New York City's 5 Best Walking Tours - With Info and Photos

Welcome to New York! One of the many walkable cities in the States.. not. NYC is one of the cities with great transport and is extremely walkable, which tends to be a rarity in the United States, so you take advantage when you’re in one of those cities.

And what better way than an NYC walking tour? New York City is a sprawling metropolis, a melting pot of cultures, and a hub of art, commerce, and innovation.

The walking tours we’ll be discussing are meant to give you a newfound appreciation and understanding of the history and geography of the city. If you’re looking to take the best walking tours in New York, this guide will provide info about New York City walking tours and show you walking tour photos.

No walking tour is possible if you have heavy bags, so drop off any luggage or large bags you might have at your nearest Nannybag location. Nannybag is a service that allows you to drop off your luggage conveniently and keeps it safe as you roam the city freely.

There are many drop-off points; everything can be done on your mobile device. It’s fast, easy, and, more importantly, safe because securing your luggage in safe storage is our priority. Now that we’ve gotten you baggage-free let’s talk about the best walking tours in NYC.

Gangsters and Ghosts Tour

Step back in time as you explore the neighborhoods where everything unfolded, including The Five Points, Chinatown, Little Italy, and The West Village. These areas, once notorious for shady dealings and partying, were home to speakeasy saloons, secret underground tunnels used by bootleggers, and infamous gangsters of the past.

Led by experienced historians, this tour is not just a theatrical performance but a genuine exploration of NYC's past. You'll have the rare opportunity to visit haunted locations and old crime scenes, allowing you to connect with history as it happened over 100 years ago. This tour combines Gangsters and Ghosts (as the name foreshadows), making it a 2-1 experience (that’s good). Multiple reviews have named this tour one of the best NYC walking tours.

Meeting Location: The Five Points: 158 Worth St, New York, NY 10013 Length of Tour: 2 Hours, 1.2 Mile

Price: Public tour is $35 for adults, $25 for children

Foods of NYC tour

Let’s face it. No New York City walking tour guide will be complete without at least one food tour dedicated to food. Foods of NYC is a company that hosts food tours around the city. They have many to choose from Flavors of Chinatown tour, which focuses specifically on Asian cuisine, to The Best of Brooklyn tour, which includes a variety of cuisines and flavors to sample from.

This guide will tell you about the Heart & Soul of Greenwich Village tour. If there’s something Foods of NYC Tours knows how to do, it’s to combine history and storytelling with food to deliver a memorable experience. This tour of Greenwich Village is the most diverse food of the walking tours expect to taste Cuban, Italian, and Indian cuisine within the 3 hours.

Prepare to see hidden gems and spots that only real foodies encounter. During the tour, you’ll be walking the streets that legendary figures like Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Amy Schumer once trod. Understanding food is understanding culture, and this tour seamlessly combines the two.

Meeting Location: Tour meets near Thompson & West 3rd Streets Length of Tour: 3 hours 

Price: Public tour is $75/ per person, food is included- gratuities are not

If you book the Heart & Soul of Greenwich Village, you can get 15% off the Original Greenwich Village tour. The tours don’t overlap, so you can explore the neighborhood fully!

Real New York Tour

If you don’t take vacations if you’re a self-proclaimed explorer, you see an uncharted path and take it, and you’re goal is to know cities more than the locals. This tour is also perfect if you loathe walking around the city with a big group and a tour guide carrying an umbrella that screams “tourist, tourist!”.

The Real New York Tour is a tour by actual New Yorkers. There are no microphones or scripts. Groups are capped at 13 per group to keep the experience intimate and informative.

The tour lasts 6 hours, and you’’ be taking about 3-4 metro rides during the tour. How else will you learn how to navigate it? You’ll have a knowledgeable tour guide with you that is ready to guide you and answer any questions you might have.

Despite the length of this tour, it doesn’t pass by the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island because of the time it takes to get past security.

To learn more, click here.

Meeting Location: Meets in front of Paramount Plaza at 1633 Broadway, between 50th and 51st Streets Length of Tour: 6 hours

Price: Public tour is $90/ per person, food is included- gratuities are not

This tour requires a metro card since you’ll also be walking and learning about the NYC metro. It’s a metro and walking tour of NYC.

Hamilton Up Close Tour

Broadway Up Close Tours invites you to step into the world of Hamilton: An American Musical with their exclusive HamilTour! Join the passionate Green Team Guides as they take you on a captivating journey through the streets that Alexander Hamilton once walked in 1700s New York. Prepare to witness the revolution that unfolded in the city, you won’t be in the room where it happens, but you’ll see where history was made.

Beyond the historical sites featured in the musical, you'll be treated to never-before-heard stories and secrets from the creation of the record-breaking show. As the tour peaks at the gravesite of Alexander and Eliza Hamilton, you'll be left with a newfound obsession for Hamilton: An American Musical. Don't "wait for it" any longer!

This company also offers walking tours like Broadway for Beginners and Hudson Up close. These are other great walking tours if you’re into the theater realm.

Meeting Location: "Coenties Alley" outside the entrance to 85 Broad Street in between S. William Street and Pearl Street Length of Tour: 1 hour and 45 minutes; 1/2 mile in length

Price: Public tour is $41 for adults, $36 for children

New York Historical Tour

Sure, New York doesn’t have as much history as a European Country, but it does have its fair share. New York Historical Tour specializes in giving a range of history-related tours around the city. If you had a historical hyper fixation as a child, you’ll probably find a tour that covers that topic with this company.

New York Historical Tours has many tours to choose from, and we have a hard time choosing one, so we’ll give you an overview of the tours you can choose from.

Discover the opulence of the Gilded Age on "The Heyday of High Society Tour," where you'll journey through Millionaire’s Row, explore lavish mansions, and learn about titans of American business like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.

Or transport yourself to the roaring 1920s and beyond on "The Jazz Age: Swing, Style, and Social Revolution Tour" as you traverse iconic sites like Times Square, Swing Street, and Radio City Music Hall.

If you’re interested in learning about how certain parts of NYC came to be, some tours specialize in the geography and history behind famous areas such as the Lower East Side and the Brooklyn Bridge.

If you’re interested in something more niche, the experts of these walking tours can curate a specific private walking tour just for you. This company specializes in private tours, so we recommend getting a group together and splitting the cost so it’s not as Spenny.

To see the tour options and hours click here.

Prices start at $279 for a group of 6