Take a tour of Harlem — a center of jazz and bebop music — then dine on soul food and see a jazz show at a famous venue like the Cotton Club. After exploring the historical neighborhood with a professional guide, feast on mouthwatering cuisine such as crispy fried chicken, spicy ribs and cornbread at Sylvia’s restaurant. You’ll relive the high-stepping nights of the 1920s with a jam session at one of Harlem’s hottest clubs. There’s no better way to explore the full range of Harlem's diverse history, music and food!
Explore Harlem's musical legacy, including its churches, spiritual centers and swinging nightlife during this 5-hour tour, which departs near Times Square in the evening. You’ll learn from a knowledgeable guide about Harlem's role in the history of jazz, and hear about its most noted musicians who gave New York its musical edge.
Drive past the site of the original Cotton Club, where Duke Ellington and Lena Horne spent hours wowing crowds from around the world. See the Savoy Ballroom where Benny Goodman and Chick Webb fought it out during their ‘battle of the bands,’ and where the Charleston, lindy hop and the Big Apple dances were firmly cemented into American culture.
Snap a photo of Harlem’s world-famous Apollo Theater, where numerous artists such as James Brown performed, and imagine the era when Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald won the popular ‘amateur night.’ Pass by Minton's Playhouse, where bebop was born, and where Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk started the tradition of jam sessions.
After your tour of Harlem, you’re treated to a traditional, family-style dinner at Sylvia's ‘Queen of Soul Food’ restaurant. Enjoy traditional African-American cuisine inspired by dishes that originated in the southern US, such as spicy ribs, collard greens, fried fish and fried chicken, cornbread, and a few side dishes like black-eyed peas, okra, or macaroni and cheese.
Following dinner, your guide accompanies you to a local Harlem jazz club, where two complimentary drinks are included and the music is red hot. On Mondays, head to Harlem's renovated Cotton Club, where you can sway to the beat of a local, twelve-piece swing band (dance lesson included). Soak up the lively atmosphere at an alternate venue while enjoying the sounds of a jazz or rhythm & blues band.
Your nightlife experience ends with drop-off near Times Square at midnight.
This tour was one of the highlights of my holiday, what a wonderful night and great tour guide. The food was fabulous and the jazz club, well I never thought that with my 2 left feet that I would ever get up and dance, but so glad I did it was so much fun it still brings a smile to my face whenever I think about it.
Review by: Jean Marie D, October 2017
I would do this tour again when in NYC! Our tour leader, Sylvia's soul food restaurant and the music, show and dancers at the Cotton Club were all amazing!
Review by: rjcope, October 2017
This was with out doubt the highlight of our trip to New York . We made our way to pickup point we're we did a ride to Harlem looking at the area. Quite nice ,some interesting places to see .Then we went for original soul food at a restaurant which was yummy.everyone enjoyed the meal . Then on to the Cotton Club we're we had a fabulous time .great entertainment dancing and singing all night . The gentlemen got everyone involved ,we loved it .There were single ladies on the tour too and they were up dancing all night. Can,t praise it enough .If you like a good evening singing and being entertained it,s the tour for you .
Review by: June G, August 2017
excellent
Review by: Roy O, July 2017
Guided bustrip from Midtown to Harlem with a great guide imforming us what is to know in the area we passed by. Stop at at Sylvia's in Harlem serving great soul food- chicken - ribs - fish and a delicious banana dessert. Stop at Apollo Theatre and finishing off in Cotton Club to listen to great jazz music and watchng a fantastic tap dance show. Highly recommended trip- good value!
Review by: Chia Yu Tam, June 2017
This tour is a HUGE disappointment. The restaurant we went to gave us very little food, we had trouble sharing the portion between 12 people. The jazz bar they took us to had no cover charge. The music was not that good at all. Anybody off the street could have come in and sit down for free. We ended up leaving early because it was so boring. We just can't justify paying 175 per person for the evening.
Review by: Helga V, March 2017
One of the best nights I've had in NewYork. My friends were reluctant but so glad they did this. They did not want to leave when our bus was boarding
Review by: Jane E, January 2017
Excellent evening! Great host great food and even better jazz! Excellent night out!
Review by: Mellie, January 2017
Enjoyed Peggy, our guide, whose fluency between English, French, and Italian was so impressive! Devoured our dinner at Sylvia's and the Cotton Club was a hoot loved the big band and had fun dancing.
Review by: Bill A, October 2016
Outstanding guide, the food was excellent. Enjoyed the jazz, however felt the jazz session was a little long. Recommend this tour.
Review by: Alfredo E, November 2015
Had a great time. The meal was great - best potato salad I've ever had. I had an enjoyable time at the Cotton Club - great music and entertainment. Only thing that would have made this trip better was being able to get a walking tour I couldn't see the venues very well, sitting inside the van. The tour guide was great and the information added to the experience.
Review by: Philip A, October 2015
Exelent Good music,Good Food,Great Peggy!
Review by: Kristie K, September 2015
Very knowledgeable and approachable guide. The services, including bus service, dinner and the actual jazz performance were enjoyable from start to finish. No complaints.
Review by: carrie.toschi, August 2015
One of the best tours I have ever gone on.
Review by: Philip W, June 2015
Another great evening hosted by a very personable guide. Good food at Sylvia's and a great little jazz quartet in the pub across the road. Pick up and drop off by the bus was spot on.
Review by: Melanie O, June 2015
Very good evening and great way to see Harlem. Alvin, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about both the music and New York - he was excellent. The meal was great and the tour round Harlem was very interesting. We went on a Monday so finished at the Cotton Club and were particularly impressed with Solomon King, a 20 year old blues guitar player, who was brilliant. The tap dancer, whose name we did not get, was equally talented and impressive. A great evening to spend in Harlem!
Review by: Shirley T, June 2015
Fantastic experience! The food was excellent and the tour guide. I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants to experience Harlem.
Review by: Carolyn B, June 2015
Our guide Patrick was very knowledgeable, had a good day, thanks
Review by: Lisa D, January 2015
Loved every second!!!! Particularly loved our guide Peggy and the Cotton Club, magic night:)
Review by: Irina L, December 2014
Wonderful, weould definitely recommend!
Review by: CAROL W, December 2014
The tour was great with excellent soul food at Sylvia's and a fab jazz band in the Cotton Club. Peggy the tour guide was very knowledgeable. An all round lovely evening.
Review by: Brian B, December 2014
Enjoyed the Jazz Club experience but thought the food was not up to standard
Review by: Lynne B, December 2014
This was the most fun evening we spent in New York. The guide was a delight, very knowledgeable and efficient in making things run smoothly. Harlem is fascinating, I hope they don't ruin it by gentrifying too much. We could have heard more jazz, one set wasn't enough. Next time we will do the gospel tour.
Review by: michelle m, October 2014
An amazing way to see Harlem and try some soul food!! Fabulous trip if you like blues you will love this
Review by: d1mcd122, September 2014
Guide good.soul food dreadful tasted better kfc.cotton club smells unpleasant
Review by: Doug D, September 2014
My wife and I enjoyed this tour. The food at Sylvia's was good and our tour guide gave us a lot of historical info throughout the tour. After dinner, we enjoyed listening to jazz at the Cotton Club. Highly recommend!
Review by: dcflorence8, August 2014
Our tour guide was excellent. She was very knowledgable, making the evening as enjoyable as possible but I would have preferred to have been in the midst of the diners at the restaurant instead of being off in a seemingly separate room. This would have given more authenticity to the evening as the focus for me was the food and the people. We just got the food. As for the nightclub, it was a disappointment too because it was a long skinny room and again lacked atmosphere. The Apollo would have been much better I think.
Review by: Peter K, August 2014
What a great experience! The bus tour, food and music bar were all very enjoyable.
Review by: Lou Watson, August 2014
What a great experience! The bus tour, food and music bar were all very enjoyable.
Review by: o.sullivan, July 2014
This was a great night and Peggy our guide was excellent. The music at the Cotton Club was so good and the star performer was the up and coming Solomon Hicks. Getting dropped of at the hotel afterwards was a bonus.
Review by: Robyn F, July 2014
music was good food ?
Review by: Robyn F, July 2014
music was good food ?
Review by: Emma S, May 2014
Loved this tour! Peggy was our guide and she was funny and so informative. Anyone visiting NYC should do this tour - it combines some fascinating history on Harlem and jazz, delicious mouth watering soul food, amazing music, singing and entertainment. I would do this tour again and recommend it to anyone. You don't need to frequent jazz clubs or have any jazz records to get 100% enjoyment out of this evening.
Review by: David H, May 2014
The tour guide was very well prepared and stayed on the schedule. These are important to me. My wife and I enjoyed the evening.
Review by: VRyder1, April 2014
This was really fun. Dinner was very generous and good. Seeing the sites of Harlem was very enlightening and informative. Also, the Cotton Club was a surprise. I was expecting "heavy" jazz, but was delighted that it was a softer, more bluesy show. I would recommend this tour to everyone.
Review by: Natasha, April 2014
It was an ok tour. We are from the US and the two things we did (dinner at sylvia's and the jazz bar) we could have easily done ourselves and been so much cheaper. On the tour were alot of foreigners that I'm sure are afraid to go into Harlem on their own. We just felt out of place.
Review by: Elizabeth H, January 2014
Very disappointing and would not recommend it to anyone._br/_
The food at Sylvias was very disappointing and New York friends have since told us since that it is no longer rated and there are a couple of other much more highly rated restaurants._br/_
The jazz bar our guide took us to was horribly disappointing - we could see the singers properly and after an hour (before I had finished my first drink) we were wisked away becuase someone else wanted our seats! We didn't go to another jazz bar which was the whole point of going on the tour._br/_
The tour around Harlem to fill in time before we were dropped back to our hotels was very interesting - by far and away the best and most informative part of the night.
Review by: Reginald W, January 2014
TOO CLASSY BY HALF !
Review by: Jean M, January 2014
Incredible fun and great entertainment. Took my 30 year old son on the tour and we all had such a great time.
Review by: Lea, January 2014
This tour was one of the highlights of our stay in NYC! Our tour guide Ulrich and driver Marco were entertaining, informative and so accommodating! The experience itself was truly memorable, from the taste of home-style cooking at Sylvia’s to the delights of the Cotton Club and all it had to offer (souls singers, big band, tap artists, dancing girls and a fabulous old school decor - amazing) We had so much fun! A massive thank you to all involved!!
Review by: Cydney H, December 2013
We arrived at the address , and the group waited outdoors- there was no instruction on how to buzz to enter the building - that could have been clearer on the voucher. The guide was informative - driving around at night to tour makes things harder to see and because it was cold we did not make many stops enroute. The food at Sylvia's was ok - chicken, ribs were good; fish not. The "club" we went to was my disappointment - I was expecting something like the picture - it was a small old space, and my son and I had a laugh - we are in harlem to hear the music and the band is a 3 piece- 2 white men and one Asian woman- however, to be fair they were talented musicians. I did not think it was worth the $150 price tag.
Review by: wendy f, December 2013
This trip was brill. It's the first time I have been to a typical New York Jazz Club. The food beforehand at Sylvia's was superb and the venue for the jazz night, Red Rooster, was everything you can expect from a night venue. My only criticism is the artiste ' a jazz harpist'. Yes, a female playing a harp!! Her band consisting of a bass, drums and saxaphone were just as expected and were great. It was not what I expected tho which spoilt it but it was still an excellent trip and would certainly recommend it, especially to a 'jazz novice'
Review by: Richard W, November 2013
Harlem tour is interesting - our guide very knowledgeable. Sylvia's is worth a trip - basic and plentiful Soul Food. The Monday night Cotton Club is a real highlight - an 11-piece 'swing' band (including a young maestro guitarist), singers, dancers and a select audience of 'seasoned' local afficionadas.
Review by: David G, October 2013
Entertaining evening and introduction to Harlem. Too much food but the soul food is varried and tasty. The Cotton Club is highly entertaining, but you will need to know what you are doing if you want to get up and dance - definitely not for ametures. Interesting and useful information provided during the trip up to Harlem esp. for 1st time visitors to NYC.
Review by: Julie Ann F, September 2013
Loved this. The dinner was superb at Sybil. Our host was very good. We really enjoyed the cotton club for its big band. Tap dancers and singers. A great night.
Review by: Anonymous, September 2012
This time it was perfect
Review by: Quince W, September 2012
The food was average the Cotten Club was awsome the club was well worth going to.
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