How Does Marilyn Get To Know A Place? Walking Tours.

By Marilyn Machlowitz

A guided group walking tour is, for me, a great way to gain an understanding of or an orientation to a new place. In 2025 alone, I’ve enjoyed such tours in Buenos Aires, Valencia, Bilbao, Boston and even my hometown, NYC.

What are walking tours like?

• Each tour lasts 90 minutes to 2 hours. (Food tours may be longer to allow for eating). They start promptly so arrive a few minutes ahead of the stated start time.
• All meet at a convenient spot, such as at a landmark or outside a subway station.
• Groups may be as small as 5 or as large as 35, although smaller is generally better. (For larger groups, guides may have devices to amplify their voices.)
• Prices range from $15 to $85 and some walkers tip on top of the fee. (So-called “free walking tours” actually expect tips of about $20 per person.)
• Cancellation policies, accessibility and “how to spot your guide” are spelled out on the websites. Learn online, too, whether an advance reservation or payment is required.
• Interaction is possible (unlike on an audio tour) and questions are encouraged and tour guides are great sources of recommendations for restaurants.
• If you prefer not to engage, that’s possible, too, unlike on a private tour.
• The guide is guaranteed to show you something you wouldn’t have found on your own and something beyond the obvious attractions.

Whether you live in NYC, like me, or want to visit, here are my hand-picked recommendations for my city:

Architecture Tours:

• The Municipal Arts Society takes the prize here. Expert guides tackle parts of town (say, Midtown), architectural styles (perhaps, Art Deco) or both (Art Deco in Midtown).
• Public Art Tours: Tours by Foot has offered two tours I really enjoyed: one on Street Art in Brooklyn, which was led by an artist, and another on Public Art in the Subways. On the latter, we paid one subway fare and traveled by train, seeing such works as Sculptor Tom Otterness’s cartoon-like figures at the 14th Street and Eighth Avenue station, and mosaic murals made from photographer William Wegman’s photos of his Weimaraner dogs dressed as humans at the station at 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue.

Cultural Institution Tours:

Keep your eyes on museum websites to learn about any offered: I enjoyed several presented by New York Historical and International Center of Photography.

• One that is offered regularly is Building on the Lower East Side, led by Tenement Museum educators. This walk provided an update on the neighborhood described by the museum’s better known apartment tours.
• Do not miss the High Line’s free docent-led tour From Freight to Flowers, offered three times per week, limited to the first 20 people who show up.

Historical Tours:

• I still have to take one presented by Big Onion Walking Tours. Each one covers a section of the city (such as, Historic Harlem) or an aspect of the city’s history (for instance, Social Justice in Greenwich Village). Best of all, these tours are led by Ph.D. students in history. Indeed, noted professors–and even Annie Polland, president of the Tenement Museum–once worked as Big Onion Tour guides.

Food Tours:

• Queens, New York may be the most diverse community in the world, and Eat Your World Tours makes the most of the variety in Jackson Heights, Queens. Our small group sampled Indian, Nepalese, Tibetan and Mexican food from both restaurants and food trucks. The leader was happy to adapt samples for vegetarians.
• Although I haven’t taken one yet, Culinary Backstreets offers longer and more expensive tours of other fascinating Queens neighborhoods, such as Flushing.
• The aforementioned Tours by Foot hosts tours of Manhattan neighborhoods that offer pizza, pickles, bagels, knishes or dumplings.
• Turnstile Tours teaches about the challenges facing street vendors–while you sample their wares.

Bonus tip: If you ever hear of a tour led by Andrew Dolkart, run, don’t walk, to sign up. He is a Columbia University professor of historic preservation who has led the walking tours I’ve enjoyed the most. I’ll never forget one focused on the industrial history that can be seen from The High Line.

You will doubtless discover more group walking tours in New York City or wherever you roam! Please add your favorites to the Lustre List.

Marilyn Machlowitz loves to learn about wherever she is.