Tenement Museum
Tenement Museum
4.6
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
The Tenement Museum preserves the history of immigration through the personal accounts of those who built lives in the Lower East Side. Visitors can view restored apartments from the 19th and 20th centuries, walk the historic neighborhood, and interact with residents to learn the stories of generations of immigrants who helped shape the American experience. The museum is available by guided tour only. Each tour focuses on a specific theme and takes visitors to different areas of our two historic tenement buildings or neighborhood.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Downtown Manhattan (Downtown)
A captivating blend of old and new, Downtown Manhattan offers a unique view into the past, present, and future of New York City. Iconic landmarks like the historic Wall Street, the poignant 9/11 Memorial, and the awe-inspiring One World Trade Center punctuate the skyline, while the lush greenery of Battery Park provides a tranquil respite from the urban landscape. For foodies, the neighborhood is a culinary wonderland, featuring everything from Michelin-starred restaurants to diverse food markets such as the famed Eataly. Art lovers will find themselves drawn to the stunning exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art or captivated by the street performances in Washington Square Park. With several subway lines crisscrossing the area, exploring the rest of the city is just a train ride away.
How to get there
- Delancey St • 2 min walk
- Essex St • 3 min walk
Reach out directly
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Restaurants
10,000 within 5 kms
Attractions
2,868 within 10 kms
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.6
6,860 reviews
Excellent
4,888
Very good
1,317
Average
364
Poor
184
Terrible
107
CLTJennifer
Charlotte, NC145 contributions
Feb 2025 • Friends
We found our tour to be very interesting and informative. We liked being able to select the time period that would be the focus of our time in the museum. The gift shop had lots of cute/off-beat items for sale. I was surprised at how great this experience was since I've been to NYC a lot and had never heard of anyone going there.
Written 28 February 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Swedishtomcat
Diss, UK4,678 contributions
Sept 2024 • Solo
Brilliant look into the history of living in Lower East Side. Each tenement represents a different era, however, they are separately-priced tours. Ben the guide gave a passionate tour of the 1950-70s apartment. It’s advisable to book at least 24hrs in advance to get the tour you want at the time you want otherwise you’re only offered what’s left on the day.
Written 7 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JustCallMeDave
Cody, WY4 contributions
Nov 2024 • Family
My sister and I visited in mid-November. It was her idea, so I was along for the ride and did not have an expectation of the museum. I was surprised and moved by the tour. Very immersive to stand in the flats, to climb the same stairs, to experience however briefly the lives of the residents. Our guide was authoritative, knowledgeable, and in addition to describing the family life of the tenement dwellers, deftly connected the immigrant experiences of today with yesteryear without politicizing the issue.
Other reviews noted the lack of seating. Generally, there were a few folding seats available, but there is a lot of standing, so be mentally prepared. The tenements are small and mostly filled with period furniture which is not available to rest on. Any discomfort I may have felt I channeled right back into the story we learned that day of hardship and sacrifice. What lives of comfort we live today compared to back then. At least the museum provides clean restrooms! It would have been another level of historic immersion if all we had was the four holer at the back of the building!
I highly recommend a tour...or tours! If our schedule permitted, we would have taken another tour. Good books in the gift shop too.
Other reviews noted the lack of seating. Generally, there were a few folding seats available, but there is a lot of standing, so be mentally prepared. The tenements are small and mostly filled with period furniture which is not available to rest on. Any discomfort I may have felt I channeled right back into the story we learned that day of hardship and sacrifice. What lives of comfort we live today compared to back then. At least the museum provides clean restrooms! It would have been another level of historic immersion if all we had was the four holer at the back of the building!
I highly recommend a tour...or tours! If our schedule permitted, we would have taken another tour. Good books in the gift shop too.
Written 20 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Caroline S
East Sussex, UK146 contributions
May 2024 • Friends
After visiting all the Glam places of New York, this was the other side, the gritty history. Authentically restored building covering the stories of families that lived in the area , their struggles and hardships, very authentic and captivating , the guides really bring the back stories of these families to life. Each tour tells the story of a different family Irish immigrants/german settlers/first generation freed slaves. This isn’t obvious when you’re booking so take time to work out what story you want to see before you book. Each tour is one hour $30
Written 13 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Evelyn B
92 contributions
May 2024 • Couples
We intended to visit the Tenement Museum on a visit to NYC in 2021 and ran out of time. In the interim between that trip and this trip, we had a chance to visit the Tenement Museum virtually and participate in a couple of virtual lectures and video tours. Those experiences bumped the Tenement Museum to the top of our "must see" list for this trip and we were not disappointed. My husband and I decided that if we were going to go on two tours, at $30 per person per tour, we might as well get a membership. That was the best idea yet! We went to the TM on a Friday and spent the whole day there, going on three tours. Those tours were so well done that we decided to return the next day and go on three more tours. Shout outs go to Sara, Ashley, Isaiah, Daryl, Brian and Weixi, the educators who each led one of the six tours. They were interesting and well-versed in the history (as much as is known) of the families whose apartments we visited. Through the educators and also the efforts of those who have painstakingly staged the apartments (both restored and unrestored), we were able to get a sense of what life might have been like in the tenements of the Lower East Side. There is an interesting 26-minute video that provides an overview of the tenements; you can watch it before or after your tour or, between tours. The gift shop has an amazing variety of books on the subjects of immigration, history of NYC, experiences of various ethnic/racial groups, cultural characteristics, cookbooks, books for younger readers, etc. that allow a visitor to continue their education after visiting the museum. Though we spent two full days at the museum, we know that we will be back when we visit NYC again, as there are a couple of tours that we were not able to fit in!
Written 13 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mikan999
Bristol, UK571 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
This is an excellent museum. They have done a fantastic job in returning this 1863 tenement building to its original state, complete with furniture. The visit takes about one and a half hours. All visits are guided which is great, our guide Erica was excellent with a wealth of information about how immigrants who arrived in the late 1800s lived in this kind of building. You can chose from several tour themes. This is an essential visit if you are in New York. It's a bit off the main parts of tourist New York but well worth the journey, there is a subway station at Delancy. There is a shop and bathrooms in the reception building. We walked back from here to Chinatown, quite an interesting walk.
Written 11 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kathryn L
Glen Ellyn, IL24 contributions
Nov 2024 • Friends
My sister and I were in NYC for a long weekend in mid November and our visit here was definitely one of the highlights! We weren’t sure what to expect, but the “After the Famine” tour was informative and compelling- researching an actual family who lived in the apartment we toured made it all very “real”- both sad and hopeful.
The Irish tour is just one choice available, and lasted about an hour. My sister commented that she’d love to come back to NY for a week and do a tour a day 😃
Definitely arrive early to watch the film which details how the museum came to be- this will eliminate a lot of questions later. Plus this will allow touring the AMAZING and beautifully curated gift and book shop!
The Irish tour is just one choice available, and lasted about an hour. My sister commented that she’d love to come back to NY for a week and do a tour a day 😃
Definitely arrive early to watch the film which details how the museum came to be- this will eliminate a lot of questions later. Plus this will allow touring the AMAZING and beautifully curated gift and book shop!
Written 24 November 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
margiedrew aka Chris
London, UK116 contributions
Oct 2024 • Couples
We joined the “After the Famine 1868” tour led by Ben. They were a brilliant, knowledgeable and engaging host who made us feel relaxed and comfortable asking questions. The tour was excellent and we came away with a true picture of what life was like for Bridget and Joseph Moore who left Ireland to escape the potato famine and build a new life in the USA. There are a number of different tours and we only had to wait a few minutes after arrival before we headed into the tenement. This is a must do when you are in New York and it followed on perfectly from our visit to Ellis Island as it brought the struggles of new immigrants to life.
Written 7 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dan M
Oakland, CA3 contributions
Jan 2025 • Family
What an engaging tour by David today. The building is a time capsule with careful attention to detail and thoughtful recounting of 3 generations of immigrant families able to realize the American Dream to different degrees. David made history come alive. Even our 9 and 11 year old boys enjoyed a 1.5 hour tour.
Written 4 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Av8trx90277
Redondo Beach, CA83 contributions
Oct 2024 • Friends
This is one of those hidden gems. It’s amazing that thismpiece of history survived in its real condition. I followed my ancestry and took thenIrish immigrant tour that was led by a young woman who is a history major and very passionate about these true stories. They know the actual family who lived in the apartment you visit super friendly museum staff and a great gift shop to boot!
Written 9 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is there a tour in which you would be able to view all of the apartments during one visit?
Written 15 December 2019
Unfortunately not; each tour revolves around a specialized theme and takes you through 1 or 2 of the different apartments. The tour I did was so good though, it makes me want to go back and see something new next time!
Written 16 December 2019
Do you need to pre book if so how long in advance please?
Written 20 November 2019
We just turned up and booked for the tour we wanted - there are different tours going every 15 minutes or so so we chose the next but one as it seemed (and was) interesting. This was early October on a Monday.
Written 23 November 2019
I thought I saw there was a movie that you could also see before the tour if you came earlier. I can't find anything about that now. Does anyone know if there is a movie available? Thanks
Written 22 October 2019
Yes there is a movie. You can really see it before and after. It is pretty good. Also - they mention the Puerto Rican migration in the 40s-50s if you are interested. It is not on the tour.
Written 19 December 2019
I’m hoping to visit on my last day in the city, do you have somewhere to leave luggage if I brought it with me?
Written 19 September 2019
They have lockers down near the restrooms, but I'm not sure if they're large enough to accommodate a full suitcase. You might want to call them and ask.
Written 19 September 2019
is this attraction recommended for adults?
which tour is considered the most popular / recomended?
Written 15 August 2019
More adults, but 12 years old and up might find it interesting. I wouldn’t say good for toddlers or elementary only b/c there is a lot of standing in a small room listening to an educator. Have not done any of the walking tours, so no comment. Hard times tour I think is the most popular and one of the 1st ones created.
Written 16 August 2019
I've been to the Tenement Museum. Loved it. Is it possible to purchase items from the gift shop online?
Written 24 May 2019
Yes, various things are for sale in the shop, i.e. the usual souvenirs but also other more educational things, books, etc. but I haven't personally checked online. I bought a book on the history of the tenement museum, "A Tenement Story", partly because it included pictures, (you can't take pictures in the museum), and partly because it included various stories. I'm sure some of these things would be online and worth buying.
Written 28 August 2019
Interested in doing 2 apartment tours in one day (& fairly close together in time). Does one schedule an apartment tour for eg. 12 pm. Then do another one for 12:45 pm or 1 pm?
Written 9 March 2019
I'ts probably too late for this answer, but you will need more time in between tours. They run at least and hour and you exit the back of the building so you would have to walk around the block to get to the next one in time.
Written 23 October 2019
I know it’s a while away, but does anyone know if The Tenement Museum will be open on Labor Day this year, September 2? Thanks
Written 1 March 2019
The Tenement Museum is open nearly every day, except for major holidays. Labor Day usually doesn't count as a major holiday, so their web site will likely list open slots available that holiday weekend. Note that this museum is very busy on any holiday weekend they are open, so I'd make reservations early.
Written 3 March 2019
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