New York Like a Native
  • Home
    • Brooklyn 101 tour >
      • Brooklyn 202 tour
  • Brooklyn tours
    • North & west of Prospect Park >
      • Fort Greene & Clinton Hill tour
      • DUMBO, Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn Heights tour
      • Park Slope tour
      • Brooklyn Bridge (and more) tour
      • Atlantic Avenue & Downtown Brooklyn
      • Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens tour
      • Red Hook tour
    • Williamsburg & north Brooklyn >
      • Williamsburg tour
      • Greenpoint tour
      • Bushwick and East Williamsburg tour
    • Central Brooklyn >
      • Bedford-Stuyvesant tour
      • Crown Heights tour
      • (Not Just) Victorian Flatbush tour
      • Green-Wood Cemetery tour
    • Coney Island and southern Brooklyn >
      • Coney Island Webinar, Virtual Tour, & Resources
      • Coney Island (& Brighton Beach) tour
      • Sunset Park tour
      • Bensonhurst tour
      • Bay Ridge tour
    • Jewish, food, and Xmas lights tours >
      • Jewish Neighborhood Tours
      • Food, dessert, ice cream tours
      • Dyker Heights Christmas Lights tour
    • Moving to Brooklyn/layover tours >
      • Moving to/Studying in/Retiring in Brooklyn
      • Airport/Cruise/Layover tours in Brooklyn
    • Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park/Barclays Center
  • Beyond Brooklyn
    • Jackson Heights tour
    • Lower East Side tour
    • Long Island City tour
    • Ridgewood tour
    • Sunnyside & LIC East
  • About your guide
  • Fees/Schedule/FAQ
    • Fees for private tours
    • Schedule
    • FAQ
    • Vehicle and custom tours
    • Tours for classes
    • Resources on Brooklyn
    • How to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
  • Contact me/Book
  • Blog

Williamsburg tour


Once an industrial power and immigrant center, Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood is known for food, shopping, hipsters, Hasids, and new construction. But it's far more than that.

Brooklyn tour: Williamsburgh Savings Bank, now glamorous event spaceFormer Williamsburgh Savings Bank, now Weylin event space
Williamsburg may be the most interesting neighborhood--or district--in the city.  Once a resort in the 19th century, it became an industrial power, based on the sugar industry and other manufacturing concerns, with its own main street and banks. 

When the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903 century, Williamsburg became an extension of the Lower East Side ghetto, a densely populated tenement area, home to Eastern European Jews, Italians, and Poles. 


After World War II and the building of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, the neighborhood declined, with industry and many longtime residents moving out. New arrivals included Hasidic Jews who survived the Holocaust and Puerto Ricans moving for factory work.

Williamsburg struggled for decades, but was buoyed by reinvestment by the city (under Mayor Ed Koch), via nonprofit neighborhood groups, to stabilize buildings, then an influx of artists and others seeking space near Manhattan. That move begat bars, restaurants, night spots, galleries, and a waves of gentrification.

A 2004 rezoning emphasized market-rate housing, pushed by the mayor's office and floating on very generous tax breaks. New buildings sprouted. That makes for an astonishing contrast between the 1980s and now, as documented by various photographers and filmmakers. And the artists are mostly gone.

See Williamsburg, Brooklyn on a tour

Now Williamsburg is one of the hottest neighborhoods in New York, a beacon to young people throughout the world and a weary cliche to some others. There's dramatic change--especially high-rises at the waterfront--but also many ties to the past. 

Our route usually includes the Hasidic enclave of South Williamsburg, home to the neighborhood's historic library and mansions since converted to yeshivas, mainly for the Satmar Hasidim. We'll also see the historic Broadway corridor near the Williamsburg Bridge, home to former banks and the famed Peter Luger steakhouse. 

We'll traverse the long-gritty but steadily changing Southside, still with a significant Hispanic presence, and see plans some astonishing new planned development. We'll proceed to the Northside, home to an astonishing array of restaurants, bars, and shopping, as well as new and reclaimed buildings, some far more impressive than others. Yes, there are snacking opportunities, as well as many restaurants you could visit before or after our tour.

Note that the typical 2.5-hour tour only covers particular slices of Williamsburg. We could easily extend it by an hour or two, deeper into Williamsburg--without going to adjacent neighborhoods.
Contact me



Distance from Midtown Manhattan: 25-30 minutes by subway, also accessible by ferry from Pier 11/East 34th Street

Basic tour length: 2.5-3+ hours (see fees)

Starting place: Near J train, L train, East River Ferry; note that, on weekends, the L train is very infrequent

Ending place: Near J train, L train, East River Ferry

Highlights: Industrial history, ethnic diversity, art, gentrification, shopping

Before/after tour: Many food options, including Brooklyn Brewery.


Snacks during tour: chocolate, ice cream, cup cakes, pastries, coffee

Variations: Saturday tour omits Hasidic zone, but allows more time at galleries, and/or Central Williamsburg; on occasional Friday nights, gallery openings are coordinated

Potential tour extensions with me: Greenpoint, East Williamsburg/Bushwick, DUMBO (via NYC Ferry), Long Island City (via NYC Ferry) , Lower East Side, Brooklyn 101 (via NYC Ferry)

Why I like leading this tour: Many people think they know something about Williamsburg. I'm confident this will offer a lot more grounding and complexity.


New York Like A Native: Energetic, eclectic tours of Brooklyn & beyond. Experienced guide. Personal service.
  • Home
    • Brooklyn 101 tour >
      • Brooklyn 202 tour
  • Brooklyn tours
    • North & west of Prospect Park >
      • Fort Greene & Clinton Hill tour
      • DUMBO, Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn Heights tour
      • Park Slope tour
      • Brooklyn Bridge (and more) tour
      • Atlantic Avenue & Downtown Brooklyn
      • Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens tour
      • Red Hook tour
    • Williamsburg & north Brooklyn >
      • Williamsburg tour
      • Greenpoint tour
      • Bushwick and East Williamsburg tour
    • Central Brooklyn >
      • Bedford-Stuyvesant tour
      • Crown Heights tour
      • (Not Just) Victorian Flatbush tour
      • Green-Wood Cemetery tour
    • Coney Island and southern Brooklyn >
      • Coney Island Webinar, Virtual Tour, & Resources
      • Coney Island (& Brighton Beach) tour
      • Sunset Park tour
      • Bensonhurst tour
      • Bay Ridge tour
    • Jewish, food, and Xmas lights tours >
      • Jewish Neighborhood Tours
      • Food, dessert, ice cream tours
      • Dyker Heights Christmas Lights tour
    • Moving to Brooklyn/layover tours >
      • Moving to/Studying in/Retiring in Brooklyn
      • Airport/Cruise/Layover tours in Brooklyn
    • Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park/Barclays Center
  • Beyond Brooklyn
    • Jackson Heights tour
    • Lower East Side tour
    • Long Island City tour
    • Ridgewood tour
    • Sunnyside & LIC East
  • About your guide
  • Fees/Schedule/FAQ
    • Fees for private tours
    • Schedule
    • FAQ
    • Vehicle and custom tours
    • Tours for classes
    • Resources on Brooklyn
    • How to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
  • Contact me/Book
  • Blog