Gilded Age Mansions Tour in New York
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
New York City, USA
- 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 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 1,097 reviews
dianadilello, May 2026
Great. An insightful introduction to NY’s Gilded Age. Our guide, Care(not how his name is actually spelled but how it is pronounced) was calm, charming and gave us a well paced tour.
Mike_W, May 2026
Care did an amazing job providing a great amount of detail and great recommendations. I would recommend this tour to anyone.
jamie_c, May 2026
Our tour guide Zach was very knowledgeable and drew us all in from the beginning with his great personality and penchant for storytelling. I would have loved being able to see the inside of these amazing buildings, but I understood why we weren't allowed into many of them, but looking at the architecture and hearing the stories of the families who built these mansions was very interesting.
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad Zach was very knowledgeable and drew you in with his great personality and penchant for storytelling and that you appreciated the buildings you were able to go inside and wanted to go in even more. Thanks for your review!
Teri_L, May 2026
Very fun and informative tour. Care was both entertaining and full of interesting facts and details.
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad the tour was fun and informative and that Care was both entertaining and full of interesting facts and details. Thanks for your review!
Dorothy_M, May 2026
This was a great tour, highly recommend. Care our tour guide was knowledgeable and made the tour fun…he is amazing!
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad to hear Care was amazing, knowledgeable and made the tour fun. Thanks for your review!
Tammy_H, May 2026
Very friendly and informative tour guide, Care. We learned a lot about the gilded age mansions and the ideas of that time period that helped shape New York,
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad Care was friendly and informative and that you learned a lot about Gilded Age mansions and the ideas of that time period that helped shape New York. Thanks for your review!
Michele_H, Apr 2026
So fun and informative! Tour guide AJ was a delight, super professional and knowledgeable! Highly recommend!
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad AJ was a delight, super professional and knowledgeable and that the tour was so fun and informative. Thanks for your review!
Susan_M, Apr 2026
A two hour walking tour of all the wonderful mansions of NYC with potted history of each. A different side of NYC. Not as focused on the ‘Gilded Age’ television program as I thought but thoroughly enjoyable and informative nonetheless the less. The tour guide was very informative and engaging.
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad you found the guide very informative and engaging. The tour makes some connections between the tv show The Gilded Age and the real life Gilded Age, but not too much because you don’t need to have seen the show to enjoy the tour. Thanks for your review!
Sandy_M, Apr 2026
it was fun and interesting. Care the guide was very friendly and receptive to questions and easy to listen t
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad Care was very friendly, receptive to questions and easy to listen to; and that the tour was fun and interesting. Thanks for your review!
Vicki_H, Apr 2026
That it is a WALKING tour. Nowhere in the description of tour does it say anything about walking. It does state “transportation” is wheelchair accessible. Tour Guide was great, but moved too fast for us. We had trouble keeping up.
Response from Host, May 2026
Thank you for your review. I will make the adjustment to the description so that it mentions it is a walking tour. I’m glad the guide was great, but sorry he moved too fast for you, we usually try to keep at a pace so that everyone can enjoy the tour. Reviews like this help us to make it a better tour.
Elizabeth_N, Apr 2026
Our tour guide was Care who was fabulous. He was knowledgeable and funny! He had great stories of famous people and the Gilded Age film. Highly recommend!!
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad Care was fabulous, knowledgeable and funny and that he had great stories. Thanks for your review!
Paola_C, Apr 2026
Tour was amazing even with crazy rain and colder temperature. Our guide, Matthew, was amazing. He has a great way of storytelling and bringing that period to life. I pride myself with being an apartment owner on the UWS and have been recommending this tour to all my neighbors. Locals need to know this history!!
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad the tour was amazing even with crazy rain and colder temperature. Thanks for your review!
Peter_S, Apr 2026
Wonderful walking tour of gilded age New York with interesting stories and details of life during the late 19th century.
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad you found this a wonderful walking tour of Gilded Age New York with interesting stories and details of life during the late 19th century. Thanks for your review!
Steve_M, Apr 2026
Highly knowledgeable engaging passionate guide. Very interesting subject matter highly recommended for any visiting nyc
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad you appreciated the highly knowledgeable, engaging and passionate guide as well as the very interesting subject matter. Thanks for your review!
Janet_S, Apr 2026
Our guide was well-informed about the Gilded Age and easy to understand. Also, we appreciated his comments and suggestions about books, movies, and television series that focused on the Gilded Age. The size of our group and the time span of the tour were just right...a five-star tour!
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad your guide was well-informed and easy to understand and that you appreciated his comments about books movies and television series that focused on the Gilded Age. Thanks for your review!
Alessia_L, Apr 2026
We really enjoyed this tour! Matthew was fantastic—super knowledgeable and engaging, with great photos and stories. Fun, engaging, and well worth it! Highly recommend
Response from Host, May 2026
I’m glad you found the tour fun, engaging and well worth it. Thanks for your review!
Alison_E, Apr 2026
Care gave a fantastic tour! It was informative and fun. We were able to see inside several of the mansions. We really enjoyed and would recommend it!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you enjoyed seeing inside several of the mansions and that Care gave a fantastic tour that was informative and fun. Thanks for your review!
JeanAnne_M, Apr 2026
Fun and interesting walking tour of the mansions and entrance to a few that are open to the public. Our guide AJ was excellent - knowledgeable and funny!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you enjoyed entering a few of the mansions and that AJ was knowledgeable and funny. Thanks for your review!
WILLIAM_H, Apr 2026
Well informed guide. Spoke clearly and with some good humor. Use of pad to show pictures was a nice and helpful touch. Thanks Care and forgive the misspelling.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad Care did a great job speaking clearly and with good humor. Thanks for your review!
Ali_M, Apr 2026
It was an awesome experience from start to finish. The guide was very knowledgeable and the walking was lovely.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad it was an awesome experience from start to finish, the guide was knowledgeable and the walking was lovely. Thanks for your review!
Morgan_L, Apr 2026
Had a really lovely time with the group and learned tons of interesting facts about a few buildings here in New York!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you had a really lovely time with the group and learned tons of interesting facts about a few of the buildings here in New York. Thanks for your review!
Karen_C, Apr 2026
Great tour on a very warm April day. Our guide, Care, was everything you want in a guide - knowledgeable, entertaining, engaging, enthusiastic, kind, considerate, and fun. He gained free access to many places we could not have seen on our own. He offered pointers on what to see next. 5 stars!
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you found Care knowledgeable, entertaining, engaging, enthusiastic, kind, considerate, and fun; and that appreciated the free access to many places. Thanks for your review!
F_I, Apr 2026
I have now completed about five tours with VIATOR. Last two, including Smithsonian
Museums in DC and Gilded Age were good but not great.
In my humble opinion, tour guides are wonderful and very knowledgeable, but often rush people and solely focused on spitting out often irrelevant information in a rushed fast, eclipsing the essence of the tour.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I think I know the Gilded Age Mansions tour guide, you are referring to. Many of the other reviews of this tour have mentioned they appreciated the storytelling, information and humor of these tours. A review like this is helpful constructive criticism to learn how guides can improve. Thank you for your review.
Laila_R, Apr 2026
Care was an amazing, knowledgeable and funny guide. He complemented the tour by showing us historical pictures of the city, mansions and the characters of the era. We had an amazing time.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad Care was an amazing, knowledgeable and funny guide, and that you appreciated the historical pictures. Thanks for your review!
Rebecca_E, Apr 2026
This was an interesting tour, and our guide, Matthew, was outstanding. He knew the material well, had a well-rehearsed presentation and lots of photos of the mansions in their glory days and the men and women who built them. Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you appreciated the presentation and photos of the mansions and men and women who built them. Thanks for your review!
Heather_R, Apr 2026
We had a great tour with Care. He had great back stories to share. The pictures of the people and past were a great added touch. Care also offered ideas for more in depth look into the houses and the area. Highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you had a great tour with Care and appreciated the backstories, pictures and suggestions he shared. Thanks for your review!
Margie_N, Apr 2026
Bring a fan of the show isn’t necessary for this tour, though it was fun hearing familiar names being dropped. The tour guide was knowledgeable and personable. We did get to go into two of the mansions, but not too much in depth. I’d recommend.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you enjoyed going inside the mansions, hearing familiar names being dropped and the knowledgeable, personable guide. Thanks for your review!
Lori_B, Apr 2026
Great experience! It was very interesting to see the historical places in NYC and imagine how people lived back then. Care did an excellent job of giving us the background on these places and the details of the original owners.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
Im glad you found the tour fun and educational and that Care did an excellent job giving you the background on these places and the details of the original owners. Thanks for your review!
Jessica_M, Apr 2026
Care was great. The knowledge of personal history behind the buildings was fantastic. He was patient and kind.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad to hear Care was great, patient and kind and that his knowledge of personal history behind the buildings was fantastic. Thanks for your review!
Robin_D, Apr 2026
I would have loved to have been able to see the interiors of more of the mansions but had a fabulous time regardless
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I’m glad you had a fabulous time enjoying the interiors you saw and wanted to see even more. Thanks for your review!
From $40.00
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