I intended to book a group tour but bumped into Babylon's private option and am I glad I did!…read more Katherine was a walking wonderful fountain of insight and inspiration. Her ability to show and tell history while showcasing a trip through time inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art was stellar! Bonus points and much gratitude to Katherine for saving me from standing in the loooong COVID check line! She sent my e-ticket so I could avoid the main entrance. (Saved me 1 hour wait) The Met was incredible--Kate awesome....worth the few extra bucks for private or semi.

Our private tour of the Met was worth every penny! Our guide, Mark, was amazing. Super…read moreknowledgeable and really personable. We saw everything we want to see and learned a lot of new things! The Met was, of course, fabulous. Highly recommend!!

Walking through a world-class museum you may see and marvel at amazing, famous works of art. Or…read moreyou may see very new, contemporary works of art few have had the opportunity to enjoy. In both scenarios, Lauren Kaplan will help you understand and appreciate the art you are looking at by a multiple of ten thousand. You will be amazed and floored by her explanations, her breadth of knowledge and art history, the background of each artist, and the meaning the artist has infused in every work. She will help the entire art experience come alive in ways you do not expect. And you will wonder how you ever walked a museum or gallery without her. For us, she brought alive the Biennial at the Whitney and turned a simple museum visit to a huge learning experience. Am I recommending Lauren? More than that, I am suggesting you hire Lauren to make your art experience awaken and come alive in ways you could never predict.

My boyfriend's parents recently invited me on a private tour of the Guggenheim with Lauren Kaplan…read more Private tour! Guggenheim! I am no fool, so obviously I said yes. FYI, I'd never been on a professional museum tour and I'm not exactly a visual art fanatic-- I like specific types of art, hate some others. Well, Lauren was super eloquent and nice, and I really appreciated how the tour wasn't about getting you to necessarily love the art -- it was about providing you with the knowledge to understand the art, the processes behind it, etc. so that you could form your own educated opinion. She was totally nonjudgmental, and I would definitely recommend her to both art lovers and skeptics alike. Plus, she brought PROPS!!

An amazingly cool experience for locals and visitors…read more My husband summed it up... "That is the best tour I have ever been on" and "I look at the neighborhood entirely differently now." We walked around Gowanus, got schooled on graffiti and street art, visited a studio, talked neighborhood history, learned architecture stories past and future, met an artist and her dog on a bridge, found art objects left by another artist to be "gifted to the finder." Loved by kids (8 years) and adults.

Rich was incredible and flexible. Our group had a great time on two separate tours with him.read more

If you are looking for art tours in NYC, you can stop looking -- you've found the best one. I…read morefound Emily a few months back while looking to give my wife several art tours as a gift. Emily helped me pull together a special gift and we had the first tour today. Emily is a remarkably talented guide, combining both incredible knowledge with a gift for storytelling. We spent several hours today at the Met with Emily and she was able to make the tour interesting and engaging for both my wife, who has background in art history, and myself, an art novice. Emily deftly crafted an itinerary based on my wife's favorite types of art while also bringing to life pieces that we'd previously have walked by without any second thought. Truly cannot recommend Emily more highly enough. We have two more tours with her and are so, so excited.

We recently had the pleasure of taking 2 private tours with Emily at both the MET and the MoMA…read more She is highly knowledgeable, and had interesting insights into the art and the artists. If you want an informative focused tour through these enormous collections with someone who knows their stuff, I highly recommend visiting them with Emily. Thank you Emily - for 2 unforgettable days!

What a great tour .. ! I had no idea that Williamsburg had such history. I have been to…read moreWilliamsburg in the past for dinner and such, so to see it in the way Melissa explained it was really interesting. Totally worth the time and money.. great way to spend a weekend afternoon.

SO much fun - and a great work out....!!! A tourist in my own town we planning our next trip…read morealready

I'm not really a tour kind of guy but this one was right up my alley. Jason and his Femme Fatale…read moreput on a great show while also doling out a VERY generous helping of historical and architectural tidbits. The two hours flies by and I won't give any spoilers but you are in for a spectaular finish. I highly recommend this tour and this tour guide. I have been on a lot of guided tours in many countries and very very few are as informative as this one. As a New Yorker who has worked in Lower Manhattan for many years it's impressive how much new information Jason was able to show me and the unique format of the tour makes it appealing to anyone.

GREAT TOUR! Knowledgeable guides with awesome chemistry and a fun show all around. A great way to…read moresee the city and be entertained along the way! Truly something for everybody, from the theater geek to the history freak.

CharacTours did an amazing job bring Ellis Island to life! Through five characters, actor Lee Cohen…read moreand educator Jon Goldstein taught a group of 30 American and Israeli high-school students. The two made the tour interactive and experiential, helping students to imagine what it may have been like to immigrate to America. Even more, the dynamic duo kept the attention of these teens by bringing historical figures to life. Students enjoyed asking each character questions and learning through role-play. This was education at its finest! Both Lee's characters and Jon's lessons were memorable and entertaining, so much so that I can still speak about what I learned. Thank you so much, CharacTours, for bringing such an important piece of our narrative to life! -Rabbi Alli Cohen

Nothing quite like this exists! What a brilliant, funny and memorable exploration of history! The…read moretour guides interact with and build community among the participants- no two presentations will ever be the same. I not only gave my full attention for the whole time, and didn't mind walking and standing, but I feel inspired by the moral lessons that are resonant today-which is what education should do. Everything felt well researched, intentionally designed, and beautifully interpreted. I can imagine all ages, all expressions of Jewishly curious, and especially the socially aware, would appreciate CharacTours.

My friends and I enjoyed a stay of 10 days in N. York. We hadn't been there before, so we decided…read moreto contact with John in order to not get lost! He speaks a perfect spanish so it was a reliable and a friendly service! A really good choice. We saw the most important buildings and places that you have to see if you visit this city: Time Square, Broadway, The Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, Chinatown, Chrysler, Empire State and Rockeffeler buildings, Grand Central Park... Moreover he took us to a wide range of fantastic restaurants and pubs. It was an incredible experience, John was professional, punctual and helpful with a great sense of humor! Thank you very much once again!