Unique City Tours

SECRET of the city

SURE, YOU CAN HOP ON ONE OF THE UBIQUITOUS TROLLEY BUS TOURS FOR A TRIED-AND-TRUE TOUR OF THE TOWN. BUT WHY NOT DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND TRY OTHER FUN WAYS TO EXPLORE THE CITY? TAKE A LOOK AT BEHIND-THE-SCENES, OFTEN QUIRKY, SOMETIMES KITSCHY AND ALWAYS ENTERTAINING TOURS OF THESE SEVEN CITIES.

BY DIANE BAIR AND PAMELA WRIGHT

PHILADELPHIA

You can’t miss them: the colorful outdoor murals that decorate city walls and buildings. What began as an initiative to combat graffiti has grown into a massive, innovative outdoor art project. In fact, Philly has some 2,700 murals scattered across its neighborhoods, more than any other city in the world. So, what’s the story behind the 38-foot tall portrait of basketball legend Julius Erving (not in his 76er uniform)? Or, the giant “Common Threads” mural, one of the largest in the world? Board an open-air trolley for the inside scoop and a close-up look at Philly’s outdoor art museum treasures. Depending on which day you go, the two-hour tour will cover one of five neighborhoods: Center City, North Philly, South Philly, West Philly and Broad Street.
www.muralarts.org

ALSO CONSIDER: Pick up a free SoundAboutPhilly Podcast (www.soundaboutphilly.com). Tours include “History Unplugged” (non-textbook history); “Flavorhoods” (ethnic dining); “Vintage Philadelphia” (classic Philly spots); “My Philly” (insider tips straight from locals); “Once Upon A Nation” (the undertold stories of Colonial Philadelphians); “Philly Noir” (the African American experience); and “Keepin’ the Faith” (religious history).

CHARLESTON

Eerie stories of ghostly appearances by a female thief, a hungry dog, an angry schoolteacher, a sorrowful mother, a whistling doctor and a lovelorn but very polite gentleman who likes to climb into bed with women are all recounted on the “Ghosts and Legends of Charleston” tour, offered by The Original Charleston Walks. You’ll stroll through pretty parks, historic homes and graveyards on this leisurely 90-minute walking tour that blends odd anecdotal history and Gullah folklore. Some guides include a segment on the pirate Blackbeard’s unwelcome visit to the city in 1718, and others elaborate on Gullah superstitions, like the belief in demon witches who discard their own skin at night and ride people. Eek! (Join the evening tour for added spine-tingle.) www.charlestonwalks.com

ALSO CONSIDER: Culinary tours through Carolina FoodPros (www.carolinafoodpros.com) include visits to chefs, bakeries, artisan food producers, specialty shops and chocolatiers—with plenty of tasting along the way.

NEW YORK

A recent to-die-for steal snatched on the “Garment District Diva Trek” of New York included a full-length, 100% cashmere coat—with a Saks Fifth Avenue lining—for a mere $100. And how about a pair of Bettye Muller shoes for $50? (Be still, your bargain-hunting heart!) Value-seeking fashionistas— and just about anyone who loves a real deal—can join Pamela Parisi on a tour of Garment District’s private wholesale showrooms, where current season offerings are slashed 50% or more. We agreed not to mention specific store names, but most are not open to the public anyway. The tour lasts four hours (“Most people are shopped out by then,” Parisi says), but if you have the stamina, Parisi provides a hit-list of additional shopping venues and current sample sale shops. Other tours include the “Uptown Consignment Crawl,” “Accessory Addict” and “Vintage Vamp.” www.theeleganttightwad.com

ALSO CONSIDER: Get a bird’s-eye view of the Big Apple’s top sites on a Liberty Helicopter tour (www.libertyhelicopters.com). Six different sightseeing tours are offered, ranging from five to 17 minutes. You can also take a Sunday morning gospel tour of Harlem, complete with a soul food and gospel music brunch, or an evening jazz tour with a stop at the world-famous Apollo Theater. Both are offered by Harlem Spirituals (www.harlemspirituals.com).

CHICAGO

Ice Pick swills hooch, Big Julie totes a “Tommy” gun, and Louie passes out cigars as you travel back to the gangster days of Prohibition and the Roaring ’20s, when bosses and bootleggers ruled the Windy City. These costumed gangster guides will lead you on the two-hour “Untouchable Tour,” which includes true stories of bad guy legends like Bugs Moran, Machine Gun Jack McGurn and John Dillinger. You’ll tour the Biograph Theater, scene of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre; Dion O’Bannion’s flower shop; Holy Name Cathedral; and more. And for souvenirs, who can resist the $10 packet of magnetic bullet holes (to dress up your car!) or a pewter-finished tie clip in the shape of a classic gangster gun. www.gangstertour.com

ALSO CONSIDER: The Chicago Architecture Foundation’s “Architecture River Cruise” (www.architecture.org) is a 90-minute tour spotlighting more than 50 architecturally significant sites in the city. Chicago Greeter (www.chicagogreeter.com) pairs visitors with friendly, knowledgeable locals for free two- to four-hour informal tours. Visitors are matched with greeters through an online registration system based on special interest and language.

BOSTON

“My Sam,” the Colonial-costumed guide—wife of Samuel Adams—coos. “He was not handsome, and he was poor, but he sure could rile a group.” Standing at the Old South Meeting House, where in 1773 more than 5,000 colonists gathered to protest the tax on tea, the guide told the story: After hours of debate, Adams declared, “This meeting can do nothing more to save the country!” The protesters filed out of the meeting house and proceeded to Boston Harbor, where they emptied out three shiploads of tea, changing the course of American history forever.

It’s one of the come-to-life stories told along the Freedom Trail Foundation’s 90-minute “Walk Into History” tour. History-loving guides offer funny anecdotes, insights and new theories surrounding life in Boston during Revolutionary times. You’ll visit 12 historic sites, including Paul Revere’s house, Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, King’s Chapel, Boston Latin School (the country’s first public school), the site of the Boston Massacre and more.

The foundation also offers the “Historic Holiday Stroll” and “Historic Pub Crawl,” which tours 18th-century taverns where colonists gathered to plan the Revolution. (Samples of various beers are a part of the fun.) www.thefreedomtrail.org

ALSO CONSIDER: The award-winning “North End Market” tour (www.northendmarkettours.com) with Michele Topor is a delightful romp through the cobblestoned streets and brick alleyways of Boston’s famous Italian neighborhood, with stops at family-owned salumerias, pastry shops and trattorias.

INDIANAPOLIS

Typically, it’s men who experience the hauntings in the dark, little alley on the “Indianapolis NE Downtown Chilling Chatham-Arch Lockerbie” ghost walk. They’ve been poked and scratched; one man even showed fingernail-looking marks as evidence. But on a recent tour, the first female made contact; she said she was pinched in the neck while walking through the alley, and she also felt a hand touch her leg!

Husband-and-wife-team Michael and Nicole Kobrowski lead tours to the city’s most haunted sites. Researchers and authors of books about ghost stories and paranormal incidents, the Kobrowskis blend history and legend with paranormal investigations and research. “These are real ghost stories, accounts of real paranormal events that have happened to us, people in history, people we’ve interviewed or even people on our tours,” Michael says. Go, if you dare, with an open mind and a steady heart.
www.unseenpress.com

ALSO CONSIDER: The two-hour “Skeletons in the Closet” tour at Crown Hill Cemetery (www.crownhill.org), which begins at sunset, reveals the secrets and tragedies of some very famous people who now “reside” at the cemetery, including a former US president, three vice presidents, John Dillinger, and several sensational murderers and murderesses.

SAN FRANCISCO

Join the WokWiz stroll of America’s largest Chinatown for an insider tour of exotic herbal stands, open food markets and colorful shops. The guides bring a personal history of Chinatown life to the experience, weaving tales of the neighborhood’s younger days with contemporary anecdotes. The two-hour tour—the brainchild of author, chef and TV personality Shirley FongTorres—also includes Chinese tea at a tiny back-alley shop and a visit to a Buddhist temple, followed by a dim sum luncheon at a traditional restaurant.
Also available is the “I Can’t Believe I Ate My Way Through Chinatown!” tour. www.wokwiz.com

ALSO CONSIDER: The San Francisco Party Bus Tour (www.partybustours.com) includes transportation and admission to the city’s top nightclubs (of your choice), anecdotal commentary and free pizza from stop to stop. Segway of San Francisco (www.segwayofsf.com) offers guided tours along the seaside trails of the Pacifica coastline. Or, skip the gym and join Michael Isgar, a professional runner, on a guided tromp through the city from SF Run Tours (www.sfruntours.com). Routes are tailored for varying fitness levels and interests.

LOS ANGELES

Who doesn’t like a good mystery? “The Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus” tour has all the elements: seduction, suspects and seedy locales. Since January 1947, the unsolved murder of a young woman who came to Hollywood to make it big has intrigued mystery fans. This murderous mystery tour—one of several offered by the out-of-the-ordinary Esotouric company—visits more than two dozen scenes of Elizabeth Short’s life and death in Los Angeles. Along the way, you’ll learn about the probable suspects (including famous men like Norman Chandler and Orson Welles), and examine the more popular theories. The who-dunnit bus ride snakes from downtown Hollywood to South Central, and leaves you with something new to consider: a convincing suspect with ties to the body dump scene near 39th and Norton. Ponder the theory over a dish of Black Dahlia-flavored gelato from Scoops ice cream parlor (included in the tour). www.esotouric.com

ALSO CONSIDER: Board the Tomb Buggy for a three-hour tour of LA’s most scandalous, murderous and just plain gruesome locales (think: Manson murders) on a “Dearly Departed Tragical History” tour (www.dearlydepartedtours.com).