My wife and I had to delay our first tour due to illness, and so we signed up for this one on our…read morereturn trip to New York, and it was not only a delight but a dream. Doris was a wonderfully thorough and astoundingly lovely tour guide. A true local, she led us around the neighborhood while greeting friends around Harlem and asking questions about us and our time in New York. She pointed out all manner of interesting locations; houses of Renaissance legends like Zora Neale Hurston and Marcus Garvey, the former locations of the Cotton Club and the Savoy, and current projects like the restoration of the Apollo and the Schomburg Center. Lunch was delicious, a soul food buffet with some of the best mac and cheese and collards I've ever had. We gratefully went an hour and a half over our expected time, and only had to cut _that_ short because of prior engagements. I feel very lucky to have met such a knowledgeable and charming person, and even luckier to have been given a glimpse into the history of one of the most dynamic and interesting places and times in America. We owe Doris a return trip to complete the second half of the tour, and I think it's well worth your time to take a trip yourself.

An eventful evening of amazing JAZZ music by talented musicians. I would recommend you take an…read moreevening and enjoy the ambiance of the beautiful church, and the rhythms that come together during the concert.

Had the pleasure of a FANTASTIC tour of lower Manhattan with Renee. She was extremely knowledgeable…read moreabout the Financial District and NYC and could not have been any more helpful. I recommend Free Tours by Foot and especially tours with Renee. Thank you so much Renee!

I am so glad I found this tour company! We did the Brooklyn bridge/DUMBO walking tour with Onel -…read morehe was phenomenal! This tour was one of the highlights of our trip to NYC. I can't wait for my next trip to take another walking tour with this tour company. Onel is knowledgeable, personable, engaging, humorous, thoughtful and kept us on time! He knew exactly where to stop for photo ops and gave us plenty of time for them - I appreciated the scheduled bathroom break at clean bathrooms and the stop for drinks/snacks at the most perfect grocery store that I wish was in my neighborhood. The tour ended at lunchtime in the perfect location with several food options as well as close to both the ferry and trains for the return commute to Manhattan. I highly recommend this walking tour with Onel as your guide - you won't regret it!

David Turk has it all- charm, knowledge, follow through, intelligence, gratiousness, and love of…read moreNYC. The restaurants he took us to were all unique and special and the restaurant staffs had an obvious affection for Dave. Take the food tour in Greenwich Village or any of the other tours Dave leads and you will not be disappointed.

Alex was great! We went on the Hell's Kitchen tour and Alex did a great job telling us about the…read morearea and leading the tour. The food stops were all great and introduced us to places we likely wouldn't have discovered on our own. We'll look for other tours with Alex when we visit again!

While in Central Park, my partner and I went off the beaten path to the Ravine. It is here where…read moreseveral meandering walking paths take visitors through a forest-like retreat to witness several lustrous, thick treetops. The threaded stream called the Loch pools and cascades into small waterfalls. According to the builder, the Ravine was designed to mimic the wilderness of the Adirondacks and surprisingly is entirely man-made. Built in 1866 by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould, we came to a stone arch vehicle bridge called Huddlestone Arch held together with the Manhattan schist boulders, gravity and friction. One of them is said to weigh 100 tons. This arch located around 107th Street actually supports traffic over the Loch to the East Drive just south of Lasker Rink.

I got a tour guide from Neal. Neal is a Harlem native and is clearly knowledgeable and passionate…read moreabout his borough. I took the multimedia tour, it lasted about two hours and I was learning about the history/ culture of Harlem from beginning to end. Harlem Heritage Tours is black owned & operated.

Today my husband and I experienced the Civil Rights Tour of Harlem with Neal. I can't say enough…read moreabout Neil and the breadth and depth of his knowledge and his PASSION for sharing his knowledge with his customers. We have visited NYC several times and this tour stands out as a highlight. Neil is a student and "professor" of the civil rights of Harlem. He is a storyteller at heart and I assure you you'll learn details you'd be hard pressed to discover so quickly through any other venue.

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.

I have always taken a certain pride in exploring cities on my own, but Sights By Sam proved to me…read morethat tours are the perfect way to enrich the traveling experience, and moreover are fun even for a local to do. Part of my tour covered a section of the city that is part of my everyday commute, suffice to say that Sam's facts and presentation has me thinking about all the other history I pass everyday, never knowing all that has occurred. Sam's depth of knowledge is truly impressive, and his fun and witty presentation brings the phrase tour de force to mind. Its hard to overshadow this amazing city, but I can honestly say Sam was a highlight of the tour as well. Highly recommended for travelers, locals, and anyone that wants to discover a bit of the magic that hides behind the everyday.

My husband and I recently took Sam's Foundations of New York tour and I highly recommend it! I…read morehave taken many walking tours in different cities but this was truly a unique and fun experience because of Sam's vast knowledge and enthusiasm. Sam is very educated on the history of NYC along with its architecture. He keeps the tour interesting with fun anecdotes and historical stories. On the Foundations of New York tour, we did 2-2.5 hours of walking around lower Manhattan: Battery Park to the Customs House to NY Stock Exchange to Trinity Church to the 9/11 Memorial to City Hall..just to name a few! The tour was extremely comprehensive and Sam knew such great details about each of the spots. Sam is also very friendly and answered several questions that we had along the way. All in all, this tour was a great experience - we learned so much about lower Manhattan and its history as well as the architecture. It was fun and interesting. Sam is a great guide who is knowledgeable, friendly and clearly loves what he is doing. It was a great value for everything! We are definitely looking forward to doing more of Sam's tours in the future!

Harlem Family Walking Tours is the real native experience. The people running it are a family with…read morekids themselves. I love that I felt right at home with my children there. When I am travelling around anywhere with kids, it becomes immediately if the business is comfortable with kids or not. It is clear immediately that they are used to having children around and keeping them entertained, adults as well. You can ask questions and get exercise as well! Make sure you bring something to drink, but if you want to stop at one of the many bodegas in Harlem you can get something to wet your whistle there. It's money well spent. Oh and it helps that they are reasonable. A lot of similar tours cost much more.

Excellent! Our tour guide was wonderful, has a passion for the topic and is very knowledgeable…read moreabout the history of the neighborhood. Clearly has done her research, brings out visual aides to contribute to the tour, and is known and liked by the community - as evidenced by everyone greeting her on the street. Especially appreciated the history and important buildings of Harlem Renaissance.

From the owner: Copyright Experience The Heights. All Rights Reserved. In…read morethe mid-1970s, New York City was broke. During this period many of its landmark treasures fell in disrepair and were abandoned for many decades. This was especially true for Northern Manhattan, and restorations were slow to reach this area. It was only after community advocacy efforts did officials begin funding and restoring many of our iconic historic structures. These restorations include the opening of the High Bridge in the summer of 2015. "Experience the Heights" - tours are based in the Morris-Jumel historical district located in Washington Heights in Northern Manhattan. Our tours are led by local residents who are historians, museum docents and licensed tour guides. Who are all deeply committed to providing all visitors with an historical interpretation that is authentic, personable, fun and a memorable uptown Manhattan, Heights Experience!