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NYC’s Little Italy, Gangs and Crime Private Walking Tour

Experience the suspense and thrill in Little Italy! Discover the dark secrets of New York’s mafia and gangs. See highlights such as Mare Chiaro, ‘Bootleggers Corner’, and old Police Headquarters. Immerse yourself in the history of American crime.

• Explore Little Italy with a 5-Stars Private Guide
• See sites connected to the most powerful gangs of New York City
• Familiarize yourself with the names of famous mafia members, gangsters and mob
• Learn about the Prohibition era and gang related crimes
• Get tips on the best local restaurants, clubs and bars

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Activity details.

• Private Tour Exclusive only for you
• Just buy and we instantly organize Your booking ensure the tour is already fully organized, just come and enjoy!
• Live Guide English, German, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish
• Walking tour

​​Join our exclusive Little Italy Tour to discover the dark secrets of New York City. Explore the neighborhood that was once the playground of all things gang and mob related. Learn about the origins, history and culture of NYC’s mafia!

The 2-hour tour covers the highlights of Little Italy, an ethnic neighborhood that attracted mass immigration from Italy during the 1880s. You will see the famous “Little Italy” sign and enter the area full of Italian restaurants, bars and takeaways. Your Private Guide will take you on a journey through the violent history of the Italian Mafia who operated here in the 20th century, inspiring many Hollywood movies. On the Mulberry Street you will see the site where ‘Crazy’ Joey Gallo was shot dead in plain sight, the former Andrea Doria Social Club with links to John Gotti, and the iconic Mare Chiaro bar, which was featured in the Sopranos TV series and movies such as Donny Brasco and The Godfather III.

There will be stops at the ‘Bootleggers Corner’, where original gangsters made their fortune selling alcohol illegally during the Prohibition, at the former Police Headquarters and at the Old Police Headquarters Precinct – the “America’s Scotland Yard”. You will also see the Ravenite Social Club, which was a popular mob hangout and acted as the HQ for the Gambino family, and the HQ for the Morello family at the Prince Street. At the site of the Rivington Street Shout-Out you will also learn about the infamous Five Points Gang and their gun battle with 500 police officers at the scenes. The walking tour will end at the attempted assassination site of Joe “The Boss” Masseria.

• Private Walking Tour of New York City’s Little Italy
• 5-Stars Guide with Official NYC License speaking fluently in your chosen language
• A special itinerary focused on the places and events related to crime, mafia and mob
• Lots of information about the neighborhood, its history and famous personalities
• Tips on the best local restaurants, clubs and bars

Important information

What you should know.

• Please check your email the day before the tour to receive important information

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Walking Tours

Mafia in Little Italy

Walking tour.

Take a thrilling journey though mob history on this walking tour in New York’s Little Italy, where some of the most notorious events in American gangster lore took place.

Start with the violent tactics of early black hand gangs and the battles to control the liquor trade during prohibition, leading to the rise of Joe “The Boss” Masseria.

Learn how Lucky Luciano revolutionized organized crime with The Commission of Five Families and his unlikely deal with the government during World War Two.

See the infamous Ravenite Social Club and follow the rise and fall of Dapper Don John Gotti.

Meet Lieutenant Petrosino, an early crime fighter, and Frank Serpico, who risked his life to expose police corruption.

End with visits to the spots where mobsters “Sally Bugs” Briguglio and Crazy Joey Gallo met their bloody demise.

Optionally, see locations from The Godfather and continue to Five Points, the notorious 19th century neighborhood popularized by the film Gangs of New York.

• Duration: 1.5 hours
• Distance: 1.5 miles / 2.5 km

Full refund for cancellations up to 24 hours before the start time. See questions about tours or contact us for other times and custom tours.

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Mafia Walking Tour

This popular and exciting walking tour through Little Italy explores the former social clubs, homes and haunts of some of the most influential 20th century mobsters, while uncovering the truth behind many Mafia legends.

We also discuss the Italian immigrant experience and the social, political and economical conditions which allowed organized gangsterism to thrive in the slums of New York City by the turn of the century.

Visited on the Mafia Walking Tour:

• Former mafia social clubs
• Former homes and businesses of influential mobsters
• Sites of notorious mob hits
• Former Sicilian and Neapolitan districts of Little Italy
• Inside a famous former speakeasy
• “Black Hand Block”
• “Curb Exchange,” an open air alcholol market during Prohibition
• Ravenite Social Club
• Little Italy restaurant district
• Movie locations where Godfather, Sopranos, Mean Streets, Donnie Brasco and more were filmed
• Much, much more

Discussed on the Mafia Walking Tour:

• The seeds of Cosa Nostra in Sicily
• Italian immigration
• The roots of the Mafia in America
• Origins of the “Five Families”
• The mob’s role during Prohibition
• Nationalization of organized crime
• The truth about Hollywood mob movies

Available as a private tour:

Private tours start at only: $200 for up to four guests (1.5 to 2 hour tour) +$20 per person above that (6 guests=$140, etc.)

Group walking tour fees (12 or more guests, 1.5-2 hours): -$15pp

School groups (K-12): -$12/per student thereafter (teachers/chaperones free!)

Your Guide:

Eric Ferrara is founder of the Lower East Side History Project, a published author and fourth-generation, native New Yorker whose family goes back four generations in Little Italy. He is the founder of the Museum of the American Gangster, the Lower East Side Welcome Center and East Village Visitor Center. Eric has worked as a consultant on several movie & tv projects including History Channel, Netflix’s The Irishman , HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, AMC’s Making of the Mob, and Warner Brothers’ new Great Gatsby . His books include Manhattan Mafia Guide .

Ferrara has consulted several law enforcement agencies and crime victims as well as families and estates of many of the Mafia figures discussed on the tour. These unique first-hand accounts, combined with 150 years of community insight and over a decade of active research, makes this excursion a one-of-a-kind experience for fans and aficionados alike.

This is no Wikipedia tour. This is 150 years of insight from the inside. 

Learn more about Eric on Wikipedia , connect with him on Facebook , or see tour reviews on Tripadvisor .

Book this tour:

You can book now and pay by Zelle, Venmo, or in cash on day of the tour.

Infamous New York

A Gangland Tour of New York City's Most Infamous Crime Scenes

Little italy mafia walking tour map.

May 2, 2016 by Infamous New York

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Little Italy Mafia Walking Tour Map

Little more than a 3-block tourist trap, New York’s Little Italy is on the verge of extinction. With Chinatown closing in from the east and SoHo gobbling up its southern real estate, only the section of Mulberry Street between Broom and Canal remain visibly Italian. Gone too is the dreaded presence of the Mafia which was once inextricably woven into the fabric of daily life. This Mafia walking tour will take you back to the days when mobsters, rather than hipsters, ruled the streets of Little Italy.

1 Giuseppe “The Clutch Hand” Morello’s Spaghetti Restaurant

Address: 8 Prince Street

Status: Standing

Giuseppe Morello’s spaghetti parlor was the scene of the brutal Barrel Murder

He was the patriarch of the first America Crime Family. A Sicilian bandit with a deformed right hand, Giuseppe Morello earned his nickname “the Clutch Hand” from his twisted talon. The undisputed boss of Manhattan’s uptown and downtown Italian districts, Morello led a vicious band of old world cutthroats from a spaghetti parlor at 8 Prince Street. Morello’s gang included his half brother Ciro Terranova, the self styled “Artichoke King”, his second in command and brother-in-law Ignazio “Lupo the Wolf” Saietta, his chief enforcer Tomaso Petto the Ox, and a multitude of kinfolk.

Murder, robbery and Black Hand extortion, the Mafiosi did it all, but counterfeiting was their art, a passion that would lead to a gristly murder at 8 Prince Street. On April 14, 1903, Benedetto Madonia, one of The Clutch Hand’s counterfeiters, was stabbed to death, stuffed into a barrel and unceremoniously dumped on East 11 th Street as a gangland message. However, the message proved to be too strong and both the Secret Service and Joseph Petrosino, a rising star in the NYPD, would be on Morello’s trail, ultimately bringing about his downfall.

2 Lupo The Wolf’s Import Market

Address: 9 Prince Street

As ferocious as his namesake, Lupo The Wolf was a terrorist long before the word became fashionable. Through violence, bombings, Black Hand letters and murder, he extorted everyone and everything in turn-of-the-century Little Italy. Related by marriage to Clutch Hand Morello, Lupo became head of Downtown Little Italy for the Italian Harlem based Morello. Lupo operated one of many grocery stores he owned from 9 Prince Street.

3 Barrel Murder Arrest

Address: Bowery and Delancy Street

Hoping to smash Morello’s counterfeiting ring and solve the Barrel Murder, the Secret Service and Joe Petrosino pounced on Petto the Ox and Giuseppe Morello on the corner of Bowery and Delancey Street. The Mafiosi were armed to the teeth with daggers and licensed revolvers. Unfortunately, the charges did not stick to Morello, but a pawn ticket for Benedetto Madonia’s watch linked Petto the Ox to the Barrel Murder. The mafia enforcer disappeared while on bail and was never imprisoned for the crime.

4 Joe Petrosino Square

Kenmare and Spring Street

Status: NYC Park

When it came to New York firsts, Lt. Joseph Petrosino could claim many. He was the NYPD’s first Italian speaking officer, the first Italian American on the Force to obtain the rank of lieutenant, and the first, and only, NYPD officer killed on foreign soil. The city built this park on Kenmare and Spring Street to honor him in 1987.

To combat the rise of Italian Black Hand crimes, the city formed the Italian squad with Petrosino at its helm. In 1909, Petrosino traveled to Sicily in search of a secret society of criminals infiltrating America and Vito Cascioferro, the powerbroker behind the Morello Crime Family. The trip would be Petrosino’s undoing. Mafia assassins put the Police Lieutenant on the spot, assassinating him on the streets of Palermo. (Click to read more about Joe Petrosino )

5 Salvatore Toto D’Aquila’s Home

Address: 91 Elizabeth Street

1920s New York Boss of Bosses, Toto D’Aquila’s home.

After Giuseppe Morello’s conviction for counterfeiting in 1909, the Clutch Hand’s remaining brothers retreated to 107 th Street in Italian Harlem, allowing Salvatore Toto D’Aquila to become the ruler of Downtown Little Italy, and the Italian Mafia’s boss of bosses in New York. By the time of Prohibition, D’Aquila became quite wealthy despite his lowly tenement home at 91 Elizabeth Street. His encroachments on Giuseppe “Joe” Masseria’s open-air liquor markets on Kenmare, Broom and Grand Streets would erupt into all out war in 1920.

6 Umberto’s Clam House, the Murder of Crazy Joe Gallo

Address: 129 Mulberry

Status: Moved

http://www.umbertosclamhouse.com/

As crazy as they came, Joe Gallo earned a reputation for shaking up the mob. With his Red Hook Brooklyn based brothers, Larry and Albert, Gallo and his gang took on a succession of bosses for control of the Profachi and later Colombo Crime Family.

On April 7, 1972, Gallo, his family and Mafia crew walked into Umberto’s Clam House, a well-known mafia restaurant owned by Matty the Horse Ianniello, to celebrate Gallo’s birthday, a completely insane move. The mob wanted Gallo dead for the slaying of Joseph Colombo at an Italian-American Civil Rights League rally at Columbus Circle.

At 4:30 a.m. four gunmen slipped into Umberto’s back door and violated a mafia ban on brazenly killing gangsters on the streets of little Italy. Bullets slammed into Gallo who limped out and collapsed on the street. Gallo’s gang opened fire on the escaping hitmen. Bullet pockmarks can still be found at Graziano’s funeral home across the street. Gallo’s murder remains unsolved.

7 Joe The Boss Masseria’s Bootleggers Curb

Address: Kenmare, Broom and Grand Street

By some quirk of geography, Giuseppe “Joe” Masseria, a small time hood and recent mafia import, struck prohibition gold. His small gang ran the streets of Kenmare, Broom and Grand in the shadow of NYPD Headquarters. For whatever the reason, these streets became know as the Whisky Curb or Bootleggers Curb, an open air booze market where speakeasies and saloons came to trade bottles of pre-prohibition hooch.

A quick hand with a gat and even quicker feet made the portly Masseria’s reputation as a supernatural Mafiosi. Masseria grew incredibly wealthy and Toto D’aquila wanted a cut. Bootleggers Curb soon became shootout central. Dodging bullets and leading shootouts, Masseria led a prohibition gang war against New York’s Boss of Bosses Toto D’Aquila for control of Little Italy .

After his release from prison in 1920, Giuseppe “the Clutch Hand” Morello joined forces with Joe Masseria against Toto Aquila. With the help a new recruit named Charley Lucky Luciano and his Jewish Mob friends, Toto Aquilia was bumped off in 1928.

8 NYPD Headquarters, The Central Office

Address: 240 Centre Street

Status: Landmark (Luxury Condos)

Most mobsters of any consequence have spent at least one overnight in the basement of 240 Centre Street. From 1909 to 1973 this beaux-arts masterpiece served as NYPD Headquarters, the nerve center of the New York Police Department. Click to learn more about Old NYPD Headquarters .

9 Lucky Luciano Rats

Address: 164 Mulberry

Salvatore Luciana kept his fingers in many pies. Gambling, bootlegging, prostitution and murder for hire all kept him wealthy, but Lucky wanted more. Under the direction of his mentor Arnold Rothstein, Charley Luciano turned to narcotics, and it proved to be a mistake. By 1923, the mobster was the darling of prohibition high society, and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics collared Lucky with a pocket full of dope. In exchange for his freedom, Luciano revealed the location of a trunk of Heroin stashed in the basement of 164 Mulberry Street. The arrest tarnished Lucky’s reputation among Manhattan’s socialites, inspiring him to throw the biggest party of the decade.

10 Café Roma

385 Broome Street

Status: Open for Business

The Westies kidnapped the owner of Cafe Roma, Eli “Joe the Baker” Ziccardi

Back in the 1970s, Eli “Joe the Baker” Ziccardi did more than make cannoli at the Café Roma. The Genovese capo ran the policy games for Fat Tony Salerno from this downtown café, making Zicardi a target for opportunistic gangsters like the Irish Westies. In the 1977 under the orders of Hells Kitchen’s gang lord Mickey Spillane, the Westies put the snatch on Zicardi. Salerno begrudgingly paid the $100,000 ransom to the Irish Mob, but Zicardi was never seen again. Because of the kidnapping and construction projects on the Westside, all out war broke out between the Irish and Italian mobs resulting in Spillane’s murder and the death of three of his lieutenants.

11 John DeSalvio Playground or Jimmy Kelly Park

Address: Spring and Mulberry Street

An original gangster who predated the coming of the Mafia, Jimmy Kelly knew all of the angles. His real name was Giovanni DeSalvio, but the middleweight boxer changed his name to Kelly to make inroads in the Irish controlled boxing world of turn-of-the-century New York. However, Kelly failed to make it as a pro-boxer and put his knuckles to work at Mike Salter’s Pelham café protecting the club’s singing waiter Irving Berlin (click to read the story). Under Salter’s wing, Kelly took up politics and full time gangsterism. When Salter fled the country for election fraud, Kelly took his place as a Tammany ward heeler running into innumerable gang wars with hunchback mobster Humpty Jackson. Click to read more about Humpty Jackson .

11 Johnny Dio and Al Marinelli’s Headquarters

Address: 225 Lafayette

Status: Luxury Condos

In the 1920s, 225 Lafayette was a hub of Mafia activity.

For much of the history of New York City, the criminals worked for Tammany hall, not the other way around, but with the coming of the Mafia and prohibition that was about to change. Nowhere else in the city was the intertwining of crime and politics more apparent than 225 Lafayette Street. Built in 1909 in the heart of Little Italy to house the East River Savings Bank, 225 quickly evolved into a mafia hub.

A close personal friend of Lucky Luciano, Albert Marinelli set up the political headquarters of his Al Marinelli Association at 225 Layafette. With the help of Luciano’s gunmen, Marinelli unseated Tammany’s Irish incumbent to become the first elected Italian-American Distract Leader in the city. Luciano and Marinelli were so chummy that they shared a room at the 1932 Democratic Convention. The politician made a fortune with Luciano, which attracted the attention of Special Prosecutor Thomas Dewey.

Dewey later accused Marinelli of voter fraud and corruption. Dewy explained:

“He has a luxurious estate surrounded by an iron fence on Lake Ronkonkoma, way out on long island. From his several motorcars he chooses to drive a Lincoln limousine. His Japanese butler, Togo, serves him well.” Thomas Dewey

With the spotlight on him, Marinelli stepped down, making way for John DeSalvio to become the 2 nd Assembly District Leader.

On another floor of 225 Layafette, Jimmy Doyle Pulmeri and his nephew Johnny Dio Dioguardi set up their Five Boroughs Trucking Service Association, a thinly veiled shakedown scheme. Their strong arm racketeering tactics eventually won control of all Garment Center trucking. Business was brisk. So brisk that Doyle and his partner Dominick Didato shot each other in their offices. Neither man could explain to police why their legally licensed revolvers simultaneously malfunctioned. Didato was found dead days later. After the Castellmarese Mafia war, Dio and Doyle joined the Gaetano Reina and later Lucchese Crime Family. (Click to read more about Jimmy Doyle ) Like everything else in NYC, the building has been converted to luxury condos.

13 Aniello Dellacroce’s Apartment

Address: 232 Mulberry Street

A stone cold killer and founding member of Murder Inc., Aniello Dellacroce served as Albert Anastasia’s murderous protégée and future Gambino Underboss. Dellacrose maintained a life long address at this tenement at 232 Mulberry Street across the street from his headquarters, The Ravenite.

14 John Gotti’s Bunker: The Ravenite Social Club:

Address: 247 Mulberry Street

Status: Shoe Store

John Gotti’s Ravenite Social Club is now a shoe store.

There is no better place to conclude a Mafia walking tour of Little Italy than the Ravenite Social Club at 247 Mulberry. Buried in the heart of historic little Italy, the once bricked up, fortified storefront encapsulated the entire history of the mafia in New York. The club started life as a mob joint in 1926 as the Knights of Alto Social Club. Regular patrons included Lucky Luciano and Albert Anastasia. After Carlo Gambino and Vito Genovese toppled Anastasia, Gambino purchased the building, renamed the club the Ravenite, and installed Dellacroce his underboss.

Housed within the wall’s of today’s CYDQOG Shoe Store (the Ravenite’s original floors remain in the store), Dellacroce would take an up-and-coming hoodlum named John Gotti under his wing. After years of underworld dealings, Dellacroce was terminally ill and on trial for being a member of the Mafia Commission.

After the death of Dellacroce, John Gotti rubbed out family boss Paul Castalano, took over the Ravenite and installed himself as boss of the Gambino Family. FBI electronics wizards eventually bugged the club and recorded hours of incriminating evidence. Gotti was convicted in 1992 of murder, illegal gambling, bribery, tax evasion and a host of other crimes. Federal Marshals later seized the building and auctioned it off to the highest bidder. Click to read a longer post on the Ravenite Social Club .

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Posted in Five Families , Gambino Crime Family , Genovese Crime Family , Irish Mob , Italian Squad , Joe The Boss Masseria , Joseph Petrosino , Little Italy , Lucchese Crime Family , Lucky Luciano , Mafia , NYPD , Prohibition , Tammany Hall , Uncategorized | Tagged Albert Marinelli , Ciro Terranova , Clutch Hand Morello , Gambino Crime Family , Genovese Crime Family , Giovanni DeSalvio , Giuseppe Morello , Irish Mob , James Pulmeri , Jimmy Doyle , Jimmy Kelly , John Gotti , Johnny Dio , Joseph Petrosino , Lieutenant Joe Petrosino Square , Lucchese Crime Family , Lucky Luciano , Lupo the Wolf , Mafia , Mafia Social Clubs , Mafia Tour , Salvatore “Toto” D’Aquila , Salvatore Luciana , The Barrel Murder | 4 Comments

4 Responses

Great stuff i read the valachi book in the 70’s and what i liked was it or he gave locations and circumstances of the killings power struggles of the organixations really good

Thanks, I used the Valachi book and testimony to find many of the buildings.

The Ravenite was never the Alto Knights Social Club as many report. The Alto Knights was a Genovese club located on the corner of Kenmare and Mulberry.

Ravenite was never named the Alto Knights. Those are two different clubs. Latter was two blocks south at Kenmare.

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Little Italy

Tour details, how long will it take.

The tour should take about 1 - 1/2 hrs.

how many stops are there?

There are 17 stops on the Little Italy tour, including:

Mulberry Street Bar

Ravenite Social Club

Fire Station No. 55

Lombardi’s Pizzeria

Umberto’s Clam House

Fourteenth Ward School

Martin Scorsese’s childhood house

Church of the Most Precious Blood

Former Police Headquarters Building

Vincent’s Clam Bar

DiPalo’s Cheese Shop & Ferrara Cafe

Stephen Van Rensselaer’s house

Mulberry Street & the Mafia

Oneals Grand Street

Petrosino Square

Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral

when is the best time to go?

Italian food. Enough said. Try and time your tour around lunch or dinner if at all possible. If you prefer to dodge the tourists and crowds, do the opposite.

how many people can go?

Our tours were designed as solo experiences. You’ll be wearing headphones and may want to skip stuff that doesn’t interest you. If you’re planning on going with friends, we highly recommend you each get the tour separately on each of your devices.

Image Gallery:

1936 - Mugshot of Lucky Luciano

1943 - Children playing in a fire hydrant in Little Italy on a hot summer day.

The fire station today.

Mulberry Street back in 1909. - photo courtesy of The Library of Congress.

1957 - Albert Anastasio was a mafia hitman and found of Murder, Incorporated. He was very publicly murdered himself at the Park Central Hotel while sitting in a barbers chair.

1990 - Mugshot of Mob Boss John Gotti. He was convicted of 13 counts, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and racketeering in 1992. He was sentenced to life in prison and died, still in prison, in 2002.

1924 - Seven-year old Jimmie working as a bootblack (shoe-shine) on Canal Street.

1892 - Organ grinder with his sidekick monkey attached by chain.

1920’s - Flapper girl hiding a flask in her garter belt.

1921 - Police Commissioner watches agents pour liquor into the sewer after a raid.

yes, it’s still there…

Just a few blocks of one street, Little Italy appears to be surprisingly small at first glimpse. But just because the neighborhood has changed doesn’t mean the history has disappeared.

Little Italy was much bigger back in it’s heyday and traces of that past life still remain today. There are dozens of hidden gems located throughout the surrounding streets, you just have to know what you’re looking for. That’s where we come in.

Find out how Five Points grew into Little Italy and then later shrank into what it is today. Learn which restaurants are iconic and which ones mob bosses ate at. Check out the building Martin Scorsese grew up in, we’ll even point you to the window of his actual apartment. Learn where famous mob hits happened and where legendary movies like The Godfather were filmed. We’ll cover it all!

Join us on our tour as we guide you along the streets of Little Italy. We’ll point out those hidden little pieces of history while telling you the fascinating story behind this iconic neighborhood. We've also included some photos from the Library of Congress so you can see authentic pictures of the neighborhood from back in the day

How to Get to Little Italy:

Our tour starts at the Church of the Most Precious Blood. There are a couple of ways to get there depending on where you are in the city. Before the tour begins, our app will tell you the stop for each of the subway lines and how to get there from the exit.

Here are the stops we recommend:

J,Z Line - Canal Street stop

Q Line - Canal Street stop

6 Line - Canal Street Stop

F Line - East Broadway Stop (longer walk, take a different line if possible)

A,C,E Line - Canal Street Stop (longer walk, take a different line if possible)

Download for free.

Buy only the neighborhoods you want..

• [email protected]
• 516.652.4527

NYC GANGSTER AND MOB TOUR OF LITTLE ITALY, CHINATOWN AND FIVE POINTS

Public Tour – $34.00 per person

Private Tour – $245.00

Metro NYC Tours Inc NYC Gangster Mob Tour New York City, NY Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Phone: 516-652-4527

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Things to Do in Little Italy NYC

This post covers things to do in Little Italy and NoLita.

We include here to eat, shop, and see art (all according to a local tour guide).

• Plan Your Visit
• Things to See and Do
• Restaurants
• Other NYC Neighborhoods

PLAN YOUR VISIT

The former areas of Little Italy, now split into two neighborhoods, Little Italy and Nolita, are steeped in Italian-American culture, and history, and have both an old-world and trendy feel.

Enjoy the architecture and historic sites, pop into trendy shoe stores and souvenir shops, grab a cannoli, and people-watch in Elizabeth Street Garden.

In warm weather, Little Italy blocks off Mulberry Street, the neighborhood's 'main drag'. Restaurants bring out tables and diners eat al fresco while music wafts through the street.

In September you can experience the decades-old Feast of San Gennaro’s , which extends from Little Italy through Nolita.

Sample food, listen to music, and perhaps watch a cannoli eating contest.

How To Get Here

Little Italy and Nolita are located within the greater Lower Manhattan district, approximately where the red circle is in the image below.

Click here for a larger interactive map .

You can use this Google Maps  link for directions, but how you get here depends on where you are going, as there are several subway stations throughout Little Italy.

Let Us Take You Here

Three of our tours include a visit to Little Italy:

• 2-hour SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown Tour
• 3-hour Downtown Manhattan Tour
• 6-hour New York One-Day tour .

Each of these runs several times a week. See our full schedule .

Searching Availability...

Multiple subway lines take you to different parts of Little Italy. 

• B, D trains to Broad Street Station
• N, Q, R, W, J, Z or 6 to Canal Street Station
• F train to East Broadway Station

Multiple subway lines take you to different parts of NoLita. 

• B, D, F, M, 4, 6 to Broadway-Lafayette Street Station
• N, Q, R to Prince Street Station
• J, Z to Bowery Station

We have 2 posts on the NYC subway that are very handy:

• Navigating the Subway System
• Which MetroCard to Buy

To Little Italy: M1, M103, M15, M15-SBS

To Nolita: M1

TIP: Most hop-on-hop-off buses will have a stop near Broadway & Spring Street or Broadway/Walker Street. 

To see if a bus tour is right for you, read our post, Which New York Bus Tour is Best?  

Consider Staying in Little Italy or Nolita

Instead of staying in bustling Midtown, why not stay in Nolita or Little Italy, where you will interact with the locals who live there?

Check out the top-rated Nolita and Little Italy hotels on TripAdvisor . We include some hotels at the bottom of this post .

Also, look at these inexpensive hotels we recommend .

How Much Time To Spend Here

If you want to get a good feel for Little Italy and Nolita, you can cover both areas in one afternoon, with multiple food and shopping options.

You can have a trendy brunch, shop in the boutiques in Nolita, grab some souvenirs in Little Italy, and then top off the night with a traditional-style dinner.

If you are visiting in warm weather, perhaps plan this on a Friday to experience the closed-off streets and outdoor dining.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO 

Little Italy and Nolita have numerous interesting attractions. Of course, there's no way getting around the fact that the food here is awesome!

If you like exploring urban enclaves with historic landmarks and trying authentic cuisine, then Little Italy is worth a visit!

Below we list the top places to stop by to get a true sense of this beautiful neighborhood.

1. Mulberry Street

Mulberry Street is the main street of Little Italy. Lined with restaurants and cafes with outdoor dining, this is the place to relax, and enjoy great food, and people-watch.

Mulberry Street is fairly long and runs through Chinatown on its southern end, through Little Italy and Nolita, and ends in NoHo.

The street is so old that it even appears on some pre-colonial maps from the mid-1700s.

In the mid-1800s hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Italy flocked to the area and Mulberry Street was the center of it all.

For decades, it's been the site of the yearly San Gennaro Festival that takes place every September in NYC.

Mulberry Street has been the site of mafia hits and movie shoots!

A walk along Mulberry Street is a must on any visit to Little Italy.

2. Historic Landmarks

Lombardi’s Pizzeria is the very first pizzeria in the entire country, opening in 1905.

Their pizzas are made in coal-burning ovens, the original ovens the Italian immigrants used to make their pizza in their new home.

See the restaurant section below to find out about dining there.

Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral, at 240 Mulberry Street, was completed in 1815 in the Gothic Revival style.

The Old Police Headquarters at 240 Centre Street is a grand Beaux-Arts building dominating what is now the outskirts of the neighborhood.

3. Sightseeing Tours

There are many tours of the Little Italy and Nolita neighborhoods, including general walking tours, food tours, mobster/mafia, movie/TV locations, shopping, pub crawls -- you name it, there’s a tour for it!

We offer pay-what-you-wish tours , meaning that you get to decide how much your experience was worth.

Also, several tourist concession passes include a free tour of Little Italy.

4. Street Art

The LISA project (Little Italy Street Art) is a non-profit organization that has brought a diverse group of street artists to Mulberry Street to create Manhattan's first and only mural district.

The multitude of artists exhibiting on the walls and other surfaces in the area include Tristan Eaton, Blek Le Rat, and Ron English who’s best known for the bright green baby hulk known as “Temper Tot”.

If you are a street art fan or just want to learn more about this colorful form of expressive art, join one of our  New York Street Art Tours .

5. Architecture

The Old Police Headquarters at 240 Centre Street is in both the Edwardian baroque style and Beaux-Arts style, copper dome, and extravagant terrace roof.

It housed the NYC Police headquarters from 1909 to 1973. Today it is a multi-million dollar co-op apartment.

The Puck Building at 295 Lafayette is in the Romanesque Revival style and occupies one full city block.

Originally built for a printing press company, it was later occupied by Puck Magazine, its namesake.

The Puck Building exterior was used as the location of Grace Adler’s interior design business in the popular sitcom Will and Grace .

6. NYC Mafia Locations

Little Italy has a strong connection to the history associated with this criminal organization of the past, and not so past.

The most infamous mafia-related location in Little Italy is 129 Mulberry Street where, on April 7, 1972, ‘Crazy’ Joey Gallo was shot dead in plain sight.

At the time it was Umberto's Clam House.

You can read more about this hit job and more from our free self-guided tour of the New York Mafia , which covers the areas of Little Italy.

7. Movie and TV Locations

Countless movies and TV shows have been filmed in Little Italy, including many scenes from The Godfather trilogy.

Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 273 Mott Street is where Michael Corleone attends a baptism, while simultaneously having his enemies murdered around the country.

The inside of this small church is gorgeous.

Down the block at 128 Mott Street, the storefront for Genco Olive Oil, Vito Corleone's first "business" was filmed.

The interior of Mulberry Street Bar was featured in The Godfather 3 , Donnie Brasco, and multiple seasons of The Sopranos.

Little Italy isn't the backdrop just for mafia movies.

A scene from Sex and the City was filmed inside Onieal's at 174 Grand Street, which is a stop on our free tour of Sex and the City sights .

8. Food Scene

Little Italy is known for its plethora of Italian restaurants, with its barkers trying to lure you in.

Although Italian food is still a popular choice for New Yorkers, there is something about having a classic spaghetti and meatballs dish in the neighborhood of its birthplace.

Nolita is known for its trendy cuisine, and interesting takes on classic dishes, so this is where you can find a lot of variety.

Below we have a long list of restaurants we recommend.

You may also want to try a fully guided Nolita and Little Italy's Secrets food and culture walking tour from Foods of New York.

9. Shopping

NoLita is well-known for its unique boutiques and is one of the best neighborhoods in NYC for upscale consignment shops.

Stroll the streets and enjoy the shopping -- or window shopping!

If you are on a budget, see our guide to Budget Shopping in New York City .

Little Italy has many souvenir shops, like E. Rossi & Company at 193 Grand Street.

It opened in 1910 and has Italian gifts, souvenirs, and novelty items.

10. Visit Nearby Neighborhoods

Head south into Chinatown , walking along Mott Street where you will find lots of souvenir shops and plenty of places to try local cuisine.

SoHo is to the west. Check out the art galleries, designer shops, and splendid architecture.

Chinatown and SoHo can be easily explored on the same day you visit Little Italy and Nolita.

For a taste of each of these neighborhoods, join our 2-hour historical tour of SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown or a 3-hour historical tour of Downtown Manhattan .

The East Village is to the north.

Known as a former German immigrant neighborhood, it later became the birthplace of punk rock, with many artists and musicians making the neighborhood their home since the 1950s.

The Lower East Side is to the east.

What was once a neighborhood of Eastern European and Jewish immigrants is now a trendy hub with your pick of both cultural and fusion cuisine, bars, and entertainment.

One way to get to know the Lower East Side is through its delicious foods. You might enjoy our  Lower East Side Food Tour .

Speaking of food, just below is a long list of restaurants and cafes to try in Little Italy.

RESTAURANTS IN LITTLE ITALY

Below is a long list of excellent dining options to fit all budgets.

If you want a quintessential Little Italy/Nolita dining experience, here are three restaurants to try: Lombardi’s Pizza - 32 Spring St. ($$)

Gennaro Lombardi started this business in 1897 as a grocery store, then in 1905 received a license to open the first pizzeria in the United States.

It's still a family business and regarded as one of the top pizzerias in the country, their superheated coal-fired oven, one of the last in the city, provides a crispy crust with a delightfully soft center.

Many top pizza makers received training here.

Da Gennaro Restaurant - 129 Mulberry St. ($$)

The previous site of Umberto’s Clam House, an Italian seafood restaurant established in 1972 by the Ianniello family.

Barely weeks after opening it was the location of one of the most infamous mafia hits in American history when mobster Joe Gallo stopped for a morning snack.

He was spotted by a rival gangster, then hitmen arrived and shot him five times and Gallo stumbled out into the street where he died.

Umberto’s reopened in 2000 at 132 Mulberry St.  TIP:  Learn more about NYC's organized crime history on our self-guided New York Mafia Tour .

Onieal's - 174 Grand St. ($$)

Apart from $1 oysters on Monday to Friday from 4 pm to 7 pm, Onieals is a restaurant and bar that’s known for featuring in Sex and the City , as the backdrop of the casually hip New York City bar “Scout”.

Over the years it’s also been a brothel, speakeasy, and casino.

During prohibition, there was even a tunnel built to connect it to the nearby Police Headquarters, enabling NYPD officers easy and discreet access to liquor and good times.

Be sure to check out our self-guided tour of Sex and the City scenes in New York City.

Cheap (under $20)

Prince Street Pizza – 27 Prince St. ($) Known for its homemade red sauce, people line up to grab a slice, or two. Standing room only.

Alleva Dairy  – 188 Grand St. ($)  This is the oldest cheese store in the USA. Tasty sandwiches, arancini, meatballs, and mozzarella sticks made fresh daily. No seating, but there are benches outside the store.

Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli  – 369 Broome St. ($)  Don’t let the interior fool you. They make the best authentic Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches in NYC. Limited seating. CASH ONLY.

Asia Dog – 72 Kenmare St. ($) An Asian twist on an American classic. Hot dog choices are beef, organic beef, chicken, or veggie with toppings typical of China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and more.

Parm –  248 Mulberry St. ($) Gourmet twist on classic Italian dishes, created by chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi and restaurateur Jeff Zalaznick. Authentic Indian street food.

Egg Shop – 151 Elizabeth St. Egg-centric menu of sandwiches and bowls using locally sourced and organic ingredients, with cocktail pairings.

Moderate ($25-$40) to expensive ($40+)

Angelo’s of Mulberry Street – 146 Mulberry St. Opened in 1902, the menu is homemade southern Italian with top-notch service.

Pasquale Jones – 187 Mulberry St. Try the pizza! Wood-fired pies, pasta, cool vibe, and excellent service.

Osteria Morini – 249 Centre St. Serving Northern Italian cuisine, the interior is decorated from an Italian 1700s farmhouse.

Emilio’s Ballato – 55 East Houston. Simple Italian dishes with an old-school atmosphere. This restaurant does not take reservations.

La Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels - 249 Centre St. French and Mediterranian small plate menu with an extensive French wine list and knowledgeable staff.

Margherita NYC - 197 Grand St. Family-owned, Neapolitan pizza restaurant with a cozy atmosphere.

Puglia - 189 Hester St. Opened in 1919, this Italian restaurant has big portions with a big family feel. Live music and karaoke.

Il Cortile 125 Mulberry Street. Locals and tourists dine side by side at this Northern Italian eatery that opened in 1975. The food is scrumptious and the space is light and airy, with an enclosed back garden atrium. 

Bakeries, cafes, and cheese shops

Alleva Dairy - 188 Grand St. Opened in 1892, this is the oldest cheese shop in the US.

This fifth-generation family-operated shop has yummy sandwiches and small sample items like arancini and meatballs. This is a must-visit food stop in Little Italy.

Eileen’s Special Cheesecake - 17 Cleveland Place.

Eileen opened her small shop at 17 Cleveland Place in 1975 and has been creating fresh cheesecakes daily ever since. It is a must-stop for all cheesecake lovers.

Ferrara Bakery & Café - 195 Grand St.

One of NYC’s most iconic cafes, it opened in 1892 and is 5th generation family operated. Dine in or take out fresh pastries, cookies, cheesecakes, and gelato, or come for brunch.

Caffé Palermo - 148 Mulberry St.

Opened in 1973, it is a neighborhood institution. Also voted the best cannoli in New York City.

Parisi Bakery Delicatessen - 198 Mott St.

Opened in 1903, it is still family operated. Their bakery is just over on Elizabeth Street so their bread is so fresh and their sandwiches iconic.

Di Palo's Fine Foods - 200 Grand St.

Also 5th generation family operated, this place is a cheese lover’s dream. Around the corner is C. Di Palo, their wine bar at 151 Mott Street.

THINGS TO DO AT NIGHT

Little Italy and Nolita have an array of nightlife. In warmer weather, Mulberry Street is closed to vehicular traffic on Fridays.

Restaurants bring their white linen tables outdoors. You’ll hear music to set the mood. Everyone is dining outside.

You can find drinking spots with every kind of atmosphere and price range. Sidewalk cafes stay open late and are perfect for an espresso and people-watching.

Be sure to also read our guide on things to do in NYC at night .

Bars and Pubs

Randolph Beer – 343 Broome St. If you love your craft beer, this is the bar for you. Their menu features over 30 beers, with an all-American motif.  

Mother's Ruin – 18 Spring St. Local bar vibe with an exceptional cocktail list customers rave about. 

Botanica Bar – 47 East Houston St. Signature cocktails and beer with a botanical motif. A DJ spins music, with karaoke on Sunday nights.  

Sweet and Vicious   – 5 Spring St. A local bar with outdoor seating, a solid drink menu, and fantastic frozen margaritas.

HOTELS IN LITTLE ITALY

Unfortunately, you do not have many choices within the confines of these neighborhoods but you can find some really great ones that are only a few minutes' walk away.

Before you book a hotel for your trip, be sure to check out our post on locating cheap accommodations in New York City .

Nolitan Hotel - 30 Kenmare St.

Chic-boutique style hotel close to shopping and restaurants, with a TripAdvisor review rating of 4.4 stars,

NobleDen Hotel – 196 Grand St.

Another boutique-style hotel close to shopping and restaurants, with a TripAdvisor review rating of 4.7 stars.  

Citizen M New York Bowery Hotel – 189 Bowery. 

Rooms are small but this hotel boasts one of the best rooftop bars in Manhattan, with a TripAdvisor review rating of 4.5  stars.

Crosby Street Hotel   – 79 Crosby St. 

Upscale and elegant vibe, this hotel is centrally located on the eastern side of SoHo. A prime spot for shopping and a wide array of restaurants, with a TripAdvisor rating of 4.6 stars. 

The Sohotel – 314 Broome St. 

If you are on a tight budget, you may want to consider this hotel. It has a modern feel in a historical building, which means no elevator.

Still, it is close to the subway, restaurants, and shopping.

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About The Author

Courtney Shapiro

North america, united kingdom & ireland, middle east & india, asia & oceania.

KMTV 3 News Omaha, NE

Little Italy Walking Tour pairs exercise, history, and authentic cuisine

Posted: May 17, 2024 | Last updated: May 17, 2024

A taste of Italia! The Carlentini Omaha Association and walking tour group Nebraska Trailblazers hosted a Little Italy Walking Tour where neighbors learned about the areas rich history.

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An Ex-President, a Senator and the Center of the (Legal) Universe

Manhattan is playing host to two of the biggest political trials in American history. The courthouses are just 500 feet apart.

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By Nicholas Fandos

Reporting from inside the trial of Senator Robert Menendez, just down the street from the trial of former President Donald J. Trump.

At one corner of Baxter Street in Lower Manhattan this week, former President Donald J. Trump transformed a shabby New York courthouse where he’s on trial into the backdrop for his comeback campaign. He vented to a lineup of cameras. The speaker of the House stopped by . Supporters waved purple and red Trump flags through a spring mist.

Things were far quieter just down the block, but still plenty noteworthy. There, at a different courthouse, another uncommonly high-powered defendant, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, shuffled silently through a metal detector each morning to face his own criminal trial.

The two men — one a Republican, one a Democrat — are longtime political adversaries with far different styles and stories. Their cases share little beyond tawdriness, with one centered on a hush-money payment to a porn star and the other on alleged bribes paid in gold bars.

But in an extraordinary twist, the paths to their fates have physically crossed this week, with the prosecution of a former president playing out all of 500 feet from where another jury of New Yorkers began hearing one of the gravest cases ever leveled against a sitting U.S. senator.

New York City is no stranger to blockbuster court dramas, many of them clustered like these in a dense neighborhood of courthouses and lockups once known as the Five Points. Alger Hiss’s perjury trial in 1949 helped set the tone for the Cold War. Prosecutors picked apart the mafia and then Al Qaeda in courthouses here. There have been too many political corruption cases to count.

And yet, even by the standards of Manhattan — a tiny island where titans of business, prizewinning artists and heads of state jockey for restaurant booths and mingle at parties — the simultaneous trials have left judges, historians and court watchers alike grasping for anything close to a precedent.

“I can’t think of another time where you have had two major criminal trials, both involving political figures, vying for the front page like this,” said Robert Pigott, a lawyer and legal historian who leads walking tours of the court district.

“Usually one is enough,” he added.

The trial of Mr. Trump, 77, is the bigger spectacle, attracting a who’s who of Republican politics, weekslong gavel-to-gavel live news coverage, and waves of rallies and counter protests. On Thursday, a supporter released dozens of pink, phallus-shaped balloons bearing pictures of the judge and district attorney handling the case.

The stakes are significant, even if the charges — falsifying business records about the hush money payment — sound dry. Mr. Trump, his party’s presumptive nominee, is hoping his case will be only a speed bump on his road back to the White House. But a conviction could eventually put him behind bars, even as he still faces three more criminal trials in Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

The charges against Mr. Menendez, 70, are weightier. Federal prosecutors asserted in court this week that as a leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he “put his power up for sale,” helping Egypt and New Jersey businessmen in exchange for lucrative bribes, like the gold and a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible. But while he is fighting for his legacy and freedom, even the senator’s closest allies agree that his political career is probably over.

In Washington, the two men were mostly partisan enemies. The senator twice voted to convict the former president on impeachment charges and once suggested that Mr. Trump was “compromised” by Russia . He maintained he was “unfit” even after Mr. Trump commuted the sentence of Mr. Menendez’s friend and former co-defendant in an earlier corruption case.

But trying times make for odd bedfellows. In September, not long after the senator was himself charged with covertly helping a foreign power, Mr. Trump expressed something like sympathy. He said the senator, like him, had been subject to “an attack” by the Justice Department because he “wasn’t getting along too well” with the Biden administration.

Both have maintained their innocence.

Mr. Trump is on trial on the 15th floor of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse at 100 Centre Street , a state court near the meeting point of Chinatown, Little Italy and TriBeCa. Mr. Menendez’s case is being heard on the 23rd floor of the nearby Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse. (Mr. Trump knows that building well: He lost a defamation case there earlier this year to the writer E. Jean Carroll.)

Inside the courtroom, Mr. Trump broods, shaking his head and mouthing obscenities . Mr. Menendez has appeared more amiable, singing to himself during breaks in the proceeding and chuckling on Thursday as an F.B.I. agent testified that he had spent his birthday searching the senator’s home.

“Trials are in reality not run the way they are on television,” Sidney H. Stein, the bow-tie wearing judge who is overseeing Mr. Menendez’s case, told potential jurors at the outset of the week.

To wit, some of the most engrossing action in the Menendez case has taken place 15 floors below the courtroom in a drab cafeteria where judges, defendants and reporters mingle over plastic clamshells of tuna salad.

Fred Daibes , one of the businessmen accused of bribing Mr. Menendez, was sitting there on Monday when a courtroom sketch artist sidled up to make a likeness. (Mr. Daibes, too, has pleaded not guilty.)

On Tuesday morning, Mr. Menendez huddled in the same spot with lawyers preparing to blame the senator’s wife in opening arguments for all that gold. She was not in court; nor were Mr. Menendez’s famous adult children , but he greeted the grill cook like an old friend.

Mr. Trump, who is more constrained by his Secret Service detail, has ordered in , including from McDonald’s, a favorite .

It is hard to imagine all of it — the bigness and the everyday, side by side — playing out quite the same way in any other city, even Washington.

As E.B. White wrote in “Here is New York,” his 1949 love letter to the vibrating city, “New York is peculiarly constructed to absorb almost anything that comes along (whether a thousand-foot liner out of the East or a twenty-thousand-man convention out of the West) without inflicting the event on its inhabitants.”

So it was this week in Columbus Park, the small green space wedged between the courthouses. If you stood at the same corner on, say, Monday morning, you could watch Mr. Menendez arrive in a hired car within minutes of Mr. Trump’s motorcade racing him down the same small stretch.

A passel of Trump supporters materialized just in time. A man draped a Trump flag over a metal police barrier. A woman pulled a bright red Make American Great Again hat out of a gift bag and put it on her head.

But the women practicing tai chi nearby did not lose their focus. Across the street, couples waiting with numbered tickets at the Marriage Bureau knew how special the day was — but it had nothing to do with trials or charges or politicians. Same for the families at funeral homes on the opposite side of the park preparing to bury their dead.

As with so many things in New York, the greatest thrill seemed to belong to those visiting from out of town.

Fresh off an 18-hour flight from Singapore, an Australian couple walked through Columbus Park just as Mr. Trump arrived for the day, accidental tourists to legal history.

“The last few days we were wondering where Trump’s trial was taking place,” one of them, Halyna English, said. It turned out their hotel was a four-minute walk away. They were floored to find two major trials, not one.

“It is historic,” she said. “Really, whatever affects people in America affects the rest of the world as well.”

The couple briefly mused about trying to get into the senator’s trial. They opted for coffee instead.

Maria Cramer , Tracey Tully and Nate Schweber contributed reporting.

Nicholas Fandos is a Times reporter covering New York politics and government. More about Nicholas Fandos

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s one-time fixer and the key witness in the trial, faced hours of bruising questions  from a defense lawyer who sought to destroy his credibility with jurors.

Liberal and conservative media outlets seemed to agree on one thing: Cohen was worth belittling. But they made that argument in far different ways .

Trump’s trial has become a staging ground  for Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson  and Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio , to prove their fealty to the former president.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Could he go to prison ? And will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.