Highlights

U S Tours Flexible Pricing:

• Customizable Comps
• Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
• Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tour Managers are available

Whatever you want, U S Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs.  Just let us know!

Itinerary

Day 1 – NYC – Free Evening

The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was first published in 1925. It is set in the Jazz Age on Long Island and tells the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth.  It is a literary classic and we are pleased to celebrate it’s Birthday. In 2013 the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio was also filmed mostly on Long Island and in New York City.  Come, see the locations and sites highlighted in both the movie and the book.

Arrive today in New York City and check into your Theatre District hotel for a three-night stay and enjoy an evening to explore the city.

Day 2 – Gatsby’s Gold Coast Tour – Old Westbury Gardens w/lunch – OHEKA CASTLE – Birdland Jazz Dinner Show

Today, features a tour of Long Island’s Gold Coast. Gatsby’s particular mansion was fictionalized, but many lavish estates like his still exist. Your local tour guide will lead you in a discovery of the elegant and opulent lifestyles of the era. These homes were owned by the wealthy. Past presidents, artists and aristocrats entertained royalty, heads of state and film stars such as Charlie Chaplin. They are often used today as backdrop for Hollywood productions.

These Gold Coast mansions existed in the 20’s and served as inspiration for The Great Gatsby. Your tour is a travel in time to a bygone era and visits two estates. You start with Old Westbury Gardens (1906). This elegant estate features a 23-room English manor house and traditional, formal gardens sprawling over 200 acres. It was the home of John S. Phipps and his wife, Margarita Grace Phipps. It is spectacular and has been featured in over 25 movies including North by Northwest and Love Story and dozens of television shows including Sex and the City and The Gilded Age. You will explore both the Westbury House, furnished with priceless antiques and decorative artwork, as well as the grounds which include sweeping lawns, wooded paths, and some of the most beautiful formal gardens in the world.

The afternoon features a visit to OHEKA CASTLE, resting majestically on the highest point of Long Island, it emanates the elegant refinement of a chateau in France and a rich history that is distinctly American. You will be immersed in a world of luxury with a European ambiance as you tour the mansion and gardens. This Estate was built by financier and philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn in 1919.  The New York Times has declared it “the finest country house in America.” This chateau remains the second-largest private residence ever built in the US.  The name OHEKA is an acronym for Otto HErman KAhn, the financier and philanthropist built this home.  Interestingly his image was the inspiration for “Mr. Monopoly” in the board game.

As The Great Gatsby was set in the Jazz Age, when you return to Manhattan this evening you will dine in theme at the Birdland Jazz Club. Dubbed the “The Jazz Corner of the World”, by its namesake, the late Charlie “Bird” Parker, Birdland is a modern nightclub in Midtown Manhattan. It is one of the town’s most iconic venues. In recent years, Birdland has presented memorable sets by such music legends as Oscar Peterson, Pat Metheny and Diana Krall, as well as the big bands of Chico O’Farrill and Maria Schneider. Birdland remains New York’s premier destination for jazz aficionados the world over.” Performers are rarely scheduled more than 90 days in advance – (groups are limited to a maximum 35 people.) (B,D)

Day 3 – Great Gatsby Tour of NYC – Fifth Avenue – Afternoon Tea at the Russian Tea Room – The Great Gatsby Broadway Show

This morning, meet your local guide for a Great Gatsby Tour in New York.   You can still find the places mentioned in the book where Gatsby the fictional character would’ve been, and where  Fitzgerald the writer, lived and partied.  Sites you will see include: 5^th Avenue & Central Park, The Financial District, The Queensboro Bridge on East 59th Street in Manhattan and Queens and The Plaza Hotel. Gatsby said, “The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.” You too have an opportunity to reflect and romanticize the sights.

You will have time on Fifth Avenue for shopping and lunch on own.  Then enjoy an Afternoon Tea at the Russian Tea Room.  This restaurant has been the ultimate destination for Afternoon Tea in the heart of Manhattan for nearly a century. It is simply glamorous fun and an ideal for a pre-cursor to our show this evening.

You will have time for dinner on your own then we gather for a performance of the new Broadway Musical, The Great Gatsby.  You are theatrically transported to the opulent world of the 1920s you have been learning about for two days.  Enjoy your evening with the eccentric and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and the enigmatic Daisy Buchanan. (B, Afternoon Tea)

Day 4 – Depart for Home

After breakfast, depart for home. (B)

Please Note this tour requires significant walking.

Tour Map