Years ago relatives from out of town came and we went on the U.N. tour. It was OK.
The funny/weird part was when we stopped off at their coffee shop at the end.
There were a couple of attractive young women in our group and they were grossly stared at ( it was SO creepy) by some young men of different nationalities who were sulking around there..
I do not know many people who have a high regard for the U.N., but, hey, it is all we have in some ways.
Anyway, about the tour-- people are mixed but the "pros" are very passsionate ( they like the idea of the United Nations and they don't expect that much, maybe that is why)
United Nations
Categories:
Landmarks & Historical Buildings,
Embassy
[Edit]
480 E 42nd St(between F D R Dr & 1st Ave)
New York, NY 10017
Neighborhoods: Midtown East, Murray Hill
(212) 963-8687
- Nearest Transit Station:
- Grand Central - 42 St. (7, 7X)Grand Central - 42 St. (4, 5, 6, 6X)
- Hours:
- Mon-Fri 9:30 am - 4 pm
61 reviews for United Nations
Review Highlights What's this?
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"Once the tour started, our guide was very knowledgeable." In 35 reviews
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"...building, and finishes with a walk through the General Assembly Hall." In 11 reviews
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"Once you pass through the gates you're in International Territory." In 3 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
60 reviews in English
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Review from Karen M.
Likes: Pretty on the outside with the many flags, gold world ball and gun sculpture outside the entrance, gift shop has some goodies, pretty blue glass stained window, mine field presentation was interesting
Dislikes: Need to go through security to get in; not much to see inside (if you don't do the tour) unless you're interested in reading their presentations and displays. -
Review from Jenny V.
yayyyy
My cousin works here and gave us a small tour of the conference rooms and such. The UN building has a nice view of the water and a great view of the Empire Building -
Review from Maggie Q.
Arlington, VANot good, guards are very rude and gave unclear instructions. Time is limited. It is not United Nations , it's a bureaucratic institution . -
Review from Meg S.
I came here as a part of a group to take the general UN tour, and it was great! I highly recommend it before they renovate it in late Spring of this year (2013). Also, if possible, try to avoid days when the general assembly and security council is meeting-seeing these rooms was a huge highlight-to know you are only a few yards away from all of these important meetings was very cool!
The rest of the tour is focused on gifts given to the UN and the MDG (Millenium Development Goals). Everybody on my tour really enjoyed it, even if it was a bit pricey.-
UN Security Council (and our tour guide)
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UN Security Council close-up
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Review from Allen K.
Unless you fork over the 16 bucks for the tour, this place is probably not worth it. I was the cheap-o who didn't pay and my experience was terrible.
First off, if you're not on the tour you're limited to the 1st floor and the basement level where all the shops are -- you are NOT allowed to visit the General Assembly room. I figured this out when I innocently attempted to go up there in a security-attended elevator and was told to gtfo when he realized I didn't have a ticket. Oops.
Lucky for us, though, there was a giant exhibit on the first floor to peruse. On quinoa. Just. Quinoa. My, what a thrill that was. We quickly shuffled down to the gift shop to see if there was anything mildly entertaining to make the visit worthwhile. There were the standard UN magnets, UN water bottles, and of course you can't have a gift shop with out UN shot and double shot glasses.
As I looked around the floor, I noticed that the islands of families and couples resting their feet looked as miserable and bored as I felt. Perhaps, they too, skipped out on the tour and were regretting their decision. We took this as our cue to exit.
Please. Pay the $16. Do the tour.Listed in: The Yelp 100 Challenge -
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Review from Jason T.
A phenomenal learning experience. If you have any interest in the bigger picture or how nations communicate (ie diplomacy), you have to take the tour. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and very diverse as well, often coming from very different backgrounds. The tour itself is quite short and you are unable to reenter the exhibits so make the most out of each exhibit by asking questions and being involved in the "group discussions". If you are interested in learning more, be sure to have questions prepped to ask during or after the tour.
The gift shop sells flags of each nation of the UN as well as other cool UN-centric gifts, like postcards of Ban Ki-Moon's face... The American gifts feel oddly out of place here though. -
Review from leslie b.
Brooklyn, NYOnce you pass through the gates you're in International Territory. How neat is that!
It is free to walk through the gate at the visitor center entrance when it is open. Up the stairs you can see two statues, one of which is the knotted gun. Interesting to see that in real life.
To get inside the Visitors Center, you need to go through airport-like security. It moves fast and was pretty painless.
Now you can enter the Visitors Center. This is free. You can walk around this part of the building, go down to the little gift shop, there is a small art exhibit, and another exhibit focused on a national resource. This is all free.
The tour costs $16. When I was there they said their credit machines were down and it was cash only (there's an atm in the lobby but I'd bring cash anyway). I bought my ticket for the english guided tour at 10:45a and the next available tour was at 11:45a. When I got called for my tour I looked and saw that the next available tour was at 1:30p. Get there early or be prepared to wait.
If you plan on doing the tour I suggest going to get your tour tickets as soon as you walk in the building. Then use your wait time to look around at the exhibits. Plus, if you show your tour receipt in the gift shop you can get a discount on your purchases there.
Now, onto the tour!
I liked my tour guide. He was easy to understand, informative, and entertaining. Each person is supplied with headphones so you can hear everything your guide is saying at all times. This is really nice if you end up lingering in the back and someone in the front asks a question. You're not missing a thing!
The first and last thing we got to see was the General Assembly. Not going to lie, this was the neatest thing. It was in session for us so we could only stand in the balcony and look down. While I would have rather it been empty so we could walk all around the room, in a way I liked seeing that it actually was used and people were down there doing what they do.
Yes, the General Assembly is the only part of the actual building you will get to see. The rest of the tour is about the United Nations itself, not the building. If you go in expecting this, you won't be disappointed. I, surprisingly, knew very little about the UN as an organization so it was pretty interesting to learn about. Our tour lasted 1 hour 15 minutes and I was tired when it was done. But I did feel as though I learned & saw a lot.
Heads up, our tour guide told us that they are renovating the current General Assembly room in 2013. -
Review from Sean S.
Ban Ki Moon - check
Hot interns - check
Smart folks that wanna make a difference - check
Multi-lingual - check
Great architecture, and a landmark in many NYC films - check
Ineffectual on the world stage - check
Sometimes corrupt - check -
Review from Nicolas M.
Montclair, NJAn organization like this is crucial to our existence as a species. A facility where we can come and discuss rather than aim and fire. I had come here on field trips when I was in middle school and this trip I decided to take on my own today was the first time I'd been back here in over a decade. Diplomacy and international relations as well as world issues interest me and I've been wanting to come back here for a while after reflecting on what I'd learned in the past and in recent times about the organization as well as seeing The Interpreter with Nicole Kidman! If I knew two more official UN languages and had begun earlier, I would not have minded preparing to become a UN interpreter here. The building is very beautiful and well kept. Staff are pleasant. Downstairs from the ground level is a coffee shop and two gift shops as well as stamp stores and a UNICEF and UN Women's Guild (I think) store. You can buy everything from books about the UN to language instruction books, flags, and various lovely crafts and objects made in different countries.
I paid the 11 dollar student rate and took a guided tour. Our guide was a sweet very pleasant young lady who had to conduct the tour half in English, half in Chinese since most of our group was visitors from China! She spoke to us very simply and somewhat childlike. Her enunciation and pronunciation both in Chinese and English was very precise and articulate as it is prudent that she be understood by English and Chinese speakers. She was also practicing her Chinese and kept commenting on how it wasn't very good and was limited so I imagine she made the extra effort to be extremely clear which she was. The Chinese in the group understood her very well it seemed. We passed through most of the main areas of the Visitors Center building. We saw gifts and artifacts donated to the UN from nations around the world which gave to the immortality of the idea that we need to be one in order to make peace work. Our tour might have been longer if we hadn't gone a little bit past closing time and hadn't needed to rush but either way, I had a great time. I meant to ask the guide where the Japanese Peace Bell and two artifacts from China and one of the Arabian countries were as I didn't see them. I'd come back anyways and maybe do the tour in French once I become fluent! Too bad the park behind the Visitors building and Secreteriat was closed as I'd have liked to go there but it was cold out anyways. -
Review from Vivian H.
Great architecture. Check.
Great views of the East Side. Check.
Great talk in ageing and love the headphones. Check.
Ears bathed in beautiful accents. Check.
Cool visitor's center with exhibit. Check.
Pain in the ass security check point. Check. -
Review from Stephanie C.
Manhattan, NYI attended the UNIS-UN conference here and although the General Assembly hall is due to be renovated, they were able to use it for this event. A superb venue of course and amazing to see the inside of it when for the most part you only ever get to see it on TV. Fantastic to see secretary general Ban Ki-Moon address a student conference and speak to our next generation directly. I have great respect for this venue. -
Review from Lisa B.
When I went there were two free exhibits. One on volunteering and another on creating sustainable neighborhoods in existing slums (better life, cleaner water, better sanitation, etc). REALLY awesome exhibit from the Smithsonian.
I also paid the $11 to go on the tour. Seeing the chambers was awesome and even as an avid reader of UN news, I still learned things. Our tour guide was excellent. A very sweet Chinese woman with a soft voice (but you get headphones so I heard everything)!
Plus, how often do you get to venture into International territory? :-)Listed in: Cheap Finds in a New York…
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