Gathering the gems worth your time…
Destination guide
New York
United States
New York (known as "The Big Apple", "NYC," and often called "New York City") is a global center for media, entertainment, art, fashion, research, finance, and trade. The bustling, cosmopolitan heart of the 4th largest metropolis in the world and by far the most populous city in the United States, New York has long…
Introduction quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Sources gathered & checked 4 days ago
At a glance
- Best time to go
- April–June and September
- Getting around
- Subway · Subway basics · Subway routes
- Vetted picks
- 13 places — 1 backed by 3+ independent sources
- Real coverage
- 6 vetted creator sources
AI insights
AI-written from the Wikivoyage listings, transport section and the video stats on this page
Prioritize the subway for navigating the city, as it operates continuously and is the fastest way to travel; however, use buses specifically for cross-town journeys to avoid the inefficiency of navigating subway transfers for east-west travel.
Choose your sightseeing pass carefully based on your itinerary: the New York CityPASS is ideal for hitting a few major landmarks over several days, while the New York Pass is better for high-volume, multi-day sightseeing because it includes line-skipping privileges.
Always book museum entries and Broadway tickets in advance online to bypass long walk-up queues; note that while the Metropolitan Museum of Art is excluded from GoCity's Explorer and All-Inclusive passes, it is included in the New York Pass.
When traveling between the city and suburbs via commuter trains, purchase your tickets in advance at stations or online rather than onboard, as the price difference is significant.
Identify subway routes by their specific letter or number rather than by color, as the colors only represent the shared trunk lines used by multiple routes.
How these 13 picks are sourced
9 of 13 are named by a second, independent source — Eater, Michelin Guide and Time Out, and 3 others — and each card names its own. The remaining 4 rest on the reference article alone: we list them because Wikivoyage or Wikipedia documents them, not because anyone else vouched for them. We also watched 6 creator videos, 2 of them from local channels rather than visiting ones. 4 of the 13 descriptions are quoted word for word from Wikivoyage under CC BY-SA rather than written by us, as is the introduction above — each of those cards says so. What we add is the checking, the corroboration above, and the choice of which places are worth your time at all.What we can't promise is that it's still true. Venues close, hours and prices change, and we don't re-check them — a place here closed for good and sat on this page for a year before anyone noticed. The insights are AI-written from these sources and can be wrong too. Confirm anything you'd be sorry to be wrong about before you set out. Terms.
Watch first
Ranked by views and how well each landed with the people who watched it, judged against the other coverage of this place — plus a local creator where we found one.
everything to eat + do in NYC⋆˚☆꩜｡ (a mini local guide)
Isa Sung · 34K viewsLocal
The PERFECT Trip to New York City! Best Things to Do & Eat (Travel Guide)
Eat See TV · 862K views
Don’t Visit NYC Without Watching This! 🗽 Top 20 Things to Do in New York City (Local’s Guide) | 4k
Pictures of New York · 20K viewsLocal
ALTERNATIVE GUIDE to NEW YORK CITY (unique things to do) - ad
Kara and Nate · 475K views
The ONLY NYC Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need!
Jon Barr · 461K views
New York City Travel Guide - 20 MUST DO Experiences in New York
Ian and Ana · 151K views
Best time to go
Best window: April–June and September
No month to avoid, though the shoulder seasons are the pick.
Jan
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Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
IdealGoodOkayOff-season
Rated from ten years of daily temperature and rainfall recorded at this destination, via Open-Meteo's ERA5 reanalysis. Hover a month for its real numbers.
Getting around
By subway
Despite a reputation for being dirty, the subway is the fastest way to travel around the city, operating 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Subway basics
Overhead signage next to each track indicates the trains that stop at that particular track and the direction they are heading. In addition, the trains are marked by signage that indicates their route.
Subway routes
Subway lines are not referred to by color. Instead, each route is identified by either a letter or a number. The colors refer to the set of tracks used by the route, and older New Yorkers in particular also often identify routes by the line they travel on, as…
By train
Trains are mostly used for traveling between the city and its suburbs. Purchasing a ticket onboard is significantly more expensive than purchasing a ticket online or in stations beforehand. Trains do not accept OMNY or TAPP contactless fare payments.
By bus
Even in Manhattan, with its dense subway network, buses can often be the best way of making a crosstown (i.e. east-west) journey — for example, crossing Central Park to go from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Museum of Natural History.
Transport notes from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What to see
Places are listed from Wikivoyage and our own sourced research. Worth it means a second, independent source names the place too; “3 sources agree” means three or more do — and each card names them, so you can check. Single source means the opposite, said plainly: the reference article lists it and nothing else we checked does.
Central Park
5 sources agreeAlso recommended by Lonely Planet and 4 others
Stopped here on camera: Eat See TV
843 acres of designed landscape by Olmsted and Vaux in the middle of Manhattan.
Vetted sources
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Worth itAlso recommended by Lonely Planet
One of the world's largest art museums, spanning 5,000 years of global culture.
Vetted sources
GoCity Pass
Single source2 passes are available from GoCity. The Explorer pass lets you can visit a set number of attractions, while the All-Inclusive pass which allows unlimited attractions for a set number of days.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
New York CityPASS
Single source· Expensive
Grants admission to 6 New York attractions within 9 days of first use for a much reduced rate.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
New York Pass
Single source· Expensive
Also from GoCity. Grants access to over 50 top attractions with line skipping privileges. Passes are available for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, or 10 days. You must obtain a ticket in each…
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to do
High Line
Worth itAlso recommended by Time Out and 1 other
An elevated freight rail line converted into a 1.5-mile park through Chelsea.
Vetted sources
Brooklyn Cyclones
Single sourcePlay Minor League Baseball (South Atlantic League- North Division) at Maimonides Park (Subway: D, F, Fd, N, Q at Coney Island–Stilwell Avenue).
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to eat
Katz's Delicatessen
Worth itAlso recommended by Eater and 1 other
Hand-carved pastrami on rye at the Lower East Side deli operating since 1888.
Vetted sources
Peter Luger Steak House
Worth itAlso recommended by Michelin Guide and 1 other
Dry-aged porterhouse for two, a Brooklyn institution since 1887.
Vetted sources
Eleven Madison Park
Worth itAlso recommended by Michelin Guide and 1 other
Daniel Humm's plant-based fine-dining tasting menu in a Flatiron Art Deco room.
Vetted sources
Di Fara Pizza
Worth itAlso recommended by Eater and 1 other
Coal-oven Neapolitan-Sicilian pizza hand-cut with scissors by founder Dom DeMarco's family.
Vetted sources
Le Bernardin
Worth itAlso recommended by Michelin Guide
Eric Ripert's seafood-focused tasting menu.
Vetted sources
Xi'an Famous Foods
Worth itAlso recommended by Eater
Hand-pulled biang biang noodles that built a Flushing food-court stall into a citywide chain.
Vetted sources
Build your day
Pick the places you want in New York, United States and we will put them on a map in an order that does not cross the city twice.
Where to next
Nearby cities in United States we’ve vetted too.
Travel content from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Encyclopedic context from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Videos via the YouTube Data API.