Meet the Operators Behind Lower Manhattan’s New Walking Tours 

Earlier this year, the Downtown Alliance announced the winners of its Walking Tour Incubator Grant Program. The tours chosen as winners submitted the most compelling and original concepts — tour guides that transcended the typical downtown highlights. 

The five outfits behind the tours have since undergone a rigorous two-month incubator, in partnership with the Alliance. The program included one-on-one coaching from industry leaders, an educational curriculum and financial grants to develop and launch their tours. Here are the talented guides and entrepreneurs now bringing their walking-tour expertise to the neighborhood.

Downtown LGBTQ+ Activism

Michael Venturiello is a historian and educator who is also the founder of Christopher Street Tours, an LGTBQ-owned and -operated walking tour company that has been uplifting voices from members of the queer community who have paved the way toward human rights.  

The new tour is an opportunity to honor the past, celebrate the present and actively contribute to a more inclusive future. Find more information here. 

Sinister Secrets of the Seaport  

The South Street Seaport Museum’s 90-minute tour chaperones you on a winding journey that unravels the darker past of the shoreline district — all the scandalous and dubious tales lurking on the cobblestone streets, in the historic buildings and along the waterfront.  

Meet your tour guide at Ryan Maguire’s Bar & Restaurant (28 Cliff St.), where one happy hour beverage is included with your registration. See the calendar for upcoming tours here. 

Escape to New York — Stories of Faith, Freedom and Fortune 

Vivace Tours takes visitors through a history of Lower Manhattan, from New Amsterdam to present day, by showing what makes New York City such a unique enclave of people from around the world who seek religious freedom and fortune. 

How to Be a New Yorker: Downtown Edition  

Awesome Walks hosts an interactive, immersive audio tour in which participants meet business owners, community leaders, thinkers, doers and get to see the city through their eyes. Book a tour here. 

Culinary Master Dining Experience and an NYC Afternoon Culinary Adventure 

Inside Out Tours has two tours programmed for the neighborhood. Culinary Masters is a progressive meal journey featuring three renowned chefs and restaurants; the Culinary Adventure is a mouthwatering tasting tour across Lower Manhattan led by expert guides. 

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For more information about the program, the tours and how to book them, please visit the Alliance’s Incubator page.