Big Onion

New York history walks since 1991

Big Onion runs its own history walking tours in New York City. The about page says that "Since 1991, Big Onion Walking Tours has led locals and visitors alike on innovative and exciting tours through New York's ethnic neighborhoods and historic districts," and the homepage says it offers "over 30 tours in 20 different NYC neighborhoods." Tours are grouped under Downtown, Lower East Side, Villages/Midtown, Uptown and Brooklyn, plus one walk in the Hudson Valley town of Hudson, which the tour page says was founded by Quakers in 1785. The about page says the guides "use architecture and the built environment" to explore immigration, race, ethnicity and gender in the city's history. Prices are in US dollars.

The guides are the company's main pitch. The how-it-works page says "most of us are full-time graduate students researching and writing doctoral dissertations in history," that the guides have high school or college teaching experience, and the homepage describes them as "History grad students, certified by NYC." The homepage also takes a swipe at "Pay-What-You-Wish" free tours, saying "We hire and pay real historians to give you a glimpse into the fascinating history behind the city." The company has published 2 guidebooks: The Big Onion Guide To New York City, with 9 neighborhood walks and an "Other Borough Driving Tour," and The Big Onion Guide To Brooklyn, with ten neighborhood walks from Greenpoint to Coney Island.

The tours

Downtown walks include the Historic Lower Manhattan tour ("Walk in the footsteps of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and others"), a Financial District tour, Revolutionary New York and the South Street Seaport. The Lower East Side is the company's home ground: Immigrant New York, through Chinatown, Little Italy and the former Five Points, is billed as "The Original Big Onion Walking Tour"; Gangs of New York is "The 'Official' Walking Tour," created in partnership with the film; and there are the Jewish Lower East Side Tour, whose stops "could include" the founding site of the B'nai B'rith, the Jewish Daily Forward building and the Eldridge Street Synagogue, and a walk on the neighborhood's "Creative Destruction." The Original Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour mixes the area's history with small "noshing" stops, and its cost includes the food.

In the Villages and Midtown there are Greenwich Village, the East Village, Chelsea and the High Line, Union Square and Gramercy Park, a Labor History tour, Social Justice in the Villages, Art, Sex and Rock & Roll, and a Prohibition walk called Satan's Seat. Uptown covers Central Park, Historic Harlem (with an emphasis on the Harlem Renaissance) and the Upper East Side; Brooklyn has the Brooklyn Bridge and Heights, Brooklyn Heights ("more than 500 Antebellum homes and buildings"), DUMBO and Vinegar Hill, and Fort Greene. Holiday specials include a Christmas Stroll in Greenwich Village, an Annual Christmas Day Jewish Lower East Side Tour ("A Big Onion Tradition since 1991!"), a pre-Passover walk, and eating tours for Mother's Day, Father's Day and after Thanksgiving.

The East Village page shows what a tour page gives: a description of stops that "could include the Fillmore East, St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, the historic Marble Cemetery, the Public Theater," dated departures (for example Saturday, September 26, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm), and a meeting point "On the plaza in front of the 'Black Cube' at Astor Place," with the nearest subway lines. That tour covers German, Ukrainian and Jewish immigrants, the area's labor activism, the Yiddish stages and the 1970s music scene, and the General Slocum disaster of 1904.

Prices and how a tour runs

Standard walking tours cost $30 for adults and $20 for students, seniors (65+) and active military, and children younger than school age go free on public tours; special tours with food cost more. Advance reservations and prepayment are required, and payment is by card through FareHarbor. The site says all tours last "approximately two hours," cover one to two miles at a moderate pace, start on time and usually end somewhere other than where they began, always near a subway. Guides carry a "Big Onion Walking Tours" sign.

The how-it-works page answers most practical questions. Tours run rain or shine, with a hotline to call on bad-weather mornings. There are no bathroom breaks, though most tours start near facilities. According to the page, "Most of our tours are wheelchair accessible," but curbs may lack ramps, the Brooklyn Bridge and Heights tour has a flight of stairs, and Central Park has stairs and a steep climb. Some streets are hard with a stroller, and the Satan's Seat, Art, Sex and Rock & Roll, and Gangs of New York tours have some adult content. Leashed dogs are welcome outdoors. Video and audio recording are not allowed, and tips are "appreciated but never expected."

Changes, private tours and contact

The reschedule policy is specific: with 24 or more hours' notice, Big Onion gives "a full credit for the value of the booking" as a gift card valid for 2 years; cancellations inside 24 hours and no-shows get nothing. If Big Onion cancels, it offers full refunds or rescheduled tickets. Private tours, school field trips and team events are arranged by phone at (212) 439-1090 or email, and gift certificates cover all tours. The homepage cites Time Out New York, The Village Voice and "1000+ 5-Star Reviews."

What to check, and who it suits

The refund side is the main thing to note: early cancellations earn a credit rather than cash. The site does not state a group-size cap; it says only that prepayment helps it decide whether a second guide is needed, and private-tour prices are by quote.

Big Onion suits visitors and New Yorkers who want a researched, story-heavy history walk rather than a quick highlights loop, especially on immigration, the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village, and those who would rather pay a set $30 than tip a free-tour guide. Families are welcome, with a note about adult content on a few tours. Travelers who may need a cash refund rather than a credit should read the reschedule policy before booking.