Splendor and Scandal in Brooklyn Heights: A Self Guided Tour
- 2–2.3 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Is Brooklyn Heights the most charming neighborhood in New York City? A remarkable number of celebrity residents seem to think so. No wonder this elegant brownstone wonderland was the first district in the city to be awarded historic landmark status. The leafy enclave where Gilded Age bankers and merchants built handsome townhouses has also been called ”America’s First Suburb”. On this self-guided walking tour, you’ll hear about the poets, preachers, abolitionists, suffragists and free love advocates who made the Heights a hotbed of progressive thought. The tour starts outside Plymouth Church, the “Grand Central Depot of the Underground Railroad”. From there, you’ll hear about Reverend Henry Ward Beecher – “the most famous man in America” – and how he profoundly transformed religion, helped Abe Lincoln win the Civil War, did a little gun running, and slept with the wives of his best friends.
Inclusions
What's included
- Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
- Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
- App for Android and iOS
- Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
- Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start
What's not
- Smartphone and headphones
- Personal expenses for attractions not included during the tour
Itinerary
There is no better view of Manhattan than from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. But while other just look, you hear it's story brought to life, and stand in the spot where Washington Roebling supervised construction of the Brooklyn Bridge by telescope from his bed after becoming paralyzed on the job.
Known as "The Grand Central Depot of the Underground Railroad." It was in here that Reverend Henry Ward Beecher -- "The Most Famous Man in America" -- held a live slave auction, raising money set a young woman free. This tour follows Beecher's story including his trial for adultery that gripped America.
All-volunteer woman-run nonprofit that helps homeless cats find furr-ever friends cats. For a small admission fee you can hang out with the feline residents
Designed by Minard Leferve, this gothic masterpiece contains stained glass windows so extraordinary that one is now displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You'll hear the church's dramatic backstory, from abandoned wreck in the 70's to incubator of a leading arts program and New York's finest prep school.
Brooklyn Height's main shopping street, home to the original Haagen Dazs, the Cat Cafe and the historic Heights Casino, with America's first indoor tennis courts.
This charming street of elegant brownstones will take us by the homes of Henry Ward Beecher, Truman Capote and Arthur Miller, plus the finest examples of the Queen Anne Style in NYC.
The first Romanesque church in America with bronze doors salvaged from the SS Normandie which sank dramatically in New York Harbor.
The first Haagen Dazs ice cream shop, opened by the immigrant family that invented the first super-premium ice cream.
Now called the Center for Brooklyn History, this handsome Romanesque revival library was designed by George Post, "Father of the Tall Building."
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- This tour starts at Plymouth Church, 57 Orange Street. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- VoiceMap Audio Tours
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- The total tour time includes walking the route and passing by the attractions
How it compares in Brooklyn
- Its from-price is 83% below the median of the 217 experiences we list in Brooklyn.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Brooklyn
Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, a patchwork of brownstone streets, waterfront parks, boardwalk beaches and food markets.
Brooklyn lies across the East River from Manhattan, on the western tip of Long Island, and was a separate city until it joined New York in 1898. The Brooklyn Bridge, finished in 1883 with Gothic arches in its stone towers, has a walkway above the traffic with views of the skyline. Brownstone houses line the tree-shaded streets of Brooklyn Heights, whose promenade looks over the harbour to Lower Manhattan.
Top-ranked sights in Brooklyn: Dumbo, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Special offers in Brooklyn
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
