NYC licensed guides are the best 'bang-for-your-tourism-buck.' Take the time to learn what our members have to offer. A GANYC member will help you make the most of your time. We also have a wide variety of multilingual guides to aid all international travelers on any service they need.
GANYC members are solely responsible for the content of their profiles on this site.
The designation Certified Guide means the marked individual guide has successfully completed and fulfilled all the requirements of GANYC's professional development program that focuses on how to research, plan, and conduct high-quality tours. These guides are authorized to use the designation, "GANYC certified guide."
Other US tour guide associations have Hire a Guide systems similar to GANYC's. You may contact the San Francisco Tour Guide Guild and the Guild of Professional Tour Guides of Washington DC with the forms on their websites.
Shane Grogan
Let me acquaint you with the greatest city in the world!
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Jose Raudales
Jose has been sharing his love for New York City as a licensed guide since 2011. With a dual degree in Economics and History from Baruch College, he has a knack for uncovering the fascinating stories that make NYC the most vibrant and dynamic city in the world.On February 21, 2025, Jose gave his…
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James (Ken) Hill
My name is Ken Hill. After a 40-year career leading international businesses across the globe, I returned home to the New York area a decade ago. Having spent decades navigating different cultures and world capitals, I know firsthand what elevates a visit from an ordinary checklist to an unforgettable experience: genuine local perspective, rich storytelling, and unhurried exploration.
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Phyllis Kaplan-Katz
Love this fabulous city as much as I do.
Join me as we walk and talk about the neighborhoods, the people, the food the changes, the buildings and the energy.
I am a born and bred New Yorker who continues to get excited about the happenings the energy and the life in New York.
Learn what it is…
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GANYC Certified Guide
Susan Soler
Susan is a native New Yorker. She is passionate about this city. She is ready to explore what this city has to offer, focusing on the joy and the senses that her tour can bring.
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Minna Scharff
Born in Brooklyn, a soccer mom in Greenwich Village (no minivan, just the "3" and "F" trains) and now a tour guide that explores everything old and new in her native city. A social worker by profession and licensed New York City tour guide of 12 years. Has experience doing everything from…
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Yaroslav Bondarenko
"My name is Yaroslav and I'll be your tour guide today" - these are words that I start my every tour with. I've been doing sightseeing tours since I my college years - then I was showing my home town Kyiv and Ukraine to tourists from USA. Now I show my home New York City to tourists from all over…
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Emiliano Perez
As an official New York City Tour Guide with a license from the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, I would like to share my experiences in New York and compare them with other cultures and places around the world. In the early 1980s, I studied (BA and MS) in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), USSR—an experience that allowed me to discover dozens of countries and cultures.
Julia Ryan
A Native New Yorker and expert guide, Julia has been touring with guests for over 20 years. Specializing in private tours, she works with some of the most exclusive hotels in the city. Tour New York with the exact itinerary and activities you want. The perfect combination of context, impeccable history, humor and fun -- plus the latest news and insights.
Dena Brody
As a contractor and licensed guide for 3 years now, I lead Chinatown/Little Italy and Greenwich Village food tours as well as Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island walking tours. With expertise in numerous neighborhoods and a love for food, I have started my own tour company: Feast by the Foot and I am currently workshopping a SoHo food tour! Please reach out if you’d love to learn more about any of the above.
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Dave King
I arrived in NYC in 2002 with no job, no apartment, and no network. A time before Facebook, before smartphones—when the only way to truly connect was through real conversation. So I put myself out there, joining an open mic at an East Village dive and becoming a volunteer guide. Through these encounters, I began to see NYC not just as a city but as a story, unfolding on every corner.
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Eric Ramos Rodríguez
Eric Ramos, a licensed sightseeing tour guide of the City of New York and founder of Big Apple Walks has over 20 years of experience in the fields of art and design. He studied architecture and urban planning at the University of Puerto Rico and at the Pratt Institute in New York.
To his…
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Brendan Rothman-Hicks
I am a native New Yorker and have been working as a tour guide for 4 years now. In my time as a tour guide I have lead food tours, historical walking tours, double decker bus tours and have also given tours to student groups visiting New York. I am available to give tours on foot, via…
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Ben Wagenberg
Sesame, poppy, garlic, whole wheat, everything! New York’s bagel varieties are as distinct as its neighborhoods, which is why each Ben’s Bagel Walking Tour starts off with a fresh New York bagel! Led by Ben Wagenberg, dubbed “The Bagel Expert,” each tour offers Ben’s unique perspective into the nooks and crannies of NYC’s famed foods, landmarks and neighborhoods.
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Abby Ross
Abby Ross founded NYC Water Tower Tours to highlight the wonder of water towers.
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Ed Perlmutter
I am a lifelong New Yorker and a native of Brooklyn, and I have spent most of my career in information technology in the financial industry. However, since 2011 I have been a license NYC tour guide so I could do something I passionately enjoy --- to use my extensive…
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Maria Toromanova
It was love at first sight, New York and me. After many years of living in, exploring and probing the five boroughs of this gem of a city, I decide to become a New York City tour guide. Twenty years later I still enjoy sharing my experience and knowledge with the many visitors who come here to this…
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Adam Guy
I Know A Guy NYC Tours, run by Adam Guy, offers full and half-day neighborhood walking tours for families and small groups, In addition, I provide trip planning assistance and serve as a go-to resource during their trip from A GUY who knows NYC inside and out.I aim to help visitors feel at ease…
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Matt Levy
Over 20 years in the travel and tourism industry.
GANYC Certified Guide
Michael Dillinger
I am a life long New Yorker and my family roots in this great city go back to the 1840's. There is a lot of NYC in my DNA.
As a guide I believe my job is to help visitor's fall in love with New York. I have been a professional, full-time, guide for the past six years. I love being…
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Benedicte Charpentier
When I was a kid, I wanted to become an archaeologist. But then I veered into languages and lived in Asia for a few years before coming to New York City two decades ago. My early love of finding history in the most mundane things, combined with my enthusiasm for communication and building bridges between cultures, brought me to become a tour guide in this city that I am still forever exploring and rediscovering.
Svetlana Pézier
I’m a French-American from Normandy, New Yorker by heart since 2014. I was a tour guide in France and I came to NYC to study the Tenement Museum, the city’s Architecture and History, and the People who made this city. In my tours, you’ll learn about those three and more, from my love of this place…
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Manuela Biondi
Buongiorno a tutti! Sono architetto, interior designer e guida autorizzata qui a New York City. Il mio amore per questa incredibile città si vede in ognuno dei miei tour. Non vedo l’ora di condividere la passione che ho per New York City con voi, accompagnandovi in giro alla scoperta di ogni angolo…
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Evelyne André
I am a French native, Professional Franco/American Tour Director , originally licensed in France , now with 35 years of experience guiding visitors throughout the USA . In NYC , where I hold the official sightseeing guide license , and where I reside, I am constantly…
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Jeff Liss
I am a history buff and have spent most of my life in and around New York City. My tours go past the usual landmarks to explore the little known facts around the city, particularly in Manhattan's Midtown East.
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Ronald Groenendyk
As a Dutchman who has been living in New York for more than 25 years, I offers walking tours under the name The MetaTourist since 2019. "Meta" in modern slang indicates something self-referential (self-aware). Having traveled for work and pleasure all of my life, I can be a visitor and an observer at the same time. As an immigrant, I can give you the inside and outside perspective. Why do people come to NYC? Why did I come to NYC? Why are you here?
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Susan Zuckerman
I am a retired history teacher and currently an adjunct professor teaching history at a local college, but now devote most of my time to being a licensed New York City guide. Additionally, along with my husband, who is also a licensed tour guide, I have co-authored a book on New York City, have a…
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Anina Young
I first became a NYC tour guide in 2002. Left the business, then came back when I realized showing visitors around the city was a better career.
Sam Silverman
Founder of BagelFest, NYC Bagel Tours, and Brooklyn Bagel Blog
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Takisha J. Edwards
I am a part time guide currently specializing in tours of Queens, NY.
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GANYC Certified Guide
Ricky Russo
Ricky Russo was born in Trieste (Italy) in 1973 and has lived in New York since 2013. He is a tour guide, DJ, music journalist and historian, creator of radio and TV programs and musical event organizer (from the Peggy Guggenheim Museum to concerts of Italian artists in New York.) He holds a degree…
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GANYC Certified Guide
Joseph Salvatore Knipper
Look! It's a fashion-impaired hipster...No! It's a young Santa Claus! ...No! It's Joseph Salvatore Knipper!
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Meri Haitkin
I’m a New York City walking tour guide with a background in television and film. My focus is on downtown Manhattan, food, art, and pop culture. I am likely the only guide at the Statue of Liberty mentioning the movie “Remo Williams.” I love to center my tours around people -- the known and unknown New Yorkers who lived the wildly compelling story of this fantastic city.
Lili Murad
Hellooooo….
New York has been my playground for the last 35 years. I have lived in every borough (OK, apart from Staten Island, although I was born in the sister state of New Jersey, so…). My family's story is the classic immigrant's odyssey, beginning in Ellis Island, spanning the rich history of…
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