A Tour Grows in Brooklyn

The tour exceeded our expectations. Rick was knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his neighbourhood. I would heartily recommend this tour and hope that visitors manage to make the effort to leave Manhattan for a few hours to appreciate this great area.

We were hoping to get a sense of the history, architecture and general flavor of South Brooklyn but what we got was so much more. Rick is a native of these neighborhoods and while he is a master of the facts of Park Slope and environs, it is his stories of the day-to-day life over many decades that he, his friends, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents actually experienced that really bring the place alive. And the pizza was great.

This tour has something interesting for absolutely everyone. We loved it. It was for three hours and we never got bored. Rick is very nice. All the way he made us feel taken care of, entertained, educated and inspired to learn something new.

After spending several days in Manhatten, this was a chance to see a different side of New York. Not only did we learn lots about Booklyn history we really enjoyed our guide - "Big Rick". Thanks Rick for a fun time!

Very informative and detailed.

Our tour guide Rick (also company owner) was informative, energetic, and enthusiastic about presenting the best of his city to us. Rick is a proud native who loves his city. As visitors, Rick welcomed us and was eager to instruct our group so we could better appreciate the history of his Brooklyn community. He is versed in the historical minutae regarding both local neighborhoods as well as landmark structures. If querried, Rick is willing to share from his vast plethora of insider tips/hints for a successful visit (eg: When I expressed my disappointment at not being able to purchase Yankees tickets prior to our trip departure in Chicago, he recommended we check for tickets the day of the game as a small amount of tickets are held back and released at face value at that time! Kudos, Rick! We were able to purchase two tickets for the game at prices significantly less than Cubbie tickets!). My husband and I savored the authentic pizza lunch which was included mid-way through our walking tour. This was the real deal, not some cookie cutter place like those scattered along every suburban strip across our country. The bottled water (also included with the tour ) was a thoughtful, classy touch. This is a great way to spend an afternoon or morning, but do wear comfortable walking shoes and clothing as this is a brisk walk covering quite a distance. Keep purses/backpacks to a minimum. Photo enthusiasts should bring an extra set of batteries for the digital camera. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is also a worthwhile activity for visitors; however, I suggest a taxi and/or subway ride to the base of the Bridge from the spot where the tour concludes. Visitors will want to save their beans for the actual walk across the Bridge! There are numerous entreprenurial types offering ice cold water for a buck as you cross the Bridge. This is a fabulous way to cap off the walking tour. Also, the TKS booth near the Brooklyn Bridge closes for a couple of hours in the middle of the day for lunch. Better to purchase Theater tickets at the actual theater box office than to find out there is a 2+ hour time period mid-stream in the day where they close up shop. After Rick's Brooklyn Walking Tour, spend the time walking across the Brooklyn Bridge instead! We highly recommend the Walking Tour.

Our daughter recently moved to Brooklyn and we were visiting her so we thought it would be a good idea to know more about her "neighborhood" as she now lives in the Prospect Heights area. We, including her, were all very happy with the very informative and entertaining guide who has been a Brooklynite his whole life. Everything from recent to more distant history of Brooklyn, architecture information, gossip and local color were part of the tour. Also the cold water bottle provided at the beginning and the slice of real Brooklyn Italian pizza towards the end were very appreciated. We would all highly recommend it.

Our guide really enjoys what he does, and it is apparent. We had a great, informative walking tour with alot of additional, unexpected "perks". His knowledge and love of Brooklyn is infectious! Good job!

We did not know what to expect of this private tour, but it was absolutely wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to know Brooklyn more intimately. Rick our guide brought his past, the history, the architecture, the food, tthe stories and the future of Brooklyn to us in only a way that he could do. His is the Brooklyn personal touch- and his knowledge was actullly unbelieveable. I want to thank him for one of our best tours ever- and we have done many of them throughout the years in NYC.

We were a family of 5 (including 3 daughters of age 19-24) from Denmark visiting New York for the first time. We were told that Brooklyn tours was worth the effort and the money spent, and it certainly was. Our tour guide Rick showed us around his home environment, and we saw many areas of Brooklyn that we would never have discovered ourselves. It was amazing to listen to wealths of details concerning the history of the neighborhoods, their inhabitants (some of them famous) and the architecture of houses, churches, parks etc. Everything told in an entertaining tone, including answers to all the questions we had. Close to the end of the tour we were fed with large slices of pizza, and we were offered water bottles already when starting our tour on this very hot day. Highly recommended!

Rick was very knowledgable and interesting. We enjoyed his tour very much and learned a lot about Park Slope

Rick was a wonderful tour guide.... he was extremely passionate about his neighborhood and was so down to earth, but had an extensive knowledge of the history and architecture of the neighborhood..the tour was so interesting ....I learned so much and would definitely recommend this tour to others....

On July 11, three of us had a tour of Park Slope given by Rick. Rick is very, very knowledgeable about this area, its history, and architecture. Rick himself is charming, fun, and colorful. This tour was exactly as promised - - even more! We look forward to another adventure with Rick!

There are a gazillion walking tours online and I am glad that I choose this one. Big Rick(hes not really a big guy, just big on information and friendlyness) was really nice and open to any discussions. He takes you on a historical and personal tour that reflects his very local roots and studies. If you don't like walking then this tour may not be for you. Not that its strenuous, but there is some up hill walking. (Just be sure to put on your walking shoes.) The tour consists of plenty of architecture and funny facts. You will walk past some pretty fancy spots that may make you wonder why is this 3 million dollars?? His fine attention to details teaches you about masonry and the hands that created the buildings. Just when you think that you will pass out from hunger you will stop at this pizza joint and gave some pretty tasty pizza and then there a walk back to square one. Overall this tour is a good one to give you a taste of New York life. Its not overwhelming(like the time square tour) and will encourage you to learn more about the local neighborhoods and the people that make up this wonder place. Thanks again Big Rick.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour with Rick. He was very knowedgeable ( a virtual encyclopedia) of the area with little stories for each site. I would highly recommend his tour. He is witty and informative-- a great way to spend the afternoon....