Gilded Age Architecture Walking Tour in New York City

Explore the Upper East Side through the mansions, architecture, and social rivalries of America’s Gilded Age. Hear how industrial wealth reshaped 5th Avenue and left a lasting cultural legacy.

• Discover stories of the Astors, Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and Guggenheims
• Examine the architecture that defined 5th Avenue’s grand residences
• Hear tales of high society, industry, and changing city life
• Trace the legacy of private estates that became cultural institutions

Itinerary

• Plaza Hotel: Marvel at the epitome of wealth, luxury, and high society at the world-famous Plaza Hotel. • 5th Avenue: Explore the gaudy mansions of Millionaire’s Row, built by America’s wealthiest families. • Central Park Zoo: Explore the origins of the zoo, which began with the wealthy releasing their exotic pets into Central Park. • Herbert Straus House: Cringe at the site of Jeffrey Epstein’s lair, which was built by the owners of Macy’s whose parents went down with the Titanic. • Museum Mile: Hear the stories of the titans of industry who built majestic estates, now home to world-renowned museums. • Roosevelt House: Step inside the mansion where Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt strategized their political campaigns. • French Cultural Institute: Hear the story of a lost Michaelangelo discovered in this sculpture garden, and stay for the cutest French bookstore in Manhattan. • Metropolitan Museum of Art: Stroll past the greatest museum in the Western Hemisphere, whose collection was largely dependent on the owners of the mansions we’ve been learning about on this tour.

What's Included

• Tour guide

Important details

• Wear comfortable walking shoes