Travel guide · United States
New York City travel guide
Skyline views, world-class museums, Broadway and food from every culture
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Quick answer
New York's five boroughs hold more than eight million people, but most visitors focus on Manhattan, a long island of skyscrapers with Central Park in the middle, and the parts of Brooklyn just across the East River. The grid of avenues and numbered streets makes it easy to navigate on foot, and the 24-hour subway reaches almost everywhere. The city's appeal is its density: the Met and MoMA, Broadway theatres, the Statue of Liberty and the High Line, and neighbourhoods such as the West Village, Chinatown and Williamsburg, each with its own food, music and street life. Plan 5 days for a first visit; the best months are April–June and September–October.
Key facts
- Country
- United States
- Best time to visit
- April–June and September–October
- Ideal stay
- 5 days
- Main airports
- JFK, EWR, LGA
- Mid-range daily budget
- $300–$500 per person (estimate)
- Known for
- Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Broadway and Skyscrapers
Why visit New York City
- Major museums — the Met, MoMA, the Guggenheim and the American Museum of Natural History — are all within a few subway stops of each other.
- Skyline views from the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, the Brooklyn Bridge and the free Staten Island Ferry are part of the experience.
- Broadway's theatres stage musicals and plays every night, with discount same-day tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square.
- Food from almost every culture: pizza slices, bagels, pastrami delis, Chinatown dumplings and the food courts of Flushing and Jackson Heights.
- Central Park, the High Line and Brooklyn Bridge Park give the city remarkable green space for walking and picnics.
Top things to do
The six sights most first-time visitors build a trip around. See all 20 things to do.
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Park · Central Park
Central Park
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's 341-hectare park runs 51 blocks from 59th to 110th Street.
- Time needed
- 2–4 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Couples
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Museum · Upper East Side
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met's collection spans 5,000 years, from the Egyptian Temple of Dendur in its glass-walled hall to European paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, arms and armour and the American Wing.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
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Landmark · Liberty Island
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Ferries from Battery Park stop at Liberty Island, where the statue, a gift from France dedicated in 1886, has a museum and pedestal views, and at Ellis Island, whose immigration museum tells the story of the roughly 12 million people processed there between 1892 and 1954.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- History
- Kids
- Views
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Landmark · Midtown
Empire State Building
The 1931 Art Deco skyscraper has an open-air observation deck wrapping around the 86th floor, about 320 metres up, and a glass-walled observatory on the 102nd floor.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- After dark
- Architecture
- Kids
Viewpoint · Midtown
Top of the Rock
The observation decks at the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza look south straight at the Empire State Building and north over the full length of Central Park — a view many prefer to the Empire State's own.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- Couples
- After dark
- Iconic
Landmark · Lower Manhattan
Brooklyn Bridge
Opened in 1883, the stone-towered suspension bridge has a raised pedestrian promenade with views of the Lower Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan Bridge.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Views
- Photo spot
- Active
Where to stay
Midtown is the easiest base for a first visit. Compare all 9 areas.
$$$$ · Best for first-timers, families and shopping
Midtown
Times Square, Broadway theatres and the classic skyscrapers
$$$ · Best for families, quiet stays and culture
Upper West Side
Brownstones, Central Park and the Natural History Museum
$$$$ · Best for luxury, culture and quiet stays
Upper East Side
Museum Mile, Madison Avenue boutiques and grand townhouses
$$$$ · Best for nightlife, food lovers, culture and couples
Chelsea and the Meatpacking District
The High Line, art galleries and Chelsea Market
What to eat
Full New York City food guide.
- New York pizza slice — Thin, wide slices with a crisp yet chewy crust, tomato sauce and mozzarella, folded in half to eat on the move.
- Bagel with lox — A boiled-then-baked bagel, chewy and dense, split and topped with cream cheese ('schmear'), smoked salmon (lox), capers and red onion.
- Pastrami on rye — Hand-sliced, peppery smoked beef brisket piled high on rye bread with mustard and a pickle on the side — the signature of the city's Jewish delis.
- Hot dog — All-beef frankfurters with mustard, sauerkraut or onions in tomato sauce, sold from street carts and at Coney Island, where Nathan's Famous opened in 1916.
- New York cheesecake — A dense, rich cheesecake made with cream cheese on a graham-cracker base, served plain or topped with strawberries.
- Black-and-white cookie — A large, soft, cake-like cookie iced half in vanilla fondant and half in chocolate, a fixture of Jewish bakeries and delis.
When to go
The best times to visit New York are late April to June and September to early November, when the weather is mild and the parks are at their best. December is festive but crowded and expensive, while January and February are cold but the lowest-priced months. July and August are hot and humid, though summer brings free outdoor concerts and events.
| Season | Months | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | March–May | Cold snaps give way to blossom in the parks and mild walking weather by May, with frequent showers and rising hotel prices. |
| Summer | June–August | Hot and humid, with Pride, Fourth of July fireworks, free outdoor concerts and theatre, and busy beaches. |
| Autumn | September–November | Warm September days, crisp October weather and autumn colour in Central Park, with high hotel prices around the UN General Assembly and Thanksgiving. |
| Winter | December–February | Festive December lights and ice rinks give way to cold, sometimes snowy January and February, the quietest and lowest-priced months. |
Getting there and around
From JFK, AirTrain links to the subway at Jamaica and Howard Beach, and to Long Island Rail Road trains at Jamaica, about 20 minutes on to Penn Station or Grand Central; yellow cabs charge a flat fare to Manhattan. From LaGuardia, the free Q70 bus connects to the subway at Jackson Heights. From Newark, AirTrain links to NJ Transit and Amtrak trains reaching Penn Station in about 30 minutes.
Manhattan's grid makes navigation easy: avenues run north–south and numbered streets east–west, with about 20 blocks to the mile. The 24-hour subway links Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, Staten Island is reached by a free ferry, and you pay by tapping a contactless card or phone at OMNY readers.
Plan your days
Three days covers Midtown, Central Park, one big museum, the Statue of Liberty and a Brooklyn Bridge walk. Five days adds Downtown neighbourhoods, a Broadway show, more museums and Brooklyn; with a week, add the Hudson Valley or Philadelphia as a day trip.
Practical information
- Currency
- USD
- Language
- English
- Plugs
- Type A and B sockets, 120 V, 60 Hz
- Tap water
- New York City tap water is safe and high quality, and drinking fountains are common in parks.
- Emergency number
- 911 for police, fire and ambulance
- Tipping
- Tipping is expected and makes up much of service workers' pay: 18–20% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 per drink at bars, 15–20% for taxis and ride-hailing, and a few dollars a night for hotel housekeeping.
New York is generally safe in the areas visitors frequent, but pickpockets work crowded spots such as Times Square and busy subway trains. Costumed characters and people handing out 'free' CDs expect payment, and late at night it is best to ride in busy subway cars.
Flights to New York City
Questions travellers ask
+How many days do you need in New York City?
Three days covers Midtown, Central Park, one big museum, the Statue of Liberty and a Brooklyn Bridge walk. Five days adds Downtown neighbourhoods, a Broadway show, more museums and Brooklyn; with a week, add the Hudson Valley or Philadelphia as a day trip. How to split your days.
+When is the best time to visit New York City?
The best times to visit New York are late April to June and September to early November, when the weather is mild and the parks are at their best. December is festive but crowded and expensive, while January and February are cold but the lowest-priced months. July and August are hot and humid, though summer brings free outdoor concerts and events.
+What is New York City known for?
Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Broadway, Skyscrapers, Museums, Pizza and bagels, Times Square and Brooklyn Bridge. Major museums — the Met, MoMA, the Guggenheim and the American Museum of Natural History — are all within a few subway stops of each other.
+Is New York City expensive?
New York City is very expensive for international visitors: a mid-range trip costs roughly $300–$500 per person per day before flights (AMZBooking estimate). Costs and money-saving tips.
+Do you need a car in New York City?
No. Traffic is slow, parking is very expensive and a congestion toll applies in Manhattan below 60th Street. Rent a car only for trips upstate or to the Hamptons, ideally picking it up outside Manhattan.