Christmas In New York: Private Holiday History Tour

Fantastic experience - definitely a great mix of Christmas and History and Dan was a great guy - it felt more like wandering around sightseeing with a very knowledgeable friend more than a guide.

Dan, the tour guide, was so amazing. His approach to presenting New York history and the selection of landmarks were exceptional. I would have never considered visiting the New York Library but it was one of the most enjoyable moments. Dan presented New York history as a story of New York’s legions. He gave us a great New York experience.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and made the tour fun !! I’ve been to NY many times but it was great to hear the history behind it.

Kevin Draper (a noted Historian) of New York Historical Tours is truly a New York treasure! It was such a pleasure to roam the historic streets of New York learning about our ancestors and the forefathers of our nation. From the oldest stone street in New York to an authentic American Revolutionary hangout for General George and his men, it was a glorious experience! Kevin told us stories we will never forget, bringing the history alive! We learned, we laughed, we got amazing photo memories, and Kevin answered all of our endless questions. He is so incredibly knowledgeable. I cannot recommend Kevin Draper’s private tours more. It was undoubtedly the highlight of our time in New York City!

Had a great time learned so much from one tour guide to another well done my friend looking forward to seeing you again perhaps in Philly -Highly recommend you will be amazed thanks Kevin !

Kevin was amazing !! You can tell he’s a New Yorker . Only thing however is it needs more information on this tour regarding what’s “included” and what were actually “doing”. Could of showed me more for the price of $200.

Really, I can’t say enough good things about Kevin Draper and New York Historical Tours. As a NYC native I love deepening my knowledge of my beloved city. Kevin is a real New Yorker with a total zest for the City and for sharing with others what makes New York so special. Having already greatly enjoyed Kevin's on line talks during this past year, it was a real pleasure to take my first in-person tour, The Gilded Age: The Heyday of High Society Tour, and to be with Kevin Draper. On our walk up Fifth Avenue from the Plaza to beyond the Guggenheim Museum, Kevin's knowledge and enthusiasm were real and totally entertaining. I enjoyed this tour and know that Kevin and his company can take your anywhere which is what I expect to do in the coming year.

My (adult) family and I took an exceptional two hour private "gilded age" tour with Kevin yesterday and had the most wonderful time. We have done walking tours when visiting other cities but, as native New Yorkers, had never taken the opportunity to do so here. With my birthday falling in the winter and the pandemic causing us to shy away from indoor activities to celebrate, we determined to do this tour- and it was a wise choice. Kevin led us from the Plaza up Fifth Avenue to 90th Street, providing fascinating information about the period, showing us the mansions that were built and what became of them, and sharing stories about the prominent families of that time. He also alerted us to various public art pieces and events that are held around the city (in non COVID times), as points of interest, unrelated to the subject of the tour. We were all masked and felt totally safe during the tour, with Kevin navigating us away from any crowded spots. I highly recommend this tour company, with Kevin as guide, for a completely enjoyable experience. Whether from out of town, or local, it is well worth it

Best tour I ever did! I did the Highlights of Harlem Tour, our tour guide Kevin was amazing! My friend and I learned so much about the history of Harlem. The second the tour ended, i started telling everyone I knew to do it! During this time (covid), they offer private tours only. The price was good, you can bring up to 6 people, and masks were on the entire time. Our guide, again, was really incredible. He was extremely insightful, and kept my friend and I engaged the entire time. I had to choose any walking tour in new york to do for a class. So honestly, neither of us were expecting this great of an experience. We HIGHLY recommend!

Kevin Draper has to be one of the most informed New York Tour guides. We took this fascinating 2 hour walking tour of Fifth Avenue this morning and were blown away by the quality of the information that Kevin imparted to us. We highly recommend this tour and Kevin.

Went to New York for Christmas and we had an excellent time. More scammers than we encountered on before trips. Careful with the characters in time square they will rip you off, they should be regulated better. Other than that there was a lot of people there and now with permits they allow vendors to sell purses on the streets, loved it....

My visitors from Texas found Mr Draper via TripAdvisor's rave reviews so I booked the tour for the four of us for December 5, 2019. We could not have been more pleased with his expertise and knowledge of the history regarding the Gilded Age. He was the best! We would recommend Mr. Draper to anyone. All of us left there raving about the tour and promising to come back for another one. There was a lot of walking involved and all 4 of us are over 60, but we had no problem at all.

We had heard about Kevin Draper and New York Historical Tours from a good friend in New York. We wanted an interesting and educational morning in New York. Kevin gave us a number of options and we settled on the Alexander Hamilton Tour. It was a wonderful experience! Kevin provided an excellent 2 hour tour. Kevin is an excellent tour guide and an extremely knowledgable historian. He presented complex facts in a clear and a concise manner. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and look forward to having him as a tour guide again the next time we are in New York

Having only a limited number of days in New York to check items off our bucket list, we needed an excellent guide with a plethora of knowledge and enough spare energy to keep us going. I fortunately found New York Historical Tours under the ownership and direction of Kevin Draper, CEO (Chief Experience Officer). My wife and I had used a private tour guide while in Scotland, and had a wonderful one on one experience ~ away from groups and tailored to fit our style of tourism. Kevin was incredibly knowledgable, affable, professional and customized our bucket list to 1) see the Statue of Liberty with pedestal access and the new museum, 2) get a brief but comprehensive history of Ellis Island without disembarking, 3) work our way to Katz’s Delicatessen (we are big “When Harry Met Sally” fans) all the while getting a feel and history of the local neighborhoods, as well as learning how to use the Metro system to develop a nice level of familiarity and comfort in the East Side of Manhattan where we were staying. A standout feature on a tour with Kevin is his attention to detail in planning our time together. I call him the Master of Timing and Positioning. For example he suggested catching the first ferry to the Statue of LIberty. When we met him, he had already purchased our tickets. While on the ferry, he kept us comfortably shaded, then took us to key positions to get the best views of Lady Liberty while giving us an incredibly interesting history of the Statue. By the time we left the island, it was getting swamped with tourists and school groups. Superb timing indeed. On the way to the Metro, he pointed out the very interesting history of Battery Park and surrounding buildings and branch of the Smithsonian museum. We wound our way through Little Italy, Chinatown, Nolita and Jewish neighborhoods on the way to Katz’s. Amazingly the line was short, but a madhouse inside. Kevin knew how to maneuver to the right cutter, get a table and we had a delicious lunch. As we left, the line had grown to over a block long with over an hour wait. Again the Master’s timing was impeccable. He gave us more fascinating history of different areas as we headed back to the Metropolitan Museum where we ended our incredible tour. Our 6 hour private tour went by so quickly, and we were comfortably exhausted. As a historian, Kevin is a walking talking wealth of knowledge about New York, and has tremendous pride in this amazing city. We can enthusiastically recommend him for those seeking the best in personal tours of the Big Apple. In fact, we look forward to using his services on a return trip to New York which can’t come soon enough.

My daughter and I took a fascinating tour of Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers in Lower Manhattan. Our tour was led by Kevin, the co-owner of New York Historical Tours, who is a devoted student of history. He is passionate about the history of New York and he makes it come alive for his listeners. We learned so much more taking a tour with him than we could have ever discovered on our own. He took us inside buildings and behind the scenes. We were so grateful that Kevin was able to accommodate us when our guide took ill the day before our scheduled tour. After learning that I was only in NYC for the weekend, Kevin offered to give us a private tour as we could not reschedule for one of the regular tours. I am looking forward to taking another tour with him when I am next in town visiting my daughter. We are thinking about the Gilded Age tour of the Upper East Side. I highly recommend New York Historical Tours. You won't be disappointed!

In August we met with Kevin for our second historical tour in New York. Last year we embarked on the Alexander Hamilton and Founding Fathers tour and left with a much clearer understanding of the time period as well as the history of New York's beginning as a colony. This summer we decided on the Gilded Age tour and looked at our history from a different perspective, that of the rise to riches and lives of many famous families. Walking along many of the mansions still existing among the high rise buildings near Central Park while discussing the history of the city and the the country led to a different understanding of what we thought we knew of that time period. New York Historical Tours is a wonderful way to see the city outside of theater and get a better understanding of its growth and that of the US. The tours are informational and yet conversational, not a memorized word-by-word account, which allow you the freedom to fully immerse in the experience in a small group or private tour. In the future we will continue to make a New York Historical Tour a part of our annual visit to the city and definitely recommend them to our friends.

We used New York Historical Tours to do a personalized tour of Brooklyn to celebrate my fathers 80th Birthday. Kevin helped us organize by getting a tour bus for 22 people and setting up a route that worked well with my dad's life path through Brooklyn and then into NYC where he went to college. We were a group aged 17 to 80 and there was something interesting for everyone. Kevin and my dad switched back and forth with my dad telling his stories and memories and Kevin filling in the history of the area. I was nervous setting this tour up as I had not worked with them before but it went off so smoothly and best of all it my dad has been telling everyone for the past two weeks what an AMAZING birthday present his children gave him.

Just Incredible. Kevin is extremely well versed in the history of early America and lower Manhattan. During the tour you could see the depth of his knowledge of all of New York City. We look forward to taking a tour of another area of New York City with him.

I'm so enormously glad I arranged to take the Gilded Age tour led by Kevin Draper. He was a knowledgeable and personable guide (I felt comfortable as soon as I met him), and the tour he'd planned was filled with fascinating stops, insights and anecdotes about this larger-than-life period of American history, when the Astors, Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Company ruled New York. Highly recommended -- for newbies and history buffs alike.

Wow!! Our family vacation to NYC was spectacular - thanks in large part to New York Historical Tours! Our guide, Kevin, was phenomenal and somehow managed to captivate the attention of my 3 teenaged kids for a two hour walking tour in the rain!. The only time they reached for their phones was to take a picture (amazing in itself). We took the “Lower Manhattan and Financial District Tour” - opting for the private tour instead of with a group. The cost was actually the same for the five of us as if we had joined a larger group. As far as cost / value...it was worth every penny. Our guide works as a professional historian (and college lecturer) specializing in NYC history so he was able to answer every obscure question we could come up with. I can’t imagine anyone better to lead these amazing tours. We visited significant places in the American Revolution, the founding of our Republic, and details about the founding fathers that we never knew. We will not soon forget the experience and we plan to take another tour with this company every time we come to NYC. In fact, we liked it SO much that we are doing another private tour with Kevin tomorrow morning!! (Secrets of Central Park). Everyone MUST do this when visiting NYC.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour this week of the New York Mansions of the Gilded Age with historian Kevin Draper. We were both keen to learn the social and architectural history of this fascinating period. We saw and learned about buildings, the personalities of the builders and how they function today. Highly recommended!

The best New York has to offer! Don't miss your opportunity to book with New York Historical Tours. Kevin and Jennifer are wonderful! They were so flexible and accommodating in helping us plan our school group tours. Kevin was extremely engaging and personable. Every student and adult absolutely loved all of the history and stories...the time flew by so quickly. I think we could have easily doubled the tour time and it still would not have been enough. I can't say enough good things about New York Historical Tours!

My sister, family friend, and myself come to NYC each year in early January to see the last sightings of the holiday season, see some shows, and museums. This year we thought a walking tour along 5th Ave to experience the Gilded Age influence would be fun. I have to say if you are a history buff from this period, Kevin will not disappoint. He is so interesting in his explanation of the Plaza’s role in transition from solo standing house to apartment living, original owners of the houses, architects, and a general understanding of lifestyles of the period. In addition, the difficulties of women no matter their economic status was made vividly real. I highly recommend this personalized tour and plan to take a new one each year perhaps the jazz age/ speak easy period next time.

On a cold, rainy day in December, my friend and I decided to follow through and do the Gilded Age Tour we had scheduled. What a treat! Kevin Draper of New York Historical Tours is a wonderfully knowledgeable and considerate guide. His knowledge of the Gilded Age seems boundless. The walk up Fifth Avenue from The Plaza Hotel to the Cooper Hewitt Museum was filled with the beautiful sites of the mansions and insider details that made history come alive. As a guide, Kevin is enthusiastic and clearly in love with his subject. He points out the sites, but provides the detailed stories of the people who made the history. An outstanding tour and one I would highly recommend. Barbara Blonsky Mount Laurel, NJ

When we are in New York, my wife and I always seek out a tour that is both informative and entertaining. We scheduled a Gilded Age private tour and were treated to one of the best tours we ever had of New York. Our guide, Kevin Draper, was witty, informative, funny, and had a depth of knowledge that was incredible. Despite living in the New York for several years and actively consuming everything historical, we were blown away by the sites he took us to visit and the stories he told, often in places we had passed by hundreds of times without taking notice. Kevin’s Gilded Age tour took us on a journey through the wealth of earlier New York, touring the opulent mansions built by robber barons and learning about sometimes little-known motivations the wealthy had for leaving a certain legacy for the city. Hearing the stories opened our eyes to the amazing history that is still visible to the seeking observer. Kevin’s tour transported us back to a different time and counts as one of the best and most enjoyable afternoons my wife and I ever had in New York. If you are a history buff or just looking for an amazing experience, I cannot recommend Kevin and New York Historical Tours highly enough. We are definitely booking another tour on our next trip back.

Enjoyed every moment of tour. Kevin our tour guide was so nice, we learned so many things about New York City. I highly recommend this tour!

On a recent trip to NYC, I arranged two historical private tours with Kevin Draper of New York Historical Tours. My best girlfriend of many years and I were in town celebrating a big birthday and Hamilton was one of the activities on our itinerary. Thinking it would be helpful to have the history of Hamilton in NY, I reached out to Kevin and arranged a Founding Fathers Tour & the following day a Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Heights tour. So remarkable! Kevin was a wealth of information, beyond what we could have figured out on our own or even from a book. He is passionate about history and is a city native. We saw Hamilton and then the next morning met up with Kevin at Bowling Green at the tip of lower Manhattan where our tour began. This truly brought the days of Hamilton to life for us - remarkable to walk in the steps of these American Founders. I especially appreciated being able to ask questions and have well-informed answers - it helps me understand so many things. Kevin seemed to thrive on our genuine interest and shared additional sources, suggested venues and even a recommendation for our lunch, once knowing I was a francophile (La District - separate review coming soon). Having travelled extensively through Europe, I have come to appreciate the value of a solid guide. We are able to see more than most people cover in a week. It costs to do this, but it also costs NOT to do this - the knowledge gained and places seen are worth their weight in gold. Given the state of our nation currently, I do find solace in history. Democracy is a struggle. Standing on the steps where George Washington was inaugurated - somehow gives me hope that the side of good and reason is going to win the current struggle. I appreciated talking with Kevin about these things. Yes, Kevin is a tour guide, but I think of him as my personal historian. He is personable, has a great sense of humor and enjoys what he does. I honestly wished that we were staying a few more days so we could take a few more tours. Alas - next time! So grateful we did this - Thank you Kevin!

Four of us spent a most interesting informative and enjoyable time with Kevin who is the founder of New York Historical Tours. We did the Greenwich Village,China Town Little Italy Tour. We met at the City Hall, Kevin briefed us on the founding of New York by the Dutch, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge which led to New York becoming one of the worlds great cities. We learnt how and why New York built up, why so many buildings are five stories. Kevin took us to the setting of Gangs of New York and the influence of the Irish immigrants on the Police, the Fire service and City Hall. On through the streets of Chinatown which then morph into Little Italy. Kevin was very knowledgeable about the "Families". We walked past a particular restaurant and the owner was sitting outside smoking a huge cigar. Kevin has great knowledge of the areas visited. He has a great sense of humour he was always interesting and the two hour walk flew by. It turns out Kevin was one of the leading lights in the retention and development of the High Line. This walk with Kevin was one of the absolute highlights, not just of New York but of our many travels over the last forty years. Not to be missed and ask for whatever walk Kevin is doing!!

Kevin was knowledgable, engaging, informative and made the tour (despite an extremely windy and chilly morning) absolutely worth attending! I am a New Yorker but wanted to know more about the history of the city and so decided to give this tour a shot. Kevin told us soooo many facts that I had no idea of even after having lived in Manhattan for all these years.. this tour is for visitors and locals alike. Go for it I say.

We had another fantastic walking tour with Kevin Draper this week. Kevin has a great way of weaving history with architecture and interesting vignettes of the characters of the gilded age. Even though we grew up in the New York area, we never understood how much the “robber barrons” shaped the city to be the cultural Mecca it is today. We would highly recommend you take this tour!

Kevin (founder and owner) is a historian with an encyclopedic knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, New York City history. We did a combination "lower Manhattan" and "Hamilton" tour with Kevin. Although we have both read a great deal about both subjects, we learned a great deal we didn't know from a passionate and very personable guide. We polan do do other of his tours on our next trip!

We are New Yorkers and were looking for a more in-depth walking tour than the average tourist drive-by. Enter Ken and the Gilded Age walking tour from Plaza hotel up 5th Ave to Cooper Hewitt museum on 90th street. Our guide new intimate details of NYC and those who built it in the 18th and 19th centuries. From Astors to Waldorfs and their mansions, he covered it all. The 2-hour tour ran long because Ken was so engaged in his subject matter. No complaints here! (Caution: not for those looking for hop on, hop off trivia or Trump Tower stops).

A big thanks to Kevin, our tour guide, for making this a most interesting and informative tour. Being a native new yorker, yet not knowing much of the amazing history our city was founded on, made this tour even more fascinating for me!! Kevin was soooo knowledgeable (even about things not specific to the tour). I can't wait to take another tour :) I highly recommend this tour company.

It wasn’t the need to escape a humid, late summer sizzle in Birmingham, Alabama, nor a case of ‘little town blues’ that motivated me and my wife, Cheryl, to travel to New York last week. I needed to see and feel the places where the great industrial barons lived, worked and strutted their successes. A personally guided tour from Kevin was an excellent choice. His knowledge of and passion for this glorious 50-year period in American history practically turned back time as we strolled along Central Park and its side streets near Columbus Circle. Kevin expertly revealed facts and places where a young country was being transformed into a global industrial power – a power fueled by eager immigrants seeking opportunity, and a handful of ambitious risk takers lucky enough to be young and present on this magic island. Walk down these streets around Central Park and see what remains of the homes, offices and grand hotels where aristocratic families reluctantly conceded that working class citizens, through hard work, a belief in self-sufficiency and education, were their equal. Visit the place where The American Dream was created, and was proven it could come true.

My husband and I and our two teenaged boys did the Gilded Age tour on the upper east side recently with Richard. We were excited for this particular tour as it seemed like a natural progression from the Mansions tours we had just done in NewPort RI. Richard did not disappoint! He was incredibly knowledgeable and made direct correlations with modern times to add to the perspective. We saw many beautiful old mansions owned by famous American families and learned about how many of them eventually became Manhattan landmarks. I can not recommend this tour enough. At no point we any of us bored or disinterested. Richard answered all of our questions with eagerness and bottomless knowledge. If you are visiting New York this tour is a must!

Because my husband is disabled and has some mobility issues, Kevin took us on the lower Manhattan tour and gave us two entertaining hours of history and gentle walking with frequent stops. We learned so much about the origins of New York as a financial powerhouse as well as lots of colonial history—with an emphasis on the fascinating contributions of Alexander Hamilton. Traffic made us twenty minutes late to arrive but Kevin insisted we get the two hour tour anyway, always making sure we could keep up, didn’t get overheated, and could hear. He was knowledgeable as well as a gracious host for the city. This was certainly the best money we’ve spent in NYC. If you want a tour, Kevin is your guy.

A very nicely paced walking tour that covered an area from City Hall to Washington Sq Park. Our guide Kevin spoke with great knowledge and interest about the neighbourhoods we visited. He told us stories of 19th C New York that was filled with different immigrant groups all making an impact on the city. I really enjoyed the tour and it opened my eyes to what is beneath the surface.

It was a rainy Saturday late morning when my daughter and I decided to see if we could book a tour to not only keep us indoors, but was informative too. We love history so when we stumble on this tour company, it sounded promising. I called and got Kevin on the phone. We had just missed all the tours for the day. However, he would give us a 2 hour private tour at a very reasonable price. We met him at Grand Central Station. Kevin is so knowledgeable about the history of New York. We learned so much about the rise of Manhattan through these historical buildings. Kevin brought a vast knowledge of the smallest details and their significance to the bigger historical picture. My daughter and I agree we would never been able to see all we saw or learn all this amazing history without Kevin. We highly recommend this tour company and Kevin as your guide. Our next trip to NYC will include a tour with Kevin for sure.

Kevin led four of us on a really interesting and entertaining walk round historic Lower Manhattan. He was passionate about his subject and shared his knowledge with us with enthusiasm, always allowing time for us to comment or ask questions. By the end of the two hours, I think we all felt we’d made a friend. I don’t normally write reviews, but if you only do one thing in New York, make it one of Kevin’s walks. You won’t regret it.

We're fans of the musical Hamilton and have read the book that inspired the play. Nonetheless, we learned more on this tour and gained an appreciation for New York since the first Dutch colonists set foot on Manhattan. Our guide Kevin gave a well paced tour that kept the attention of teenagers and adults alike. Highly recommend this tour company for anyone interested in the history of Manhattan and the footsteps of many of the founding fathers.

New York is our favorite travel destination. We love diversity and the vibrance of this wonderful city. We have taken other walking tours and this is the first time we have used New York Historical Tours. We LOVED it!. It was not booked as a private tour, but we were the only ones that signed up and our tour guide, Kevin gave us a private tour for the same rate. The time flew by as he gave us the narrative of the area we explored. Kevin made us feel very comfortable and answered all our questions. He brought to life the history of the Bowery and Astor Place and also gave us a very good perspective on the state of preservation of historic buildings. He also told us to contact him if we had any additional questions about anything he talked about. It was an immensely enjoyable experience.

Had a great tour through lower Manhattan with a ton of history I never knew. So much fascinating beginnings right here in New York. My tour guide Kevin was just awesome!

The New York Historical Tours is a great tour operation. We are New Yorkers who wanted to learn more about the history of our city. We did the Gilded Age tour with this company and learned so much about the history behind the buildings that we pass all the time. We will never look at 5th Avenue in the same way as before! The tour guide brought to life the major historical figures of the American Industrialization and how their deeds shaped the tax, labor and corporate laws as well as the philanthropy world we have today. Our children (early teens) were completely engrossed.

Great tour! Kevin was extremely knowledgeable, friendly and answered all of our questions. He created a very fun experience for us overall. Highly recommend this for tourists as well as local New Yorkers who want to know more about the history of the city.

My family and I were coming into NYC to see Hamilton and enjoy wonderful dining and sightseeing. We started our trip out perfectly with Kevin and the Founding Fathers Tour. He greeted my 9 year old son and I with a welcome smile and so much knowledge of the days Hamilton, Jefferson, Adams and Washington walked the streets of New York. Kevin you did a wonderful job creating the times of years past and as we sat watching the play the next day I could envision so much of the events and places because of your description and places we visited during our tour. This may have been my first tour with Kevin but for sure it will not be our last - looking forward to learning so much more about this great nation! Don’t hesitate call now to book it or any of his tours!

My twelve year old daughter, 75 year old mother and I took a private Hamilton and Founding Fathers walking tour last week. It was the highlight of our trip to New York. Kevin expertly brought this history alive for each of us and took us to areas of New York City that the average tourist would not think to go. Kevin is versed both in history and the interests of today. He engaged my daughter with her love of Lin Manuel Miranda's musical and also spoke to the adults regarding how the history of the past is influencing the politics of today. This was a fascinating and educational experience for all of us. We highly recommend Kevin to anyone wanting to experience the history of New York City.

We had our tour last Thursday. We were the only 2 persons in the tour so we had a private tour! Our guide was Kevin and he did a really good job! If you're looking for a tour in the Financial District en learn more about New York and th stories about & buildings in New York, book this tour!!

The Gilded Age: They Heyday of High Society tour is….by far….the best tour we have ever taken!!! Kevin, the Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of The New York Historical Tours is an exceptional historian and tour guide. As we walked along Fifth Avenue, Kevin brought to life many of the buildings that people typically walk by unnoticed. He is factual, not opinionated, has a terrific sense of humor….which contributes to “fun learning”. At times, with Kevin’s imageries, you feel as though you have walked through the doors of the mansions during The Gilded Age. He brings the history full circle with descriptions of how the buildings, and their occupants, are put to use today. Without question, you will leave a tour with Kevin, experiencing a slice of The Gilded Age.

Kevin worked with me over the phone and email to create a custom tour for me during my stay in the city. It was an incredible walking history class tailored to my interests. I plan to bring my youngest Hamilton obsessed daughter back so we can do the Founding Fathers Tour together. You won't go wrong with New York Historical Tours.