Tour Highlights

Titans of the Gilded Age. Stand before the former mansions of Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Astor — and uncover the ambition, rivalries, and power struggles that reshaped Fifth Avenue.

Architectural Grandeur. Discover Beaux-Arts palaces and European-inspired façades built to rival royal residences.

Life Behind the Limestone. Step inside the world of lavish interiors, private staff, and the daily rituals of extreme wealth.

What Survived — What Vanished. See which mansions remain, which were demolished, and how Fifth Avenue evolved into Museum Mile.

Discreet wireless earpieces included for clear audio, even in busy areas

Perfect tour! Perfect guide and perfect experience! Knowledgable and fine public speaker.

Jordan B
1/22/2026

Very knowledge and entertaining tour guide! Our guide was excellent – both super informative and hilarious. Great side stories that really brought the area alive. It was also great that we were such a small group — 4 people.

alexandra
1/17/2026
great tour, knowledgeable guide Beautiful architecture, knowledgeable guide, memorable time! So many stories behind each corner. it’s a good tour to have if you are in the city.

Sihua P
12/31/2025

Must Do for Architecture loves Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and energetic while walking us through the magical history of the Guilded Age!👍🏻 Hand warmers for those cold days and head sets provided to hear the stories.

Colleen B
12/31/2025
Gilded history I thoroughly enjoyed the Gilded Age tour of 5th Avenue mansions. Richard was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable about NYC and that time in history. He was also very thoughtful regarding our comfort when the day turned chilly.

Lisa
11/29/2025

Nice tour of beautiful Fifth Ave! The tour was interesting as we learned new things about the mansions on Fifth Avenue, and how life was for the super wealthy during the Gilded Age period. Katie our guide was great!

Kerry C
11/17/2025
Great tour of NY city gilded mansions Our guide Laura did an outstanding job of providing background and the history of the mansions we viewed. She used a tablet to show us pictures and documents pertaining to the mansions we saw

Freedom31333495925
11/09/2025

Glider age mansion tour review worth the walk Guide was amazing He was pleasant knowledgeable and very easy to talk to. Would recommend d this tour and this guide. He knew his stuff. Wow I would warn people. The tour involves a bit of walking

Marisol B
10/30/2025
Gilded age tour The guide was friendly and well prepared. She was able to answer all questions and was very detailed. I would definitely use this group again.

Jose M
10/25/2025

Got our Gilded Age fix Great way to explore 5th Ave, our guide Richard was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. A good way to spend a nice fall afternoon outside.

Cara K
10/22/2025
Fun activity in NYC This was an excellent tour. Our guide Richard was very knowledgeable and we truly enjoyed learning about the history of the mansions along Fifth Avenue. Highly recommend!!

Laurin J
10/20/2025

Wonderful walk up 5th Avenue through the Gilded Age. Our Guide Laurie, was very knowledgeable and entertaining. At each stop along 5th Avenue we saw amazing architecture and learned about the history and current residents of the buildings. The size of the group about 12 people made it easy to hear the guide who spoke clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear. Great way to spend an afternoon in NYC.

Travel46308434368
10/13/2025
A Great Tour Richard was our tour guide. He was friendly and knowledgable. He is also familiar with the current HBO series on this topic. He brings the history to life with many photos and backstories. He also provides some interesting general info on living in NYC – both then and now. He gave us a recommendation for a great nearby cafe and info on how not to get lost in Central Park.

David W
10/11/2025

Loved this tour so much! I cannot speak highly enough of this tour and our guide, Hazel! Over the course of two hours, I learned so much about the architecture and the dramatic stories behind some of the city’s oldest buildings. Hazel was funny and incredibly engaging and even as a New Yorker, it was one of the most fun experiences in the city I’ve had. Thank you so much and would honestly do it again!

Camilla W
10/06/2025
5 STAR Review of Gilded Age Walking Tour The walking tour of the Gilded Age Mansions on Fifth Avenue was one of the highlights of our trip to NYC. Our guide, Richard, not only filled us in on the architectural details of these stately mansions but also the fascinating stories behind each. Both my sister and I are fans of the Gilded Age tv series and Edith Wharton novels. Our guide’s knowledge and love of these mansions was more than evident. Richard’s walking tour made the Gilded Age come to life.

eugenia5g
10/04/2025

Absolutely Outstanding Guide Our tour guide yesterday was one of the best guides we’ve ever had. Very well organized, concise, interesting and entertaining. We learned a lot. I would book anything. We were very interested in learning about the Gilded Age Mansions, and we did, but I would sign up for anything other tours he led regardless of the topic

429neals
10/02/2025
Beautiful buildings! Fantastic tour on the Upper East Side featuring mansions and private clubs of The Gilded Age. My cousins and I are all obsessed with the HBO show and enjoyed seeing some remaining homes & buildings from that era. The only thing that could have made it better was if more buildings from that time period were still around instead of being lost to new development. Our guide was friendly and informative, the walking length was very manageable, and we even spotted a celebrity walking their dog along 5th Avenue! If you are a fan of NYC, history, HBO’s The Gilded Age, and/or Architecture, this tour is for you!

Kristen M
9/29/2025

Great day in NYC The Gilded Age Mansions Tour was really informative and interesting. Our tour guide was knowledgable and friendly. He clarified which actual Gilded Age personalities were represented in the Gilded Age TV series which was fun. Loved having the bluetooth earpieces which made it possible to hear his commentary clearly over the city noise. Highly recommend the Gilded Age Mansion Walking Tour.

Kerry C
9/28/2025
Perfect for Guilded Age show fans Had a great time learning about this time in new york city history. Guide was very informed and fun. Meet up was a little confusing but just keep looking for a group near the monument. Definitely recommend!

Laura G
9/28/2025

Upper East Side Gems Wonderful peek into the Upper East Side’s gilded age architecture and the characters that graced them. Our guide was knowledgeable, warm and witty.

Lisa S
9/22/2025
Don’t miss this one! We absolutely loved this tour. Our guide clearly did his homework and we enjoyed all of the connections he made to the era as well as the TV show. The duration was just right and the locations were in close proximity so people with mobility limitations could enjoy the tour. It didn’t hurt that on the day of our tour, the weather in NYC was spectacular ❤️

angelaowen0518
9/02/2025

NYC Gilded Age tour Richard was very knowledgeable and engaging. Enthusiastic. He threw out some fun facts. He was very open to any and all questions.

Joan L
8/30/2025
Great tour! The tour was very informative. The guide was very friendly and was easy to listen to, very informed on the topic. Worth doing and lovely surroundings near the park.

Diane F
8/25/2025

Gilded Age tour was great! The tour guide was wonderful – knowledgeable and thorough. The walk was Interesting, whether or not you follow the series.

Bernita S
8/13/2025
Gilded tour Great tour with such an informative guide. Really enjoyed it The guide was conscious to try and keep us out of the harsh sun.

teacherbethj
7/21/2025

Informative tour Very informative tour. The guide was very experienced, spoke clearly and provided a great number of interesting historical stories.

Karin H
6/23/2025
Very informative tour! Laura did an amazing job yesterday with our tour! Loved all the pics on her i-pad to go along with the mansions history. And only having two other couples made it very personal and close.

I1942ICcheryl
5/17/2025

Excellent tour Lots of interesting information, history and sites on and around 5th Avenue. Our guide Richard was great! We all really enjoyed this tour.

Shannon C
5/17/2025
A mile walk up 5th Ave. and back into the Gilded Age of Manhattan Laura lead a beautiful tour. She knew so much about the buildings and the people who inhabited them. Her knowledge of New York history is rich and the stories she told were fascinating. She even helped us locate a private library at the end of the tour that my wife has always wanted to visit. She gave us tips for how to see other parts of secret New York.

Richard M
4/20/2025

Interesting People & Their Spaces! Rosemary was a wonderful tour guide. She was prompt to our meeting place, did a lot of pre-walk teaching about NYC (her home), and guided us for 20 blocks (59th to 79th St) of 5th Ave, pointing out interesting sites and filling in the ‘people’ angles on all of them. She also had relevant pictures to share with us on a tablet computer as we progressed. It was cold, windy, and started to spit rain at the end of the tour, but it was all worth it. Thank you, Untapped New York!

Aleisa M
4/11/2025
Interesting tour, highly recommend This interesting tour provided information about architecture and society, including the drama. So glad we did this tour. Richard was fantastic. I even got a book recommendation (Empty Mansions) from someone on the tour.

Sherrie L
4/10/2025

A gilded tour of the Gilded Age We took the Fifth Avenue Gilded Age Mansions Walking tour with with Richard. It was excellent. He’s very friendly, knowledgeable and approachable. Learned all about the Astors (old money) the Vanderbilts (new money) and the extraordinary homes they built. We also went into a few of the buildings (that are no longer private residences) including the Calvin Klein building on Madison (they were very accommodating). We all had earpieces so it was easy to hear everything. It was a beautiful, warm day in NYC. Everything was perfect.

Richard L
3/30/2025
Secret Gems of the Guilded Age tour Richard, our tour guide was amazing. He shared little known facts about the guided age that were so interesting. We saw hidden gems of NYC that we would have never identified and some on the tour were lifelong New Yorkers!

Gerard K
3/29/2025

Very interesting and entertaining Bob was an excellent tour guide. He had great stories about the families that lived in the mansions and the history of the Gilded Age. Even though the weather turned cold and a little rainy, it still was enjoyable and well worth our time.

karenlp2018
3/27/2025
A must see, Fifth Ave Gilded Age Mansions. Fifth Avenue Gilded Age Mansions was an amazing tour. I learned so much about how Fifth Ave. evolved as an enclave for the very wealthy. The architecture is amazing and the tour guide shared such interesting facts and stories about the mansions and the people who lived there. I loved going into two of mansions…such a great experience. I would highly reccomend this to visitors & natives of NYC.

David G
3/22/2025

A tour group poses outside the Ukrainian Institute

Woodwork details inside a Gilded Age Mansion

Tour Guest on Gilded Age Fifth Ave Mansions Tour

A tour group outside the Central Park Arsenal

The General Sherman Statue on Fifth Avenue

Your Own Guide. Your Own Schedule.

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Itinerary

Meet your guide

Meet your guide in front of the gold statue of General William T. Sherman on a horse, located on 5th Ave between 59th and 60th St, Manhattan.

Grand Army Plaza, Manhattan

The heart of the Gilded Age’s Millionaire’s Row home to the famed Pulitzer fountain and the historical site of Cornelius Vanderbilt II the largest single residence in NYC.

Plaza Hotel

The iconic hotel which became the replacement for single mansions on Fifth Avenue.

Metropolitan and Knickerbocker Clubs

The two Gilded Age gentlemen’s clubs one the bastion of the blue blood old money and the other a lavish hangout for the new money Gilded Age barons.

Frick Collection

The iconic home of Henry Clay Frick now a museum of fine arts and one of the hottest museum tickets in NYC.

Rhinelander Mansion

The large lavish home with an even larger story; built by a Gilded Age widow and never moved into, now the flagship location of Ralph Lauren.

Joseph Pulitzer Mansion

This storied mansion is said to be the most customized every built to fit the needs of its exacting publication mogul.

Hidden Bookstore inside a Gilded Age Mansion

Villa Albertine is a delightful French/English bookstore inside the old parlors of the Payne Whitney Mansion now the French Cultural Institute.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of the most iconic museums in the world, designed by the famed architects of the Gilded Age.

Tour Ends

The tour concludes across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

About This Tour

Fifth Avenue became the epicenter of American wealth, and the stage for its fiercest rivalries.

On this expert-led walking tour, explore the rise of the Vanderbilts, Carnegies, Astors, and other industrial titans who transformed Manhattan into a stage for power, rivalry, and architectural ambition. Learn how fortunes built from railroads, steel, and finance funded limestone façades modeled after French châteaux and Renaissance palaces. Discover which mansions survive, which were demolished, and how this stretch of Fifth Avenue evolved into today’s Museum Mile.

Expect a story-driven walk filled with social drama, architectural insight, and the real forces that shaped New York’s most prestigious address.

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Fifth Avenue Gilded Age Mansions Tour