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…
AI insights
AI-written from the Wikivoyage listings, transport section and the video stats on this page
Choose your sightseeing pass based on your specific museum priorities; the Metropolitan Museum of Art is notably absent from the GoCity Explorer and All-Inclusive passes, so if that is on your list, the CityPASS is the better financial choice.
Don't rely solely on the subway for crosstown travel; when moving between major museums or across Manhattan, take the bus to save yourself from navigating complex underground transfers that are often less efficient for east-west routes.
When using a multi-attraction pass, organize your itinerary on the internet well in advance rather than relying on the provided guidebooks, as you will still need to secure individual tickets for many of the top-tier venues.
Always purchase train tickets for suburban travel at station kiosks or online beforehand; buying them on board incurs significant price premiums and you cannot use standard city contactless payment methods.
How we vet these picks
Every pick is drawn from real sources — YouTube creators, Wikivoyage, and Wikipedia. We only surface sources that actually exist and that we've checked for authenticity — no filler, no dead-end searches.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.
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Best time to go
Best window: April–June and September
No month to avoid, though the shoulder seasons are the pick.
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.
Central Park
5 sources agreeAlso recommended by Lonely Planet and 4 others
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
2 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.
Vetted sources
New York CityPASS
· Expensive
Grants admission to 6 New York attractions within 9 days of first use for a much reduced rate. The attractions are the Empire State Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art & same-day admission to The Cloisters, the American Museum of…
Vetted sources
New York Pass
· 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 attraction.
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
Play Minor League Baseball (South Atlantic League- North Division) at Maimonides Park (Subway: D, F, Fd, N, Q at Coney Island–Stilwell Avenue). They are an owned and opereated High-A affiliate of the Mets, one of the surviving Short Season…
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
Travel content from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Encyclopedic context from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Videos via the YouTube Data API.