Top 15 Lower East Side Tours

1.Lower East Side Food Tour: Taste NYC’s American Dream

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,031 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $54Our pick

Walk about a mile through Lower Manhattan with an English-speaking guide such as Astrid, Erik, or Tavia. Expect four food tastings, immigration stories, street art, Chinatown dumplings, Little Italy pizza, and a small group capped at 14 people.

“Very enjoyable tour- loved hearing the history of NYC and tasting samples of food from different cultures. Our guide, Tavia, also supplemented the tour with photographs and images. A great idea.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.NYC Lower East Side Walking and Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 646 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $94

Join a guide such as Amanda, David, or Emmeline for a three-hour Lower East Side walk built around food and immigrant stories. You’ll sample pastrami, dumplings, pickles, candy, bialys, and doughnuts. The group is capped at 12, lunch is included, and vegetarian substitutions are available.

“Knowledgeable guide, plethora of food, fun part of town and the small group size allowed an intimate time to be had by all.”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Taste the American Dream a Lower East Side Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 307 reviews · 3 hours · from $53

Walk 1.6 km from the African Burial Ground to the Lower East Side, stopping for four tastings and stories about Jewish, Chinese, Italian, and Latin American New York. Small groups of up to 14 make it easy to ask questions. Guides have included Bruce, Erik, Alex, and Micaela.

“Very informative tour with an excellent tour guide who was energetic and passionate about his job!”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Lower East Side Eats Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 100 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $99

Walk New York’s Lower East Side for three hours with a licensed guide and up to 12 people. Expect generous tastings, including Katz’s pastrami, Dominican food, bialys, pickles, candy, and Doughnut Plant sweets, plus neighborhood stories. Guides such as Adam, Shaina, Jack, and Jonathan bring different personal styles.

“Matt was great... very personable and knowledgeable. Great spots to visit.. Totally worth it... plenty of food!”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Lower East Side Food and Neighborhood Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 70 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $39Best value

Meet at the Museum at Eldridge Street for a 2.5-hour afternoon walk through the Lower East Side. Guides such as Connor, Michael, Liz, and Elizabeth bring the neighborhood’s Jewish, Chinese, Caribbean, and Eastern European past to life. Food costs extra, so you choose what to taste.

“Fabulous tour! Michael was terrific!! Great choices of food and interesting history ! The kids loved the tour!”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Guided tour of Lower East Side, Chinatown and Little Italy in French

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 65 reviews · from $63

Walk through three of Manhattan’s most storied districts with a professional French-speaking guide such as Fred, Marc, Marie, or Aymeric. Over 3.5 hours, you’ll connect immigrant history, organized crime, street art, Chinese traditions, and Italian heritage in a small group of up to 12.

“Excellente visite avec un guide passionné et précis dans les informations. Bon rythme de visite.Un grand merci à notre guide Marc!”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Lower East Side, Chinatown and Little Italy Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 61 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $88

Spend three hours walking from Essex Market to Chinatown, pairing Jewish, Italian, and Chinese food with New York history. You’ll sample bagels, bialys, pickles, candy, cannoli, pizza, a roast pork bun, dumplings, and a fruit smoothie in a group of up to 14.

“Our guide, Chris, is highly knowledgeable about food, art and history of the lower east side, Chinatown and Little Italy. He made the walking tour fun and full of great bites from the neighborhood. Highly recommend. Be prepared for lots of walking and bring your appetite.”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Devour New York Lower East Side Guided Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 56 reviews · from $79

Start at 10:30 am with a guide such as Brian or Sara and walk through the Lower East Side for seven generous tastings. You’ll try pastrami, Dominican breakfast, cheese, vegan bagels, dumplings, pickles, and doughnuts in a group of no more than 12.

“I am very happy I booked this tour. My tour guide Sara was friendly, very knowledgable and really has a passion for her job and the city of New York. We stopped at some great spots on the tour and I was stuffed by the end of it! I learned lotRead more”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Tenement History and Immigrant Life in the Lower East Side

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · 2 to 3 hours (approx.) · from $59

Join guide Rob Arnell for a 2 to 3 hour walking tour from Foley Square through Chinatown and the Lower East Side. See old tenements, Eldridge Street Synagogue, former bathhouses, immigrant landmarks, and finish with a rooftop view from Hotel Indigo. Groups are limited to five.

“So interactive, so informative. Great pace and so much learned. He is a wealth of knowledge and so pleasant to listen to. Interested in all the questions as well!”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Lower East Side Food Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 31 reviews · 3 hours · from $99

Spend three hours with Sidewalk Food Tours tasting Jewish deli classics, bialys, pickles, dumplings, doughnuts, and candy in the Lower East Side. Small groups of up to eight follow English-speaking guides such as Jack and Ross, with stops and tastings subject to change.

“Jack was amazing, stops fabulous book it! Had to move due to weather flight delay to another morning GYG was very accompanying!! Thank you”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Private Walking Tour: Jewish Lower East Side

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 27 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)

Walk the Jewish Lower East Side with a private English-speaking guide, starting at 174 East Broadway and ending at Economy Candy. You’ll see architecture linked to Russian Jewish migration, visit Pickle Guys, Essex Market, and a Depression-era candy shop. Jonathan is praised for warm, sharp storytelling.

“Jonathan is a wonderful guide. He was funny, personable, and knowledgeable. From small details to the big picture, Jonathan weaves it altogether to give a sense of a place that has always been (and continues to be) in transition. Highly recommend.”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Lower East Side Bagel Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 24 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $58

Walk New York’s Lower East Side for about 2.5 hours with a guide such as Ben, tasting local favorites and starting with a fresh bagel. Expect Jewish neighborhood history, stops near Katz’s Deli, Russ & Daughters, Economy Candy, The Pickle Guys, and Kossar’s Bialys, with groups capped at 15.

“Avoid at all costs!!! Only 2/8 of places were open One of the places had been closed for years Not sure but seemed like a scam as the price was high”

Check availability →Read our full review

13.Lower East Side Devour Food & History Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 19 reviews · from $79

Walk the Lower East Side with an English-speaking Devour guide, tasting 7 or more dishes at 7 family-run businesses. Expect Katz’s pastrami, Dominican breakfast, handmade cheese, a modern bagel, Fujian noodles or dumplings, pickles, and inventive doughnuts.

“Guide was outstanding. Great knowledge of history of the area and shared an interest in food with all of the people on the tour. Took my 11 and 13 year-old boys and they had a great time.”

Check availability →Read our full review

14.Iconic Foods of the Lower East Side and Little Italy Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 14 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $90

Meet at 220 Broome Street at noon for a food-and-history walk through the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Little Italy. Your guide, possibly Hank, buys five tastings, including donuts, pizza, soup dumplings, bagels with lox, and cheesecake. The tour ends at Grand and Mulberry Streets.

“Hank was very knowledgeable on the food and neighborhood history of New York. We had a great time. Our your included donuts, pizza, soup dumplings in Chinatown, bagels and lox, and New York cheesecake. All the establishments were excellent and Hank made this an educational, delicious and fun experience.”

Check availability →Read our full review

15.Private Lower East Side Food and Neighborhood Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 13 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $80

Walk from Eldridge Street to Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery with a private guide such as Gabi or Christine. Expect neighborhood stories, kosher-style vegetarian tastings, and stops at Katz’s, Kossar’s, Pickle Guys, Economy Candy, and historic Jewish landmarks.

“Gabi, our tour guide was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and easy to be with. All great qualities you want in a professional tour guide. The private lower east side tour was fantastic. We really enjoyed in spite of the cold snap.”

Check availability →Read our full review