Central Harlem African-American Culture Walking Tour
4.5

Central Harlem African-American Culture Walking Tour

By Harlem One Stop Walking Tours
Recommended by 92% of travellers
92% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation

Ages 8-75, max of 15 per group
Duration: 2h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More


  • Guided tour by licensed tour guide and Harlem resident
What's not included
  • Gratuities


Start:
  • 700 St Nicholas Ave, New York, NY 10031, USA
    The tour guide will be in front of the Capital One Bank, 700 St Nicholas Avenue, on the NE corner. Directions to the meeting point: Take the UPTOWN A, B, C ,D subway lines to the 145th Street Station. Use the 145th Street to exit station.
End:
  • Apollo Theater, 253 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027, USA

  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Pushchair accessible
  • Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 42456P4

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • This is a walking tour. Wear appropriate clothing and footwear.
  • This tour focuses on neighborhood history. It does not include visit to church or music.
  • Tour may be moderately difficult for the physically challenged.
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travellers

  • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 42456P4

From
AU$48.23
per adult
Select date and travellers
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
  • Harlem One Stop Walking Tours
    4.5 of 5 bubbles320
    United States
    Joined in March 2012
  • 957adelek
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Moving
    Loved it, bright singing, good message. Well organised. Audience participation. Loved the quiet nu version too. Well done
    Written 13 March 2025
  • F2906OGlucyc
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Welcoming atmosphere
    An uplifting and joyful experience. Truly talented vocalists that clearly love what they do. Highly recommend to those visiting NY
    Written 22 January 2025
  • R9989LLjuancarlosp
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing experience
    It's an amazing and exciting experience for everyone who loves American black music. The socioemotional climate is great, with impressive voices and a fantastic connection with the audience. It's a must-have for foreign visitors in New York.
    Written 13 November 2024
  • milankC311JM
    0 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very good tour, but with some calibration of expectations required upfront vs what is promoted
    It was a good tour and we really enjoyed thanks to an excellent guide who explains Harlem's history and takes you around after the tour, but two things to note: 1) the church does not look like the one on the picture that the tour is promoted with. It is actually a functional church premise inside a modern building 2) you get seated to far back that you only partly see the people delivering the service and signing live, and you need to watch them on screen
    Written 14 October 2024
  • FrancescaFranci1
    0 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very good
    The guide was very kind and very prepared. She spoke very clearly, so understandable even to people who speak little English. The staff welcomed us very enthusiastically and the people were really nice. However, the arrangement of the pews made the celebrants and choir not clearly visible. For this, the staff set up a screen. In any case, I would have preferred to see the people "live", better
    Written 7 October 2024
  • Curious258712
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Best 2 hours in our 5 day NYC visit
    This was a wonderful tour guided by William Gibbons . His historical perspective on Harlem was very insightful and made the tour both educational and enjoyable.
    Written 4 October 2024
  • W6313WKmegm
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Harlem Swing Stroll and Dance Class - great fun!
    My friend and I joined Harlem One Stop Walking Tours for a Monday evening 'Harlem Swing Stroll and Dance class'. It was great fun. The lady who led the tour was a long-time local and provided colour and handy information about the area's past and present. She then took us to a swing class which was full of locals and led by a very patient teacher - it was a great way to get a real taste of Harlem and meet many interesting people who were generous with their time and their patience for this two-left-footed lass! Thoroughly recommend. We booked our tour through New York Go City pass. Only regret is we didn't get to take any of their other tours as this was our last day of the pass!
    Written 20 September 2024
  • berthab194
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    One Of The Best Tours in NYC
    Excellent tour given by Professor William Gibbons, a CCNY professor. I’m a native New Yorker who accompanied out of town friends and even though I lived in the area many years ago while attending medical school I learned and saw so many new things. William was smart, capable and totally perfect as a guide.
    Written 17 May 2024
  • V8947JPerikh
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Enthousiaste guide with a lot of knowledge of the area
    Very sympathiek and knowledgeable guide. He showed us the area with many interesting stories. He did his best to show the interior of churches and other buildings resulting in a tour that lasted much longer then was planned.
    Written 30 April 2024
  • Kelgaard
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Super walking trip in Harlem and the heights
    We went for this trip at 29th March 2024, and got a super good trip out of it. We were the only 2 people on the trip, so we got our excellent guide for a private tour. He was very knowledgeable and told a lot of stories about the history of the area. We ended up Alexander Hamiltons house where we got a quick tour. This was one of the best trips we had in NYC.
    Written 30 March 2024
  • j_rgenhW7188KP
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great tour with a great guide
    We enjoyed our tour with William very much. William is very knowledgeable and a great guide. He explained a lot about history, architecture and the social and economic changes that Harlem went through over time. Our tour with William felt like a walk around the neighborhood with a good friend. Thank you very much William! =)
    Written 5 January 2024
  • saoirsehb
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    ‘Must do’ in NYC
    Fantastic experience - Sunday gospel service was really lovely. Singing was great. Joyce, the tour guide was a Joy. Thank you
    Written 21 December 2023
  • sarabO1051IE
    0 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Harlem in a better way
    The tour was perfect, full of curious and interesting facts. We could not have asked for more. Definetly reccomended!!
    Written 10 December 2023
  • O8501OOtracyb
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great tour!
    William was a great tour guide! Learnt so much about the area that I had no idea about. Really recommend this tour to anyone.
    Written 3 November 2023
  • Nathalie M
    0 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great experience in Harlem
    Good experience - exzellent guide, wir learned a lot about Harlem and the rituals of Gospel and the impotance of it to the members of the congregatoon
    Written 16 October 2023
See all 320 reviews
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles42 reviews
Excellent
33
Very good
6
Average
1
Poor
0
Terrible
2

Vacationer46206
4 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Family
The tour started promptly at 145 th St and was to be 2 hours in duration and end at 125 th St. Eric was very knowledgeable and insightful about central Harlem spent a little too much time talking about City College. The tour moved slowly due to participants who had difficulty mobilizing and keeping up with the tour. This severely increased the time of the tour, and decreased amount of area covered, after 2 1/2 hrs we only reached 135th St and due to other previously planned obligations I had to miss half of the tour. Interested parties please NOTE:that this tour does require you to walk at least 20 city blocks and you will also have to walk down approx 40 steps. Be mindful
Written 1 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

COLLOT j
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2023 • Couples
Need to really get into Harlem’s history and learn amazing stories ? William is your guy.

It’s been an amazing tour - From visiting Hamilton’s house to visiting a neighbor’s house (incredible!) as we were passing by the street having Will describing with such precision houses history/architecture and with a touch of Art by visiting a Gallery !

Would recommend it 100% if you’d like a tour so fantastic it would make you wanna move into this neighborhood !

Thank you William !
Written 6 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Thomas S
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2024 • Family
The Harlem tour was fantastic. George our Guide treated us like family and was extremely knowledgeable about Harlems history, sights and culture. Highlights were Hamiltons summer house, Apollo Theater, small music bar and the row house residential neighborhood. Definately will do the tour again with George on next trip to NYC !
Written 13 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Arlington C
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2024 • Family
We loved this tour. George was a great guide. As a resident of the neighbourhood he combined history with personal experience. It was enlightening to see such an interesting part of Manhattan and understand more about it's development, ups and downs (and ups) and learn more about the inhabitants of the area and their impact in history. Thoroughly enjoyed the content and loved George.
Written 24 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Felicia A
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2025 • Family
Wow. This was a great tour, I highly recommend. William was amazing. He was friendly, knowledgeable and completely flexible and accommodating to the needs of our group. The walking was a nice easy pace and we learned so much about history, culture, and even architecture.
Written 10 March 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ruth K
4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Keith Taylor is a fountain of knowledge and deep enthusiasm about the history of Harlem. Our tour was longer than scheduled because he had so much to share. Present-day Harlem is a vibrant, multi-cultural, and fun place, and you'll appreciate its cultural richness more if you walk with Keith.
Written 7 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Annalisa T
9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
We really enjoyed the tour. Our guide, Keith Taylor, was very competent and a very nice person. He took good care of us during the tour and could explain a lot of details in a very easy way for non native speaker tourists. I must say his pronunciation and intonation was very easy to follow. I recommend him very much.
Written 13 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Andrew R
14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
I took part in this walking tour with my mother and father, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Nivad was a great guide, he was very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter. This tour changed my father's perception of Harlem. He was not very excited to go based on Harlem's less than stellar reputation, but as we went through the neighborhood and admired its unique architecture and history he came away with a new found appreciation for the neighborhood. If I were in the area again, I would be interested in doing a walking tour of Columbia University. Overall, a very enjoyable experience.
Written 9 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Denise T
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2024 • Solo
Highly recommend! Excellent, personable guide made history come alive with stories and local perspective. LOVED seeing and learning about each famous music club, legendary musicians. Could have kept on walking for more!
Written 10 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ruslan R
Barcelona, Spain1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2018 • Friends
Ok, maybe that's us. We bought three tickets on Saturday Sep15 2018 visit, and the Friday before we've figured out there's no mention of venue\starting point in the ticket itself. The phone didn't respond, and we assumed it's 502 W 142 St, which is mentioned as a venue on onestopharlem website. The address was closed though, so we didn't get to the tour at all. The phone didn't respond, and there was no obvious fallback option.
Still wondering what was the right way.
Written 16 September 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Rudnevr, According to our log, the tickets were bought from Trip Advisor/Viator who would have issued a confirmation and voucher with details on the meeting point, tour and time. At least, this is the process we have seen with other customers. The RSVP were made for Saturday which is not a normal business day for us -- the physical office is closed but and we should have been reachable by 'phone -- perhaps the tour guide was busy checking in others for the tour at the time. You may want to follow up with Trip Advisor/Viator regarding not be notified of the meeting point in writing on your voucher, and we will do the same. If you are correct in that the information was NOT provided, then you may request a refund from Trip Advisor/Viator as this was the reason for missing the tour. If for some reason, the information was provided but was overlooked by your group, it may be difficult to request and receive a refund.
Written 26 October 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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Central Harlem African-American Culture Walking Tour provided by Harlem One Stop Walking Tours

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