NYC Guided Tours

If visiting NYC, and taking in all the amazing sites, seems overwhelming, then consider this. NYC Guided Tours can be an excellent way to get an overview of Manhattan, while learning a little something, and also saving your feet! Whether you are interested in food, or unique neighborhoods, there’s a tour that covers it! Movie or TV fan? You guessed it! There’s great tours for seeing all the settings we enjoy on the small and big screens! And New York City History….I’ve got a few recommendations for NYC Group Tours that are pretty darn fantastic!!

Updated May 2021

Y’all know how much I love to visit NYC! And even as frequently as I travel to The Big Apple, I’m always looking for a new way to learn about this amazing city! As i walk down the streets, I often wonder about the history of the buildings I am admiring.

I often find that when I watch a film or a TV series set in Manhattan, and actually filmed there, I’m trying to identify which part of town the actors are in. Bonus if I can find that same spot on my own! And of course, I always want to discoverer great places to eat! And guess what, y’all. There’s NYC Guided Tours that can scratch all those itches!

Movies Filmed in NYC

As you can imagine, Manhattan is a popular location for films and TV Shows, and if you are interested in Movies Filmed in NYC, then look no further than On Location Tours. I recently participated in their Turner Classic Movies Tour, and it was a total BALL! Our tour guide, Jason, was fun and funny, and a literal walking encyclopedia of knowledge regarding hundreds of Turner Classic Movies filmed in NYC.

On Location Tours in NYC

When I took this tour in 2019, it was 80% on a bus, and 20% walking. And while on the bus, not only did we drive by DOZENS of locations for movies filmed in NYC, we also watched the actual CLIPS from the movies, as the bus was equipped with TV screens. I had the BEST time on this tour, and also thought how nice this tour would be for visitors who can’t walk long distances in NYC, or for visitors who have never been in NYC, and want to see a LOT of the city in a short amount of time.

On Location Tours also offers tours themed around the popular TV Show Sex and the City, Gossip Girl, the Sopranos, and “When Harry Met Seinfeld.” Kids (of all ages) will LOVE the Super Heroes Tour of NYC (developed by my guide Jason) as well as Holiday Tours in November and December, a GREAT way to see all the wonderful decorations NYC has to offer, from the comfort of a heated bus!!!!

I loved collaborating with On Location Tours, and all opinions about their tours are completely my own!

UPDATE for May 2021

In May 2021, they are offering dozens of in-person tours, but limited to much smaller groups and at a higher price point, so more along the lines of a privately guided tour. For example, the “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Tour is taken in a 1957 Studebaker, and is is limited to three people.

There is a group walking tour offered for TV and Film sites in Central Park. Sounds great to me! I LOVE Central Park!

The site of one of my favorite movies, “Breakfast at Tiffanys”

Secret Places in NYC

If your idea of a fun afternoon is discovering Secret Places in NYC, then I highly recommend Untapped Cities. Not only is their web site full of great articles and info about NYC, their NYC Guided Tours are fantastic! I recently participated in a tour of Grand Central Terminal. Now, y’all might be surprised by that, since I’ve written about Grand Central before, and spend time there on almost every single trip to Manhattan.

But I could NOT miss the opportunity to get behind-the-scenes! Did you know there’s a tennis court in Grand Central Terminal? And a liquor store, that was once a small screen movie theater? Talk about awesome secret places in NYC!!!! My tour guide, Justin, was just fantastic!

Untapped Cities New York Tours

According to their web site, “We started Untapped Cities not as a business but as a simple idea: to uncover the hidden gems that surround us. We aim to help you rediscover you own city, to see the past, present and future that surrounds you, and to empower you to make an impact on how the city is evolving. We are a team of passionate New Yorkers, always exploring the city.We are dedicated to our mission of discovery, so come back daily to uncover new secret and hidden places, get behind-the-scenes access to the places we cover and meet the incredible people shaping our city.”

From Ellis Island, to the Brooklyn Bridge, to Central Park, there are so many amazing NYC Guided Tours offered by Untapped Cities, I can hardly wait to book my next experience!

UPDATE for May 2021

This fantastic company is up and running and booking tours…even private tours! In fact, I saw a small group on a Subway car when I was visiting NYC in April 2021.

Untapped Cities Tour Guide inside Grand Central Terminal

Untapped Cities Tour Guide, Justin…who was FANTASTIC!

NYC Food Tour

If all that learning and site-seeing leaves you feeling hungry, I suggest another favorite on my list of NYC Group Tours….and that’s a NYC Food Tour! All the details are in this Blog Post. But, the company is called Foods of New York, and I can’t recommend them highly enough.

The Best NYC Tour Tips

When booking a tour, be sure you understand how much walking will be involved, if that is an issue for you! Even bus tours may offer/require a bit of walking, so just be sure and know before you go!
Don’t be afraid to ask questions! A really good tour guide will invite interaction with his or her guests! And, as we all like to say, there are (almost) no stupid questions. So ask away!
Let the Tour Guide be the expert. Even if you know something, or a lot of somethings about your tour, keep your mouth shut. Nothing is more annoying that a tour participant who is a know-it-all. Let the Guide be THE Guide!
Some tours begin and end in different parts of the city, so that’s another good piece of information to gather before you commit.
And…..tip your Guides folks! Good tour guides have spent a LOT of time preparing for your tour, and it’s no small task to be informative, energetic, field questions, monitor the safety of all participants, and stay on a schedule! So tip! I suggest $10, at least!

UPDATE for May 2021

I was BEYOND excited to receive an email from the company owner, announcing that the food tours are resuming in July 2021 and accepting bookings starting in June!!!

Soooooo, here’s the bottom line. Whether you have been to NYC once, or several times, the right NYC Guided Tour can really bring to life so much you never knew!