Walking Tours   

Tour our vibrant, intimate 28-acre site in the northwest section of the Bronx along the Hudson River. Focusing on seasonal highlights, a Wave Hill Garden guide will give an overview of their carefully cultivated gardens and extensive collection of rare and unusual plants, along with a general history of the property. From the first awe-inspiring view at the Great Lawn and Pergola Overlook, the ever-changing array of flowers, shrubs, and trees will create an indelible impression in any season.

Following the tour of the gardens, a Curatorial Fellow will lead you on an insightful tour of the cutting-edge contemporary artwork in Glyndor Gallery. Showcasing the work of both emerging and established artists in a unique environment, exhibitions explore the dynamic relationship between nature, culture, and site. Judy Pfaff will be on view in Glyndor Gallery; Emilie L. Gossiaux at Wave Hill House; and Dario Mohr on the Glyndor Terrace Garden. Truly a compelling experience!

Not included in this tour but available at Wave Hill is a cafe with food and beverages.

This tour will meet at Lincoln Center, where we will explore its vast transformation in the early 1960s from a former residential area to one of the world’s most important performing arts centers. Then we will focus on two nearby major monuments to the American Civil Rights Movement. After walking to the Riverside South development, we will discuss its complicated transformation from former NY Central freight railroad yards to a large group of apartment buildings plus an extension of Riverside Park. And we will see some wonderful parts of vintage NYC, including a horse trough, a rare Dutch-style church, and a 19th-century firehouse. Finally, we will learn more about two great Upper West Side museums: the American Museum of Natural History and the New-York Historical Society.

When Andrew Carnegie purchased a swath of property on Fifth Avenue at 90th Street, it was considered the boonies – too far uptown from the acceptable social center. But, of course, where Carnegie goes, others follow. On this tour, we’ll see Carnegie’s house – now the Cooper Hewitt Museum, as well as other turn-of-the-century mansions built by new-money industrialists of the early 20th century, with a stop at the Warburg Mansion, now the Jewish Museum, designed by the “lacy architect,” CPH Gilbert.

This tour will stop at many of the most iconic places in Harlem including the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Apollo Theater, the Harlem Walk of Fame, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Strivers Row. As we walk, we will enjoy the beautiful brownstone architecture and wide boulevards of Harlem, and we will note the many ways in which great African Americans are honored there.

Optional, non-included lunch afterward: Harlem Shake, 100 West 124th Street, at Malcolm X Blvd. and Lenox Ave. Everyone orders and pays individually at the counter. Burgers and salads are available, along with the best milkshakes in NYC!

See what birds over-winter here on the Bronx River. In addition to the locals that stay all year, there are several species that are here only during the winter. You may also see some of the “wintering ducks,” including the hooded merganser, the American black duck, and the green-winged teal duck.

Join us on a special holiday tour of the Bush-Holley House in Greenwich, CT. This guided tour introduces visitors to two distinct time periods in the history of both the house and the town: the New Nation era (1790-1825), when the house was home to the wealthy mercantile Bush family and the individuals they enslaved; and the Art Colony era (1890-1920), when the Holley family ran it as a boarding house and home to Connecticut’s first art colony. With the house decorated for the holidays, visitors will enjoy a festive walk through the Christmas traditions of the Bush and Holley families. Participants will learn about early American holiday celebrations among the Bush family and their Greenwich neighbors and will enjoy the stories of Christmastime with the Holley family and their artist friends in the era of the Cos Cob Art Colony.

This 110-year-old train terminal welcomes hundreds of thousands people daily. But how many stop to take in this world-class landmark? This 2-hour walking tour will give you reason to stop and admire this magnificent Beaux Arts building like never before.

This exploration of the Grand Central Terminal will include these, and more:

• A brief history of the Vanderbilt family behind the NY Central Railroad and the two Grand Centrals that came before the 1913 Terminal.
• A quick primer on what “Beaux Arts” architecture is and how to identify it.
• Vintage photos of the terminal’s construction, sculptures, and inaccessible areas.
• The incredible story of how the Terminal escaped the wrecking ball.
• The colossal mistake of the Terminal’s Grand Concourse ceiling.
• A trip to the Terminal’s hidden, landmarked cocktail bar that was once a private office.
• A peek into the window catwalks.
• An opportunity to tell secrets across the elliptical Guastavino “Whispering Gallery.”

After the tour, get some holiday shopping done at the annual Grand Central Holiday Market!