Gilded Age Mansions: Scandals, Murder, Romance

Step inside the remaining Gilded Age mansions of Fifth Avenue and uncover the scandals, murder, and romance behind New York’s majestic architecture. Explore the fascinating stories of power, greed, love, and generosity during America’s rise to wealth and power.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • 1 E 78th St - Our first mansion, we go into the mansion learn about the owner, architects and get an introduction to the Gilded Age and New York Society
What's Included
  • Access to historical mansions
What's Not Included
  • Snacks
Additional Information

Drama! Homicide! Romantic Design! Welcome aboard a journey through some of the last standing mansion masterpieces from Fifth Avenue’s Gilded Age and discover the characters who both crafted and inhabited these spectacular landmarks.
If the HBO series The Gilded Age captivates you, this exploration will definitely delight you. During the Gilded Age, New…

Location
1 E 78th St
East 78th Street
We will meet you on the steps at the building at 1 East 78th street. Right on 78th street, just off 5th avenue.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(372 Ratings)
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Robert_a
Feb 15, 2025
Wonderful tour and Guide! - Care did a great job of sharing the info. He was well informed and gave great insight. If in the winter dress warm.
Review provided by Viator
Kathryn_s
Feb 15, 2025
Great Way to Spend an Afternoon - We love walking tours as a fun way to get some steps and learn the history of our own city. Our tour guide did a great job of recounting the stories of real people in the Gilded Age and pointing out the mansions that still remain from that time. It’s a bummer that so many were destroyed or covered in scaffolding so you need to use your imagination a bit. Overall worth it, especially if you loved the show!
Review provided by Viator
Amy_e
Feb 12, 2025
Take this tour! - Our tour guide, Care, was friendly and knowledgeable. It was exactly what we had hoped the tour would be. I highly recommend it!
Review provided by Viator
Edie
Feb 11, 2025
Great guide! - We enjoyed our tour! Our tour guide , Care, was very knowledgeable and had lots of photos on his iPad to supplement his stories. It was a shame that so many of the mansions were covered in scaffolding, totaling obliterating any view. The photos were very helpful in envisioning the homes. Care kept the tour entertaining and I would recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tom_j
Feb 10, 2025
NYC History Thoughtfully Presented - Very informative tour. Experienced guide. It’s outdoors so dress warmly on cold days. Some of the homes on the tour are behind scaffolding now (Feb. 2025) but our guide worked around it. Highly recommend this tour. Viator rarely disappoints.
Review provided by Viator
Audra_o
Feb 10, 2025
Wonderful and Informative! - Really wonderful and informative tour--even for a New Yorker. Matthew, the tour guide, has an ease with groups and provides interesting insight.
Review provided by Viator
Teresa_s
Feb 9, 2025
Our guide Care was... - Our guide Care was amazing! He was very knowledgeable and full of great information on this tour. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone who loves to gilded age!
Review provided by Viator
Greg_f
Feb 9, 2025
Great Tour - Our guide was very insightful and answered all of our questions. The stories he told us really made the tour interesting.
Review provided by Viator
A1174zoelizabeths
Feb 8, 2025
Good time! - Matt was great, very considerate in the cold. Would highly recommend tour especially for fans of the show. Also does Taylor Swift tours?
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tammyr929
Feb 7, 2025
Most mansions were covered in scaffolding/tarps so we had to “view” them via pictures on an iPad. Missed the mark. - The host was very knowledgable and entertaining. I think if I went again at a different time it would be a way different experience. The reason I only gave 3 stars is because I felt a little duped. It felt like the majority of the mansions we checked out were under construction /renovations and were hidden by scaffolding and tarps. So we had to rely on pictures of what the mansions looked like for the tour a portion of the tour. Which I get, at least they tried but I would have rather known that that was a possibility. I wanted to appreciate the mansions and ornateness in person, not through an iPad. The places that weren’t under construction were incredible though! The tour guide was very Knowles and I left with a new found passion for the 1920s NY elite social scene.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 10 guests
1 Adult
February 2025
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