The best of New York — tap the ones you fancy and your plan builds around them.
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843 acres of lawns, lakes, woods and rambles dropped into the middle of Manhattan — the city's beloved back garden, where you can row a boat, catch a free summer concert, or just watch New York at play with the skyline rising over the trees. Free, endless, and different in every season.
The great copper lady in the harbour, gift of France and welcome to millions of immigrants — take the ferry out to her island and to Ellis Island, where the moving museum tells the story of those who arrived. Book the pedestal or crown ahead, or catch her free from the Staten Island Ferry.
A canyon of the world's brightest billboards, jammed with people at all hours — overwhelming, tacky and unmissable, the neon heart of the city and the crossroads of Broadway. Come once, at night, for the full sensory assault; then escape to somewhere with actual New Yorkers in it.
The Art Deco masterpiece that has topped a thousand skylines and movies — ride to the 86th-floor deck for the classic view over the whole glittering city, best at sunset as the lights come on. Iconic and always busy; book a timed ticket, or try the newer Edge and Summit decks for a different angle.
One of the greatest museums on earth — 5,000 years of art from Egyptian temples to European masters to a rooftop sculpture garden with a park-and-skyline view, all on the edge of Central Park. Vast beyond a single visit; pick a wing, and note the admission is pay-what-you-wish for New York state residents.
Stroll the 19th-century Gothic-arched icon over the East River on its wooden upper walkway, the Manhattan skyline unfolding behind you and Brooklyn ahead — best at dawn or sunset. Walk from Manhattan into DUMBO for the famous view back, then a slice or an ice cream by the water.
Two vast, sunken waterfall pools mark the footprints of the Twin Towers, ringed by the names of the dead — a powerful, quiet space beneath the soaring One World Trade Center. The museum below is harrowing and superbly done; the memorial plaza itself is free and deeply moving.
The observation decks atop Rockefeller Center give you the view the Empire State can't — because the Empire State is in it, front and centre, with Central Park stretching north the other way. Arguably the best skyline panorama in the city; go for sunset and stay for the lights.
A disused elevated railway on the West Side turned into a mile-and-a-half of planted walkway, gliding above the streets past art, gardens and skyline views into the buzzing Chelsea Market and Hudson Yards. A brilliant, free stroll and one of the city's best ideas; lovely in the late afternoon.
The pinnacle of theatre — a big musical or a serious play in one of the ornate old houses around Times Square, an unbeatable New York night out. Splurge on the hot ticket, or queue the TKTS booth or the lottery apps for same-day seats at a fraction of the price.
The Museum of Modern Art — a peerless collection of the 20th century, from Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' and Monet's water lilies to Warhol, Picasso and Pollock, all in a few light-filled floors in Midtown. The best modern-art museum anywhere; go Friday evening when it's free.
The white marble arch, the fountain, the chess players and buskers — the beating heart of Greenwich Village, ringed by NYU and the leafy streets that birthed the folk and Beat scenes. Sit a while, then wander the crooked, brownstone-lined blocks that are Manhattan at its most human.
Brooklyn's coolest quarter after dark — warehouse cocktail bars, rooftops, breweries, live music and late-night pizza, with the Manhattan skyline glittering across the river. The city's best-value night out and its most local buzz; ride the L train one stop over and dive in.
The city runs on it — a big, thin, foldable slice of pizza from a hole-in-the-wall counter, a couple of dollars and eaten on your feet. From old-school coal-oven pies to the corner joint at 2am, it's the truest, cheapest taste of New York; add a bagel-and-lox breakfast and a pastrami deli lunch.
The cast-iron district of cobbled streets and huge-windowed 19th-century lofts, now the city's most stylish shopping — flagship stores, galleries, weekend crowds and endless people-watching. Browse the boutiques and the street stalls, and admire the architecture above the shopfronts.
Prices are relative to United States, a expensive country.
Central & iconic
The centreThe postcard heart of Manhattan — Times Square, the Empire State, Rockefeller Center, Broadway and the big transit hubs. The most central and convenient base, walkable to the icons and wired into every subway line; also the busiest, brashest and priciest, and quiet only in the small hours.
What’s here
Downtown & SoHo
8 min · 4 kmThe southern tip and the cast-iron blocks above it — Wall Street, the 9/11 memorial and One World, the ferries to Liberty Island, and SoHo's boutiques and brunch. Sleek, historic and central, with the Brooklyn Bridge on your doorstep; buzzing by day, and increasingly lively at night.
What’s here
Historic & walkable
6 min · 3 kmThe most charming, human-scaled part of Manhattan — leafy, low-rise streets of 19th-century brownstones, jazz clubs, tiny restaurants and Washington Square, with the High Line along the western edge. Village-quiet and endlessly strollable, yet minutes from downtown; the loveliest, if not the cheapest, place to stay.
What’s here
Hip Brooklyn & nightlife
12 min · 5 kmThe coolest slice of Brooklyn, one subway stop over the East River — warehouse bars, rooftops, live music, vintage shops and the best skyline view in the city from its waterfront. Younger, cheaper and more local than Manhattan, with a real neighbourhood buzz; the place to stay for nightlife and value.
What’s here
Park & museums
10 min · 5 kmThe gracious residential uptown flanking Central Park — grand pre-war apartment blocks, the great museums along 'Museum Mile', and family-friendly, tree-lined calm. Quieter and more local than Midtown, right on the park, with excellent subway links; the best base for the museums and green space.
What’s here
Worth knowing: New York is a subway city — an OMNY tap gets you anywhere fast, day or night. No beach in the centre, but the sands of Coney Island and the Rockaways are a subway ride away in summer. Manhattan is eminently walkable; the outer boroughs need the train.
45 min away
Old-school seaside Brooklyn at the end of the subway — a wide sandy beach, a boardwalk, the historic Cyclone coaster and the original Nathan's hot dogs. Kitschy, nostalgic summer fun a train ride from Midtown; go on a warm weekend for the full carnival.
Subway
1.5 hr away
The wooded river valley north of the city — the Storm King outdoor sculpture park, historic mansions, farm-to-table towns like Beacon and Cold Spring, and blazing colour in the fall. A green, arty change of pace; loveliest by car, and doable by train along the river.
Train or car
1.5 hr away
The birthplace of America, a fast train south — the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, a world-class art museum (and its 'Rocky' steps), and a famous cheesesteak. A very doable day trip into the founding history of the United States.
Train
3.5 hr away
The monumental capital — the National Mall, the Smithsonian's free museums, the White House and the Capitol. A long day by fast train, and better as an overnight, but an unmissable dose of American power and history if you have the time.
Train
Best time to go
May–June and September–October — warm, clear and comfortable, with spring blossom or crisp autumn colour in the parks.
Cheapest: January–February, after New Year — cold and grey, but the cheapest hotel rates and shortest museum queues of the year.
Pick your dates above and we’ll tell you exactly what the weather does then.
August
28° / 20°C
Some rain
MixedNew York is the city the movies taught you to love before you ever set foot in it — the densest, most electric place in America, where the skyline, the yellow cabs, the steam rising from the streets and the sheer velocity of eight million people are exactly as advertised, and somehow still a shock. A hundred nationalities stack onto a few crowded islands, the food and art and music never stop, and reinvention is the only constant. Expensive and exhausting, and utterly, thrillingly alive.
First things first
Tap the day you arrive.
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Last updated 4 August 2026. Cities are refreshed, not written once.