Discover Lower Manhattan Walking Tour
Description
Discover where New York City began on a walking tour through the historic heart of Lower Manhattan. This 90-minute experience explores the Financial District, where centuries of commerce and government shaped the city. Begin at City Hall Park, surrounded by some of New York’s earliest institutions. From there, your guide traces Lower Manhattan’s evolution from a Dutch trading post to the financial capital of the world. We continue through the Financial District, walking along Wall Street and learning how early markets operated before skyscrapers defined the skyline. Along the way, we explore the Stone Street Historic District, one of the oldest surviving streets in New York. We discuss landmarks such as Federal Hall and Trinity Church, including the final resting place of Alexander Hamilton, and their role in the city’s early history. Near the World Trade Center area, your guide explains how this part of Lower Manhattan was rebuilt after September 11.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building is the oldest city hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as the office of the Mayor of New York City and the chambers of the New York City Council.
The Woolworth Building is an early American skyscraper designed by architect Cass Gilbert.. It was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930, with a height of 792 feet.
When it first opened in 1766 as an outreach chapel of Trinity Church to better serve its expanding congregation, St. Paul’s was a “chapel-of-ease” for those who did not want to walk a few blocks south along unpaved streets to Trinity. A decade later, the Great Fire of 1776 destroyed the first Trinity Church, but St. Paul’s survived, thanks to a bucket brigade dousing the building with water. Until the second Trinity Church was rebuilt in 1790, many, including George Washington, made St. Paul’s their church home. On April 30, 1789, after Washington took the oath of office to become the first President of the United States, he made his way from Federal Hall on Wall Street to St. Paul’s Chapel, where he attended services. -trinitywallstreet.org
Stretch of Broadway in Lower Manhattan with over 200 black granite plaques that commemorate and list every single ticker tape parade in New York City history.
Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City.
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, the American financial services industry, New York–based financial interests, or the Financial District itself.
Stone Street is one of New York's oldest streets, incorporating two 17th-century roads in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. In 1658 it became the first cobbled street in New Amsterdam. Following the British conquest of the colony, the street was called Duke Street before being renamed Stone Street, for its cobblestone paving, in 1794.
Fraunces Tavern is a museum and restaurant in New York City, situated at 54 Pearl Street at the corner of Broad Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The location played a prominent role in history before, during, and after the American Revolution. At various points in its history, Fraunces Tavern served as a headquarters for George Washington, a venue for peace negotiations with the British, and housing federal offices in the Early Republic
Bowling Green is a small public park in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City, at the southern end of Broadway. Located next to the site of the original Dutch fort of New Amsterdam, it served as a public place before being designated as a park in 1733. It is the oldest public park in New York City and is surrounded by its original 18th-century fence. It included an actual bowling green and an equestrian statue of King George III prior to the American Revolutionary War.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(11)
We took the « Discover the Birthplace of NYC » walking tour with Dave and it was spectacular. He was very knowledgeable and toured us around the most historical areas of New Amsterdam/New York City. He had old photos of some of the areas we visited to provide perspective of the times. A great tour for people interested in history and and opportunity to see some of the few remaining sites of the original settlement.
What a wonderful tour! Annabel was very knowledgeable and gave a fantastic tour which included many unique views and awesome historic facts. We enjoyed ourselves very much and would highly recommend this tour to anyone interested in learning more about New York City.
We had an amazing time on this tour. Annabel was so pleasant and told us so many stories. She asked us our interests and tailored the tour to fit what we wanted to see. I would highly recommend this tour. Annabel has lived in Manhattan most of her life and she knows so much about the history of the area. You could tell she loves Manhattan and is enthusiastic about sharing all of the wonderful things about the history of this incredible place.
So fascinating, very engaging history at every turn. So so so worth it! Answered all of our questions and supplemented our interests with further information and stories. Could not recommend more!
We had a wonderful walking tour of the financial district and lower Manhattan. Our tour guide, Annabel, grew up, lives, and works on the neighborhoods we toured. She was very knowledgeable about the Native American and pre-revolutionary history of Manhattan, and she told the story of the development of NYC over time with details about governance, commerce, and architecture. We very much enjoyed our tour and will do other walking tours in the future.
We did the Historic Downtown tour with Nicky and couldn't recommend it more. It was exactly what we expected: a journey across historical facts that, ultimately and somewhat unexpectedly, gave birth to the feat of human endeavor that New York is. However, the tour had itself room for the unexpected. As Nicky was intertwining it with some of his own life experiences in those settings, and with his own interpretation of New York, we started to realize that the city is beyond an amalgam of skyscrapers and hectic roads. Beyond as well the distant and glamorous place portrayed in the good old movies. Beyond, even more so, the neuralgic center of the free world. New York is, above all that, the home of the childhood memories for its people, like Nicky. We couldn't thank him more for sharing that piece of himself with us.
Jake was an amazing tour guide. Super knowledgable, flexible to our requests, and very entertaining! Highly recommend a tour with Manhattan Walking Tour, which was very easy to work with and catered to exactly what we were looking for!
Awesome private tour with Claire on August 18. Explored Greenwich village and then lower Manhattan. Claire had great energy and very knowledgeable about the areas we visited. Had great pizza at Bleeker street pizza and cannolis at Rocco’s. Highly recommend
Our tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. It was a good walking tour of lower Manhattan, lasting about an hour and a half. I'm a native New Yorker, but I still learned some things. Well done.
We had a great tour with Jonathan, knows a lot about Wall Street, history and was very enthusiastic.
