Harlem’s unique culture has been shaped by its long and unusual history. On this walking tour through Central Harlem, you’ll hear stories about the artists, activists, and legends who made this neighborhood extraordinary.

The tour starts in Hamilton Heights at the corner of 145th Street and St Nicholas Avenue. You’ll walk the same streets where Alexander Hamilton spent his final years, Langston Hughes wrote his poetry, and jazz greats like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong lived and performed. You’ll stroll down quiet streets, past the neo-Gothic campus of the City College of New York, and along bustling boulevards filled with shops, street art, and restaurants.

You’ll discover how Prohibition-era speakeasies sparked a musical revolution, how the Great Migration brought millions of African Americans north in search of freedom and opportunity, and how Harlem continues to evolve today. You’ll encounter everything from a mansion featured in Wes Anderson’s acclaimed 2001 film, The Royal Tenenbaums, to famous soul food restaurants that have fed Harlem for generations.