Mechanical window displays, synchronized light, and sound shows, not to mention Santa Claus and toy soldiers surely await you in this winter wonderland.
Excellent4.9★★★★★ Based on 2238 reviews from review us onNatasha W. ★★★★★ My husband Ryan and I went on the Bushwick walking tour with Mars on the 29th November. Well what can we say! This tour was beyond excellent. Mars’s knowledge of the artists was second to none. This thrilled my husband who is an artist himself. Mars went above and beyond to show us around, but also took my teenage daughter and her friend to the thrift shops. Thank you so much Mars. We’ve told our graffiti mates in England to book you when they go to NYC. 😁Susan L. ★★★★★ We took the food tour with John of the Lower East Side and couldn't eat another thing I was so full. Started the tour with a knish and the incredible history behind that little shop. We then had emanates, gelato, dumplings, cookies, pickles, and bialys. The history behind the food and its evolution over time made the tour even more interesting.Steven T. ★★★★★ We took the Grand Central Tour with John Gallagher as our guide. It was the perfect idea for a rainy Sunday in New York. We'd actually done the tour a few years ago but enjoyed this one just as much. John is a great tour guide and I'd recommend this and indeed, all of the free tours by foot New York tours.Jessica R. ★★★★★ We had an amazing time on our holiday lights tour with John. He was an amazing story teller, showed us sights off the beaten path and unbelievably kept up with 30 of us in VERY crowded areas. We saw beautiful lights, heard great stories and found out some wonderful places to visit after our tour! John loves his job and it shows! He even had our group sing happy birthday to my sister! This was our most favorite thing we did in NYC this trip (next to seeing MJ, but that one is HARD to beat)Jill B. ★★★★★ OMG! The Christmas Lights tour was the best! John Gallagher was a lot of fun and extremely knowledgeable about the city.Seema D. ★★★★★ Great tour! Enjoyed a lot.Leighana C. ★★★★★ John took us on the walking tour of SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown. What a fantastic time we had. He was so very informative and we had a wonderful time. They even sang happy birthday to my son. Don’t miss out on this tour!Aditi P. ★★★★★ Took the Soho tour with John and it was quite simply outstanding. He was so funny and knowledgable, and shared so many pop culture references. We took great snack breaks. The tour starts early to avoid the crowds so be on time and please think to tip.daniel P. ★★★★★ Tour with John for Soho Little Italy Chinatown tour, great knowledge and humor, nice pace, highly recommended.Alisha H. ★★★★★ Great tour! We had so much fun and met some new people. I will definitely be doing a this again.Guy ★★★★★ We've taken several tours during our vacation to NYC, had a great time in all of themMel R. ★★★★★ Take your tour with Jon! The concept of these tours is neat. Our tour guide was enjoyable, knowledgeable and professional. We felt safe the entire time, got to see lots of major sites for the Holiday Lights tour and Jon went the extra mile to make it special by taking pictures, sharing tips and extending himself even after the tour. 10 out of 10 I'd do it again.David P. ★★★★★ Great way to see the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights, the Manhattan skyline and DUMBO. John was a great guide who provided lots of interesting and useful information on both the are covered by the tour and also NYC in general. Highly recommended.Michael M. ★★★★★ The Harlem walking tour was great. Ryan is a living and walking encyclopaedia of cultural knowledge and showed us parts of the city you'd otherwise ignore.Allan B. ★★★★★ Jon was amazing. Very knowledgeable and informative. Good sense of humor! Picked appropriate spot to stop for a quick break!Raluca M ★★★★★ I enjoyed a very nice guided tour of SoHo, Little Italy and ChinaTown with John. He is a great story teller with history facts, true stories and very attentive to the whole group. Thanks a lot!Helen C. ★★★★★ Harlem walking tour was excellent.Lady Altoviese is a wonderful guide with so much history to share, learnt a lot!Toni R. ★★★★★ I love these walking tours! I've been to 4 so far! Everyone is extremely nice and so much to learn! Thanks John G 🙂Gillian B. ★★★★★ What a fabulous find! Thank you John for a wonderful Brooklyn Bridge/DUMBO tour. Will definitely recommend!!Anand K. ★★★★★ Did multiple tours across newyork and loved them all. The hosts are knowledgeable entertaining and give you the right start to your tripBrooklyn - John was an amazing guide with interesting stories narrated in the.most engaging manner.Harlem - Loved tge passion and energy of our host Alta....she mad stories from the past relevant, fun, real and easy to relate to.Alan B. ★★★★★ Fantastic tour with Jon. His knowledge and dry sense of humour made the tour an absolute highlight of our New York trip. Will definitely search him out on our next visitKerry C. ★★★★★ I recently discovered Free Tours by Foot and I have taken 2 tours. I did a food tour of Greenwich Villlage with Mary and my whole family did a tour of Lower Manhattan with Renee. Both tours were very interesting. Mary did a great job incorporating the history with the food. Renee did a great job of basing her tour on the interest of the participants and engaged the kids. My 10 year old son said he loved the Lower Manhattan tour. I also loved the fact that neither tour guide begged for tips. We will definitely look for tours in Other cities we vsist!Markus H. ★★★★★ Many thanks to Renee for an interesting and humorous morning.Tasmin D. ★★★★★ Our Tour Guide John Gallagher was so informative and friendly. I learnt so much about New York City and the history of Brooklyn. The scenery at that time of day was spectacular. John gave great tips on more things to see in the city and good places to eat after the tour had finished. i will be booking another tour with Free Tours by Foot due to this great experience. It was great to have a tour with a local who really knows the city.John M. ★★★★★ Great tour with John Gallagher around Grand Central. Added so much in explaining not just what was there, but why it was there as well as the building’s history. Well worth booking a tour. Also, his twilight Brooklyn tour is just as good!Jamie ★★★★☆ We did the Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown tour with John Gallagher. We enjoyed our tour & learned some interesting facts. John was witty & did his best to engage with everyone on the tour, even though it was large. Our only suggestion would be to eliminate one of the two food stops as we would have preferred to hear more instead of stop & take time out to eat when it wasn't even lunch time (tour is over by 12:15p). The first food stop was also a restroom stop so our suggestion would be to eliminate the second. Otherwise, a fun, enjoyable tour that we would recommend!Eliot M. ★★★★★ Great walking tour of Brooklyn Bridge and parts of Brooklyn, with nice suggestions for more things to do after.Subhasish B. ★★★★★ We did the Greenwich Village food tour which was a fun medley of architectural/historical facts and food stops. I appreciated that I could partake in this experience as a vegetarian.Thais M. ★★★★★ The tour was amazing. Renée was fun and informative.Nick R. ★★★★★ Ron who did the Highline tour was terrific. Very kind and nice man who made a huge effortMichael W. ★★★★★ Thanks to John we got a lot of interesting information about this beautiful place, Grand Central Terminal. The tour of this historic building was very impressive and we also received useful information about our stay in New Yorkmarillok ★★★★★ Robert W. ★★★★★ John Gallagher took us to one of the best Brooklyn bridge sunset photo experiences!! Highly recommendHelene C. ★★★★★ Jon was a great guide and all the food was great. I highly recommend this tour!dayle D. ★★★★★ Our lower east side food tour with Jon yesterday was fantastic! Truly the best tour we have taken anywhere. He's informative, funny, the food stops were delicious and generous. I so appreciated that he used a microphone also. Could hear every word even on the noisy streets. Free tours by foot is a great company. Thank you.Caroline L. ★★★★★ Excellent Brooklyn tour with John Gallagher ! Full of informations, fun and beautiful surprises 🙂 thank you so much !Elisabeth W. ★★★★★ Becky I. ★★★★★ My husband and I have completed many walking tours. The tour of Grand Central Station with John Gallagher was excellant and was one of our favorites. 5 stars from a couple from Philadelphia visitng NYC.Emmanuelle C. ★★★★★ We had a great time and learnt a lot about the history of the city with Jon today, many thanks!karla ★★★★★ We took the Brooklyn bridge twilight tour in April and it was excellent! Our guide Meredith really knew her stuff, told us a lot of interesting facts (especially about the tragic story surrounding the bridge, but also more) and was able to answer most of our questions. Would definitely recommend!We also took the Harlem walking tour with Ryan and I’ve rarely learned that much in such a short time - about the history, culture and architecture of Harlem, but also of NYC as a whole - he really managed to make it all come together. Extremely informative and enjoyable!Rubi S. ★★★★★ Hubby and I took a tour with John Gallagher through SOHO, Little Italy, and Chinatown. John is a fabulous tour guide and provided plenty of history and information about the area with colorful stories and plenty of personality. We love Free Tours by Foot and have taken many not only in NYC but San Francisco, and Boston. We highly recommend them to all our friends. Bring your walking shoes, $5 for delicious fried dumplings, and get ready to enjoy. Tip generously, these guys are worth it.Daniel T. ★★★★★ I always love doing a walking tour in a new city, our Tour of New York (little italy, Soho and china town) did not disappoint! Our tour guide John was super knowledge and funny. I felt that I got a really authentic and unique experience of New York. Would 100% recommendBob L. ★★★★★ My wife and I did the tour of Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy on October 21st with John Gallagher as the tour guide, and enjoyed every minute of it.John was informative and entertaining and we couldn’t have asked for a better guide. I would highly recommend this tour!Tanya S. ★★★★★ A wonderful morning crossing the Brooklyn bridge, touring DUMBO and scaling the Brooklyn Heights! Tour was super informative and lead by the wonderful guide Renee! The information was interesting and relative! Tour flowed well and 3 1/2 hours went in a blink of an eye! One of the best tours we have taken, and not just in NYC! You won’t be disappointed!Rebecca O. ★★★★★ LOVED John's Grand Central Station Tour, it was a highlight of my trip. He was informative, the tour clipped along, we saw some of the other surrounding buildings (which felt like a bonus). He is a true New Yorker and I am so glad we decided to join this tour last minute!Matthew S. ★★★★★ Really enjoyed the Lower East Side food tour with Jon Noto. Super knowledgeable, learnt loads. Highly recommend!Martin W. ★★★★★ Jon does an awesome tour, perfectly mixing sights, history and tastes with a humorous twist. Great value for money. Would happily do it all over againximena A. ★★★★★ Took a tour of grand central station with John and it was great! He was so knowledgeable about everything we were being shown and it was a fun way to see this New York City staple. Will definitely be taking more tours!Cathy S. ★★★★★ I would award more than 5* if I could. We were so happy to be on our 2nd tour with John Gallagher. He was very enjoyable, and while he was a walking encyclopedia of NY knowledge, he was also very entertaining with stories and advice as a New Yorker… and offered suggestions for more sight-seeing that we enjoyed later. We learned so much and look forward to our next tour! Thanks, John!! Spencer groupKIM D. ★★★★★ What a wonderful way to spend a few hours in a part of Manhattan that holds so much history. Jon was our tour guide and was a very seasoned guide- working his mic to accommodate the fluctuating noises of the city (trucks, ambulances, no- mic zones, etc). His knowledge was vast! The history, the stories, the jokes, … all very articulately delivered. Jon is a guy who is born to serve. It is evident that he enjoys his work and enjoys helping people.I would def recommend this tour. Having been to NYC many times, it’s a nice way of filling in some gaps- learning about the stories and history that makes up this great city.Enjoy!
This post explains our pay-what-you-wish Manhattan Christmas Lights Tour.
Use your feet and the NYC subway to visit many memorable light and holiday displays.
It's time to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, and the New Year as Midtown Manhattan lights up like no other place in the world.
Mechanical window displays, synchronized light, and sound shows, not to mention Santa Claus and toy soldiers surely await you in this winter wonderland.
Check them all out on our New York Holiday Lights Tour, a 2-hour festive pay-what-you-like walking tour that you won't forget.
If you prefer to stay warm, there’s also an On Location Tours Holiday Lights & Movie Sites bus tour. Get more information on the bus tour version here.
Where: The tour meets on the stairs of the New York Public Library's Schwartzman Building (map).
When: @7pm Daily, @7:20pm Fridays & Saturdays. Additional time slots will be posted as needed (no tour on New Year's Eve). View our full Calendar
Duration: Approximately 2 hours.
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.
*Please have a Subway Metro card with at least $2.75 for one subway ride.
And much, much more
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