7 Best NYC Underground Tours (2025 Reviews)

NYC underground tour experiences reveal a gritty, shadow-filled yet fascinating world far below the city’s bustling surface.

As someone who spent years consulting in rail transit and now writes professionally about global travel, I’ve long admired the size, complexity, and character of New York’s subway system.

By track miles or kilometres, the New York City Subway is the second-largest in the world, with 393 km (245 miles) of routes, 60% of which are underground. The London Underground (also known as The Tube) has 402 km (250 miles) of route, with 45% of it underground.

Whew – facts and figures…

Navigating this maze is easier than you’d think, especially with the help of our NYC Transit Guide, which lays out exactly how to negotiate, understand, and move confidently through the city like a local.

And if you’re in the mood for something a little spookier, darker, and a little more storied, the Catacombs by Candlelight Tour offers an unforgettable walk through the shadowy past, far below the usual tourist trail and far behind its earthy experiences.

Whether you’re intrigued by engineering marvels, hidden histories, dark secluded tunnels, or just want a different view of the city, these tours deliver an insider’s look you won’t find above ground.

Below, you’ll find my top picks fully reviewed and compared to help you plan your own urban expedition.

I enjoyed all of them, but then, this is really what I’m into.

Top 3: NYC Underground Tours

Compare Top Tours: 1. NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour, 2. NYC: The Secrets of Grand Central Terminal, and 3. Guided Private Underground New York Subway Tour

1. NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour	2. NYC: The Secrets of Grand Central Terminal	3. Guided Private Underground New York Subway Tour
Duration: 2 hours	Duration: 1.5 hours	Duration: 2 hours
Pickup: Not included	Pickup: Not included	Pickup: Hotel pickup available on request
Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours	Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours	Cancellation: Free up to 24 hours
Includes: Expert guide, historical sites, subway entrance	Includes: Licensed guide, hidden facts, terminal access	Includes: Private guide, personalized tour, subway fare
Engaging exploration of historic NYC subway stations	Fascinating insights into Grand Central’s architecture	Tailored experience of NYC’s underground secrets
👉 Reserve Your Spot!	👉 Reserve Your Spot!	👉 Reserve Your Spot!

Fast Track: NYC Subway Tours

1. NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour
2. NYC: The Secrets of Grand Central Terminal
3. Guided Private Underground New York Subway Tour
4. New York Tour by Subway and Bus with Private Guide
5. NYC: Underground Subway Guided Tour with Local New Yorker
6. NYC: Discover NYC Subway Secrets Below Manhattan – Private
7. Brooklyn: Discover Hidden NYC Subway Secrets – Private

NYC Underground Tours (2025 Reviews)

Tour 1: NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour

✅ Meeting Point: 200 Broadway, New York, NY 10038
✅ Departure Time: 10:30 AM or 2:30 PM daily
✅ Duration: 2 hours
✅ Guide: English-speaking, live commentary
✅ Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before start
✅ Includes: Local expert guide, subway fare, historical insights, entry to selected stations

From the moment we met under the columns at 200 Broadway, it was clear this NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour would take us far deeper than just beneath the city streets. It actually took us into another world.

Our guide, a born-and-raised New Yorker with a storyteller’s instinct and a deep New York accent to match, walked us through the origins of the subway with charm and grit, weaving together history and humanity in a way that made each platform feel alive.

I’ve spent years consulting in rail transit systems around the world, and even I found myself wide-eyed and bushy-tailed at details I’d never noticed. We paused at tiled mosaics, decoded century-old station signage, and stood where engineers once laid the foundations of a new revolution in urban movement.

There was something oddly moving about hearing the roar of modern trains echo through spaces designed more than a hundred years ago. You were never too sure if they were somewhere above, below, or on a side pocket track.

This isn’t a glamour tour; it’s textured, raw, and real. You’ll touch original steel columns, trace forgotten exit paths, and glimpse the city from a point of view few get to appreciate. There’s no fluff here, just a solid walk through New York’s beating, subterranean heart.

We booked the NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour after hearing about it from some of my industry colleagues, and because I was curious how others interpret the transit story I know so well.

It exceeded expectations.

More New York City Tours

Enjoying your journey into the depths of New York City? If this underground tour has sparked your curiosity, consider exploring a few more adventures you might enjoy.

Tour 2: NYC: The Secrets of Grand Central Terminal

✅ Meeting Point: 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017 (Grand Central Main Concourse)
✅ Departure Time: 3:00 PM daily
✅ Duration: 1.5 hours
✅ Guide: English-speaking, live commentary
✅ Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before start
✅ Includes: Licensed local guide, interior tour of Grand Central, access to Vanderbilt Hall, historical commentary

Have you ever had one of those out-of-this-world moments? Well, there’s something surreal about standing beneath the celestial ceiling of Grand Central Terminal while your guide points out its deliberate flaws.

This tour leans into the elegance and oddities of one of New York’s most iconic landmarks from the whispering gallery to a hidden tennis court tucked into the upper levels.

As a transit professional, I’ve always appreciated the design, construction and beauty of function, but this tour reminded me how much of Grand Central’s story is told in quiet details and overlooked corners.

The pacing was gentle, the stories layered and engaging, and the guide had a knack for drawing you into the early 20th century without it feeling like a history lecture. We explored secret staircases, learned about the opal-faced clock’s worth, and peeked into places most commuters never notice.

If the subway is New York’s pulse, this place is its heartbeat, steady, grand, and full of whispered drama.

I left this NYC: The Secrets of Grand Central Terminal tour genuinely surprised by how many layers of meaning can be tucked into a single train station.

Tour 3: Guided Private Underground New York Subway Tour

✅ Meeting Point: Customizable — hotel or central Manhattan location by arrangement
✅ Departure Time: On request (flexible for private bookings)
✅ Duration: 2 hours
✅ Guide: Private guide, English-speaking, live commentary
✅ Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before start
✅ Includes: One-on-one guide service, metro card fare, customizable route, insider commentary

This private tour felt less like a formal activity and more like walking the city with a well-connected friend who just happens to be obsessed with the subway. Those affected by this affliction, a love of trains, trams, or trolleys, are commonly known as Gunzels in the UK and Foamers in the USA.

Although our guide was undoubtedly on the edge of this condition, he was also a great communicator, encouraged questions, and knew the New York Subway like the back of his hand.

From the first moment, our guide adapted everything to suit our interests, lingering longer at art-filled stations, skipping spots we’d already seen, and going deep into stories about train lines I didn’t know had such political baggage.

We didn’t just see the system, we felt how it grew organically, messily, and against all odds. The lack of a set script allowed us to ask questions freely and wander intuitively.

For travelers who enjoy flexible, meaningful encounters and even have a real interest in trains, this is the kind of tour that can make a city feel intimate. Unlike larger groups, we weren’t rushed or held back, and every story felt personally chosen for us.

Taking the Guided Private Underground New York Subway Tour gave me a whole new appreciation for how private guides can transform a familiar place into something quietly revelatory.

Tour 4: New York Tour by Subway and Bus with Private Guide

✅ Meeting Point: Hotel pickup available within Manhattan
✅ Departure Time: Customizable to your schedule
✅ Duration: 6 hours
✅ Guide: Private licensed guide, English-speaking
✅ Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before start
✅ Includes: Personal guide, public transport fare, flexible itinerary, museum or site access (optional)

This extended private tour combines the pulse of the subway with the utility of the MTA bus system, two sides of a city that most visitors never properly explore, or never properly explore successfully.

It’s a full-day experience that doesn’t just hit tourist highlights; it layers them with local insight, spontaneous detours, public transport technology, and a rhythm that feels authentically New York.

The guide was highly adaptable, weaving history, pop culture, and even a few personal anecdotes into the ride, which made the hours pass easily. We hopped on buses through neighborhoods I wouldn’t have otherwise even thought of exploring and ducked into stations with architectural flourishes I’ve overlooked on previous journeys to the Big Apple.

It’s rare to find a tour that balances movement and conversation so naturally.

This New York Tour by Subway and Bus with Private Guide stands out for offering not just sights, but really interesting information about how public transportation functions, but the feeling of navigating New York like a local, confident, informed, and a little swept up in it all.

Tour 5: NYC: Underground Subway Guided Tour with Local New Yorker

✅ Meeting Point: 143 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10038
✅ Departure Time: 10:00 AM daily
✅ Duration: 2 hours
✅ Guide: Local New Yorker, English-speaking
✅ Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before start
✅ Includes: Subway fare, live guide, access to historic stations, insider commentary

This tour felt like eavesdropping on the city’s own memories and most intimate moments, led by a lifelong New Yorker who clearly sees the subway as more than just infrastructure.

We started near Fulton Street, weaving through platforms and corridors layered with stories and forgotten details. Unlike more scripted tours, this one moved with the guide’s own rhythm and observations, lending it a sense of realness I really appreciated.

He showed us hidden art installations and told us which station murals were originals versus reproductions, sprinkling in just enough gossip with facts to keep it lively. While some tours hit the same well-known spots, this one also had a knack for detouring to side routes and quieter corners.

If you’re after a subway tour with heart and a bit of street-level perspective, NYC: Underground Subway Guided Tour with Local New Yorker delivers something less polished, but far more interesting and personal.

Tour 6: NYC: Discover NYC Subway Secrets Below Manhattan – Private

✅ Meeting Point: Broadway & Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007
✅ Departure Time: Available on request (private tour)
✅ Duration: 2 hours
✅ Guide: Private local guide, English-speaking
✅ Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before start
✅ Includes: Tailored walking route, subway access, expert guide, history & architecture focus

This private tour strikes a quiet balance between guided experience and urban archaeology. Our guide met us near Chambers Street, one of the oldest stations still in use, and immediately launched into a mix of passionate, well-told stories that blurred the line between city lore and subway fact.

This young, energetic guide shared with us an entire previous lifetime’s lore and legend – it was impressive. I asked him for a few dates and then checked them on Chat GPT – he was always right!

What stood out wasn’t just the knowledge it was the pace. With no group to rush or slow us down, we found time to explore the textures of tilework, the odd quirks of ventilation grates, and the way certain stations still echo with the grandeur of the early 1900s.

This was a mutually beneficial tour of the best kind. He was interested in sharing what he knew we were interested in learning, and he was interested in our questions and what, in particular, we wanted to see.

The tour focused heavily on architectural transitions, which I found fascinating, especially the blend of Beaux-Arts and utility design that often goes unnoticed by commuters.

As someone who’s spent years around rail systems, I appreciated the nuance. We even got a glimpse of an old disused entranceway, which felt like a little secret passed down through generations of city walkers.

If you’re after a deeper and more reflective take on the city’s underground, the NYC: Discover NYC Subway Secrets Below Manhattan – Private tour gives you room to look, ask, and think.

Tour 7: Brooklyn: Discover Hidden NYC Subway Secrets – Private

✅ Meeting Point: Borough Hall Subway Station, Brooklyn, NY 11201
✅ Departure Time: On request (custom scheduling)
✅ Duration: 2 hours
✅ Guide: Private guide, English-speaking
✅ Free Cancellation: Yes, up to 24 hours before start
✅ Includes: Private tour, subway fare, historical narration, flexible routing

This Brooklyn-based subway tour offers a change of tempo and borough from the usual Manhattan-centric options.

Starting at Borough Hall, we were introduced to a more community-rooted perspective on the system, guided by someone with both deep historical knowledge and personal and career ties to the area.

The route focused on early subway development in Brooklyn, complete with access to forgotten corridors and lively commentary on the neighborhoods above. We saw so much, explored vent shafts, mosaics, and mid-century infrastructure that still quietly serves a modern population.

What made this tour feel different was its tone, less polished, more observational, like a documentary in real time. The guide brought texture and depth to the ride, highlighting both cultural and physical shifts. It was an area that those working in the transit industry never fully consider.

For transit fans or “Foamers” (as they are known) and curious visitors alike, the Brooklyn: Discover Hidden NYC Subway Secrets – Private tour offers a refreshingly grounded take on how the city moves — and where it all began.

FAQs (7 Best NYC Underground Tours in [Year] (Top Picks & Reviews))

How long do most NYC underground tours last?
Most tours range from 1.5 to 2 hours, offering a balance between depth and pace. The longest is the full-day subway and bus combo, which runs up to 6 hours.

Where do these tours usually start?
Popular meeting points include Broadway near City Hall, Grand Central Terminal, and Borough Hall in Brooklyn. Some private tours also offer hotel pickup.

Are these tours physically demanding?
Most underground tours require moderate walking and stair use. They are not typically wheelchair accessible, so check access in advance for each specific tour.

Can I take photos during the tour?
Yes, photography is generally allowed in public areas of the subway. Some tours even highlight specific art installations and historical signage ideal for photos.

Are subway fares included in the tour price?
Yes, nearly all the tours include your subway fare, whether it’s a single ride or a day pass, and guides usually assist with navigating the system.

Is the Grand Central Terminal tour part of the subway system?
Not exactly. Grand Central serves Metro-North rather than the subway, but the tour highlights its hidden connections and historical links to underground transit.

What’s the best tour for history buffs?
The NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour and the Secrets of Grand Central Terminal are both rich in architectural and historical detail. The private tours are more tailored but may vary in depth depending on your guide.

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501Places Tim Borchers Ranking: NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour

501Places Reviewer’s Top Choice: NYC Underground Subway Walking Tour is the #1 Ranked Tour in 7 Best NYC Underground Tours in 7 Best NYC Underground Tours in 2025 (Top Picks & Reviews).