Lower Manhattan & 9/11 Memorial Exclusive Guided Walking Tour





Description
Go back to New York’s origins on this 2.5 hour privateguided walking tour of Lower Manhattan. Explore Lower Manhattan & the 9/11 Museum with NYC’s Top-Rated Guides. Discover the heart of Lower Manhattan with an expert guide who brings NYC’s history, culture, and resilience to life. On this private tour, you’ll journey through iconic landmarks such as Wall Street, the Oculus, and the historic St. Paul’s Chapel. Your experience culminates with a moving visit to the 9/11 Memorial, where your guide provides rich context and meaningful stories that make this an unforgettable tour. With the highest-rated guides in New York City, this is more than a tour—it’s a deeply personal journey through one of the most significant chapters in NYC’s history. A must-do for anyone seeking a deeper connection to the city.
Tour Options
Itinerary
After arriving at the meeting point you will start your tour with a brief highlight about Castle Clinton, a landmark representing not only the city’s growth but the growth of the nation. Built from 1808 to 1811, it was the first U.S immigration station where more than 8 million people arrived in the United States between 1855 to 1890.
From here, you will see the New York Harbour, part of the port of the New York. Lying at the mouth of the Hudson river, it is one of the largest natural harbours in the world.
Next you will pass the Seaglass Carousel, a fish-themed carousel that represents a symbol of recovery in the area, which suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. You will be able to appreciate the carousel’s design, as design along with construction took nearly a decade.
Next you will visit Bowling Green, New York’s City’s oldest park. According to tradition, this small public park served as the council ground for Native American tribes and was also the site of the sale of Manhattan in 1626 to Peter Minuit.
During the tour you will also visit the Charging Bull, a bronze structure created by the Artist Arturo Di Modica who illegally dropped the sculpture outside the New York Stock Exchange. The sculpture became an instant hit as soon as it was set up at Bowling Green.
Next you will visit Trinity Church, a historic parish church which began in 1696, located near the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway. During your visit you will see the graves of Mr and Ms Hamilton in the Trinity churchyard, along with the monument dedicated to them near their resting place.
You will then walk along the Wall Street, the renowned eight-block-long street running through Lower Manhattan. Known for its role in the international financial system, it is easily one of the most famous streets in the world.
During your time on Wall Street you will see the exterior of the New York Stock Exchange, the world’s largest stock exchange. Founded in 1792, it is now a designated National Historic Landmark.
In front of the New York Stock Exchange, you will see what is known as the Fearless Girl, a bronze statue by Kristen Visbal which depicts a four-foot tour girl. The statue is considered by many to symbolize and promote female empowerment.
Continuing down Wall Street, you will also see the exterior of the House of Morgan, an office building formerly owned by J.P. Morgan & Co. Built in 1913, the building is known for its classical architecture and was designated a New York City landmark in 1965.
You will also visit Federal Hall, the name given to the first of two historic buildings located at 26 Wall Street. While the original Greek Revival structure was completed in 1703, the current structure built in 1842 is one of the best examples of neoclassical architecture in New York.
Afterwards, you will make your way to St Paul’s Chapel, a chapel part of the Parish of Trinity Church Wall Street. It was considered a “chapel-of-ease for those who did not want to walk a few blocks to Trinity. Upon completion in 1766, it was the tallest building in New York City.
From here, you will make your way to Zuccotti Park, formerly known as Liberty Plaza Park. The park was heavily damaged in the 9/11 attacks and underwent subsequent recovery efforts. The plaza is now used as the site of several events commemorating the anniversary of the attack.
Next you will see One World Trade Center, otherwise known as the Freedom Tower. The tallest building in New York, it stands today where the Twin Towers once towered over the city.
You will then pay a visit to the National September 11 Memorial, a tribute of the remembrance and honor of those killed in 9/11. The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools feature the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. Here you will see the names of every person who died in the attack, inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial Pools.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Maximum of 12 people per tour allowed
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Notes: The tour route may be affected by national celebrations. When this occurs, we will provide guests with an alternative route still being able to see all the highlights on the tour. In these cases we are unable to provide refunds or discounts. No large bags or suitcases are allowed during this tour. We recommend comfortable shoes, a bottle of water, umbrella in case of rain and hat during summer. Due to increased security measures at many attractions some can’t be visited from the inside.
Reviews(6)
What an amazing day and tour! My kids ranged from 20s to 9 and Robin’s tour was interesting for all of them. She was amazing and the tour was awesome!
We were met by our Guide, Jeff, at Castle Clinton. From there we had a lovely walk around all the key areas of Lower Manhattan, which was great for orientating ourselves and also understanding some of the history (I now know why it’s called Wall St). Jeff was really informative and passionate about his city, managing to provide some quirky facts along the way. We ended at the 9/11 Memorial (those tickets included) and skipped straight to the front. You can’t have a guide in the memorial Museum, but it’s very well set out and absorbing. We spent 2.5hrs there. We’ll do more city tours like this, due to the great experience we had (thanks Jeff).
This tour was perfect for our group of 3. Guide Jeff was not only well informed, he was enthusiastic, personable and lots of fun! We learned so much, and there's so much to learn. We started the walking tour after having visited the National 911 Memorial Museum. It was a short walk between the Museum and the start of the tour; we wound our way through lower Manhattan and back up to Ground Zero, to end where we'd started earlier in the day. It worked out wonderfully.
Went on this tour after work with some colleagues and it was great, it was a mixed group of people from NYC and around the country. Our tour guide Katherine did an amazing job of explaining every little detail around lower Manhattan accompanied with pictures through history. She was very engaging and made the tour unique for us; pointing out different architecture when members of our group said that was something they enjoyed. Highly recommend Katherine and this tour!!
We took a walking tour of lower Manhattan conducted by Katherine. I learned so much about lower Manhattan, which had never occurred to me as being a touristy area. I really enjoyed Katherine's heartfelt explanations of each stop, and she even took a little extra time with us to make sure we saw a couple of extra areas at Battery Park. Would definitely recommend this!
I took some work colleagues from out of town on a walking tour of lower Manhattan conducted by Katherine. It was a private tour and she was incredibly flexible on timing and location, meeting us at our office after work. The tour itself was so interesting. Even as a native NYer who walks past some of these historic places every day, I learned so much. Katherine was so well-versed in not just the history and landmarks of places like ground zero, but the emotion and zeitgeist of the city at the time of the attack and after. It was very authentic. Throughout the tour Katherine coupled her explanations with pictures that reinforced her message and really brought the history of NYC to life. She also tailored the tour to her audience very well. For instance, we were all professional women and she made a point to talk about the history of women in NYC and Wall Street in particular. Booking with Babylon was quick and easy. They were super responsive about setting up my private tour on a day’s notice, and sent me discounts for future tours after I booked that I will definitely take advantage of. Already looking forward to my next tour with Katherine!