You can only visit the Tenement Museum as part of a guided tour. Choose from tours of recreated and restored historic tenement buildings and businesses or neighborhood walking tours. The museum also offers tours led by costumed interpreters portraying former residents. All tours begin at the visitor center with a video about tenements and the families that lived in them.
The museum features on a number of New York City tours, including walking tours of the formerly immigrant-heavy Lower East Side and East Village. The Tenement Museum also features on some food-focused neighborhood tours, which are excellent for learning about how different communities have influenced New York cuisine.
Most guided museum tours last one to two hours.
The museum is only accessible to visitors on tours. Therefore, you must reserve Tenement Museum tickets and tours in advance.
Some tours involve climbing several flights of stairs and are not wheelchair-friendly. Shop Life is the only wheelchair-accessible tour to enter 97 Orchard Street.
While the tenement building is at 97 Orchard Street, all tours begin and end at the visitor center at 103 Orchard Street. The nearest subway stops are Delancey Street (F train), Essex Street (J, M, and Z), and Grand Street (B and D). All are within a five-minute walk of the museum.
Tours frequently sell out during summer, so it's best to book far in advance. Arrive at least 15 minutes before your tour's start time so you can check in and store your bags. Allow more time if you want to watch a 30-minute educational film before your tour.
Hard Times visits two apartments. One belonged to the German-Jewish Gumpertz family and the other belonged to the Italian-Catholic Baldizzi family. Irish Outsiders follows the Moore family as they prepare for St. Patrick’s Day in 1869. Shop Life focuses on immigrant businesses. Meet Victoria Confino—an interactive tour with a costumed guide—is great for kids ages 5 and under.
