Gilded Age Mansions Tour in New York
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
New York City, USA
+11
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore the storied past of New York City’s Gilded Age through the mansions left in its wake. Learn about the people who designed and lived in these buildings during this pivotal time in American history. Let a guide show you around these incredible buildings, and regale you with tales about everything from romance and generosity to scandal and murder.
- A tour of New York City’s opulent Gilded Age architecture
- Enjoy access to some of these incredible mansions
- Learn Gilded Age history from your tour guide
- The tour is wheelchair-friendly, and service animals are welcome
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
If you loved “The Gilded Age”, discover the people who inspired it—with a guide who brings the gossip to life.
What's Included
- Access to mansions
- Snacks
- Public transportationThis is a walking tour
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 1 E 78th St, New York, NY 10075, USA
We will meet you on the steps at the building at 1 East 78th street. Right on 78th street, just off 5th avenue.
End point
- 1109 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128, USA
Itinerary
1
1 E 78th St
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
972 5th Ave
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Manhattan
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
2 E 79th St
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
1009 5th Ave
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
7
1040 5th Ave
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
Neue Galerie
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
9
2 E 91st St
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
10
1 E 91st St
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
11
1109 5th Ave
5 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 20 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 1,281 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
lisa_w, Jul 2026
This is a wonderful tour!
Care was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of fun facts.
I would highly recommend!
Nanci_F, Jul 2026
It was a fun tour and nice stroll thru the city. Luke was our guide and did a great job. I enjoyed the history he provided.
DIANE_K, Jul 2026
Luke did a great job bringing to life
the unknown stories of
frequently passed buildings with fascinating history .
He was a great guide. If you’re a fan of the HBO the Gilded Age this is definitely for you.
Peter_W, Jul 2026
Very informative tour, lots of interesting detail and background anecdotes provided by our knowledgeable tour guide Care.
Katherine_S, Jul 2026
Our guide Luke was very entertaining, and knew the history well. It was really fun! A must for any Guilded Age fan!
Lynn_M, Jul 2026
The Gilded Age walking tour was amazing! Zach did a great job mixing in history architecture, and some fun stories from the Gilded Age television show. The two hours flew by and I would highly recommend it.
Dennis_D, Jul 2026
Luke was very informative and knowledgeable - unfortunately only able to see the inside of two home with very limited access.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad Luke was very informative and knowledgeable. Unfortunately today some of the mansions are either schools, modern museums or privately owned and some of the museums have not preserved the original interiors. The tour has gotten permission to go inside and experience some of the preserved interiors. Thanks for your review.
Edward_E, Jul 2026
Luke is a smart, prepared and considerate guide. He had many pictures from internet research which added to the tour.
Yuliya_S, Jul 2026
Mathew was amazing! Passionate, knowledgeable, and very welcoming! Perfect tour for Gilded Age enthusiasts and anyone who wants to learn more about New York and American history.
Charlie_S, Jul 2026
Very interesting and informative tour. Luke set a good pace and made the tour fun. A great glimpse into the Gilded Age!
Houston_M, Jul 2026
The guide was an actor and was unqualified - had very little knowledge of basic architectural terms - told salacious stories that had no relevance - revelled in perverted tales about paedophiles - it was a very unpleasant experience overall.
Ben_B, Jul 2026
Excellent tour covering key Gilded Age mansions and their history, but also delving into an array of other (super interesting) topics. Our guide, Luke, was fantastic! He kept us laughing, answered all our questions, and had incredible knowledge on all things gilded age. If you can book with Luke, do so! You won’t regret it.
jeri_c, Jul 2026
No entrance to mansions which was an expectation. We only saw mansions from outside tour leader showed videos /photos on tablet.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
As other reviews have mentioned, the tour does go into several of the mansions. Other mansions seen on the tour are today are either schools, modern museums, or privately owned and some of the modern museums have not preserved the Gilded Age interiors and are therefore not worth going into to see preserved Gilded Age interiors.
Laura_D, Jul 2026
“Care” was a great tour guide! He knew lots of interesting information and was very personable. Great tour especially if you’ve watched the Gilded Age
Lucy_L, Jul 2026
Loved everything about it. Our guide, Luke, has a great energy, curiosity, and wit, and he was so attentive to all our needs, including walking slowly enough that everyone could keep up. We really appreciated the multimedia aspect—all the photos, floor plans, etc. brought the era to life—and the fact that a bathroom break was included! Thank you so much for the wonderful time. We learned a lot!
Kay_A, Jul 2026
Gilded Mansions Tour Guide Is Great! Care, our tour guide, was great. Very informative, humorous, prepared. Had pictures on his iPad of the people involved and the mansions from back in the day. Highly recommend this two-hour tour. The tour ended oh Fifth Ave. so easy to catch a cab downtown.
Katherine_R, Jul 2026
This is a must for any fan of history or architecture or New York or the Gilded Age series. Luke was a knowledgeable and engaging guide.
Stan_K, Jul 2026
Luke was an excellent guide. Great stories and an easy to follow walking pace. The stop at the Met for restrooms and water was perfectly timed and his suggestion for lunch was spot-on.
Kristina_A, Jul 2026
Care gave us the BEST experience and was SO kind and informative we absolutely loved going !! Would definitely do this again if he was giving the tour
Anne_M, Jul 2026
The tour requires gentle walking for two hours. There is a bathroom and water station stop halfway through. There are ample opportunities for pictures inside and outside each stop. Luke, our guide, was exceptional. His strong delivery reflected his theatre training. He also shared many interesting, humorous, and sometimes scandalous bits of Gilded Age history. He supplemented his presentation with lots of photos presented on his ipad. Highly recommend this tour, and Luke as your tour guide.
Cynthia_H, Jul 2026
Care was an excellent guide. Very well spoken and knowledgeable. It was an interesting and entertaining tour.
Kristin_P, Jul 2026
Our guide Luke and the tour exceeded my expectations. The tour was the favorite part of my trip. He expertly wove history, humor, and lore to create a wonderful experience that created an environment that was educational but still inviting if guests had questions. Luke was extremely knowledgeable of the time period and offered some thought-provoking quotes from key players of the time period. We toured some breath-taking interiors...but did not have to imagine much for the houses we could not tour as Luke provided amazing visual displays on his ipad to compliment his stories. Truly amazing tour. Highly recommend to anyone that may enjoy the Gilded Age, early New York history or fun facts about architecture that most people walk by every day without a second look.
Nurit_F, Jul 2026
Wonderful walking tour visiting gilded era mansions and actually going into some
The guide Care was very knowledgeable and gave us stories on each mansion. Highly recommend him
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad you enjoyed actually going inside some of the mansions. This is the only Gilded Age Mansions tour in New York where we’ve built relationships with some of the owners to give us permission to go inside and see some preserved interiors. Care always gets rave reviews. Thanks for taking the time to let us know you enjoyed the tour!
Jill_C, Jul 2026
It was informative and entertaining! Strolling along 5th avenue and the mansions was very comfortable, even with the summer heat! Our tour guide, Luke, was knowledgeable and funny!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad you appreciated that Luke is both knowledgeable and funny. Some tour guides are knowledgeable, but not so funny, some are funny, but not so knowledgeable. Luke is both! Since the tour goes inside some of the buildings it’s very comfortable even with the summer heat because even though the buildings are from the Gilded Age they now have something they didn’t have in the Gilded Age: modern air-conditioning! Thanks for your review!
David_W, Jul 2026
The Gilded Age Mansions was a great tour. Lots of interesting history. Our tour guide, Luke, was outstanding. He was extremely knowledgeable and informative.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’ll let Luke know you found him to be outstanding, extremely knowledgeable and informative. I’m glad you appreciated the tour and the interesting history. Thanks for your review!
Debra_D, Jul 2026
excellent overview of the guided age mansions. good tips about seeing other sites. strong voice so we could all hear, good story telling, good sites that we visited...a very good experience!!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad you appreciated that the guide had a strong voice so all could hear. New York City can be a loud place sometimes and we always try to make sure everyone can hear ok. We always give tips about other sites worth seeing both in and around New York as well other parts of America. Thanks for your review!
Chrissy_H, Jul 2026
This tour was wonderful representation of the history of New York and the transition of wealth during the Gilded Age. It was a spectacular view of the architecture of the time included with creative stories about the Titans of the Gilded Age. Our presenter Luke was educated and entertaining, and funny, and the tour was worth every penny. Whether or not you are a fan of the show the Gilded Age does not matter. You will still enjoy every bit of it!
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad Luke was educated, entertaining, and funny and that the tour was worth every penny. Thanks for your review!
Shannon_A, Jul 2026
Great tour. Our guide Care was awesome. Answered everyone’s questions and had lots of great information.
Would recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad Care was awesome, answers everyone’s questions and had lots of great information. Thanks for your review!
Yma_R, Jul 2026
It was educational and entertaining. Our guide was most congenial and knowledgeable. Despite the fact that I am a native New Yorker, I learned so much about New York’s mansions on museum row which I learned was a very special time in NY history. I look forward to the next tour called Women of the Guilded Age
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad the tour was educational and entertaining, and that even a native New Yorker like yourself learned so much about New York’s mansions on museum row. Thanks for your review!
Meredith_L, Jul 2026
Zach was awesome! He kept us engaged the whole time. It was fun to learn about the history of the many beautiful buildings that I have passed so many times over the years. I would definitely recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
I’m glad Zach was awesome, keeping you engaged the whole time and it was fun to learn about the history of the many beautiful buildings you’ve passed so many times over the years. Thanks for your review!
From $40.00
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