Visit former mafia hangouts, gang war battlegrounds and haunted buildings on these bone-chilling crime tours in NYC
Look past the hip cafes and organic grocery stores in any New York City neighborhood and you’ll find it: evidence of the city’s sordid past. If you know where to look, you can find old mob hangouts, gang war battlegrounds and haunted places sprinkled all around the five boroughs. That’s where these crime tours in NYC come in. Instead of hitting all the big New York attractions, these walking tours in NYC focus on the city’s secrets – a dark history that some would be keen to forget. Once you’ve visited former bootlegging depots, secret underground tunnels and the final resting places of notorious mafia bosses, you might just see the city in a new light.
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Fuhgeddabout The Godfather. Find out what New York’s 20th-century mobsters, like Lucky Luciano and Carlo Gambino, were like as you walk past former East Village tenements, alleyways, social clubs and funeral homes that played a part in their criminal empires. Enjoy a Sicilian meal in Little Italy while you soak up the history.
Where to eat nearby: One of the best pizzas in Little Italy? You'll find it at Da Nico Ristorante.
One of the city’s oldest neighborhoods is also home to some of its oldest residents – even if they now only reside there in spirit. Leave your scaredy pants at home for an afternoon of morbid tales about the nabe’s ghosts, from ancient spooks and menacing apparitions to recently spotted ghouls.
Where to eat nearby: Olio e Piu is a popular spot for lovers of Italian plates and happy hour drinks.
Uncover the truth about New York’s seedy criminal underworld on this tour of two neighborhoods that were once notorious for their gang activity. In Little Italy, you’ll discover a pizzeria that doubled as a drug ring and bars featured on The Sopranos. Next, in Chinatown, you’ll visit the Bloody Angle and check out secret tunnels used by gangsters on the run from the cops.
Where to eat nearby: Rowdy Rooster is an East Village gem serving Indian-inspired fried chicken burgers – that can be spiced to the extreme upon request.
It’s fitting that the New York County Courthouse is smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood once known as Five Points, where five families waged bloody gang wars for decades. Visit historic landmarks like Curb Exchange, a former bootlegging depot, and Old St. Patrick’s Church, the city’s oldest Catholic church. You’ll even spy a few filming locations from The Godfather trilogy. Watch out for the ghoulies though.
Where to eat nearby: NYC's oldest deli, Katz's, is just a 10-minute walk from Basilica of St Patrick.
Don’t want to mingle with the public on your tour? Spring for this private walk for up to 10 people. You’ll visit the spot where the infamous Dead Rabbits Riot occurred, the battleground between the deadly Tong gangs in Chinatown and former hangouts of mafia dons in Little Italy.
Where to eat nearby: Mei Lai Wah is a beloved Chinatown bakery and coffee shop known for its delectable and affordable soft steamed buns.
Ride through Manhattan in style—like the dons of the mafia once did—in a luxury vehicle on this private tour. You’ll focus on mob hangouts frequented by bosses like John Gotti, including ritzy steakhouses, exclusive social clubs and extravagant homes. To get even more insight into the mob mentality, extend the tour by two hours and venture into Queens to visit Gotti’s former home, high school and final resting place.
Where to eat nearby: Sparks Steak House features on the tour, but if you want to dine there you'll have to make a reservation – and fast.
Still, guided tours aren’t just for the most well-known New York attractions: They can also give you a behind-the-scenes look at what some call the “secret New York.”
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