Bowery Boys' Gilded Age Mansions Of 5th Avenue Walking Tour

The experience was outstanding. With a small group of four plus the tour guide Aaron (so sorry if I don't have the exact name /spelling) it was informative, interesting and fun. Our guide clearly was knowledgeable who knew "his stuff" and presented it in a comprehensive and entertaining manner. He did an admirable job looking after the group's safety and personal requests, but I didn't appreciate that after a time we avoided shady sides of streets necessitating me to rush across streets to get more complete, overall views of the mansions being discussed. (This was at the request of someone in the group.)

Walking is all flat, quite manageable. Our guide, Emma, was first rate. Very educated in architecture and history of the area. We learned a lot and now have a much better background as we explore the city.

If you think you know New York City, sign up for this walk. Led by an engaging and deeply knowledgeable guide, this two-hour stroll along Fifth Avenue feels like stepping straight into the pages of a 19th-century history book—minus the corsets and the cold winter soot. What makes the Bowery Boys Walks special isn't just staring at the limestone facades (though the architecture is breathtaking); it’s the storytelling. The guide doesn't just rattle off dates or dry lists of tycoons. Instead, they weave together the wild ambitions, the family rivalries, the dramatic scandals, and the labor behind the glittering titans who built these monuments. Pausing outside architectural marvels like the Payne Whitney House and the Harry F. Sinclair House, you get a real sense of what Manhattan’s "Upper Ten" looked like when horse-drawn carriages crowded the block. The pacing is easy, the group size keeps it intimate, and you can hear the guide clearly the whole way. Even as a seasoned New Yorker, I walked away with a totally new perspective on the pavement I cross every day. Well worth the time and money—book it!

As fans of The Gilded Age show, we booked this tour to see the mansions, and had a great experience. Our tour guide provided lots of information and the pacing was perfect. We enjoyed it and are happy that we took the tour.

Is absolutely wonderful, knowledgeable and a great personality. The Tour took us down Park Avenue with frequent stops and opportunities to go inside of two very important mansions. Loved it.

Our tour guide was deeply knowledgeable about each of the mansions, their owners, and their families on this guided tour. It opened my eyes to just how must history sits right in our back yard. This was money and time well spent and we plan to do others with them as well. Give it a try, you won't regret it!

Emma was a wonderful tour guide very informative and great visual aides to help tell the story. Highly recommend

Three generations of our family got a huge kick out of the Gilded Mansions Tour. Billy, our guide, was fun-loving, smart, humorous, and a wellspring of details and fun facts regarding the Guilded Age mansions, architecture, artifacts and personalities. He is also well acquainted with the HBO show; so if you’re a fan…don’t miss this! My college-age grandson does not follow the show, and still had a blast. And this all happened on a beautiful NewYork rainy afternoon. (Smiley Face Icon)

We had an excellent guide on a beautiful fall day. Emma was very knowledgeable and professional. Would definitely recommend her and this tour.

This tour is not so much about the houses as the people who owned and lived in them. Lots of entertaining, somewhat gossipy stories about the eccentric rich of the Gilded Age. All the mechanical/administrative aspects of the tour were great, and the guide was knowledgeable and personable.

I have been on many walking tours but The Bowery Boys is the best! It was rainy and windy, but, our guide, Jason, made it fun and interesting with the depth of his knowledge, while doing his best to keep us out of the rain. I could tell that the information was accurate and true (and other tours don't always do that!) Everyone stayed for the entire tour, and we were so happy we did. I can't wait for the next one!

This is the second tour we have done with the Bowery Boys and it was well worth the time. The tour was outstanding. We learned a great deal and our tour guide is very knowledgeable and told great stories about the people related to these mansions as well as the architects who designed them. It was well worth our time. Thank you for this great experience!

Very knowledgeable guide. Great historic old photographs while looking at current buildings. Time flew

My husband and I had a phenomenal time on our Gilded Age Mansions tour on the Upper East side — fun, informative, and engaging. I got the tickets as an anniversary gift for my husband who is an avid reader of NYC history and even he learned so much. Our tour guide William Shaffer was absolutely wonderful and so knowledgeable — we made about a dozen stops in the two hours and it felt like a bargain for the $50 cost/person. Highly recommend for anyone with even a slight interest in city history and definitely for any watched of The Gilded Age!

Bill did an amazing job relating what was going on in the city with what was going on with these homes of the gilded age. So much history that you just walk by without even noticing unless Bill explains the who, what and where of the building. My husband doesn’t watch The Gilded Age” but he really enjoyed the tour. We highly recommend!

This is one of the most fun tours I have ever been on. Amy, our well informed an animated tour leader, knew all the good gossip behind the building of the beautiful Fifth Avenue Gilded Age hotels. She had just the right mix of history and behind the scene stories, and very knowledgeably answered our questions. There was a good pace between walking and sitting time and the two hours flew by. Highly recommend!

Great small group tour of the outsides of several remaining Gilded Age mansions on and just off 5th Ave, plus one interior. Guide was super well informed and had a pleasant, authentic communication style, plus was easy to hear! $50 cost was a little higher than my usual budget, but I've been to NYC many, many times and was looking for an activity I hadn't previously done before. Perfect pairing with a visit to the Frick, Met, Guggenheim, Cooper Hewitt or Neue Gallerie. About 2 miles of walking in total, no hills and lots of shade if it's a hot day.

Absolutely fantastic walking tour. Guide is interesting, informative and engaging. I’ve taken several walking tours in NYC, and this is my favorite.

Best walking tour in the city. Guide is fantastic. Fun and knowledgeable. Look forward to doing another tour on my next trip!

I highly recommend this tour for anyone who is interested in learning about the architectural, financial, and urban development of NYC. My tour guide, Aaron, presented the material in a very engaging manner, and with interesting anecdotes. The walk along 5th Avenue is beautiful. I can't imagine a better way to spend a few hours learning about NYC and the industrial and financial titans who provided much of the foundation of the city.

We enjoyed this tour and learned a lot. Well paced and informative. We had 7 on our tour, so it was easy to hear the guide and ask questions. Appreciated the history and architectural focus. Wonderful introduction to Gilded Age mansions in NYC.

It is a very good introduction to the mansions. Your guide was friendly and very knowledgeable. It was a fun adventure .

Despite the heat, Emma, walked us around the upper east side, keeping our small group in the shade. Kudos for that! Emma's expansive art history knowledge was very apparent and appreciated; she provided so much detail, but in a way that was NOT overwhelming. Thoroughly enjoyed learning about history, facts about various buildings, etc. Completely lovely 2 hour tour...I would book again with Bowery Boys!

Our guide, Emma, was EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the Gilded Age and presented the information in such a way that it was not overwhelming; it was easy to understand and digest. Now, remembering it all will be the challenge! Her pace was perfect, kept us in the shade which was appreciated, and answered any questions that came up. LOVED IT and highly recommend over other Gilded Age tours I have been on. Looking forward to taking another tour with Emma in the future.

It was a great tour. Billy did a great job weaving a narrative of architecture, gilded age history and culture on our walk. Highly recommend!

Highly experienced tour guide who shared good insights on the Guilded Age Era and the relevance of the historical buildings remaining.

Excellent tour! Love this age and architecture. Our guide, Amy, was very knowledgeable and informative. She kept it light and thoroughly enjoyable! Highly recommend.

Our son lives in the Upper East Side, so we thought, "why not". We both loved this tour. Him because it's his neighborhood, me because I love period shows and this links back to the Guilded Age. So much fun, not too much walking (for NYC standards) and our guide was amazing.

Emma was an amazing guide - so filled with information about the history and the architecture. I thought I knew a lot about the time period but I learned so much! The pace was just right too - not so fast that I felt like we were breezing by things and not so slow that it got draggy.

A very pleasant and very informative walk - our guide, Emma, provided insightful and expert-level information.

Aaron was a wonderful guide. He gave us lots of relevant information, answered all of our questions, and made our walking tour fun and educational. His enthusiasm was infectious. Highly recommend!!

This is a must-see tour of a time when rich people flaunted their wealth but also gave back—unlike the uber-rich of today. The tour guide, Bill, was fantastic. He knew the history and was passionate about the subject. Don’t miss this fascinating peek into the world of the Gilded Age.

Emma was knowledgeable and interesting. She gave us a good overview of the Gilded Age, and played to us who are fans of the show. It’s no joke to lead a group of people through NYC, and she did that well. She often relied on photos she carries in a binder, which is fine, but she showed them so briefly it was hard to register what we were seeing. This is a tour for people who are interested in an overview of the architecture and figures of the Gilded Age.

We had an excellent guide. It was a rainy day and there were only 4 of us who ventured out but our guide was very solicitous of the weather and tried to find areas where we would be protected. He gave us such interesting information about all the places we saw and had lots of great stories to tell. It was a living history lesson done in a totally relatable way. We loved every minute of it and felt it was a good thing it rained and we had such a small group, which made it a much more intimate experience. This is a super tour for anyone who has done the more touristy things in NYC and wants to learn more about the city as it grew into one of the most important cultural and dina dial centers of the world. We learned about the people who made it such - the old money and the new money. Fascinating!!. Highly recommend it.

Good way to learn about NYC. Lots of great historical info. I think you get a better understanding of NYC culture and how it came to be. Just a reminder it’s 2hrs long.

Emma is so professional and knowledgeable about these structures and the area. I learned so much history in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. I throughly enjoyed the experience and have already booked another Bowery Boys Walk!

Our Tour Guide Emma gave a wonderfully informed and impressively smooth presentation. Perfect for Gilded Age fans. We learned a lot.

We did the gilded age tour with Emma and it was amazing. So much walking, so much interesting history, beautiful architecture. I gained a new appreciation for living in New York. Emma is lovely!

Aaron gave us lots of background including photos of when the mansions were built . He was knowledgeable and personable

As a NYer i found Ester’s walking tour to be well curated and insightful. I learned so much about NY from 1800s-1960s. I highly rec

I took the Bowery Boys Gilded Age walking tour yesterday with my mom, and it was absolutely fantastic. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and clearly deeply passionate about the subject matter, which made the experience so engaging from start to finish. The pacing was perfect—not rushed, but never dragging—and the way the tour was structured really told a cohesive, compelling story of the Gilded Age. I walked away not only having learned a ton, but also feeling genuinely more interested in NYC’s architectural history. It was such a memorable experience, and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for something both informative and enjoyable to do in the city.

Aaron was thorough in his Gilded Age knowledge and made the walking tour enjoyable. And this past Friday afternoon had fabulous weather.

An educational and enjoyable tour through the grandeur of NYC 5th avenue as it was during the gilded age. Our guide provided may facts and details as we walked “millionaire row”.

The Gilded Age Mansions of Fifth Avenue tour was excellent! Our guide was very knowledgeable and added interesting stories about the buildings and the occupants. There was a lot to see and he he kept us moving and motivated to see the next beautiful building.

This was my second tour with Bowery Boys Walks and I can't recommend them enough. Our guide was informative and this was a fun way to see the city. Would highly recommend.

It was a wonderful experience to share with my adult daughter. We are both big fans of the Gilded Age, not necessarily the tv show, but the age itself. The guide, Krichor(sp?) was so knowledgeable and quite eloquent in his delivery. Loved his pictures and background stories. Really good energy and very consciousnesses of keeping an eye on the group. Highly recommend the tour and the guide.

I did the Gilded Age Mansions of Fifth Avenue Walking Tour by Emma and it was amazing! Emma was great, knew her material, and provided great insight into the buildings, history and the Gilded Age. I highly recommend this tour. I've been listening to the Bowery Boys podcasts for several years so finally getting to participate in a walking tour was awesome. Can't wait for my next trip back to New York so I can do more of them. What a great way to visit the city!

Wow! Fab tour. Very interesting and informative. Guide was great.

Our guide, whose name I unfortunately didn't catch, was excellent. He concentrated on interesting facts about the mansions, as well as the families' histories who lived in them. I have lived in NYC for forty years and learned more on this tour than from any other experience or class or tour.