Tours by Foot - New York — Local services in New York

Reviewing the two different tours and guides I experienced on same day:

Greenwich village, High Line and Chelsea tour by Kassi: Kassi was extremely engaging with the group. She went above and beyond to constantly help all attendees with directions, even when two attendees who were late and constantly calling Kassi’s phone in midst of the tour despite the email instructions not to do so. Learnt a great deal from her about Greenwich and how the area developed over the long years, her knowledge is particularly rich on the infrastructure development side as she talked about almost all the buildings in the area, she has an ocean of first hand Greenwich experience being living in NYC since her early 20s.

Twilight tour of Brooklyn bridge, Brooklyn heights and Dumbo by John Gallagher: John’s has a contagious laugh, friendly and is extremely charming. He shared his wealth of knowledge about how Brooklyn bridge was built by the Irish, about the bridge’s materials, its history and comparison with Manhattan bridge. He was able to handle a large group of around 20-25 people with ease which had a range of aged 10-76 year old folks. His knowledge is particularly rich about Dumbo’s evolving housing prices and Brooklyn heights church and neighborhood history during the time when slavery was still prevalent in USA.

I love the fact that FTBF’s tour guides are all long tenured NYC residents as they are able to share quite specific and intricate facts about buildings and establishments which would be hard to...

Highly recommend these fantastic tours! I took 4 of them during a recent stay in Brooklyn. I went with Onel on the Brooklyn Bridge, DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights tour on a Sunday. Jon was my guide to Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown one day, and on the Food Tour of the Lower East Side on a Saturday. Then Kassi took us through the East Village, Chelsea and the HighLine. All the guides were fantastic, highly knowledgeable, interesting and fun!

Do yourself a favor and see Brooklyn with Onel - nothing like seeing Brooklyn with a proud Brooklynite! Onel, I took the Easter River ferry back up to Greenpoint, it’s the best way to go home! (Go with Onel on Sunday, it’s the best day.) Loved Jon with his color-coordinated hoodies and baseball caps – Jon, I’ll never look at another crazy person in the street again, I’ll only look at you! 😄 Jon takes the best group photos as well, and the food was delicious on the food tour. Kassi, thanks for a lovely stroll around the East Village, Chelsea and Chelsea Market and the HighLine. I can see why you stayed in New York - you’re the quintessential New Yorker! What a fun day it was.

Folks, evidently there’s some movement afoot to push people towards taking paid walking tours. Resist this and sign up with Free Walking Tours by Foot/NYC - you’ll have a wonderful time. Whatever you tip your guide at the end of the tour will be graciously received and well worth whatever you decide to give them. Support this wonderful New York institution - and...

The best way to truly get to know a place is by listening to the people who’ve lived it, those who say hi to their neighbors, who carry the stories, and who can show you how history has shaped every corner. That’s the only way to really respect, learn, and understand the cultures and ethnicities that make up this world.

That’s exactly the kind of experience you get with Tours by Foot. Today, we had the amazing opportunity to learn about Harlem, its history, its evolution, its impact, its importance, and its identity, but what we loved the most was our guide, Lady Altovise. She was incredible. Not only does she know Harlem deeply, but the way she shares it, with passion, charisma, and genuine love, is truly special.

We started at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, with the exhibition 100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity. It was an incredible walk through Harlem’s legacy, its icons, its power, and the stories that shaped a community.

We saw buildings that once were home to important figures in African-American history, each one carrying invisible layers of memory and meaning.

It’s impossible to capture everything in one review, but I’ll say this: walking tours led by locals are one of the most enriching, beautiful, and authentic ways to discover the true soul of a place, its culture, its identity, and its heart.

Looking forward to the...