A Self-Guided Wall Street Walking Tour: Two Hours, No Ticket Needed

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Quick answer

You can walk the whole of historic Wall Street yourself in about two hours, for free, without a guide. The loop runs Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street, where Washington was sworn in as president in 1789, past the bomb scars still visible on 23 Wall, down to Trinity Church and Alexander Hamilton's grave, then to Charging Bull at Bowling Green, Fraunces Tavern on Pearl Street, and back up the cobblestones of Stone Street. Every stop below is within a 15-minute walk of John Street in the Financial District.

Trinity Church at the head of Wall Street, surrounded by office towers

Paid Wall Street walking tours run about two hours and cost $40 or more a head. The route they take is public sidewalk, the buildings are free to look at, and the two best interiors on it (Federal Hall and Trinity Church) don't charge admission. So here's the version we give guests who ask, written as a loop you can walk yourself.

It starts and ends on John Street, because that's our block, and the whole thing covers a bit over a mile. Give it two hours if you read the plaques and go inside things, an hour if you're just walking it. Weekday mornings are best: Federal Hall keeps limited weekday hours, the streets have some life to them, and you'll still beat the tour groups if you're out before nine. Weekends are quieter and prettier for photos, but a few interiors will be shut.

One thing worth knowing before you start. Wall Street is narrow, shorter than people expect, and mostly in shadow. The scale surprises everyone. This is a 17th-century Dutch street grid with 20th-century towers dropped into it, which is exactly what makes it interesting on foot and unremarkable from a bus window.

The two-hour loop

  • 0:00

    Start on John Street

  • 0:10

    Federal Hall National Memorial, 26 Wall Street

  • 0:30

    23 Wall Street, the corner across the way

  • 0:40

    New York Stock Exchange and Fearless Girl, Broad at Wall

  • 0:50

    Trinity Church, Broadway at Wall Street

  • 1:05

    Bowling Green and Charging Bull

  • 1:15

    Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, 1 Bowling Green

  • 1:30

    Fraunces Tavern, 54 Pearl Street

  • 1:45

    Stone Street, then back up to John

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