Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: tour (40) Harlem (35) history (16) time (12) experience (12) great (11) guide (11) amazing (11) Carolyn (10) recommend (10)
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  • 5/5 H M. 5 months ago on Google
    Had a great tour in Harlem with Jonathan as our guide! We were a college class and had a pretty tight schedule with some specific things we wanted to see and learn about. Jonathan kept us moving, was funny, and super knowledgable. We had a great time. Also, Carolyn, the owner of Welcome to Harlem, was very accommodating in terms of helping to create the itinerary and working within our budget. Highly recommend.

  • 5/5 Andréa G. 2 months ago on Google • 4 reviews New
    The Jazz show is incredible and the immersion experience in the neighborhood is a moment of great learning.

  • 5/5 Martine S. 2 months ago on Google • 85 reviews New
    At the top, I really recommend this Gospel mass, we loved the atmosphere and the sympathy of everyone

  • 5/5 Ashia M. 2 months ago on Google • 2 reviews New
    I had a lovely time during the Harlem Walking Tour. The only downside was that it was snowing and I just simply got too cold so I had to return to my hotel earlier than expected. My tour guide was so friendly and you could tell that she absolutely LOVED her job! I cannot remember her name but I believe it started with a "D" and she was just the sweetest lady!

  • 4/5 Angel B. 2 months ago on Google • 1 review New
    A very intresting and fulfilling experience. Caroline our guide helped us to feel inmerse in the comunity. Knowledgable kind warm. And very popular among locals. Gave us a clear glimpse of Harlem and a very spiritual inspiration during the service at Church

  • 5/5 Jonathan B. 2 months ago on Google • 1 review New
    A wonderful experience! Fantastic music. A very memorable evening! 5 stars!

  • 5/5 Arman S. 1 month ago on Google • 8 reviews New
    Many thanks to our guide Everything was perfect Gospel was amazing, and we recommend experiencing it at least once in your life.

  • 5/5 山田諭 1 month ago on Google • 5 reviews New
    I joined Harlem jusmine tour and it was one of the most interesting event I have ever experienced. I'd hope to join other Welcome to Harlem tour in the next chance of visiting NY.

  • 5/5 Kevin H. 2 months ago on Google • 6 reviews New
    Doris is the most delightful tour guide. Even if we never made it to any jazz clubs, the stories we heard were well worth the cost! However, the clubs we visited were amazing and the chance to meet and hang out with such amazing musicians and people was invaluable. Truly a highlight evening.

  • 2/5 Boštjan K. 2 months ago on Google • 1 review New
    Unfortunately that was not what I have expected under the name "Harlem jazz tour". What I was expecting was, the host will show us the historical places where the jazz scene was back in the days and visiting more active places. The tour was held by very kind lady and mostly speaking of culture and history of Harlem. At the end we visit one of the jazz bars with live music, which was nice.

  • 5/5 Sam A. 1 month ago on Google • 1 review New
    Fantastic experience, authentic local clubs with extraordinary musicians. We were late due to getting lost on the way, the hosts, Carolyn and Doris, were very understanding and made us feel welcome instantly. Doris was our guide, she was lovely and shared so much information about the area and its rich history. Highly recommended this tour

  • 5/5 Anne-Marie B. 3 months ago on Google New
    Amazing! We’re a family from Australia and had the best time at the Holiday Gospel Celebration! Worth a visit, it was amazing!

  • 5/5 Katelyn S. 3 months ago on Google • 1 review New
    The Gospel Concert at Mt. Olivet Church was a wonderful, memorable Christmas experience! Thank you so much.

  • 5/5 Antonella G. 3 months ago on Google • 4 reviews New
    Beautiful experience and singing!!! They were super good and the staff organised 😁thanks to let us sing with you it was amazing

  • 5/5 Tonya B. 3 months ago on Google • 2 reviews New
    This was my first time in New York and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The Harlem Renaissance walking tour was absolutely amazing! Jonathan was so well versed in the knowledge of the area and with history in general. He made it interesting and fun to learn. Thank you so much! I highly recommend this tour!

  • 4/5 Andrea W. 3 months ago on Google • 3 reviews New
    The Harlem Tour was very educational and informative. Johnathan was very knowledgeable about the sites, streets, and Black celebrities. It was my first visit to New York and I felt welcomed. Plus, you protected us on the subway.

  • 5/5 Sandy B. 2 years ago on Google
    Carolyn is passionate and very knowledgeable about her hometowns culture. We felt so comfortable and thoroughly enjoyed our time with her. Our tour began at The Apollo Theatre, spent about 1 hour at the Bethel Church for a gospel service and ended with lunch at Cafe Latte on Malcolm X boulevard. We would absolutely contact her again for one of her other cultural tours next time we visit NYC.

  • 5/5 Richard R. 5 months ago on Google
    Really excellent Gospel performance and a wonderful walk through Harlem. As a Queens resident I hope to get back to Emmanuel church for another performance soon.

  • 5/5 maggie 6 months ago on Google
    Absolutely amazing experience, guys were very engaging with audience . Vocals were on point and energy bursting through me after this gospel. Just go there , honestly one of my highlights!!

  • 5/5 Rosalind B. 9 months ago on Google
    Excellent. Debbie was extremely knowledgeable on all issues relating to Harlem. Informative and it was lovely to attend the Gospel service on Sunday. Finishing off with a brunch after a morning of walking was a lovely idea

  • 3/5 Wendy N. 8 months ago on Google
    My family and I joined the Harlem Renaissance tour which I found online looking for things to do while in NYC. My son recently learned about this topic in school in 8th grade and did a history day presentation on Duke Ellington. I thought it would be interesting to bring some of the history to life by means of the tour. The meeting place was the lovely home of a lovely woman. This was one of my favorite parts of the tour. Once we stepped out, our guide, Debbie, pointed out many buildings in the local vicinity having a connection to the time period. She was great with facts of the building materials and dates of the buildings. We went to the lobby of the Apollo Theater, but were not given access to viewing the auditorium, which was disappointing. We need to be able to see things like that to bring the history more up close and personal. I have a lot of pictures of buildings from the street, but that's really it picture-wise. We went to the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. We got to see part of the inside of this building - specifically a tile mural on the floor. Debbie read a poem but Langston Hughes here, and I really felt like that was the only time the personal history of the Renaissance came through for me. I read on a plaque that Langston Hughes's ashes are buried under the floor of the tile mural. It was interesting seeing his final resting place. Debbie mentioned she has seen a lot of the people central to the Renaissance in person, so that made for interesting storytelling. It would have been cool to hear a song from the time period or something like that, to see an outfit from the time period, etc. Debbie pointed out where a speech writer for MLK Jr. lived, and also pointed out a location for a hotel from the "green book". The area is filled with so much history! We finished the tour at a delicious buffet restaurant where everything was so good. The corn bread was delicious. So were they candied yams. Everything was just so good. Debbie did a fabulous job leading a group of people, and keeping us all together. No easy task. She responded with empathy to the needs of the group and took really good care of us. We saw a few hard to see things on the tour related to poverty. It was a lot of walking, and we weren't able to see everything originally part of the tour because of the heat. I bought a cute skirt from a nice store on the tour. The shopowner/keeper was super nice. All in all it was a great tour. I went home and requested a ton of books on the Harlem Renaissance from my library, so it sparked an interest. In a follow-up email, one of the lovely women involved with Welcome to Harlem reached out and offered to help me with book titles which was really sweet. I hope this review helps you decide to take this tour. It will probably be even better when you decide to take it.

  • 5/5 Valvier B. 5 months ago on Google • 2 reviews
    Doris, our Tour Guide was very knowledgeable not only about the buildings and their history, but about culture, ancestry and so much more! You get a lot for the little money paid for this tour!

  • 5/5 Tracey N. 8 months ago on Google • 36 reviews
    Our tour of Harlem with Johnathon was fantastic. We began with a walk around the local neighborhood which has beautiful architecture. Next was the Mount Morris Gospel service, which was energetic, soulful and exactly what I had imagined it to be. Unfortunately the service was outside so didn't get to see inside the church. We then went to lunch at a wonderful Cafe ' Caffe Latte ' which was delicious. It was a wonderful tour and Johnathon was an amazing guide knowing a wide range of historical knowledge of Harlem, USA and worldwide! We were late to the tour because of our failure to properly navigate the NY subway but Carolyn kindly met us and took us to our group. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful day!

  • 5/5 Sharon P. 4 months ago on Google • 4 reviews
    Wonderful uplifting concert!!! The church is small but the acoustics were great. The only thing vocalists were amazing and encouraged audience participation. The concert wnd do with a resounding “Oh Happy Day!” and audience members were invited up to sing with the group. They recognized all the tourists from around the world country by country. Nice touch, I highly recommend this experience!

  • 5/5 Una O. 1 year ago on Google
    Highly recommend this tour. Carol was fantastic and very informative. I visited with the husband and two teenage girls at Easter Time. The history of Harlem was fascinating, being shown around by a local definitely is a huge plus. The history of the Brown Houses, The Opollo Theatre, Carol showed us so many places. She is a lovely lady and asking questions was not a problem

  • 5/5 Kathy B. 1 year ago on Google
    Great tour and delicious soul food at Manna’s. Got a super tip about blues music on Mondays at Silvana’s, which was awesome! Very informative and really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful buildings in Central Harlem. I knew my perspective was totally wrong about Harlem and glad to see the real Harlem and not what you see in the movies or TV….it’s beautiful. We really enjoyed our tour. Thanks!

  • 5/5 Charles R. 1 year ago on Google
    I took my history class on the Harlem Renaissance tour. I contacted them short notice and then asked to change the time and Carolyn was very accommodating. She gave us a great rate, she’s from the area and knows EVERYTHING, she got us to a great lunch place and even took us to our train! Highly recommend!

  • 5/5 Douglas M. 1 year ago on Google
    Absolutely loved this experience. Carolyn is a fantastic tour guide. She brings Harlem’s history to life in a way that makes you want to keep exploring and learning. And lunch was delicious too. I highly recommend this tour for anyone interested in Harlem or anyone who loves immersive experiences filled with fantastic stories.

  • 5/5 Shannon B. 1 year ago on Google
    We had a great experience with Carolyn. We planned a private walking tour of Harlem as with a corporate group of 10. Carolyn is not only knowledgeable of the history of Harlem but she is very engaging. It made for a truly enjoyable experience. I'd recommend this tour for anyone and I plan to return with my family to experience it again.

  • 5/5 Marquette B. 1 year ago on Google
    We had an amazing time and are so appreciative that you waited for us! Our group was small and super kind, and Debi, well she was fabulous and shared some amazing historical facts. We also were able to see and meet a couple of Harlem stars, Dapper Dan’s assistant and Mr. Mitchell at the Apollo. We had two folks in our group that had just watched the Dapper Dan documentary and another one that had just watched the documentary on the Apollo. Man, what a blessing! Thank you again for your willingness to transfer some Harlem goodness with us, we are grateful. And our lunch, let’s just say was the icing on the red velvet cake from Tropical Grill Restaurant. Yum!

  • 5/5 Carol P. 1 year ago on Google
    Our walking tour of the historic Mount Morris Park area of Harlem was thoroughly informative, with details only a native Harlem resident, like our tour guide, could offer. Surrounded by the architecture of beautiful brownstones, we listened to Carolyn share the rich history of Harlem, from politics to music, including historical facts and events that one will not receive on any other New York tour. Also, our parting meal, down the street from the Apollo, was a great treat! It was a fantastic day!

  • 5/5 Amanda A. 1 year ago on Google
    What a wonderful tour of Harlem! Our tour guide Carolyn was great to work with from start to finish. She has a true passion for Harlem and a wealth of knowledge of its rich history. She customized the tour based entirely on our needs and warmly welcomed our group of 22 around Harlem through 90+ degree temperatures and even a sudden downpour. She answered our many questions and ensured we walked away from the tour both enlightened and inspired. I highly recommend Welcome to Harlem for your tour needs.


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