- Tours›
- Highlights
The Best of New York Sights in a Day
Joined 2021
My tour will be the sampler of the best of New York City in one day. I will guide us through the best-of-the-best with lots of photo ops included.
I will also include pop-culture moments you will likely know-and-love from TV-and-movies like Friends, Enchanted, Spider-Man, King-Kong, I Am Legend, Ghostbusters, James and the Giant Peach, Godzilla, SATC, and many more...
I can also be flexible and, where possible, add a destination - provided it does not require waiting in a long queue.
Itinerary
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
Your hotel lobby.
Your hotel if you need guidance, or Battery Park if you can navigate there an earlier start.
I will be happy to meet you in your hotel lobby and bring you to our first destination - or we can meet there if you can find your way.
Depending on the circumstances, we shall endeavour to be at the starting point around 9:00 am.
Then we will traverse Battery Park in sight of the Statue of Liberty.
We will take in one of the most famous views in the world, looking at the Lady of the Harbor and many historic islands.
(Times are approximate and are subject to several factors, including high interest of other tourists)
Elevated Acre/The Brooklyn Bridge
After turning the clock back 400 years, we will then walk by the first and largest financial district in the US, and take in a stunning view of the East River and the one-and-only Brooklyn Bridge.
Site of the World Trade Center
This will be the location where the Twin Towers once stood. We will have a peaceful moment and learn the history of the space.
Greenwich Village/Washington Square Park
This will be the "Pretty Part" of the tour. Come visit the well-tended neighborhood that knows how to par-tay. The little streets are perfect for pop-culture, with poetry, music, dance, and theater all well-represented. There are also many notable TV-and-movie locations, like the "Friends" House and more.
Little Island/The High Line
These are 21st-Century innovations in New York. The best views are always from higher-up and these vistas are no exception.
Taste the modern in the place of the antiquated. This is the locale of much shipping history, including historical ties to the most famous shipwreck in the world.
Lunch
We have a place available in an elevated area with peaceful outdoor seating, ideal for fair weather, acceptable in poor weather.
Herald Square/Macy's/Empire State Building
After a lunch of optional but reasonable duration, we will head to Herald Square: A marvelous urban oasis between Macy's; the Largest Department Store in the World, and the Empire State Building; the Tallest Building in the World for Over 40 Years.
Times Square
Following a stroll up the world-famous Broadway, we will plant ourselves in the center of the Crossroads of the World: Times Square.
If you'd like to get a family-friendly photo with Pikachu, Spider-Man, etc... So be it.
Central Park
Central Park is the crown-jewel of Manhattan. Truly, the perfect location for the last stop.
This will be the end of the tour and the beginning of your options. After a time of your choosing, you may continue the tour, I can guide you to your hotel, or you can strike out on your own. Whatever YOU like.
Ending Point
Central Park
Want to personalize this tour?
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Guide fee
Transportation fees are *not* included in the tour price and would be paid in cash on the day of the tour IF needed. Group metrocards are being phased out in lieu of the far-easier contactless payment that guests can typically cover with their own phones.
This will be $11.60 (4 rides x $2.90).
Lunch.
Tour Important Information
• There will be breaks for sitting-and-eating but bring comfortable walking shoes.
• Be prepared for the weather by considering water, hats, etc...
• There will be walking but there will also be riding public transport which means mixing with the locals.
Little-or-no availability in early-mid April and Christmas.
Important message from the supplier
Fair weather is generally recommended but poorer weather works for less crowds.
Cancellation Policy
- Free cancellation - 8 days prior to meeting time
- 50% Refund - 3 to 7 days prior to meeting time
- No Refund - Within 2 day(s) prior to meeting time
Joined 2021
About Tour Guide Dave G.
I am a New York City tour guide and have been doing bus tours for 14 years and walking tours for eight.
I can easily do a standard tour on, say, Central Park, Greenwich Village, or the World Trade Center but I offer a general tour with many popular places in New York. I also have my own niche tour of "Titanic Sites in New York City".
I like tour-guiding in the city because I am also a tourist and I like to feel the vicarious thrill of visitors.
Being a tour-guide AND a tourist, I have traveled to Nova Scotia, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Anchorage, Cleveland, Niagara Falls, Washington DC, London, Liverpool, Belfast, Bangkok, Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Yokohama, Nara, Shizuoka, Hiroshima, Miyajima Island, Mt. Kosaya, Mt. Fuji and many other places.
Reviews
Arnold G.
Stories of the West Side, New York Walking Tour
“Guide knowledgeable about Manhattan”
Pleasant person. Showed us around and gave plenty tips what to see aftrrwards
$499/ per group
More tours by Dave G.
Stories of the West Side, New York Walking Tour
My tour will be the best-of-the-best of the old-and-the-new on the West Side of Manhattan with lots of photo ops included. I include sites that are very new in places that are very old. We will relive the history of the construction of the great piers and the ships they brought to America. I can also be flexible and, where possible, add a destination - provided it does not require waiting in a long queue.
The World Trade Center, Above Ground and Below.
I will be talking about the original World Trade Center, the attacks of 9/11, and the rebuilding effort. My tour will bring you around the area of the World Trade Center and will include original structures-and-buildings as well as newly-built. We will have lots of photo-ops and options for lunch.
Other Popular Highlights Tours in New York
Best of New York Highlights Tour - on foot & subway
No matter how much time you have to visit New York, from a few days to a few hours, the number one "must-do" is taking in the spectacular highlights of the Big Apple. In this tour, we will see many of the top sites from Central Park to the glittering shops along Fifth Ave, through Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Empire State Building, SoHo, Wall Street, Statue of Liberty and more - and we can do the whole thing like a local does - by walking & taking the Subway!
Magic made in Manhattan Highlights Tour
This tour checks off Manhattan bucket list landmarks one by one, the magic often happens in between! Includes but not limited to Central Park, Famous Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central, New York Public Library, Bryant Park, Empire State Building, and Times Square. Intended to be a complete walking tour. Times vary somewhat depending upon guest very important needs such as Magnolia banana pudding, restrooms, photos, life!
Midtown & Uptown Manhattan Private Tour
This tour gives an insight into the business, leisure and artistic lifestyles of Manhattan. We meet at Rockefeller Plaza by the world famous toy store F.A.O. Schwarz. From there, we move on to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and up Fifth Avenue to see its famous stores, including Tiffany’s. Next, we see The Plaza Hotel and then enjoy a walk through Central Park. On Manhattan’s West Side, we see the renowned Dakota Building, Lincoln Center, Broadway and Times Square - ending in the Theatre District.
Stories of the West Side, New York Walking Tour
My tour will be the best-of-the-best of the old-and-the-new on the West Side of Manhattan with lots of photo ops included. I include sites that are very new in places that are very old. We will relive the history of the construction of the great piers and the ships they brought to America. I can also be flexible and, where possible, add a destination - provided it does not require waiting in a long queue.
