Can You Tour the New York Stock Exchange?

The exchange stopped admitting the public after September 2001, and it never reopened its visitor gallery. Today everyone who goes inside 11 Wall Street is there on business or for a private event, which means the Wall Street walking tours you see advertised online are exterior tours. They're perfectly good history walks. They just don't get you through the door, and it's worth knowing that before you pay.

So here's what the visit actually is. The building's famous side, the one with the six Corinthian columns and the flag hanging across it, faces Broad Street rather than Wall Street. Stand at Broad and Wall and you've got the facade in front of you and the barricades that have closed that block to traffic for years. Fearless Girl stands across from it. Charging Bull is a few minutes south at Bowling Green, and it draws a bigger crowd than the exchange does.

Then cross the street. Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street is free, run by the National Park Service, and it's the more interesting building anyway: George Washington took the oath of office on that site, and the rotunda inside is worth the ten minutes. Hours vary by season, so check the NPS listing before you walk over.

If you're staying with us on John Street, all of this is a five to eight minute walk south. It's a good early-morning stop, before the tour groups arrive and while the streets down here are still quiet. Give the whole thing half an hour, then keep walking to Stone Street for coffee.