7 Best Wall Street Tours
Wall Street is to be enjoyed in every corner with all its stories of the financial universe. The surrounding area also offers excellent tourist attractions not to be missed.
If you've decided to take this trip, you'll probably want to know what sites to visit in New York and all the details about the tours scheduled with the support of an expert guide. Guided tours of Wall Street are almost a must - you can't miss this famous street and meet the world's most prominent financial firms!
There are numerous sites, stories and characters to discover along the almost 800 metres of the street. Most are done on foot, which is a plus, as you'll get the best live Wall Street experience - feel like a stockbroker for at least a couple of hours!
1. Wall Street Walking Tour
During your guided tour through Wall Street you will get to know the most prominent financial firms that make important decisions about the world's economies every day. You may also have time to enjoy a coffee and a bite to eat in the city's most popular restaurants.
The area offers visitors the chance to learn more about, for example, the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall from the knowledgeable guide in charge of each group. This type of tour also includes historical details about Wall Street and most of the buildings it houses.
Wall Street has a history of its own, an amazing present and a future that looks promising. It certainly deserves a guided walking tour that can last at least half a day (or perhaps longer).
Details of interest
- Price: from 35 €.
- Duration: approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Means of transport: there are different bus, train and underground lines to get to the meeting point.
- Advantages of this option: It is an economical and relaxed tour.
- Disadvantages of this option: You may find the tour short and wish to stay longer on Wall Street.
2. Wall Street tour with a financial expert guide
What better way to get to know Wall Street, its most representative buildings and the most risky adventures on the New York Stock Exchange with a guide who knows the world of finance?
This tour, which takes you inside the city's financial district, offers you a sightseeing tour during which the guide will provide you with facts and information about the most important events that took place on Wall Street.
The tour is ideal to get a behind-the-scenes look at how stock market traders really live, the responsibilities they have to assume in every decision involving the investment of huge amounts of money and details about the culture of these workers. Undoubtedly, lives that have inspired the development of films about Wall Street.
You'll probably also get some tips on how to get started as an investor and watch your savings grow, which is not bad for a walking tour of Wall Street.
Interesting details
- Price: from €53.
- Duration: approximately 2 hours.
- Means of transport: there are bus, train and metro lines to get to the meeting point.
- Advantages of this option: A different kind of tour to learn what Wall Street experts go through on a daily basis and find out a little more about what it's like to work at the most renowned financial firms.
- Disadvantages of this option: It is advisable to choose a tour in which the groups are not made up of more than 20 people so as not to miss any detail about the information provided by the expert guide.
3. Wall Street and Lower Manhattan Tour
Lower Manhattan is an area of New York City that is home to a variety of exciting sightseeing and tourist activities. A walking tour of the highlights of this part of the city will undoubtedly be a thrilling experience, with a memorial to the victims and survivors at the 9/11 Memorial, an educational tour of Wall Street, and a historical tour of the chronicles of the first settlers who arrived there.
The tour includes a visit to the heart of finance, Wall Street, to see buildings such as the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Hall, Trinity Church, Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial, Bowling Green Park and Battery Park (The Battery), among other sites and buildings.
It's a tour that makes you enjoy Lower Manhattan and all it has to offer. It is important to be prepared to walk for approximately two hours with your eyes wide open and attentive to what the specialised guide will tell you throughout the tour.
Details of interest
- Price: can cost up to €35.
- Duration: approximately 2 hours.
- Means of transport: there are several bus, train and metro lines to get to the meeting point.
- Advantages of this option: You can visit several sites of interest in a single walking tour.
- Disadvantages of this option: A 2-hour walk for which you need to be prepared with comfortable shoes.
4. New York City sightseeing combination: Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty
If there's one thing that comes to mind when talking about New York, it's the view of the Statue of Liberty. Therefore, you can't miss the chance to see it on a tour that also combines a visit to the world's best-known financial sector, Wall Street.
These tours usually coordinate visits to these two sites (in some cases, they also include a trip to the 9/11 Memorial) as follows.
First, a walking tour of Wall Street with an expert guide and then a ferry ride to Liberty Island to the Statue of Liberty, where you can enjoy incredible views of the city, the statue and the island.
Continue with a tour of the Statue of Liberty Museum to learnin detail about the history of the statue, the people who were involved in the project and the historical artefacts on display.
Interesting details
- Price: from €55.
- Duration: between 4 and 5 hours.
- Means of transport: The tour is on foot and also uses a ferry to get to Liberty Island.
- Advantages of this option: A sightseeing tour that combines two or three of New York's most important tourist sites.
- Disadvantages of this option: It is essential that you allocate several hours for this tour, so you may not be able to do another tour on the same day.
5. Discover the hidden treasure of Wall Street
This visit to Wall Street and the surrounding area is very popular. The popularity is due to the fact that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York provides tours of some of the floors of this institution as well as its museum and the amazing rooms in which the day-to-day financial and business transactions are conducted.
The most exciting attraction of the tour is the moment when visitors reach the bank's vault (an almost movie-like image) built of steel and concrete.
Occasionally, some of the treasures stored there (e.g. gold bullion or at least some of it) can be seen. Definitely one of Wall Street's most impressive excursions - don't miss this tour!
If you are interested in taking the tour, you need to book your ticket on the bank's official website (section ) 30 days in advance and be at the meeting point (the entrance of the building) 30 minutes before the tour starts.
Interesting details
- Price: free entrance.
- Duration: approximately 1 hour.
- Means of transport: there are several bus, train and metro lines to get to the meeting point.
- Advantages of this option: You will get to the famed vault where more than $160 billion in gold is stored and learn the details of the economic history of the United States.
- Disadvantages of this option: It only takes place once a day and the security measures to enter the vault are quite strict.
6. Wall Street tour of the most recent financial crisis
Wall Street has seen several major financial crises throughout the history of New York and the world. These crises have not only affected one city or one country, but have had profound consequences on five continents.
Therefore, if you decide to learn a little more about the last crisis, a financial expert guide will take you on a journey through the (between 2008 and 2009) and the consequences it had.
The tour is on foot and the visit starts from a meeting point which is usually fixed at one of the entrances to Wall Street.
One of the most attractive parts of the tour is when the guide explains the reasons for the crisis and how it came about. A perfect balance between technical information explained in a simple way and international history.
Interesting details
- Price: from €57.
- Duration: approximately 2 hours.
- Means of transport: there are different bus, train and metro lines to get to the meeting point.
- Advantages of this option: You will have access to detailed and specialised information about the financial crisis that began in 2008 while touring Wall Street.
- Disadvantages of this option: May be cancelled due to bad weather conditions.
7. Alexander Hamilton Tour and Wall Street Tour
This tour includes a tour of Wall Street with stops at the buildings of the most influential institutions in world finance. It usually starts at the statue of the Wall Street Bull and continues to the Stock Exchange and other highlights.
This is followed by a walk in the historic footsteps of . A unique tour with a wealth of information about this Founding Father of the United States with fresh details about his life and legacy.
Details of interest
- Price: from 37 €.
- Duration: 2 hours.
- Means of transport: there are bus, train and underground lines to get to the meeting point.
- Advantages of this option: Tour Wall Street and visit historical sites related to Alexander Hamilton in one tour.
- Disadvantages of this option: Be prepared for a considerable amount of financial and historical information over 2 hours.
Learn about other historic landmarks on Wall Street
In close proximity to Wall Street are more buildings and monuments that are almost a must-see. In fact, several of them are free to enter and the visit can be fleeting (e.g. Federall Hall and the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House).
One of the most important buildings for the United States is the . Today it is a national monument and a reminder of its former function as the first capitol (the current building and museum is not the first to be built for that purpose). Admission is free and the guided tour takes just a few minutes.
The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House was the former Customs House. It has been restored and refurbished. The interior is very beautiful and features sculptures and paintings by artists of the time (early 20th century). It now houses the Museum of the American Indian (New York Branch).
This museum surprises most visitors to Wall Street and you will be no exception. It is important to visit as it is a pleasure to discover the historic building that houses it and the museum's exhibits.
Why take a tour of Wall Street?
Classical art lovers may not find monuments or buildings that interest them, but a tour of Wall Street means getting to know the most influential street in the world economy, that is, in the life of every person.
Moreover, seeing each of the buildings where financial activities take place and listening to the guide's explanations can help you to better understand that influence.
Finally, Wall Street can also be considered as one of the locations of series and films to visit in New York...