Free Coney Island Historical Walking Tour
Tour Type: Public Group Walking Tour
Themes: 20th Century American History, Amusement Parks, Eastern European Immigration
Starts: 2915 Stillwell Ave Space #5, Brooklyn, NY 11224
Ends: 239 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Duration: 2.5 hours
Cost: Signing up is free. Gratuity is appreciated.
Good For: Individuals, Couples, Families, Anyone!
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Join Alex on a Coney Island walking tour and learn the history of America’s Playground. We’ll visit attractions like the Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone, the Parachute Jump, and the Coney Island Boardwalk. During the tour, you’ll hear stories of freak shows, midget cities, hot dog eating contests, baseball, and other often bizarre episodes in Coney Island’s history.
Along the way, we’ll stop by several of Coney Island’s most iconic eateries, including the original Nathan's Famous, where guests are welcome to try a NYC hot dog!
This experience ends in nearby Brighton Beach, where we’ll explore America’s largest Russian speaking community. We’ll talk about Jewish, Soviet, and post-Soviet immigration to NYC while visiting several local markets in the neighborhood known as “Little Odesa”. Again guests are welcome to try the gourmet specialties of the neighborhood!
Along the way you'll have plenty of time to ask questions and engage with Alex on any number of topics. Tours are casual, flexible, and fun, so bring your curiosity, appetite, and a comfortable pair of walking shoes!
This tour is perfect for individuals, couples, families, or anyone looking to experience New York City’s food, culture, and history in a new way!
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Submit an inquiry form and we will get right back to you with dates the tour is available.
On the day of, Alex will meet you at a predetermined location, and the tour will begin. Tours are flexible, and we arrange everything, so you can simply focus on the experience!
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Food Strolls Guided Tours was created in 2020 as a means for sharing our passion for New York’s food, history, and culture with others. What began as a hobby has developed into a full service tour agency, and over the past three years we’ve given over 1,000 tours to clients including Stanford University, Columbia University, Princeton University, NYU, Google, Meta, BMW, Ernst and Young, and the NYC Department of Education.
We are fully licensed and insured tour guides, professional bloggers, and active members of the Guides Association of New York City. Local food and history is our passion, and our tours are experiences you simply will not find anywhere else in NYC.
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“My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed this tour! Alex was quite knowledgeable about Coney Island and super friendly. We enjoyed learning about the history of the area as well as indulging in some of the local treats, while also relaxing oceanside. As avid baseball lovers, we also enjoyed seeing the baseball stadium and the Jackie Robinson statute outside of it. The tour was very walkable. We saw the amusement parks, including historic rides, and also took in the boardwalk with beautiful weather. I would highly recommend this tour to others as a must!” - Shemika Jones, Chief Compliance and Risk Officer for Papaya Payments
“Wonderful experience with Alex. We enjoyed the Coney Island/Brighton Beach tour so much that we booked the Chinatown/Little Italy tour for the next day! Alex is a treasure providing us with great food and a marvelous history of the areas we toured. All while getting in some much needed exercise. Great way to see New York!” - Sandi Selvan, Retired, Newport Beach, CA
“We recently took the Coney Island and Brighton Beach Food Tour and were very impressed. It was Winter and we knew the rides and many shops on Coney Island would be closed, but Alex walked us through the history of the area very carefully, and it was actually great without the crowds! The tour ended in Brighton Beach, a neighborhood we knew little about, and Alex helped us order some memorable Eastern European food. We will be doing more of these tours in the future!” - Josie Salvato-Doty, Early Childhood Education Professional