We took two more Big Onion tours in the city this year, and had mixed results.
The first tour was their Historic Times Square tour, and even though it was a really cold day the tour was great! Our guide was engaging and made sure to go over the history of the Times Square area and also tried to make sure we ducked into the occasional warm vestibule as well. Overall, I'd give this tour a 4.5.
The next tour was their Greenwich Village tour. While the guide was a nice, mellow fellow, he had more to say about the various folks who had lived in homes in the Village (jazz great lived over here, ""Friends"" lived over here, movie was shot over here....) and also had a real fascination with quizzing the group on where the borders for the East Village, West Village, etc. were. I could tell that he loved the Village and was passionate about it but unfortunately we didn't really get much history and didn't get a good feel for the historic aspects of the area. We did, however, duck into Jack's coffee at his suggestion to warm up toward the end of the tour as we were a bit bored and cold. I'd say this tour warranted a 2.5.
Previous review from 2009:
In general, I love the Big Onion walking tours. The guides are all beyond knowledgeable and are able to give you lovely tidbits of information that your average guide might not have. We have taken several tours with Big Onion while in New York, and I'd say most of them were just wonderful.
One thing though, beware of the Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour. The history part of the tour was as expected (wonderful) but the eating part was a bit of a joke. Truly, if you are looking for a food tour check out the Foods of NY tours....they can't be beat for New York food tours. For history, most definitely seek out the Big Onion tours.
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