NYC Tour Guide License Study Kit

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.

Federal Hall and George Washington statue as one of the buildings you will learn getting your nyc tour guide license

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

The Bowery Boys Podcast

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

Free Tours By Foot

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.

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Gina

Gina is the founder of Jet Set and Forget. She is a licensed tour guide and fitness professional who has traveled to over 15 countries since 2010. Gina left her position as a COO in 2023 to travel full time. She is on a mission to help people travel stress free!
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