Free Tours by Foot New York

Free Tours by Foot has been leading guided walks in New York since 2009, and its model makes it one of the most flexible ways to explore the city with a local guide. On most public tours you can either prepay the listed ticket price or choose the pay-what-you-wish option and decide what the tour was worth at the end. Some tours are ticketed only, so check the details when you book.

The range of routes is wide. In Manhattan, tours cover SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown, Harlem, Greenwich Village, Midtown and Lower Manhattan, as well as a Ghosts of Greenwich Village walk for the evening. Central Park has its own tour, and in Brooklyn the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO walk is one of the most popular. Food tours explore Greenwich Village, Chinatown and Little Italy, the Lower East Side and Harlem, and in the holiday season there are lights tours of Midtown and of Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, famous for its elaborate Christmas displays.

All the walking tours can also be booked privately for families, school groups, corporate groups and other organisations, with custom itineraries available, including a six-hour Downtown New York in a Day tour and a Bushwick graffiti and street art tour. For travellers who prefer to go at their own pace, the company sells audio tours narrated by its guides, covering Central Park, Lower Manhattan, the 9/11 Memorial and World Trade Center, Greenwich Village, Times Square, the High Line, Grand Central Terminal, Harlem and more.

Book online in advance, as places on public tours are limited and popular dates fill up. Cancellations made at least 24 hours before the start receive a full refund on ticketed and pay-what-you-wish tours, while private tours have a two-week cancellation policy. Tour lengths vary by itinerary, so check the individual tour page. Wear comfortable shoes and bring water, as tours cover a fair distance on foot.

The pay-what-you-wish option makes these tours a good choice for budget travellers, students and families, though it is customary to pay the guide a fair amount if you enjoyed the tour. Meeting points are given when you book and differ by tour, so plan your subway route in advance. Contact details for the New York team are on the company's contact page.