Half-Day Harlem Gospel Experience Walking Tour

Overview

Enjoy a neighborhood tour of the cultural capital of Black America and experience the soulful sounds of gospel music. Explore the streets walked by greats such as Billie Holiday, Malcolm X, and Michael Jackson while viewing legendary sites like the Apollo Theater, the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Strivers’ Row, Hotel Theresa and much more. After the neighborhood tour, you also have a chance to enjoy a gospel performance at a service in a local church.

City: New York City

Mon 23 Dec

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $45.00

Make a reservation

Mon 23 Dec

Starting at $45.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Professional guide

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Dress code is smart casual. Part of this tour will take place inside a church. Out of respect for the congregation hosting us, please dress appropriately and refrain from wearing flip-flops, tank tops and shorts
Visiting the church requires the proof of vaccination and wearing a mask.
Customers require staying for the entire church service (usually 1.15 - 1.3 hours)
Face masks required for travellers in public areas

What To Expect

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

(Exterior Visit) The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide.

Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

(Exterior Visit) Mother Zion has played a critical role in every aspect of African-American life during early New York City history.

Abyssinian Baptist Church

(Exterior Visit) Founded in 1808, Abyssinian Baptist Church is one of the oldest African-American Baptist churches in the United States.

Strivers' Row

View beautiful historic homes built by David H. King Jr., who also built the Washington Arch and the Empire State Building.

Apollo Theater

(Exterior Visit) Re-opened to both black and white audiences in 1934 as the Apollo Theater catering mostly to Harlem’s black community.

Harlem

Experience the service of a black congregation and enjoy and participate in the Gospel music with live musicians and choir sharing the joy of Gospel.

Show 3 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (64)

N798BGhannahh

Jul 2022

I’m an English teacher in Berlin and booked this tour with the intention to learn more about US history and culture - especially from the perspective of Black people and people of color and wow this tour far exceeded my expectations. In two hours our tour guide Ludi took us around Harlem stopping at key sights. Ludi is a fantastic storyteller, I loved her energy (and patience with all my nerdy questions). What I loved is how she explained the origin of Gospel and encouraged us to learn about the violent context in which Gospel was created. Lastly, the end of the tour was truly beautiful as we got to visit a church and listen to a choir. So, book this tour! A huge thank you again to the organizers. Your work is very much appreciated.

DeetheDino

Jul 2022

My friend and I visited NYC and as she is a practising Christian this felt like a very appropriate tour. Our tour took place on Sunday 10 July, my friend is hard of hearing and we mentioned this to the guide, who made every effort to ensure that she could hear him at all times, and this was greatly appreciated. The tour started with a walk around Harlem, I found this fascinating, our guide went into great detail about the history of music and area and how this has influenced Harlem and music overall. We were advised that the church service would be for real members of the congregation and if we were expecting Sister Act we would be deeply disappointed! We were not expecting Sister Act fortunately, however, found the church service to be no different than a modern approach in the UK churches, which was slightly disappointing, 4 singers and live musicians. Obviously this was not a concert and nor should it be but if you are expecting more of an original perceived gospel experience, you may be disappointed. There was a collection and rightly so, we both happily donated. Overall experience including full service was around 3.5 hours.

745mettel

Jul 2022

Our guide was super sweet and very competent. We walked around Harlem for one and a half hour, with good stories and history told. The church visit had nothing to do with gospel. A band of four did a koncert about their belief and faith. The main focus was collecting money. The church was closed for the summer and the only participants was tourists. No need to waste time and money on this trip.

Response from Host

Jul 2022

Thank you for your acknowledgment that our tour guide was great and the tour had good stories and history about Harlem that we told. We regret that you did not enjoy the church that was visited. However, we must respond to the inaccurate and unfair statements that you have a made. The black church you visited was not closed. During the summer and also due to the fact that some congregants attend virtually (a development during COVID), there were not a lot of congregants there that day. That does not mean the church was closed. So, that is untrue. Also, you acknowledge that there was a gospel concert and that people shared their faith. But then you inaccurately state that the main focus was on money? What is the basis for that conclusion? All Christian churches in the U.S. have a time for tithes and offerings. US churches are not funded by the government as they are in Europe. Because they encourage visitors to give ONE time during the service does not mean that the "main focus was money." That is extremely unfair and also disregards everything else that happened during the service which was dominated by praise, song, worship and prayer. If you are offended by a one time request for a voluntary offering, then you would be offended by ANY American church. While we regret you did not enjoy the church, we want to make clear that some of the statements you made were both untrue and unfair. Thank you for your feedback.