Our Tours: More Eclectic, More Energetic
As described in
Frommer's NYC 2011 , the
Michelin Green Guide, and
The Rough Guide to NYC.
"Mr. Oder has an encyclopedic knowledge of the borough..."
--Wall Street Journal, 11/17/07
There are lots of walking tours in New York, but Brooklyn specialist Norman Oder, below, has designed these tours to be wider-ranging and faster-paced than most. (They also last 2.5 hours, rather than the typical 2 hours.)
These tours are geared to energetic, independent-minded people, including student groups and delegations, who seek more than just the tourist basics. The tours mainly rely on foot and public transit, though variations using vehicles are also available.
Most tours these days are private tours, for a variety of clients. Public tours are infrequent, but will resume, occasionally, in the spring. All tours are given by Norman Oder.
(At left, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch at Grand Army Plaza, the spiritual center of Brooklyn, near Prospect Park, the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Brooklyn Museum.)
"The brownstone neighborhoods offer a fascinating mix of architecture, history, and public spaces." --Norman Oder, "The World Just Over the Bridge," Business Week, 9/4/00
My Home, My Specialty
Brooklyn would be the nation's fourth-largest city if it went independent. On these tours, you learn why Brooklyn was (and remains) important, learn about its heyday and decline, explore its fascinating and hardly uncomplicated recovery, and witness its diversity. Neighborhood tours allow participants to learn not merely about the built environment they see but also the forces behind it.
Tours are experiences, and research shows that people value experiences above stuff. Sometimes it's seeing a bridal party at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. Visiting a stoop sale with homemade cupcakes. Seeing the Manhattan skyline from various Brooklyn outposts.
Checking out the sculpture garden at Pratt. Encountering an art gallery tricked out to be a fake real estate agency. Ending a tour having earned a healthy appetite for the food and drink that awaits.
Private versions of listed tours are available, as are orientation tours for newcomers, and special tours for Brooklyn fans. Private tours include detailed, personalized advice, when appropriate. Yes, tours can be guided in vehicles provided by customers.
Public tours are scheduled now and then on weekends, but private tours should be available at many other times. See details of tours by location at left.