New York City

Overview

About

New York City is at the southern tip of New York State in the eastern US, on the western shore of the Atlantic. It is the largest city in the United States and a world financial center.
The city has 8 million people and covers about 1,200 km². Its time zone is UTC−5. It has five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island.
Manhattan is an island at the mouth of the Hudson River and the heart of New York.

Travel tips

Getting there: The three major airports are John F. Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA) and Newark in New Jersey (EWR). Rail, airport buses and taxis link them to Manhattan. Amtrak trains arrive at Penn Station and commuter rail at Grand Central.

Getting around: The subway covers the whole city and runs around the clock, and is the easiest way to see Manhattan. Manhattan streets are mostly a grid, with avenues running north-south and numbered streets east-west.

Midtown: Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library, Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations are in Midtown.

Around Central Park: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History face Central Park on either side. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is on West 53rd Street in Midtown.

Downtown: Wall Street, the 9/11 Memorial, One World Trade Center, the Brooklyn Bridge and Battery Park. Boats for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and the free Staten Island Ferry, leave from Battery Park.

Other boroughs: Brooklyn has Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Botanic Garden, and the bridge can be walked. Queens and the Bronx have zoos, a tennis centre and ballparks.

Nearby: Philadelphia, Boston and Washington can be done as trips by train. Niagara Falls and the Hudson Valley are also within reach.

Time: Allow at least three to four days for a first visit; the museums can add several more.

Season: April to June and September to November are pleasant. Summer is hot and humid and winter is cold with snow, though the city has a distinct look at Christmas.

Where to stay: Midtown Manhattan is the most convenient. Brooklyn and Queens are close to the centre and offer more choice.

Manhattan sights

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: a world-famous art museum, on Fifth Avenue between 79th and 84th Streets

Central Park

American Museum of Natural History

Empire State Building: one of New York’s best-known skyscrapers, with an observation deck open to visitors at the top. 33rd Street and Fifth Avenue.

World Trade Center: destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

Times Square: at 42nd Street and Broadway, covered in neon billboards. A celebration is held here every New Year.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): its collection includes Van Gogh's The Starry Night and other modern works. 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

Wall Street: home of the New York Stock Exchange and a world financial center

Brooklyn Bridge

New York Public Library

Battery Park: at the southern tip of Manhattan; boats leave here for Liberty Island

United Nations Headquarters: First Avenue and 45th Street

Broadway

SoHo

Chinatown

Madame Tussauds wax museum: 42nd Street, near Times Square

South Street Seaport: at the east end of Wall Street

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (aircraft carrier museum): 46th Street and Twelfth Avenue

Rockefeller Center: a giant Christmas tree is put up here every Christmas season

Madison Square Garden: Seventh Avenue, 31st to 33rd Street

Greater New York sights

Statue of Liberty: on a small island south of Manhattan, at the mouth of the Hudson River.

Liberty State Park: in New Jersey on the west bank of the Hudson. You can see the New York skyline at night and the Statue of Liberty, and take a boat to Liberty Island.

The Bronx Zoo

New York Aquarium: Surf Ave. & West 8th St., Brooklyn

Jones Beach: on western Long Island, close to the city.

Sandy Hook: in New Jersey, with swimming beaches, a bird sanctuary, historic military sites and a nude beach.

Fire Island: on the south shore of central Long Island, with several nude beaches. The best known is Lighthouse Beach.

Nearby attractions

Atlantic City: a gambling city on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey

Philadelphia: famous sights include Independence Hall and Longwood Gardens

Boston

Washington, D.C.

Niagara Falls

Acadia National Park

Events

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: every Thanksgiving morning, Macy's department store puts on a big balloon parade. The route runs from the American Museum of Natural History to the Macy's store.

Halloween Parade

Times Square New Year's celebration: held at midnight every New Year's Eve in Times Square.

Mermaid Parade: held every year around the summer solstice at Coney Island.

Getting around

By air: there are three large international airports near New York: John F. Kennedy (JFK),
LaGuardia (LGA),
and Newark (EWR) in New Jersey.

Subway: the New York City subway is quick and convenient.

By car: New York traffic is heavy, especially at rush hour, and getting in and out of Manhattan is hard. Parking in Manhattan is expensive.

Roads: the Holland Tunnel, the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge link Manhattan with New Jersey.

Sightseeing tours

Sightseeing helicopters

Double-decker tour buses

Boat cruises around Manhattan

Water taxis: boat trips on the waters off Midtown, Downtown and the Statue of Liberty.

CityPass

If you plan to see several New York museums and sights in a short time, consider buying a CityPass.

Education

Columbia University: one of the Ivy League

New York University

More photos

Photo credits: Statue of Liberty: Jakub Hałun (CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons); Manhattan: Jakub Hałun (CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)