This is your reference guide on how to get your NYC tour guide license. Always refer to the current nyc.goc sites on the most up-to-date qualifications.
If you want to become a trusted and knowledgeable New York City Tour guide, there are a few helpful tools that can get you there faster. Everyone has a different preference on how they like to learn, below are the items that will help you to excel as a tour guide in New York City.
Here is the post to also help you pass your exam here.
WATCH
Ken Burns “New York: A Documentary Film”.
It is a 17-hour long film, cut into 8 videos, which you can find all of them on YouTube as individual cuts or purchase through Amazon Prime.
Watching this will give you a foundation on how NYC was built. It details each decade and how New York City was founded, built, taken away, and rebuilt over many decades.
The documentary is very long, it will take you a few days to watch it. Keep a notebook and pen handy while watching, and take notes.
LISTEN
This podcast is undoubtedly chock full of interesting stories and historical accounts. You will enjoy how they tie each story into another story, going into detail on how this amazing city was built from the ground up.
You can skip around and listen to the episodes in any order. Each one has a specific topic it covers.
READ
NYC history books can be very repetitive. The documentary and podcast above are what works best for most guides. If you decide to concentrate on a specific niche, some examples are below that can help you to learn about that specific topic.
Food Tour: 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement
Prohibition Tour: Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City
LEARN IN PERSON
These tours are “pay as you wish” and they cover Manhattan and Brooklyn, over a multitude of neighborhoods. They offer history walking tours, food tours, bus tours, and even night tours. Each guide is licensed, so you know you are getting a guide who took the time to learn as much as possible before hitting the streets.
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About the author: Gina is a licensed tour guide and when she was living in NYC she ran a wide range of tours on topics such as history, food, and prohibition. She also ran fitness tours through Central Park with Fit Tours NYC.