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

Tue 24 Dec

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $45.00

Make a reservation

Tue 24 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)

karenwU1906PW

Dec 2019

This tour is one of the things I’d most been looking forward to but was utterly disappointed. Our tour guide Russell was full of knowledge & very good but we did feel he told us a lot about Harlem, drugs, racism & property and not much about the history of gospel music. After a two hour walking tour we went to a lovely looking church, all the different walking tour groups ended up here. I asked one of the ushers if many of the Harlem community came to this church but she said it was for the international congregation ie specific for the walking tour. Now rightly or wrongly I expected the service to be upbeat with lots of singing & clapping.... no!! The choir looked half dead & tone deaf and there was definitely nothing upbeat about them. We were told we couldn’t leave before the end as it would be disruptive but people were still aloud to come in which was disruptive as was the usher having conversations behind me. At least two of the readings were about giving your money & you were not allowed to leave until after the collection buckets had been passed around. Please don’t waste your time or money as this is not an authentic tour in my eyes.

Response from Host

Dec 2019

Thank you for your feedback but what you are stating is patently false. We do not bring our tourists to any churches that have services specifically for tourists. We attend services that our regularly scheduled church services. It is both unfair and inaccurate to say we bring people to tourist traps and money making projects. As you can see from the reviews of many other tourists who enjoyed the services, we take people to actual services and strongly dispute your characterization of our gospel experiences. If the music did not fit up to your stereotype of a gospel services or was not to your tastes, we regret that. We also appreciate that you enjoyed our tour guide. However, your statements of our churches our disputed by other customers who have taken our gospel tours and enjoyed authentic experiences. Thank you.

AmyGG2

Nov 2019

Learnt so much and enjoyed it immensely! Would definitely recommend doing this tour. Everyone was very welcoming

Rayssaestrela

Nov 2019

We had a tour with Josh! An excellent guide! Amazing explanation and super proactive! We got great insights not only from Harlem, but other neighbourhoods as well. Josh was amazing! We definetely recommend!