Lower East Side Experience- 2hrs

A private tour with WeVenture NYC is always a completely custom itinerary, created just for you and your group! A private city walking tour of New York City can be from 2 hours - 10 hours, depending on the destination. While many visitors to New York have specific sites they would like to see, many are happy to let our team create a custom itinerary that fits their interests, budget, mobility, and timeline. Typically, tours spend most of their time in and around the five boroughs of New York City, but we welcome any ideas for your dream tour.

No two groups are alike and we will plan a trip tailored to your group's interests, budget, and needs. Below are some sample itineraries to use as inspiration for your perfect tour:

Highlights Tour:
The skyline and Statue of Liberty of New York have long served as images of hope and promise to those immigrating to America, but few neighborhoods truly capture the stories of an immigrant people and their hard-wrought existence than the densely packed Lower East Side. On this 2-3–hour walking tour, we’ll delve into the stories of Eastern-European Jewish immigrants and understand their struggle to thrive in crowded early 20th century New York City.

Your local guide will show you what life was like in the often-squalid tenement buildings that still stand today. To fully immerse you in the scene, you’ll get to try out delicious foods that were brought here by these first waves of immigrants, from knishes and pickles to bialys and babka. You’ll learn about the origins of these traditional snack foods and the disparate Jewish communities with which they are connected.

Half-Day Tour:
A half-day option (4-6 hours) allows us to really savor the neighborhood’s iconic foods. It also gives us the opportunity to explore a wholly different perspective of the Lower East Side, which has been a haven for speakeasies from the Prohibition era.

If you keep it on the down-low, we’ll sneak into a secret bar for a tasty custom cocktail in a mug as your guide explains how the LES became a hotspot for illegal alcohol during the 1920s. You’ll get to know a thing or two about Prohibition cocktails and the bootlegging scene thriving underground here in New York.

Full-Day Tour:
On a full-day outing (up to 10 hours) with one of our local guides, we’ll have plenty of time to eat, drink, and explore the Lower East Side, with a chance to arrange admission to the Tenements Museum. Here, we’ll get an even deeper appreciation of the identity of the city’s immigrant groups and public policy and urban development during the turn of the century. You’ll see firsthand the interior of an original tenement and get an up-close and personal experience of how people slept, ate, and lived.

A visit to the Williamsburg Bridge will trace the movement of Jewish immigrants to the popular neighborhood of Williamsburg and allow us to explore East River’s past and its bridges as well as the fascinating history and stories of the buildings nearby. For a little escape from the confinement of city buildings, we’ll do as the locals do and enjoy a stroll along the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, a nearly 32-mile-long shared-use path that encircles the island.

After all that walking, you might want to top off your tour with a stiff drink in a cozy speakeasy at your guide’s suggestion: order a Roaring 20s classic or let the mixologist behind the bar whip you up something based on your personal palate!

Inclusions: Local English-speaking guide
Exclusions: Additional food and drink, souvenirs, tips/gratuities for your guide


(215) 399-1287

Duration (tours, trips, experiences, classes): 2hrs
Listing created Aug 29, 2022

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