Garbage and Rats in New York City Walking Tour
Recommended by 100% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
New York City, USA
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Not everything in New York City is glamorous—learn more about its dark and dirty underside on an entertaining and informative walking tour with a graduate of the New York City Trash Academy. Take a stroll through Lower Manhattan and learn all about New York’s rat residents, trash disposal (and its challenges), and corruption during a different kind of tour. Ideal if you like to dig beneath the surface while traveling.
- Max 15 people per tour for an intimate experience
- Ask questions and hear your guide clearly on a small-group tour
- Listen to stories you won’t hear on conventional city tours
- Science and history meet on this New York City walking tour
What's Included
- This experience includes a guided walking tour.
- Max 15 people per tour for an intimate experience
- Bottled water
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Wall Street & Pearl StreetWall St & Pearl St, New York, NY 10005, USA
We will meet on the southeast corner of Wall Street and Pearl Street (in front of the Hyatt Hotel). The guide will have a sign for Off the Beaten Subway Track Walking Tours.
End point
- New York City Hall, New York, NY 10007, USA
The tour officially ends by the Tweed Courthouse, which is convenient to several subway stops.
Itinerary
1
Wall Street
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
South Street Seaport Historic District
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
DeLury Square
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
City Hall Area
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
5.0
based on 144 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
This tour was so much fun! I went with friends from the city and we all enjoyed our tour. We were really able to nerd out with all our crazy questions and the guide was very knowledgeable. It was a different way to learn about the history of NYC and we did get to see lots of rats!
The tour guide was wonderful! Excellent activity for the rat enthusiasts out there. I learned a lot while seeing LIVE RATS in their city habitat.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you so much! I had a great time with your group.
This was such a fun, informative, and interesting tour! We learned so much cool history (that no one ever talks about) and we indeed saw plenty of rats! Our guide Suzanne is an absolute gem of a tour guide! 10/10 no doubt
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you so much! I had a great time with you and I loved your headbands!
Suzanne was incredible! She was knowledgeable and funny! We learned so much about the history of NYC and offered us a new perspective. We won’t spill all her secrets since you NEED to go on this tour but I promise you that you will learn so much about nyc and life lessons.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you so much for your kind words! I had a great time with you guys, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it, too. :)
Really great tour, learned so much about the history of New York! We saw lots of rats, beautiful architecture well worth the price. Perfect mix of history and ecology.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this deep dive into NYC history with our special guests (rats) along the way!
This is a unique and clever walking tour of New York with fun and fascinating history from the point of view of sanitation. Our tour guide was delightful and was ver engaging even for young kids.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you! I am so happy you enjoyed it!
We had a lovely time. We heard interesting stories about the rats and garbage in the city and we really loved the streets where the tour took place. The guide’s enthousiasm and knowledge made the experience amazing.
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you so much! It was such a fun evening!
Tour guide Suzanne’s expertise, sense of humor and teaching skills made “Rats and Garbage of NYC”
an exceptional experience. I now know the functional difference between rat whiskers and the whiskers of cats. My new view of rats? Just spell it backwards!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! They really are remarkable critters.
This was great; the guide made it very interesting, with thoughtful reflections on the city's history and the management of leftovers, and some extra trivia-winning knowledge :)
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Suzanne is an incredible tour guide. Full of fun facts mixed with humor and history. We learned so much. You know it is a great hit when your high schooler walks away with so many facts to impress his friends:)!
Response from Host, Jun 2026
Thank you so much! It makes me so happy to hear that your son is sharing what he learned! He was so great to have on the tour!
Historical, informative and a lot of fun. Guide was exceptional! Very knowledgeable and keen sense of humor.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you, and I am so glad you enjoyed it!
This tour was more fun, clever, and cute than I was expecting. My tour guide, Suzanne, was super knowledgeable and kept cracking me up with her stories and insights. I sent a bunch of rat and garbage facts to my friends and family afterwards, ha. We saw both rats and trash, and that area of lower Manhattan is actually very charming and it was pleasure to stroll around. I would absolutely recommend it.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you so much! I am thrilled that you shared garbage & rat facts with your friends and family after and that you had such a good time. :)
Really interesting walk! Suzanne was a great tour guide sharing stories of the history of lower manhattan and the life of a rat! Would def recommend if you want to do something a little different during your trip to New York!
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you so much! I loved meeting you and your family, and I had a great time with you!
This tour reveals the real and metaphoric underbelly of New York in a way you won’t forget. Suzanne blends deep knowledge of history, sanitation, and the city’s overlooked inhabitants with sharp humor and great storytelling. You will discover how the city truly works, and will never look at its streets or systems the same way again. A unique and fascinating experience. Highly recommended.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thanks - I'm blushing! I am so thrilled that you enjoyed it so much!
Suzanne is a fabulous guide! She tells her stories with enthusiasm and humor. I’ve been a New York City tour guide for ten years and I even learned a great deal on this tour. It’s full of surprises and you’ll learn a lot about rat poop, rat sex, rat bait, rat fights, as well as New York City’s long history trying to control (or not control) its trash. What a unique and fun tour!
Response from Host, Nov 2025
I am so glad that you enjoyed it - I especially love when people with their own deep knowledge join the tour. It was great having you!
Suzanne is a wealth of knowledge, she has a great sense of humor. She made us think about our human impact on the growing rat population and what we can do to to help curb it
Response from Host, Nov 2025
I'm so glad you enjoyed it and found it informative and funny!
This walking tour is an unusual but formidable experience. I highly recommend this 2.5 hour walking tour if you want to learn about New York City from a different but indeed relevant perspective Suzanne is not only a certified guide, she is a writer and an exceptional communicator. I feel I learned a lot and I also enjoyed this tour. Go for it.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
I am so glad you enjoyed it, and thank you so much!
We had a great tour. Our guide was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable! We felt like we received a personalized tour and learned great facts about sanitation services in NYC.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Thank you so much! It was my pleasure, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Such a great tour guide, learned so much!!! The tour was super interesting and taught the history of New York City with a rat lens.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
I am so glad that you enjoyed the tour and learned a lot! Thank you so much for the kind review!
Suzanne, our guide, was very knowledgeable about a very interesting topic - trash and rats in NYC. We enjoyed it very much and learned a lot.
Response from Host, Oct 2025
Thank you so much! I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
This is a fun, unique and informative tour that is one of the highlights of our nyc trip!! Susanne is knowledgable and passionate about the city history of sanitation and waste management, which is fascinating in and of itself. Highly recommended!
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, and I am so happy you enjoyed it!
This was a fascinating tour that went over a history of rats, trash, sanitation, political scandals and how they are all intertwined into giving NYC its reputation today as well as how the city currently handles, or doesn’t handle, the rat population today. Highly recommend. Great balance of storytelling and informative learning.
Response from Host, Sep 2025
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
The tour was much more than garbage and rats. Super informative and interesting! Lots of walking, be prepared.
Response from Host, Aug 2025
Thank you so much, and I'm glad that you found it interesting!
My wife and I had a wonderful time! We've done a lot of walking tours of NYC and other cities and Suzanne's Garbage and Rats tour was by far the most interesting and unique! I'm a history buff but never considered viewing NYC history through the lens of sanitation! Fascinating content, a fun and knowledgeable guide, and a fantastic way to spend an early evening.
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Thank you so much! I am so pleased that you enjoyed it so much!
I absolutely loved this tour! As someone relatively new to the area but who spends a lot of time in the city, I found it both eye-opening and entertaining. Suzanne was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of lower Manhattan, offering fascinating insights into how the neighborhood's early days shaped the modern landscape. Her deep dive into the city’s sanitation struggles over the years—and how they’ve contributed to the thriving rat population—was both informative and unexpectedly hilarious. We even explored rat tunnels and went on the lookout for the creatures themselves! I can confidently say I now see the city in a completely different light—and I've become that person who shares strange but fun facts about rats with friends (whether they like it or not!). Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Jun 2025
I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, and thanks for sharing your experience! I had a great time with you!
Absolutely fascinating tour that looks at the history of NYC and its rats through the history of garbage. As newcomers to the city, we learned so many interesting facts about NY's past, present and potential future garbage problems, as well as how it provided a great home for rats to breed and live alongside (or under?) 8 million people.
Suzanne is a fantastic, knowledgeable guide who really shows her passion in what she shares with us. Highly recommend this tour to tourists and even New Yorkers who want to learn something new about this city!!!
Response from Host, Jun 2025
Thank you so much, Carissa! You guys were fantastic! Your questions and enthusiam made this tour so much fun for me. I hope you enjoy living in NYC!
Super informative very nice done a must for everyone our dog wad also along .you come to places where you would normally never go.
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Response from Host, Apr 2026
Thank you! I am so glad you all enjoyed it!
Member Pricing
From
$42.75
per personWas $45.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Garbage and Rats in New York City Walking Tour
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