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Lifestyle

New York City bus, boat and walking tours

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  • Guide Joyce Gold is an NYU instructor and guidebook author whose history tours focus on Manhattan and Brooklyn. This two-hour Village walkabout, one of many that Gold offers, presents the essential history, from its early years, when it was a refuge from a yellow fever epidemic, to later decades as an enclave for artists, nonconformists and dissidents. Historic highlights include the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, coffeehouses of the Beat Generation, and background on literary figures including Henry James and Willa Cather. $20, 212-242-5762, joycegoldhistorytours.com

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    Photo Credit: Craig Ruttle
  • Harlem Gospel Tours... Experience Harlem's ongoing Renaissance during this four-hour tour, which shuttles visitors by bus to historic enclaves in Northern Manhattan, such as Sugar Hill and 125th Street, and various classic sights, such as Strivers Row, Duke Ellington's apartment, Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. Cover the neighborhood's history from its origins as a rural Dutch community to an African-American mecca. The tour is capped off with a visit to a Harlem or Bronx church to hear a gospel choir. ..INFO..From $59, 800-660-2166, harlemspirituals.com......The Apollo Theater, on 125th Street in Harlem, is one of the oldest and most famous music halls in the United States.
    Photo Credit: Yana Paskova
  • Fireboat John J. Harvey: This 130-foot firebboat, built in 1931, was among the most powerful ever put in service in 1931, was among the most powerful ever put in service, capable of pumping 18,000 gallons of water a minute from its brass cannons. The vessel was reactivated to pump water for 80 hours on Sept. 11, 2001. Now moored at Pier 66 at 26th Street in Manhattan, the John J. Harvey offers free three-hour tours starting in early May. Tour itineraries are at the discretion of the boat's captain and the weather, though industrial areas such as Gowanus are popular, as is the Statue of Liberty. Trips are free and first-come, first-served. INFO: free, fireboat.org Maggie Xiao 7, of Flushing, Queens rings the bell of the John J. Harvey at the annual Oyster Festival in Oyster Bay on Oct. 18, 2015. By Anthony Lanzilote
    Photo Credit: Anthony Lanzilote

Traveling with a family group has its challenges, for sure. And perhaps there’s no greater one than agreeing on a tour. The kids can’t sit still on a bus. Mom wants to walk. Grandpa can’t go for long. Fortunately, Manhattan, that great hub of multigenerational vacations, offers enough walking, bus and boat tours to make splitting up, or doubling up with compromises, easy to schedule.  Here are a dozen tours worth taking.

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