NEW YORK — Tours of Grand Central Terminal are resuming for the first time since being halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with global tour provider Walks as the new operator, Metro-North Railroad and City Experiences have announced.
Tours will be held starting at 3 p.m. daily, with $35 admission for adults and $30 for children. The 90-minute tours include major sites such as the Main Concourse, Grand Central Market, Transit Museum, Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Clock, and Whispering Gallery.
“Grand Central Terminal is one of New York City’s iconic locations with a rich history that will once again be told to visitors and fellow New Yorkers alike,” Metro-North President and Long Island Rail Road Interim President Catherine Rinaldi said in a press release. “Metro-North is excited to bring tours back after a two-year pause and are confident that Walks’ storytellers will do the history of Grand Central, and all the terminal’s historical features, proud.”
A beaux-arts style building that opened in 1913, Grand Central joins a list of sites featuring exclusive guided tours by Walks that also includes the Vatican and Colosseum in Rome, the Louvre in Paris, and Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia.
More information on Walks is available on its website, with specific information on the Grand Central tour available here.
I hope — I assume — that the tour mentions that GCT now is an IMPROVEMENT over GCT back then.
Not a real tour if they don’t take you to see the Campbell Apartment:-)
This is interesting because my wife and I took a tour of GCT last March (2021). Maybe Metro North is just getting around to announcing their return which must have happened last year. The tour was very interesting, and our guide was great. Very much worth the cost and tip. He explained about the 20th Century Limited, and the group was quite impressed that I had ridden the train albeit towards the end of its run (coaches added). The major disappointment was not getting to enter the Williamson Library where I used to attend Railroad Enthusiast New York Division meetings back in “the day”. The docent knew about it, but I had to point out to him where it was located and how it was accessed from behind the Kodak sign.
Very easy to spend part of a day at GCT; most of the paid tour spots are free and open, although the back spaces and commentary are worth the cost. The Oyster Bar and new LIRR platforms impress. It is a marvel to lean against the balustrade on a balcony and look down at the flow of humanity.