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Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO Tour

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Brooklyn Bridge, Heights & DUMBO

Spend three hours visiting a great bridge and two great neighborhoods on our Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO Tour.
Schedule: Tuesdays through Sundays
Start Time: 9:30am
Tour Language: English
Duration: 3 Hours

This is a 3-hour tour that begins with a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, an icon of New York City for over 125 years, with spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Free Tours by FootExcellentFree Tours by Foot4.9 Based on 2357 reviews fromSee all reviews review us onMiguel de la OMiguel de la O ★★★★★ Took a tour of Grand Central Station with John and of lower Manhattan with Renee. Learned all about Grand Central, the surrounding area, and the history of NYC. Highly recommend these tours!Celeste F.Celeste F. ★★★★★ John has been a delightful tour guide of New York City.My husband and myself got an amazing time being taught about NYC history, architecture, urbane design, and curious facts. Mister Gallagher was both, a fantastic and engaging storyteller as well as a city savvy.Thanks for all the tips, and for showing around the city you’ve resided for some many years.Big pleasure!Celeste and GustavoTerra R.Terra R. ★★★★★ We have such an amazing tour guide-Garrett-which gave historical insight to the city of New York. I love his enthusiasm and energy. My family and I booked this tour with hopes of learning about particular sites such as the 911 Memorial, China Town and Little Italy, but learned so much more. Being an Army veteran, I was emotional when we went to the 911 memorial because I served in the Operation Iraqi Freedom. He embraced that and gave me a chance to share my story with the group. Garrett kept the tour interesting and loved the red umbrella idea which kept us all from getting lost. We had a great time.Joanna and Glen A.Joanna and Glen A. ★★★★★ We booked a full day NYC walking tour for March break, and were SO thrilled to have had Garrett show us around the city. He was amazing - we loved his personality and depth of insight about NY. He made the tour better than we could ever have imagined! Thank you!Ryan W.Ryan W. ★★★★★ Renee was a fanatic guide, highly recommend taking the Greenwich Village tour!Anne R.Anne R. ★★★★★ Great tour with John in Brooklyn, thank you!shirley E.shirley E. ★★★★★ We came to NYC for my birthday and took the 6hr tour of NY with Garrett. We have taken walking tours all over Europe and I can say that Garrett was among the top tour guides we have had. He was full of wonderful information and stories and gave the tour a wonderful flavor of NYC. He made my birthday extra special. I am so glad that we took the tour with him,Julie C.Julie C. ★★★★★ We did the full day NYC tour with Garrett and he was amazing. The tour is loaded with information and Garrett did a great job of sharing information and adding personal insights. The pace was great and accommodating for the entire group. I highly recommend this tour, especially if you can get an amazing guide like Garrett!Emil A.Emil A. ★★★★★ great soho. little italy and china town tour with John.really funny and nice, and addon bonus we went for 2 good places to eat, one in little italy and the second in china townFiona W.Fiona W. ★★★★★ We had a lovely, almost private tour with only 4 people in the group. John was full of info, with some tasty side notes thrown into the mix too. Highly recommend doing this tour, it's a fun and informative 2 hours of your day.Anthony J.Anthony J. ★★★★★ John was an excellent guide. Very friendly and knowledgeable!Emelia C.Emelia C. ★★★★★ John was absolutely amazing on our Chinatown/ Little Italy/ Soho tour!! There were so many new things that I learned, John makes you appreciate New York City way more than I thought I ever could! My friends and I will 100% be returning and will do a John tour again.Teagan K.Teagan K. ★★★★★ I did a tour with John Gallagher a year and a half ago, and I knew I had to do another one when my friends came with this time! We did the Wall st, 9/11, Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy tour and it was amazing! He is so informative, kind and hilarious. We learned and laughed a lot got to experience the churches and he recommended the best restaurants! I will do a tour with him each time in New York because he makes such an amazing experience!Evan L.Evan L. ★★★★★ Took three tours with FTBF during my time in NYC: East Village food w/Jon, Little Italy/Chinatown food w/Kathleen, and NY in one day with Garrett. All were amazing experiences!Jon's East Village food tour really gives you the local flavor of the area, the portions are small but just enough for a taste of various things. You can also pay a little more for extra samples of things if you'd like. Also, food bought on the tour is a bit cheaper than just walking in off the street, so it's well worth it. Jon has a great way of sharing the history of the area which is engaging.Kathleen's food tour through Chinatown and Little Italy was filled with yummy food and lots of history. This was probably the most detailed tour, as Kathleen provides unique perspective on the area and the history behind each stop. The food was really good and she makes sure everyone is taken care of! What I appreciated about her is how she related the historical pieces to the city as a whole and described where the city is currently which was really interesting to learn about.Garrett's full day NYC tour is not to be missed. The tour has a bit of a feeling of Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka as Garrett brings such high energy, humor, and fun to the day. His great personality enhances the very fascinating history he covers at each stop. Most stops are brief but there is plenty of time to take in the scenery. Especially poignant is his first hand stories about 9/11 and the many stories of heroism and tragedy that day. He'll make you laugh, cry, and truly enjoy the big apple as you tour from Wall St. to Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District. A wonderful tour.One final note, the guides are all really good about not being pushy about what to donate for each tour, but with the high quality of each one these experiences are priceless! Be sure to take care of your guides at the end!Jodie H.Jodie H. ★★★★★ A group of 4 of us did the china town and little italy food tour, it was fantastic. The guide was very knowledgeable and passionate. The food was cheap and delicious, you bought what you wanted from the places you were taken too. The recommendations were perfect, we tried dumplings and pizza, plus much more. Me and my husband and I go back this year, and we are booked on to the east village food tour and Greenwich village food tour.Laurel W.Laurel W. ★★★★★ Absolutely wonderful tour of Grand Central Station!John was extremely knowledgeable and a lot of fun. Thanks!Maja E.Maja E. ★★★★★ I’ve done three tours with this company since moving to New York: Lower East Side food tour with Kathleen, Brooklyn Bridge/Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo with Onel and Soho/Little Italy/Chinatown with John. All have been great experiences with knowledgeable and kind guides who truly love the city! My son (11) joined the food tour and my daughter (12) the two other ones and they loved it as well! Highly recommend!David Y.David Y. ★★★★★ Jon was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommended.Tracey B.Tracey B. ★★★★★ What a wonderful idea. Never used before. But definitely recommend. Great way to gain knowledge of the district you are visiting. At a cost to suit your budget…. As you pay what you feel is appropriateFrank W.Frank W. ★★★★★ John was a great tour guide. We recommend this tour as it was interesting, informative and amusing. We were never bored. We especially loved the delicious dumplings at the end.Sukanya S.Sukanya S. ★★★★★ It was so much fun with John today at the walking tour through SoHo, Liitle Italy and China town. He was wonderful and patient even when I joined the tour group a bit late. He shared incredible stories of Little Italy with us from the past and also showed us several famous restaurants and joints in China town. Would love to take a tour of Brooklyn with him in the near future. Thank you John!Avner S.Avner S. ★★★★★ Fidelma B.Fidelma B. ★★★★★ Thanks to Lady Altovise for a fantastic tour of Harlem's history, music, art and the backdrop to slavery and race history in modern USA. We had a great morning and are richer for it. Also excellent Jamaican Jerk Chicken truck recommendation. Thanks.Samira G.Samira G. ★★★★★ Recomiendo mucho este tour, que fue el de Soho, Little Italy y Chinatown. Fue una gran experiencia porque nuestro guía nos explicó mucho sobre cada uno de los lugares con un montón de detalles, enseñándonos edificios con mucha historia y datos curiosos. Además fue muy amable y habló con cada uno de las personas del tour interesado sobre donde veníamos y haciendolo mucho mas agradable.Muchas gracias a nuestro guía John Joseph Gallagher por los tips y por este grandioso tour.Eric B.Eric B. ★★★★★ We love free tours by foot! We had John for the Grand Central tour, and Kathleen for the Lower East side food tour. Both of them were excellent guides and great people. Warm, funny, interesting storytellers filled with rich info about NYC.Krishna B.Krishna B. ★★★★★ Great tour. John Gallagher was so informative and full of little tidbits on the neighborhoods and his experiences through the years. Highly recommended.Olyvia H.Olyvia H. ★★★★★ We had the absolutely lovely John Gallagher as our guide today, warm, friendly & most importantly full of information & knowledge. He even had us sing happy birthday to my daughter who just turned 18. ❤️ Thank you & thank you for today. Had a really nice timeAlexandra Y.Alexandra Y. ★★★★★ East Village Food Tour with Jon was an incredible experience, 100% would recommend to any other tourists on the fence. Delicious, authentic food from places we never would've found on our own, and incredible storytelling about the neighborhood's history!Marisol S.Marisol S. ★★★★★ A fun and eye-opening tour of Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown. Our guide, John Gallagher, was very informative, full of stories, and truly a great guide. We had a chance to stop and grab a bite to eat in both Little Italy and Chinatown. Great timing as well with the Chinese New Year and having a chance to experience the festivities. Will definitely recommend and look forward to checking out more tours in the near future!Kelen M.Kelen M. ★★★★★ I love the service provided by Free Tours by Foot worldwide and New York is no different. I often take these tours when friends and family are visiting and do not disappoint. The latest one was the GRAND CENTRAL TOUR introduced by John Joseph Gallagher. It was a 2-hour tour around 5 blocks that goes in-depth into the local history of this majestic building and it surroundings. Highly recommend!Benoit D.Benoit D. ★★★★★ Really nice tour, friendly guide, good tips, tricks and stories about NYC.Lucila M.Lucila M. ★★★★★ John our guide was excellent!!! We had a very good time!Greetings from Argentina!Leesa B.Leesa B. ★★★★★ My husband and I went on the Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown this morning! Jon was a FANTASTIC tour guide! Will definitely be recommending this tour as well as Jon to friends.In the afternoon we took the Greenwich food tour Rusty was also led by Jon. Again! FANTASTIC TOUR!! Thank you Jon for an amazing day!Robert W.Robert W. ★★★★★ Did 3 tours with John and Onel. All very different- each had their own style but the common theme was that we’re very informative and fun. Be warned…despite moving the groups along, they all overran slightly in time….so event better value for money 🙂Joanna C.Joanna C. ★★★★★ Great tour of the financial district, Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy! John Gallagher was a brilliant NYC guide and as we were a small group, he went out of his way to add in some extra sights as we had a bit more time. Thanks John!Visnja V.Visnja V. ★★★★★ Great tour, very informative and interesting. Higly suggest!Charlotte A.Charlotte A. ★★★★★ Wonderful, well informed historical tour in Soho with a really friendly guide, John. Would highly recommendJakub G.Jakub G. ★★★★★ I have been touring with this company across many cities but especially here in NYC. All the guides are so insightful, local, extremely kind and funny people that make you see the city in a completely different way.Scott R.Scott R. ★★★★★ Had a great tour this week of Greenwich village! Thanks Renee, she was so knowledgeable and made it lighthearted and interesting, would definitely recommend!Lesley & EmmaRobert W.Robert W. ★★★★★ Have done many fantastic tours of NYC with this crew. They are always incredibly well run and enjoyable. Most recently did the East Village Food Tour with Jon and he was knowledgeable and entertaining host.Levi M.Levi M. ★★★★★ One off the best we had ( grand central)Valentina L.Valentina L. ★★★★★ Ramon N.Ramon N. ★★★★☆ Amazing tour of Harlem with Altovise! She rocks! She provided a well balanced range of information from food to culture, history and music, jumping from the past to the present with a very professional sense of the tour structure. Standing ovation. five stars for her :)Unfortunately we can’t say the same about the Soho-Little Italy tour run by another guide. Not sure she even introduced herself before kicking off. This tour didn’t seem to have a real logic: guide showed us random buildings and telling random stories but we did not really understand much about the district culture nor the history or the people. She was a nice person and her knowledge was wide but she should work more on engaging with guests, making stories more intriguing and designing an itinerary that follows a logic.Thomas D.Thomas D. ★★★★★ GREAT experience. John Gallagher is knowledgeable, very considerate, and very funny.Nancy D.Nancy D. ★★★★★ John was informative and delightful.nelly T.nelly T. ★★★★★ I recommend the Grand central tour with John Gallagher. It was very interesting and Joan was excellentSuzanne H.Suzanne H. ★★★★★ Highly recommend walking tour with John. He was very informative and knowledgeable about the area. Our teens even enjoyed it.Ellora G.Ellora G. ★★★★★ It was an amazing experience doing a food walk during a snowstorm. Jon gave a detailed narrative about the historical background of East Village along with guiding us taste diverse food samplings. Fun and informative.Tarek S.Tarek S. ★★★★★ One of the best walking tours we ever had. John Gallagher is a wonderful and extremely knowledgeable guide!Martina B.Martina B. ★★★★★ Jon was fantastic in our tour through SoHo, little Italy and Chinatown!js_loader

For our full tour calendar, click here.

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TOUR DESCRIPTION

The tour then moves on to a stroll of Brooklyn Heights, America’s and New York City’s first suburb.  

The tour then explores the neighborhood DUMBO before ending at the Fulton Ferry landing.


Brooklyn Bridge

The tour begins at the fountain inside City Hall Park in Manhattan. It’s a full mile (1.6 km) across the bridge.

But, we will be making plenty of stops to talk about the history and design of the bridge and to have the opportunity to capture scenic photographs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New York Harbor.

Check out our self-guided Brooklyn Bridge walk (also available as a GPS-led audio tour) to get a better idea of what you will experience.


Before you read our top ten, consider listening to an episode of our NYC Travel Tips podcast that covers the Brooklyn Bridge.

This podcast offers bite-sized audio clips with tips on how to plan your trip to NYC. You can get our podcast wherever you get your podcasts.


Brooklyn Heights

The bridge lets out in Brooklyn’s finest residential neighborhoods, filled with interesting people and architecture.

Nicknamed America’s first suburb, Brooklyn Heights will certainly amaze.

Learn about George Washington’s doomed stand against British marines and walk past the homes of Truman Capote, Arthur Miller, and Norman Mailer.

Last but not least, we will visit the promenade for arguably the best views of Manhattan and New York Harbor.


DUMBO

From the promenade, we will walk down to the ferry landing area and explore a small part of DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

Once a manufacturing and industrial district, economic change sapped the area of its economic strength, leaving large and vacant factory lofts as attractive destinations for artists starving for large and affordable living space.

The neighborhood's unique urban landscape is partially the result of being below two bridges, an interesting sight to see.

Learn more about this neighborhood with our self-guided tour of DUMBO (also available as a GPS-led audio tour).

This tour finishes near the Fulton Ferry Landing in DUMBO, where you could take the East River Ferry to Lower Manhattan.


TOUR INFORMATION

Reservations: REQUIRED. Click here to reserve. Groups of 5 or more traveling together should visit our groups' page.

New York in One Day Meeting Point

Duration: Approximately 3 hours. Tour distance is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km).

BOOKING NOTES:

  • You will not have time to do this 3 hour morning tour and an afternoon tour at 1pm.
  • You will have very limited time to do this 3 hour morning tour and an afternoon tour at 2 pm - it will require no sit-down lunch and immediate travel from one tour to the other.
  • This tour route uses stairs. Please notify your guide if you cannot use stairs so the guide can plan a reroute to accommodate your needs.
  • This tour covers Brooklyn Heights so you do not need to book that tour as well!

Start point: Tour begins from the fountain in the center of City Hall Park (map).

Endpoint: Tour ends near the Fulton Ferry Landing in Brooklyn.

When: @9:30am Tuesdays through Sundays. View Our Full Calendar.

*See additional planning section below for future potential seasonal scheduling.

Cost: This tour is free to take, and you get to decide what, if anything, the tour was worth when it's done. A name-your-own-price tour is a tour for anyone's budget.

Languages: Public tour is in English or Spanish only (see our Spanish tour page for calendar). Private tours for individual groups are also available in both languages upon request.

Save even more money with a tourist discount pass as well as with our tips on busboat and food tours. We also have a free app where you could download several GPS audio versions of our tours.

Additional planning information: You will NOT have time to do this 3 hour morning tour and an afternoon tour at 1 pm. You will have very limited time to take this 3 hour morning tour and an afternoon tour at 2 pm.

It will require no sit-down lunch and immediate travel from one tour to the other.

Tours go out rain, snow or shine. Dress appropriately for the weather. 


GPS-LED AUDIO TOUR

Take this tour in our GPS-led audio tour app. It's actually 3 separate tours. Listen to the samples.

Sample of our Brooklyn Bridge Tour

Sample of our Brooklyn Heights Tour

Sample of our DUMBO Tour.

You'll need to download our free audio tour app. Downloads are only $1.99. Some tours are free.


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Here is how it works:

  1. Book a tour on our booking page above.
  2. Receive a confirmation email with all the details.
  3. Enjoy the tour(s).

Available Tours:

  • Central Park
  • Lower Manhattan
  • 9/11 Memorial and World Trade Center
  • The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
  • Greenwich Village
  • Food Tour of Greenwich Village
  • SoHo
  • The Brooklyn Bridge (in English, Spanish, and German)
  • Brooklyn Heights
  • DUMBO
  • The High Line
  • Midtown Manhattan
  • Grand Central Terminal
  • Harlem

Available Without Audio (full text):

  • Times Square

RELATED POSTS:

And much, much more

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