Five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island) with about 8.3 million people. The 24-hour subway is the fastest way between neighborhoods; most visitors stay in Manhattan, but much of the best-value food is in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.
Must-see
The sights to fit in even on a short trip.
- 01Statue of Liberty
- 02Empire State Building
- 039/11 Memorial & Museum
- 04The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- 05Brooklyn Bridge
- 06Grand Central Terminal
- 07Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
History & museums 31
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum
- Brooklyn Bridge
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- The Met Cloisters
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Brooklyn Museum
- Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
- Empire State Building
- New York Transit Museum
- Statue of Liberty
- The Morgan Library & Museum
- American Museum of Natural History
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Tenement Museum
- The Frick Collection
- Trinity Church and Churchyard
- Federal Hall National Memorial
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Fraunces Tavern Museum
- Grace Church
- Grand Central Terminal
- Jefferson Market Library
- Merchant's House Museum
- Museum at Eldridge Street
- Museum of Chinese in America
- New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
- Poster House
- St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery
- St. Paul's Chapel
- Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace
Where to eat 62
- Los Tacos No. 1 (Times Square)
- Arthur Avenue Retail Market
- Ba Xuyen
- Birria-Landia (taco truck)
- Arepa Lady
- Chelsea Market
- Cote Korean Steakhouse
- Denino's Pizzeria & Tavern
- John's of Bleecker Street
- Keens Steakhouse
- L&B Spumoni Gardens
- La Morada
- Le Bernardin
- Russ & Daughters (shop)
- Taverna Kyclades (Astoria)
- Veselka
- 7th Street Burger (East Village)
- Casa Enrique
- Dhamaka
- Essex Market
- Katz's Delicatessen
- King Souvlaki (truck)
- Lakruwana
- Liebman's Deli
- Mamoun's Falafel
- Minetta Tavern
- Wah Fung No. 1 Fast Food
- Xi'an Famous Foods (Bayard St)
- Zero Otto Nove (Bronx)
- Barney Greengrass
- Crif Dogs
- Joe's Pizza (Carmine St)
- Joe's Steam Rice Roll (Flushing)
- Peter Luger Steak House
- Prince Street Pizza
- Scarr's Pizza
- Via Carota
- Tatiana by Kwame Onwuachi
- The Halal Guys (original cart, 53rd St & 6th Ave)
- Zaab Zaab (Elmhurst)
- Di Fara Pizza
- Gray's Papaya
- Nom Wah Tea Parlor
- Semma
- Adda
- Atomix
- B&H Dairy
- Bánh Mì Saigon
- Carnitas Ramirez
- Delmonico's
- Ess-a-Bagel (3rd Ave)
- Fong On
- Kabawa
- Lei
- Nathan's Famous (original, Coney Island)
- New Absolute Bagels
- NY Dosas
- Roscioli NYC
- Shake Shack (Madison Square Park, original kiosk)
- Smorgasburg Williamsburg (Saturdays)
- Sylvia's Restaurant
- Thai Diner
Night out 21
- Bill's Place
- McSorley's Old Ale House
- The Dead Rabbit
- Smalls Jazz Club
- Village Vanguard
- Death & Co (East Village)
- House of Yes
- Elsewhere
- Please Don't Tell (PDT)
- Public Records
- Bemelmans Bar (The Carlyle)
- Bossa Nova Civic Club
- Good Room
- Le Bain (The Standard, High Line)
- Attaboy
- Bar Snack
- Cherry Lane Theatre
- Comedy Cellar
- Katana Kitten
- Marie's Crisis Cafe
- Mezzrow
Locals only 19
- Green-Wood Cemetery
- Hindu Temple Canteen (Ganesh Temple)
- Lhasa Fast Food
- Alice Austen House
- Church of the Transfiguration
- Dyckman Farmhouse Museum
- Edgar Allan Poe Cottage
- Fort Tryon Park and Heather Garden
- Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
- Mmuseumm
- Morris-Jumel Mansion and Sylvan Terrace
- Petee's Pie Company
- Snug Harbor Cultural Center and New York Chinese Scholar's Garden
- Socrates Sculpture Park
- The Noguchi Museum
- Veniero's
- Wave Hill
- Weeksville Heritage Center (Hunterfly Road Houses)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
Walking routes 7
- 01Lower Manhattan: from the Battery to the Brooklyn BridgeColonial and early-republic New York packed into a small area: the fort where immigrants first landed, the tavern where Washington said farewell, the site of his inauguration, Hamilton's grave and the 1913 Woolworth tower, ending at the Brooklyn Bridge walkway.
- 02Greenwich Village and the West Village: slices, jazz and side streetsA loop through the Village's food and music landmarks: two historic pizzerias, the MacDougal St comedy strip, the crooked streets around Grove St, and two basement jazz clubs.
- 03Lower East Side and Chinatown food walkImmigrant New York through its food: Jewish appetizing and deli on Houston St, the Tenement Museum, the Essex Market, a flour-milling slice shop, the 1887 Eldridge St synagogue, and Chinatown's roast pork and dim sum.
- 04Midtown icons: Grand Central to MoMAThe Beaux-Arts core of Midtown on foot: Grand Central's concourse, the Chrysler Building, the Morgan Library, the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral and MoMA, ending with a halal cart dinner.
- 05Museum Mile and Central Park's east sideFifth Avenue's museums between 70th and 89th St with Central Park alongside: the Frick's Old Masters, the Met, and the Guggenheim spiral, with an option to cut through the park to the Natural History Museum.
- 06Jackson Heights and Elmhurst food crawl (Queens)Under the 7 train in one of the most linguistically diverse neighborhoods in the world: Tibetan momos behind a phone shop, a Colombian arepa institution, Tijuana birria from a truck, and Isan Thai in Elmhurst.
- 07Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights and Downtown BrooklynWalk the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan, then climb into Brooklyn Heights' 19th-century rowhouse streets and the Promenade, ending at Borough Hall and the New York Transit Museum in a 1936 subway station.