New York rewards a plan more than most cities, because the famous things sit far apart and many of them run on timed tickets. The Statue of Liberty, the Met, Broadway and the long walk up Manhattan are covered on the USA page; this page adds the rest of a first trip: the bridges and ferries, the views from above, two museums worth a morning each, the delis and markets, and the music after dark.
Think of the city as a few clusters joined by the subway. Lower Manhattan has the ferries and the Brooklyn Bridge; Midtown has Grand Central, MoMA and the observation decks; the Upper West Side has the Natural History Museum and Central Park; Brooklyn has the markets and the beach at Coney Island. The subway runs around the clock, so one cluster a day, with an evening show, is a pace that works.
Walk the Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn toward Manhattan
Brooklyn Bridge, from Brooklyn to City Hall
About 1 hour with stopsFree
The Manhattan skyline ahead of you the whole way, on a promenade above the traffic now for walkers only.
What it is
The promenade runs above the traffic and is now for walkers only: cyclists moved to a protected lane on the roadway in 2021, and the city banned vendors from bridge walkways in January 2024. The bridge and its approaches measure 6,016 feet, a little over a mile, so allow 30 to 40 minutes at a stroll. It never closes.
How to do it
Cross from Brooklyn so the Manhattan skyline is ahead of you the whole way. Take the A or C train to High Street, a few steps from the walkway entrance at Tillary Street, or come up from DUMBO by the stairs at Washington and Prospect Streets. You come down on Park Row, opposite City Hall Park, beside the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall subway.
Good to know
The walkway is often overcrowded, so an early start is far calmer.
See Midtown from the open-air deck of Top of the Rock
Rockefeller Center, Midtown
1 to 1.5 hoursBook ahead
Empire State in the south, Central Park in the north, and a 70th floor fully open to the sky.
What it is
New York has several observation decks, and the one decision is what you want in the picture. From Top of the Rock, on the 67th, 69th and 70th floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the Empire State Building stands in the middle of the southern view and Central Park fills the northern one, which makes it the classic choice for a first visit. The 67th floor has a café and bar, the 69th has glass panels, and the 70th is fully open to the sky.
How to do it
It opens daily from 8 am to midnight, with last entry at 11:10 pm. Tickets are timed, and the slots before sunset go first, so book those ahead. Allow at least 45 minutes on the decks.
Good to know
The Beam, a girder that lifts 12 feet and turns, and Skylift, a glass platform that rises above the 70th floor, cost extra and run only in good weather.
Ride the free Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty
Whitehall Terminal, Lower Manhattan
About 1 hour round tripFree
A commuter boat that happens to give one of the best harbour views in the city, and costs nothing.
What it is
The orange ferry is a commuter boat that happens to give one of the best harbour views in the city, and it costs nothing. It sails 24 hours a day from Whitehall Terminal, at 4 South Street beside the South Ferry subway, to St. George on Staten Island: 5.2 miles and about 25 minutes each way.
How to do it
Boats leave every 15 to 20 minutes in weekday rush hours and every 30 minutes otherwise. On the way out, stand on the right-hand side for the Statue of Liberty, and on the outside decks if you can. Everyone leaves the boat at St. George, so walk back round through the terminal and board the next sailing.
Good to know
Avoid the crowded weekday rush trips, from 6 to 9:30 am and 3:30 to 8 pm. The ferry does not stop at Liberty Island; landing there needs the Statue City Cruises ticket.
Row on the Central Park Lake and ride the car-free loop
Loeb Boathouse, Central Park
2 to 3 hoursNo booking needed
Bow Bridge and the Bethesda Fountain seen from a rowboat, then a 6-mile loop of park drives closed to cars.
What it is
The long Manhattan walk ends at the park's southwest corner; this is the middle of it. At the Loeb Boathouse, rowboats for up to four people are rented from April to October, weather permitting, and from the water you see Bow Bridge and the Bethesda Fountain from below. Back on land, the drives around the park have been closed to cars since June 2018, and the full loop is about 6 miles.
How to do it
Enter at East 72nd Street and follow the path to the boathouse. Rentals start at 10 am, the last boat goes out at 5:30 pm and all must be back by 6:30 pm. In season, BikeRent NYC rents bikes from two stands at the park, first come, first served.
Good to know
Come on a weekday morning to skip the boat queue. Bikes must ride counterclockwise and share the drives with walkers and runners, so keep to the marked lanes.
Van Gogh, Picasso and Warhol in the collection that defines modern art for most visitors, free for anyone 16 or under.
What it is
The Museum of Modern Art, at 11 West 53 Street with its entrance near Sixth Avenue, holds the collection that defines modern art for most visitors, including Van Gogh's The Starry Night, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon and Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans. Displays rotate, so check the online floor plan for what is hanging.
How to do it
It opens at 10:30 am daily and closes at 5:30 pm, or 8:30 pm on Fridays. Admission is $30 for adults, $22 for seniors and $17 for students, and free for anyone 16 or under. Buy online and arrive at opening.
Good to know
The free Friday evenings, 5:30 to 8:30 pm, are only for New York State residents with proof and a reserved ticket, so visitors pay the full price. Its sister museum, MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, is free for every visitor from 2026 for three years.
Meet the blue whale and the dinosaurs at Natural History
Central Park West at 79th Street
3 to 4 hoursBook ahead
A full-size blue whale model and the fossil halls, best seen before the school groups arrive.
What it is
The American Museum of Natural History stands on the Upper West Side, across Central Park from the Met, and pairs well with the park on the same day. Its two classics are the full-size blue whale model in the Hall of Ocean Life and the fossil halls on the fourth floor.
How to do it
The main entrance is on Central Park West at 79th Street; the newer Gilder Center opens onto Columbus Avenue behind it. It opens daily from 10 am to 5:30 pm and closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Visitors from outside New York State pay the full general admission, $37 for adults; state residents pay what they wish. Reserve a timed ticket online, and note that the planetarium show and special exhibitions cost extra.
Good to know
Go straight for the whale and the fossils before the school groups arrive. Some halls close early, so check the day's closures.
Whisper across the arches at Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal, 42nd Street
30 minutes, or 90 with the guided tourFree
A working station, free to walk into, with constellations painted back to front on its green ceiling.
What it is
Grand Central is a working station, open daily from 5:15 am to 2 am, and walking in costs nothing. Come in from 42nd Street and stand on the balcony of the Main Concourse to look up: the green ceiling is painted with the constellations, famously drawn back to front. The four-faced clock on the information booth below is the classic meeting point.
How to do it
Then go down the ramps to the dining concourse and find the low tiled arches outside the Oyster Bar, the Whispering Gallery: stand in opposite corners, face the wall and speak softly, and your voice carries across the vault. For the stories behind it, the terminal's official 90-minute guided tour, run by Walks, covers Vanderbilt Hall, the Whispering Gallery and the clock.
Good to know
Metro-North trains to the Hudson Valley leave from here.
A deli on the same corner since 1888, where the famous scene from When Harry Met Sally was filmed.
What it is
Katz's has been on the corner of Houston and Ludlow Streets, at 205 East Houston, since 1888, and its pastrami on rye, counted among the city's best, is the reason to queue. Above one table, a sign marks where the famous scene of When Harry Met Sally was filmed in 1989.
How to do it
The system confuses first-timers. At the door, everyone is handed a numbered paper ticket; take it to the counters, where staff mark what you order, and pay for everything on the way out. Order pastrami on rye at the counter, tip the counterman, and share a plate of pickles.
Good to know
Keep the ticket safe: a lost ticket carries a $50 charge, a rule meant to stop people swapping a full ticket for an empty one. A quiet mid-afternoon slot beats the lunch rush.
Graze the weekend food stalls at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn
Williamsburg waterfront and Prospect Park, Brooklyn
About 2 hoursFree
Several dozen small food vendors in one open-air market, with the Manhattan skyline across the water on Saturdays.
What it is
Smorgasburg is an open-air food market of several dozen small vendors, and it is the easiest way to taste a lot of the city's cooking in one go. On Saturdays it sets up on the East River at Marsha P. Johnson State Park, 90 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, with the Manhattan skyline across the water; on Sundays it moves to Breeze Hill in Prospect Park.
How to do it
Both run from 11 am to 6 pm, every weekend from early April through October. Entry is free and you pay each stall. For Williamsburg, take the L train to Bedford Avenue and walk west to the river, or the NYC Ferry to North Williamsburg. Pets are not allowed.
Good to know
Arrive at opening, because by early afternoon the queues at the popular stalls get long, and walk the whole market before you order.
The oldest working jazz club in New York, a triangular basement where Coltrane and Bill Evans recorded famous live albums.
What it is
The Village Vanguard, a triangular basement at 178 Seventh Avenue South, opened in 1935 and is the oldest working jazz club in New York. Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Bill Evans all recorded famous live albums in this room, and it still books major names for week-long runs. Monday nights belong to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the big band that grew out of the Thad Jones and Mel Lewis orchestra of the 1960s.
How to do it
There are two sets every night, at 8 and 10 pm; seating for the first starts at 7 and for the second at 9:30, and online sales close an hour before showtime. The 1 train stops at Christopher Street and the 1, 2 and 3 at 14th Street, both a few minutes' walk away.
Good to know
Buy ahead for well-known bands, since the room is small and fills up.
Judge the acts at Amateur Night at the Apollo in Harlem
Apollo Theater, 125th Street, Harlem
An eveningBook ahead
The audience is the jury, cheering or booing each act, in the theatre where Ella Fitzgerald started out.
What it is
Amateur Night at the Apollo is a talent contest where the audience is the jury, cheering the acts it likes and booing the ones it does not, in the theatre where Ella Fitzgerald and many soul and R&B stars started out. It runs on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm in the Historic Theater at 253 West 125th Street, in a season that ends with a grand finale in November. Contestants still rub the stump of the Tree of Hope for luck.
How to do it
Check the Apollo's calendar for this year's dates. Buy through the Apollo's website, which links to Ticketmaster, or at the box office in the theatre. Take the A, B, C or D train to 125th Street, and come early to walk the street.
Good to know
Do not confuse it with the Apollo Stages at the Victoria, a newer venue at 233 West 125th.
Ride the Cyclone and walk the boardwalk at Coney Island
Coney Island, Brooklyn
Half a dayNo booking needed
The city's beach and old-fashioned seaside fair at the far end of the subway, with a wooden coaster from 1927.
What it is
Coney Island is the city's beach and old-fashioned seaside fair, at the far end of the subway. The beach and the boardwalk are free. Luna Park, the amusement park on the boardwalk, runs a spring-to-autumn season, and its star is the Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster that opened in June 1927 and turns 100 in 2027: short, rough and loud, as it has always been. Deno's Wonder Wheel, the 1920 Ferris wheel next door, belongs to a separate park with its own tickets.
How to do it
The D, F, N and Q trains all run to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue. Rides keep a seasonal calendar, so check the park's schedule before you go.
Good to know
Come in the late afternoon and stay for the light over the water.
Follow Broadway up Manhattan from Battery Park on the southern tip to Central Park, with the High Line as an elevated detour.
What it is
Broadway is the spine that makes this walk easy to follow. Start at Battery Park, pass Wall Street and the 9/11 Memorial a block to the west, then keep north through SoHo, Union Square and the Flatiron Building to Times Square and Columbus Circle, at the southwest corner of Central Park.
How to do it
That is about 5 miles (8 km), a long morning with stops. A good variation from the Flatiron area is to cut west to the High Line, the free elevated park on an old freight rail line, and follow it north above the West Side to Hudson Yards. Ride the subway back: the turnstiles take contactless bank cards.
Good to know
The High Line opens at 7 am and closes at 10 pm from April to November and at 8 pm in winter; on a weekday morning it is far less crowded. Wear proper shoes.
Too big for one visit: choose two or three areas of the Met, such as the Temple of Dendur and the European paintings.
What it is
The Met, on Fifth Avenue at the edge of Central Park, is far too big for one visit, so choose two or three areas and let the rest go. A classic first route takes in the Temple of Dendur in the Egyptian galleries, the European paintings on the upper floor and the period rooms of the American Wing.
How to do it
General admission is $30 for adults, $22 for seniors and $17 for students, and free for children under 12. Pay what you wish is only for New York State residents and for students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and online it requires a New York State billing address; everyone else pays the listed price. Buy tickets online to avoid the ticket desks.
Good to know
Check opening hours for your date before going, since evening openings and closing days are set by the museum and can change.
A night in one of the old theatres around Times Square: full price for the big hits, up to 50% off on the day.
What it is
Most Broadway theatres stand in the side streets around Times Square, and the first decision is which show, because that sets how you buy.
How to do it
For the big hits, buy from the show's official seller well ahead, since they rarely appear at a discount. For flexibility, the TKTS booth in Times Square sells same-day tickets, plus same-day matinees, at discounts of up to 50%, with an $8 service charge per ticket included in the price. Its hours differ by day of the week, stock arrives through the day, and listings change by the hour, so check the TKTS app before you queue. Many shows also run their own digital lotteries and rush tickets on their websites.
Good to know
Arrive at least 30 minutes before curtain: lobbies in these old theatres are small and late arrivals wait for a break in the show.
Take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
New York Harbor
Most of a day for both islandsTimed entry
One ferry ticket covers both islands: the Statue of Liberty, with 162 steps up to the crown, and the immigration museum on Ellis Island.
What it is
Every ferry ticket includes the Statue of Liberty Museum and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. Going inside the statue takes planning: pedestal tickets are limited and sell out ahead, and the crown is 162 steps up a tight spiral with no lift.
How to do it
Statue City Cruises is the only ferry operator and ticket seller authorised by the National Park Service; boats leave from Battery Park in Manhattan, where you check in at Castle Clinton, and from Liberty State Park in New Jersey. The crown is by reservation only, never sold on Liberty Island, with at most four per order and photo ID matching each name.
Good to know
Ignore the vendors at the Battery selling harbour cruises that never land on the islands. The time on your ticket is when you join the security queue, which can take an hour or more at busy times, so take an early boat.
Three airports serve the city. From JFK, the AirTrain runs to Jamaica and Howard Beach, where you change to the subway or the Long Island Rail Road. From Newark, in New Jersey, the AirTrain connects to NJ Transit and Amtrak trains into Penn Station. From LaGuardia, the Q70 LaGuardia Link bus runs to the subway at Jackson Heights and Woodside. Amtrak trains from Washington and Boston arrive at Penn Station, under Moynihan Train Hall.
Getting around
The subway is the answer for almost every trip and runs 24 hours a day. Tap a contactless bank card or phone on the OMNY reader at the turnstile; use the same card every time, because OMNY caps your fares once you reach 12 paid rides in a seven-day period. Walk within a neighbourhood, take the subway between them, and skip driving: parking is scarce and expensive.
How many days
In must30's view, five days is a good first visit: one for Lower Manhattan and the harbour, one for Midtown, one for the Upper West Side and Central Park, one for Brooklyn, and one for the museum or neighbourhood you liked most. With three days, drop Brooklyn and pick one museum. Evenings are for a show, a jazz set or an observation deck at sunset.
When to go
Late April to June and September to early November are the comfortable months for walking, and the outdoor rhythm of the city depends on them: Smorgasburg runs from April to October, the Central Park rowboats from April to October, and Coney Island's rides open in spring. July and August are hot and humid. December brings holiday lights, crowds and the highest hotel prices; January and February are cold but cheaper.
Where to base yourself
Midtown is the most convenient base for a first visit, with the most subway lines and the shortest rides to everything, but it is also the most expensive and the least charming at night. Lower Manhattan suits early starts at the ferries. Brooklyn neighbourhoods near the subway, such as Downtown Brooklyn or Williamsburg, and Long Island City in Queens, are a few stops from Manhattan and usually cost less.
Questions travellers ask
Is the Staten Island Ferry really free?
Yes. The city runs it as a free service, 24 hours a day, every day, with no ticket. The crossing takes about 25 minutes and passes the Statue of Liberty, but it does not stop there; to land on Liberty Island you need the Statue City Cruises ferry.
Which observation deck is best in New York?
For a first visit, Top of the Rock, because the Empire State Building stands in the middle of its southern view and Central Park fills the northern one. The Empire State Building puts you inside the famous skyline instead. Book a timed ticket for the hour before sunset.
Do I need a car in New York City?
No. The subway runs 24 hours and reaches every place on this page, from Coney Island to Harlem. Parking is scarce and expensive, and traffic is slow. Rent a car only for trips out of the city, such as the Hudson Valley.
How many days do you need in New York City?
Five days covers the big museums, the harbour, Central Park, Brooklyn and a show without rushing. Three days works if you pick one museum and one borough beyond Manhattan.
Can you walk the Brooklyn Bridge at night?
Yes. The walkway is open 24 hours, and the skyline is lit after dark. Early morning is the calmest time; late afternoon and sunset are the busiest.
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