6 hour private tour went by so quickly, and we were comfortably exhausted. As a historian, Kevin is a walking talking wealth of knowledge about New York, and has tremendous pride in this amazing city. We can enthusiastically recommend him for those seeking the best in personal tours of the Big Apple. In fact, we look forward to using his services on a return trip to New York which can't come soon enough.

We went on their China Town & Little Italy tour of down town Manhattan. Dan was just terrific!…read more His enthusiasm was contagious that made our Birthday celebration weekend. We now want to go on all the tours that they offer.

Amazing tour. So many facts and so many laughs. Absolutely go if you have the chance you will not…read morebe disappointed.

Overall rating: 4.8…read more Full warning: this is a history tour of deaths more than ghosts. It's a great tour but I think if they revised the name to "haunted" or "spooky", it would be closer to the actual tour. Which is a history of massive deaths in the Brooklyn area. The tour goes from Williamsburg, to the Navy Yard to back up. You actually learn a lot about the Cobble Hill area. Tyler and Danny were great and so knowledgeable!! Not sure if this is a repeatable tour, but it definitely is worth it! Also come on the earlier side bc seats fill up quickly! I think I was only 1 of 3 locals. Everyone else were tourists. But they were nice. Highly recommend!

What a great tour! I will never again walk through Washington Square Park and see only NYU…read morestudents, but the bones upon which they ollie and busk. Seriously, get your olde New York history and your spooky stories all in one spot. Highly recommend for New Yorkers and out of towners!

The Witches of Wall Street tour led by Alexa yesterday was intriguing and thorough. So many…read morehistories I had never heard before. Always great to learn new things about your own city. Alexa was a good storyteller and answered all of our questions. Each member of the tour felt included. I would recommend!

Just finished Phil's Subway Art Tour number one and it's so interesting how much art is included in…read moreall the subway stops of New York City. And with Phil you take the time to stop and look and listen to his talking about the artists and the process of making what are mostly mosaics. So fascinating. He really knows his stuff.

We had a great time with Phil on the Gay Village Bar Crawl Tour. He took us to many cool houses in…read morethe West Village I would never have noticed before. Phil was very knowledgeable and I feel like I could have talked to him about NYC history for hours. I loved that he had a microphone amplifier- if I was a tour guide I would definitely get one of those! He didn't have to yell and it was easy to hear him. The bar crawl part made this tour not just educational but so very fun. You got to socialize with other history lovers. Would definitely recommend!

One of the highlights of an amazing trip. Jeremy worked really hard to create a tour that was…read moreinteresting and personal. My best friend surprised me with this when I came for a visit a few weeks ago, and it was one of the best things I've ever done in my many trips to the city. Jeremy had a great foundation of knowledge about things in the city I would have otherwise missed (again). He was able to seamlessly talk about architecture, history, the Draft Riots, the Underground Railroad and street art with equal measures of knowledge and passion. Jeremy is a great host; he is clearly very kind, knowledgeable and able to answer questions on a wide range of topics (which is great because I have a wide range of interests when it comes to the city). I would highly recommend this to anyone (including locals!) who want a more unique experience in NYC.

Fantastic and amazing tour of lower manhattan. Jeremy is knowledgeable and very friendly.read more

West Village Food Tour - June 16, 2023 A wonderful, 3-hour…read moretour. Informative and delicious! First of all, Josh in the office was more than helpful. I admit I made his job more difficult than necessary due to the multiple changes I needed to make. Josh was courteous and helpful and, in no way, did he give me impression of being bothered. Andrea was the tour guide for myself and two friends. Our tour group was small which I felt was a stroke of luck. Andrea sent an email to each of us the day before our tour which reminded us of the tour, our meeting spot and time. She also noted that the tour would begin promptly at the scheduled time. She also asked if we had any dietary restrictions, food allergies or questions. I replied to her email asking for suggestions for places to visit after our tour had concluded. She responded promptly and gave us some helpful suggestions. Andrea cheerfully met us at the predetermined time. After introductions, Andrea gave us a brief overview of what we were to see, answered our questions and confirmed that there were no food allergies she needed to be aware of. We stopped at Faicco's Italian Specialties where we sampled soppressata and rice balls, a.k.a. Arancini in front of Faicco's. Both were excellent. As we snacked, Andrea gave us a history of the place. Our next stop was Bleeker Street Pizza. Andrea gave us a brief history before going in. We ate slices of of Nona Maria pizza. Then the previous owner, Greg Greenwood, joined us. He gave us a detailed history of the restaurant, which his brother, Captain Douglas Greenwood, opened in 2004. Captain Greenwood tragically passed away from 9/11 illness and ownership passed to Greg, who recently sold the pizzeria, although he still works there on Fridays. The pizza was fantastic! I will definitely visit again. As we walked through the West Village, Andrea gave us more history of the neighborhood, which included a home that was only 9 feet wide and a former speakeasy!! Our third stop was Hudson Bagels. where we shared two delicious, traditional New York bagels with cream cheese. Our fourth stop was Galanga, a Thai restaurant. We each had a corn fritter and Chicken Satay. I loved the fritters but thought the chicken was a bit plain. The fifth restaurant was Mamoun's Falafel. My boring palate did not enjoy this treat, but the others did. Lastly we had a cupcake at Molly's Cupcakes, opened by a former school teacher and schoolhouse themed. We each ordered different cupcakes, all of which were yummy. We ended the tour at our original meeting place. Andrea was wonderful, personable and informative. I inquired about other tours Andrea gave so that I can book another tour with Andrea.

We went on the food tour of the Lower East Side with Adam of Sidewalk tours. It was awesome. This…read moretour takes you through all the cuisines of the various populations that have settled in the Lower East Side. We started at an amazing Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery. This bakery has been in this location since 1910. Yonah is fifth generation. We had a potato knish to die for and you can see why this bakery is still in business. Unfortunately, our guide Adam, as he went over the history of the Lower East Side, said that very soon this little knish shop may be pushed out due to the high rents and development that is taking over this neighborhood. We moved on to Katz deli- skipping the line- because we were on the tour :) and had pastrami. Pastrami is not really my thing, but even I can taste that the Katz Pastrami melts in your mouth. We also had rugula from Russ and Daughter's. The rugula was delicious. My sister said she could have eaten 10 more pieces. As we walked, Adam filed us in on the history of the area. Along the way, we stopped at Economy candy. This place has every old fashioned candy you could ever want as well as modern favorites. It is candy floor to ceiling and very fun. We then went to Essex market. I could have spent a whole day there. It has both prepared foods and many market stalls for fresh fruits and veggies, dairy meats, sweets, really everything you could want. If I lived in NYC, I would shop there every week. We stopped at Arinchini Brothers for orrincici (rice balls) which were fabulous. I wish I could have taken some home but they ship so I'll get them that way. We also stopped by Essex Olive and Spice where I bought two bottles of fig balsamic vinegar, which may be the best balsamic I have ever tasted and I have been to Italy, France and Croatia. The olive oil there was also special. I went back to Essex market after the tour and spent more time there. So much to eat and buy and so little time. Okay so moving on we stopped at North Dumpling to buy some of the best dumplings in the city. The pork dumplings were so flavorful. I was pretty stuffed by now but we moved on to the Pickle Guys where I tasted pickeled pineapple which I would have purchased if I had not had to put it in my luggage. Sounds gross, but trust me. It was awesome. We then stopped at Kossar's Bialys for what I had been waiting for and they did not disappoint. We had an everything bagel and a bialy and they were... well, NY perfect. You may think you have had a bagel, but if you haven't had a NYC bagel, you haven't tasted bagels. We moved on to the Doghnut Plant where they have a tres Leche donut, which they were out of, and a wonderful blueberry cake donut that was a nice ending to a wonderful food and culture tour. I highly recommend it.

What a fun time my husband and I had walking Greenwich Village with Greg yesterday. We were the…read moreonly two on the tour which I attribute to the potential for rain. The rain stayed away and Greg enthusiastically shared his Italian roots with us. We stopped at 6 historic places for delicious tastes and tidbits . My favorites were the savory grandma style pizza and sweet fruit pastry. It was obvious he has a bond with all the venders as he lives in area. We even got to meet the pasta maker at one shop who is currently on Ciao House! Such a great way to spend a few hours.

My company just used Greg Walks for the 4th time for an employee event - he's great! So…read moreinteresting, great communication, wonderful food stops & layers of history throughout the tour! I highly recommend him!

We had such a great time on Haunted Manhattan's Greenwich Village Ghost Tour! It was spooky and fun…read morewithout being scary, with lots of fascinating history made entertaining and accessible. Our guide, the "Professor," was awesome. He was funny, engaging, knowledgeable, and kind. He made the stories come to life. The walk was easy and comfortable for any age. Our group happened to be all adults, but I think this would be a fantastic experience for older kids, too. A fun way to explore Greenwich Village, learn some history, and enjoy a few spooky stories along the way!

What a great time! The Professor animatedly toured us through the West Village's spooky sites. A…read morelot of interesting stories and historical facts told in a very entertaining and fun way!