I have just returned to the UK from a 2 week business trip to the States. Starting in San Francisco then on to Chicago and finally New York. The 1st two destinations my feet didn't touch the ground but I found myself with a bit of spare time in New York. I've never been before and I was travelling alone and, because we are just opening a new office in NY, I had no work colleagues to meet up with either. I thought it would be a good idea to find a local tour guide as I found myself with a completely free Sunday. I Google'd (as you do) and City Unscripted came up. With little hope of getting anything (it was Saturday afternoon) I emailed the contact. I received a very quick response. They were very honest in saying that it was very late notice but they would see if any of the NY guides were available. I was very fortunate to then receive confirmation that Denise was available for a 3 hour walking tour on the Sunday. A few questions are asked about you and what you would like to see and do and also your preferences. I was very clear that I wanted to do an architecture tour (I love art deco and was really keen to see all the 1920's and 1930's buildings in the city). Denise was amazing as this is a passion of hers as well. She took me on an amazing walking tour of the best buildings, most of which I would never have thought to visit without her inside knowledge. We did some of the absolute musts such as Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building but she also showed me some total gems. The Fred French building was, I think, my favourite and a must see if you love Art Deco buildings. Denise's knowledge was fantastic. She helped me to understand so much more about this amazing city. We were too late to get into the Library but I returned the following day and that, too, was a great treat. Whilst walking to a meeting I also got to see the iconic Flat Iron Building. Having the tour with Denise gave me the confidence to have a wander around on my own. Despite some great tips on how to navigate the grid system I still kept turning right instead of left but my sense of direction has always been appalling! To sum up, this was a brilliant way to see NY and I would definitely recommend City Unscripted based on my personal experience.

Speak well in English and Chinese

Matti was a very friendly and gracious guide. He walked us all around the Kensington Market and Chinatown neighborhoods, sharing interesting facts about the city and cracking jokes the whole way. We had a really nice evening walking around and exploring Toronto. Because it was a Monday unfortunately a lot of unique food destinations were closed, but that’s on me for booking the tour on a Monday. We still enjoyed ourselves and I would highly recommend Matti to anyone looking to have fun exploring the Toronto downtown!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Selda and saw so much of the city that we would not have been able to do without a guide. She also helped us to understand the ancient traditions and culture as well as the local crafts. A fabulous tour.