The Dark Christmas Tour (Lower Manhattan)
Overview
Available languages
1 hour 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
Most holiday tours sparkle with lights and nostalgia, but this one looks at the shadows behind them. The Dark Christmas Tour uncovers the city’s forgotten winter, where colonial faith, street riots, and literary invention shaped what Christmas would become. Led by Purefinder New York, it’s a 90-minute walk through Lower Manhattan’s hidden history, tracing how joy, conflict, and commerce gave rise to the modern holiday season.
Additional Info
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Admission fee
What To Expect
National Museum of the American Indian
Stand where New York’s first St. Nicholas church once rose inside Fort Amsterdam. Discover how Dutch settlers mixed faith, fear, and commerce on the city’s colonial waterfront, and how their patron saint began his long journey toward becoming Santa Claus.
Trinity Church NYC
Visit one of New York’s oldest churches to explore how faith, power, and imagination helped turn a colonial stronghold into the birthplace of America’s Christmas traditions.
Options
The Dark Christmas Tour (Lower Manhattan)
Reviews
6 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Everyone goes uptown for holiday fun but this is where it all started, and almost ended.
dougl263,
Dec 2, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This is a really great tour both from the perspective NYC history and Christmas, both are woven together into a fascinating trip around lower Manhattan. Things and places I have went paces hundreds of time now have new meaning. Tip- dress warn!
Highly recommend
gleniceb2020,
Dec 1, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The Dark Christmas Tour is not a typical festive experience, which is exactly what makes it so memorable. It is an enlightening yet a dark look at the season, full of surprises and unusual stories. Highly recommend for anyone seeking an alternative way to experience New York. .. Jean Welsh
The best of New York City
notpracticing,
Nov 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Every Purefinder tour I have taken (after today’s, all of them), have been excellent. Liz, our guide, was engaging, informed, interesting, and a pleasure to spend an afternoon with. Every Purefinder tour offers a unique perspective on this great city and all offer insights unavailable anywhere else. A pleasant and rewarding walk.
Fantastic Christmas tour
B1783EHalexeyk,
Nov 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This tour was a fantastic look at the real origins of Christmas in New York. The guide explained colonial customs, winter riots, and early holiday reforms in a way that was both clear and engaging. I learned so much in a short time and would gladly take another Purefinder New York tour.
A Truly Unique Christmas Story
810masonw,
Nov 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The Dark Christmas Tour was unforgettable. I loved learning how New York’s holiday traditions grew out of real history instead of myths. I would recommend this tour to anyone who likes unusual stories and hidden corners of the city.
From US$40.00
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Operated by Purefinder New York