JTphoto

Jonathan

Turer

15 years of experience
New York, NY
United States of America (USA)

Contact Options

About

I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life (art world, education, advertising, magazine publishing, public relations) but I didn’t really discover my passion until I became a guide. I love introducing new visitors to the city my family has called home for generations, and I love showing long time residents new corners of the Metropolis they’ve never seen before. After being hired as a Master Guide for City Wonders, I wanted to use my training and script writing skills further. For the past five years I’ve been working with a small team to develop curriculum for the GANYC Guide Certification Program. Whether it’s for CEOs or second graders, I love telling my guests the stories of this amazing city. And I’ve done that on foot, by bus, in Cadillac Escalades, by driving classic cars, on boats and even from the top of one of the city’s tallest buildings. It’s been a dream and I’m looking for new opportunities to share my passion and enthusiasm for New York City with even more visitors. Check my LinkedIn profile for more background information.

Tours Offered & Destination Knowledge

Adventure/Hiking ToursBus ToursCultural/Specialty ToursDriver GuideGeneral Walking ToursLarge Group ToursLocal GuideMulti-Day Tour Director/LeaderMuseum DocentPerformance Group ToursPrivate ToursStudent Tour Director

After over a decade as a guide, I've developed a depth of knowledge as well as an ability to describe the city with broad, accessible narratives.

I have written tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and consulted for tours of the 9/11 Memorial and the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island. Based on my knowledge derived from my time at One World Observatory, I have been hired as a 'skyline guide' for a 60th-floor event space during high-profile gatherings (think: international CEOs). Additionally, I have been developing online curriculum about NYC's water infrastructure for school groups across the five boroughs of the city.

Some of my greatest challenges have been to develop a tour based on the topic of 'fear' for college students as well as creating a day-long tour of Brooklyn for the leaders of Breukelen, it's Dutch namesake.

For several years, I've managed the multi-day visits of bands participating in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, which can be particularly challenging when breakfast call is at 4am!

I've brought groups to:

Top of the Rock, Empire State Building and One World Observatory; Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; 9/11 Museum & Memorial; American Museum of Natural History, Jewish Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the art galleries of Chelsea; Coney Island, High Line, Staten Island Ferry and moved large groups through the subway without ever losing a guest!

Fun Fact!
I write questions for the Panorama Challenge, a trivia contest at the Queens Museum Panorama, the world's largest architectural scale model.
Hobbies & Interests
I love nothing more than a good hike, a walk through a great museum exhibit or a day at the ballpark or soccer stadium. Can I fit that all into a single day? I'm up for the challenge!

Virtual Tour Experience

I've spent much of 2020 and 2021 helping to create online interactive experiences for NYC public school students centered around some of the city's lesser-known natural areas.

Testimonials

Our tour guide Jonathan was excellent. Since the first moment he clicked with all of us. I liked very much that he was very natural, not as if he was talking to a big audience, but to friends, but giving us very interesting tips and info we wouldn't definitely get without this tour.

Let's face it , what makes a tour are the guides. As far as Jonathan and his vast knowledge of interesting and off the beaten path trivia, I simply can't say enough. His passion was clear and infectious. His boundless energy and enthusiasm for NY was as clear at the end of the tour as it was at the beginning. For 5 1/2 hours we did not want to miss a thing he said and more importantly, neither did our two teenagers. Now that is a feat!

Informative, entertaining and open to questions. Interesting, lots of historical details. Thank you for an excellent tour. Well worth the money.

Jonathan was a fantastic guide of the Met. We saw a lot and got great explanations that you would not find just by reading the descriptions.

Our tour guide was perfect for this tour. He was a New Yorker and he was in NYC when 9/11 happened. He shared his first hand knowledge of this time with us and a few personal stories. It was a very informative, moving and humanistic tour. He put a difficult subject in perspective and made it memorable to us that day. Thanks to Jonathan, a true artist.

The tour was fantastic and our guide Jonathan was great! We would highly recommend him. At each site we found other passersby stopping to listen to him because he was so entertaining. I cannot say enough good things about him. He made the tour. My husband and 2 daughters (20 & 23) loved the tour also and said it was a highlight of the trip.

The tour guide was fabulous He was very well versed in art history and the history of the museum He was enthusiastic and gave a fabulous tour and then some.

We had the honor of having Jonathan as our guide. … Because of him, I will now recommend you guys to my friends and other military families in my area. He was fantastic and is a credit to your company.

Customer *** was very upset... So we scheduled a small “mini tour” for her... She called in today raving about what a wonderful time she had. She could not say enough good things about her guide Jonathan.

Good info. Crummy weather. Jonathan was interesting, inspiring.

We spent a December afternoon with Jonathan as our host … and it couldn't have been better. It was informative without being from a script... Jonathan knew his city, its history and his enthusiasm was contagious.

What a great tour. The best tour I have been on. My wife was born and raised in NYC and .. even she learned a whole bunch about a city that she spent most of her life in. Jonathan was a fantastic tour guide. Not only was he witty, he was well versed and gave us a great understanding of NYC.

Jonathan is a genuine person with a great attitude and ability to keep your attention throughout the tour. His message at Ground Zero was both powerful and heartfelt.

Details

Gateway Airport(s)

EWR, LGA, JFK

Licenses

New York City (NYC)

Training

GANYC Certified Guide

Language(s)

English

Additional Education

BFA Photography (School of Visual Arts, NYC)

MFA Fine Arts (Goldsmiths College: University of London)

General Availability

My schedule is sometimes tricky but I'm always looking to find space for new partnerships and opportunities!

Photo Album

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