Soul of Harlem Walking Tour: Price, Route and Details

What Is in the $60

You get a guided 2 hour 30 minute walk for a group capped at 10, built on the guide's own book and given by someone with more than 700 tours of experience per the listing. The single stated inclusion beyond the walk itself is possible interior access to Harlem Grown, one of Harlem's 14 farms, and that depends on availability on the day. The listing states no exclusions in its own list, which means no food, drink, transport or attraction tickets are promised, and none should be assumed.

• Guided walk of 2 hours 30 minutes, about 10,000 steps
• Group capped at 10 guests
• Possible interior visit to Harlem Grown, depending on availability
• Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, and cancellation allowed for bad weather
• Strollers and service animals allowed

What Is Not Included

Nothing beyond the walk is stated as included. That means any drink at the Ginjan Cafe before you set off, any meal at Sylvia's or elsewhere, tips for the guide, and transit to and from Harlem are your own cost. The listing names no mandatory extras, so there is nothing you must buy on the day. If you want food, bring money for it separately. If you want to go inside the Apollo, that is a separate booking on your own and is not part of this walk.

On the day itself the only likely spend is optional, a coffee at the meeting point or a tip. Budget accordingly and check the booking card above above for the current price before you reserve.

Inside the Ginjan Cafe, Then Across the Street

You meet in Harlem, inside the Ginjan Cafe, which is unusual and useful, because you know exactly where to stand. Arrive a few minutes early. There is a 5-minute grace period, and if you are running late you should contact the guide right away, because after those minutes the guide moves on to the first stop, the Metro-North Railroad station directly across the street from the cafe on Park Ave. It is an above-ground station, and the listing uses it to open with a bird's-eye view of 125th Street, Harlem's most popular street, before the walking starts.

From there the group works on foot for about 10,000 steps in total. The listing does not give a start time, so check availability for the departure options on your date.

The Apollo Theater

The first named landmark on the route is the Apollo Theater at 253 West 125th Street. The building went up between 1913 and 1914 to a Neoclassical design by architect George Keister, began life as Hurtig & Seamon's New Burlesque Theater, and took the Apollo name on January 26, 1934. It became a New York City landmark in 1983.

The tour discusses it from the street. If Amateur Night, the weekly showcase where the audience judges the performers, is on your list, it is not part of this walk.

Sylvia's Soul Food Restaurant

The listing names Sylvia's Soul Food Restaurant as a place the group walks by and discusses. It is not a meal stop. The listing includes no food, so if you want to eat there, plan it for after the walk ends and bring your own money.

The Home of Langston Hughes

The route then passes the home of Langston Hughes, the poet at the center of the Harlem Renaissance story the tour tells. The listing says the group walks by it.

Astor's Row and the Murals

Astor's Row is the next named stop. One point of confusion worth clearing up before you book, Astor's Row is not Strivers' Row, the 1891-1893 St. Nicholas Historic District on West 138th and 139th Streets by David H. King Jr. with sections by James Brown Lord, Bruce Price, Clarence S. Luce and Stanford White. The tour does not name Strivers' Row, though it sits in the same neighborhood if you want to visit it on your own afterwards.

Several murals round out the route. Depending on availability the group may also get inside Harlem Grown, one of Harlem's 14 farms. The listing states no return point or end time, so ask the guide where the tour finishes.

Ten Thousand Steps and No Stated Minimum Age

This is a walking tour of about 10,000 steps in 2 hours 30 minutes, rated suitable for all fitness levels but with no stated minimum age. Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, which helps, but you are still covering real distance. If a shorter city walk suits you better, the Greenwich Village walk runs 2 hours with a similar group cap of 10.

Exteriors Only, with One Farm as the Exception

Every landmark on the route, the Apollo, Sylvia's, Hughes' home, Astor's Row and the murals, is discussed from the street. The single stated interior is Harlem Grown, and even that depends on availability. If you want a walk that goes inside buildings, the Art Deco Midtown tour stops at several indoor locations for $40, and the Gilded Age mansions tour names 972 Fifth Avenue and the main halls of the Cooper Hewitt and the Met.

Neither covers Harlem.

Accessibility, Weather and the Small Print

The listing states no wheelchair access, so contact the operator before booking if that matters to you. Strollers and service animals are explicitly allowed. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start, and the listing separately allows cancellation for bad weather.

There is no hotel pickup, so you make your own way to Harlem, though the listing notes public transportation options are available nearby. The tour is shared, not private, and caps at 10.

Reaching the Meeting Point

The listing notes public transportation options are available nearby, and the first stop is the Metro-North Railroad station directly across the street from the cafe on Park Ave, so rail is genuinely at the door. The listing does not name subway lines or stations for the meeting point, and no street address is given for the cafe, so search for the Ginjan Cafe in Harlem before you set out and give yourself buffer time. Remember the 5-minute grace period. If you are behind schedule, contact the guide immediately, because the group then moves to the first stop across the street.

Harlem sits well north of midtown, so allow a longer ride than you would for a downtown walk. Build the trip into your day rather than treating it as an afterthought, and browse the other New York architecture tours if you want to pair Harlem with a second neighborhood.

What to Add Before or After

The tour does not name Strivers' Row, but the St. Nicholas Historic District on West 138th and 139th Streets is also in Harlem and free to walk. The houses were built 1891 to 1893 by developer David H. King Jr., designed in three sections by James Brown Lord, Bruce Price, Clarence S. Luce and Stanford White of McKim, Mead and White, with gated back alleys that still carry Walk Your Horses signs. Eubie Blake, W.C. Handy and Noble Sissle lived there, and the district was designated a landmark in 1967. Also in the neighborhood, Hamilton Grange National Memorial at 414 West 141st Street is free, run by the National Park Service, and was built in 1802 for Alexander Hamilton by John McComb Jr. in the Federal style before being moved twice, most recently in 2008 to St. Nicholas Park.

For do-it-yourself architecture elsewhere in the city, see the guide to famous buildings in NYC and the New York Public Library tour page for the Midtown library.