Splendor and Scandal in Brooklyn Heights: A Self Guided Tour

2 hours – 2 h 20 min Free cancellation Private tour

Splendor and Scandal in Brooklyn Heights: A Self Guided Tour, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Is Brooklyn Heights the most charming neighborhood in New York City? A remarkable number of celebrity residents seem to think so.

No wonder this elegant brownstone wonderland was the first district in the city to be awarded historic landmark status. The leafy enclave where Gilded Age bankers and merchants built handsome townhouses has also been called ”America’s First Suburb”.

On this self-guided walking tour, you’ll hear about the poets, preachers, abolitionists, suffragists and free love advocates who made the Heights a hotbed of progressive thought. The tour starts outside Plymouth Church, the “Grand Central Depot of the Underground Railroad”. From there, you’ll hear about Reverend Henry Ward Beecher – “the most famous man in America” – and how he profoundly transformed religion, helped Abe Lincoln win the Civil War, did a little gun running, and slept with the wives of his best friends.

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At a glance

Duration: 2 hours – 2 h 20 min
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–15
Audio guide: English
Written guide: English
Operated by: VoiceMap Audio Tours

Ages: Adults (6–99 years)

What is included

Included

Included: Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
Included: Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
Included: App for Android and iOS
Included: Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
Included: Directions to the starting point so that when you’re in the right place, the tour will start

Not included

Not included: Smartphone and headphones
Not included: Personal expenses for attractions not included during the tour

Itinerary

Brooklyn Heights Promenade

Passing by

There is no better view of Manhattan than from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. But while other just look, you hear it's story brought to life, and stand in the spot where Washington Roebling supervised construction of the Brooklyn Bridge by telescope from his bed after becoming paralyzed on the job.
Plymouth Church

Passing by

Known as "The Grand Central Depot of the Underground Railroad." It was in here that Reverend Henry Ward Beecher -- "The Most Famous Man in America" -- held a live slave auction, raising money set a young woman free. This tour follows Beecher's story including his trial for adultery that gripped America.
Brooklyn Cat Cafe

Passing by

All-volunteer woman-run nonprofit that helps homeless cats find furr-ever friends cats. For a small admission fee you can hang out with the feline residents
St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

Passing by

Designed by Minard Leferve, this gothic masterpiece contains stained glass windows so extraordinary that one is now displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You'll hear the church's dramatic backstory, from abandoned wreck in the 70's to incubator of a leading arts program and New York's finest prep school.
Montague Street

Passing by

Brooklyn Height's main shopping street, home to the original Haagen Dazs, the Cat Cafe and the historic Heights Casino, with America's first indoor tennis courts.
Stop 6

Passing by

This charming street of elegant brownstones will take us by the homes of Henry Ward Beecher, Truman Capote and Arthur Miller, plus the finest examples of the Queen Anne Style in NYC.
Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic

Passing by

The first Romanesque church in America with bronze doors salvaged from the SS Normandie which sank dramatically in New York Harbor.
Stop 8

Passing by

The first Haagen Dazs ice cream shop, opened by the immigrant family that invented the first super-premium ice cream.
Brooklyn Historical Society

Passing by

Now called the Center for Brooklyn History, this handsome Romanesque revival library was designed by George Post, "Father of the Tall Building."

Meeting point and pickup

Everyone meets at the meeting point.

Meeting point

This tour starts at Plymouth Church, 57 Orange Street. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

End point

Using your ticket

VOICEMAP CODE

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Please check your email at the address you provided when you made this booking. You've been sent an eight character code you'll need to redeem your tour.

This code can be used by every member of your party. If you've booked for three people, for example, three people can download this tour using the same code.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS

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Once you've received your code, please follow these steps:

Install the VoiceMap Audio Tours mobile app

Create an account

Select Tour Codes from the menu, then select Enter Codes

Enter your code then select Download Now

PLEASE NOTE

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You can download the tour at any time, before or after your booking date. It’s best to download the tour before you set off for the starting point.

This tour follows a set route and includes turn-by-turn directions. It works best if you start it in the right place and follow the directions from one location to the next.

When the download completes, you’ll see a screen with a photo of the starting point and directions to it. The red start button will become active when you are at the starting point.

Remember to bring your own headphones, unless you have booked a driving tour.

SUPPORT

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For technical support and other queries, please email [email protected]