Lou Reed’s New York Tour

For fans all over the world, Lou Reed and New York City are inextricable from each other. Both with the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist, Reed wrote about New York as nobody else had or could, and he seemed to remain enamored with and inspired by the city until his passing in 2013. A fully comprehensive tour of his nearly 50-year career would take days and cover multiple boroughs, so this walking tour hones in on two specific eras: The Velvet Underground, and his mid- and late ’70s solo work.

Locations include:
- Multiple residences from throughout Lou’s life and career, including the apartments where he wrote much of White Light/White Heat and Sally Can’t Dance
- The second and third locations of Andy Warhol’s legendary Factory
- Where Lou and Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale rehearsed with their first band, The Primitives
- Max’s Kansas City, Where Lou played his final shows with The Velvet Underground
- The Dom, where The Velvet Underground performed in Andy Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable, and where Nico made her solo debut after leaving the band
- Other key venues, including the Bottom Line, Filmmaker’s Cinematheque, and Cafe Bizarre
- Where Lou’s controversial albums Sally Can’t Dance and Take No Prisoners were recorded
- The legendary drag club where Lou met his mid-’70s partner and muse, Rachel Humphries, who inspired much of his album Coney Island Baby
- Residences of some of Lou’s key collaborators and peers, including John Cale, Nico, Sterling Morrison, Candy Darling, Walter DeMaria, Betsey Johnson, and Jonas Mekas

Photo by Steven Toole via Wikimedia Commons

Details

- Begins in Union Square and ends in the East Village
- The tour lasts approximately three hours and covers roughly three miles
- Comfortable shoes and bottled water are strongly recommended
- Gratuities are welcome but not mandatory

Check out this Tidal playlist to dive deeper into the music behind the destinations

Rates

$65/person

- two person minimum -
in the event that only one person books a tour, they will be offered the chance to cancel or have a private tour for an additional fee

Offered on Sundays. Private tours and large group rates available by request