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8.2.2025

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Things to visit in New York City

New York City is a big city with a lot of tourist attractions that are worth seeing. We grouped the attractions according to the interests or according to their location and made a list of “hot top 10 NYC attractions". All places are marked on: blue google map icongoogle-map and the standard map.
Christmas or New Year’s Eve in New York? See this page for more details.
P.S. Don’t have enough time to visit New York? Something like "New York in one or two days"? It is up to you to choose from our list what attracts you the most. Some helpful advice on how to plan your short visit:
- 1st day: get subway to "Brooklyn Bridge - High St" and cross Brooklyn Bridge on foot to Manhattan (item 4), go on foot to Memorial 9/11 (item 7), then to Wall Street, Battery Park, from where take a boat to the islands (item 2), travel by subway to Broadway (item 1), Broadway theaters in the evening (item 8).
- 2nd day: Central Park, with a possibility to visit museum or planetarium (item 5).
- 3nd day: observatory on one of the skyscrapers (item 3), travel to the Zoo (item 6) or Corona Park by  7  subway line (item 9).
Advice: keep in mind that standard and big version of the city ticket will save your money and time.

Printable version: full information on one page, no pictures, no menu on the left.

Broadway and Times Square

1. Broadway and Times Square

Advice: the recommended time for a visit is in the evening when the streets are beautifully illuminated.
Location: the center of Broadway - Times Square is at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from 42nd to 47th Streets.
How to get: "Times Sq - 42 St" subway station, trains:  1   2   3   7   N   Q   R   S  or "Port Authority - 42 St" for:  A   C   E  or "Bryant Park - 42 St" for:  B   D   F   M 
Mark on the map: blue google map icongoogle-map (#1), standard map (#1).
Neighboring attractions (from Times Sq.): Broadway theaters, Madame Tussauds Museum (350 ft / 100 meters), Grand Central Terminal (0.6 miles / 0.9 km), Empire State Building (0.6 miles / 1 km), Rockefeller Center (0.6 miles / 1 km), Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) (0.6 miles / 1 km), Central Park (0.9 miles / 1.4 km).
Spend time: from two hours to whole day (Broadway is quite long street that crosses many interesting side streets and avenue, time flies in there).

Broadway is the longest and the widest street in New York City. It breaks the grid street system and crosses Manhattan diagonally. The part of Broadway that stretches from the Central Park in the north ("59 St Columbus Cir" subway station) to Times Square in the south is the most popular among tourists. You can...

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The Statue of Liberty, New York

2. The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Battery Park, Wall Street, Castle Clinton

Advice: we grouped many attractions and landmarks under the same title according to their location.
Location: at the southern tip of Manhattan and islands located southwest of Manhattan.
How to get: to Battery Park - "South Ferry" subway station, trains:  1   R  ; to Wall Street - "Wall St":  2   3   4   5  or "Bowling Green" (near Charging Bull statue):  4   5 
Mark on the map: google-map (#2), standard map (#2).
Neighboring attractions (from Battery Park): National September 11 Memorial & Museum (0.6 miles / 1 km), Brooklyn Bridge (1 mile / 1.5 km).
Spend time: if you decide to visit all the monuments mentioned here you will spend a whole day.
Cost: Statue of Liberty + Ferry are $25 (2025) per ticket includes a visit to the ground level of the Statue of Liberty. To visit the reserve part with crown you have to book your tickets online (price does not change). After the restoration of the statue it was reopened on 10/28/2012.

All the above mentioned attractions from this chapter are located in the south of Manhattan. Battery Park is in the center and it is a departure point for Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferry. Ferry departs from Battery Park approx. every 20 minutes. There are also ferries and boats for other excursions. We will tell about them later. Cost of ferry tickets is included into standard and big version of the city ticket so you can skip long ticket lines. Otherwise you will pay $25 (2025).

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Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center

3. Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center

Advice: we recommend to visit Rockefeller Center (or Rockefeller Plaza). There is more space and fewer tourists, including a great view to the Empire State Building on one side and Central Park on the other. You’d better buy tickets in advance, or buy standard or big version of the city ticket.
Location: approx. 0.62 miles (1 km) from Times Square in opposite directions. Empire State Building: Fifth Avenue between 33rd & 34th Streets (entrance from Fifth Avenue). Rockefeller Center: Sixth Avenue between 49th & 50th Streets (entrance from 50th Street).
How to get: to the Empire State Building - "Herald Sq - 34 St" subway station, trains:  N   Q   R   B   D   F   M  ; to the Rockefeller Center - "Rockefeller Center - 47-50 St":  B   D   F   M 
Mark on the map: google-map (#3), standard map (#3).
Neighboring attractions: Museum of Modern Art, MoMA (0.25 miles / 400 m from Rockefeller Center), Grand Central Terminal (0.62 miles / 1 km), Times Square (0.62 miles / 1 km), Central Park (0.5 miles / 800 m from Rockefeller Center).
Spend time: usual time spent on the observatory is 45 minutes, but your time is unlimited. Buy your tickets in advance to avoid long waits.
Cost: you will find exact prices in the article below, admission to observatory is approx. $25, additional $15 to get to the 102nd floor.
Opening hours: 365 days a year. Empire: from 8am to 2am. Rockefeller: from 8am till midnight.

Skyscrapers, perhaps, are among the main landmarks of New York. A trip to New York would not be complete without visiting skyscrapers. We will tell about two skyscrapers. In fact, it’s hard to choose between them.

Empire State Building is the tallest building in New York, located in...

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Brooklyn Bridge

4. Brooklyn Bridge

Advice: a beautiful view opens up if you walk across the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan and even it is insistently recommended.
Location: it connects the southern part of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
How to get: from the Brooklyn side - "Brooklyn Bridge - High St" subway station, trains:  A   C  ; from the Manhattan side - "Brooklyn Bridge - Chambers St":  4   5   6   J   Z 
Mark on the map: google-map (#4), standard map (#4).
Neighboring attractions: National September 11 Memorial & Museum (0.4 miles / 700 m), Wall Street and Battery Park (0.6 miles / 1 km).
Spend time: walking across the Brooklyn Bridge takes less than an hour.

Brooklyn Bridge - is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It was opened in 1883 after 13 years of construction started by John Roebling who died in an accident and then the construction was completed under the direction of his son. It became the first bridge connecting boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn separated by the East River. Total length: 1.13 miles / 1825 m. Width: 85 ft / 26 m. It is divided into 3 parts: the side-roads are used by cars, and the middle part is used by pedestrians and bicycle and is placed on the raised platform. If you walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan you will enjoy a wonderful view of Manhattan itself, the Statue of Liberty, the Governor’s Island and...

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Central Park

5. Central Park, Metropolitan Museum, Hayden Planetarium

Advice: don’t start your visit to the Metropolitan Museum in the afternoon, you won’t have enough time to finish it. While walking along the park try to forget that you are a tourist, enjoy the scenery and fresh air.
Location: in Manhattan, between 59th and 110th Streets and the Fifth and the Eighth Avenues.
How to get: the Park occupies quite a large area. There are a lot of subway stations near it. Where to start? It’s up to you. Alternative options: from Planetarium near "Museum of Natural History - 81 St" subway station or from "Central Park North - 110 St" subway station to the south.
Mark on the map: detailed map of the Park, google-map (#5), standard map (#5).
Neighboring attractions: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (on the east border of the Park), Times Square (0.9 miles / 1.4 km to the south along Broadway from south-west corner of the Park), Rockefeller Center (0.5 miles / 800 m to the south).
Spend time: one day is not enough to explore the whole Park, spend at least half day in the Metropolitan Museum and the second half in the American Museum of Natural History. You will need at least 2 days.
Cost: admission ticket to the Metropolitan Museum costs $25. Admission ticket to the American Museum of Natural History and to Hayden Planetarium costs $20. Tickets are included into standard and big version of the city ticket.

Central Park (detailed map) is the world famous park occupying the area of 843 acres / 3.4 km² / 1.317 mi² (length: 2.5 miles / 4 km, width: 0.5 miles / 0.8 km). Construction was completed in 1873. Central Park is often called the "lungs or heart" of Manhattan. Walking along the park you can see the skyscrapers. They appear on the horizon behind the trees and look like the pieces of theatrical scenery set in the background for the admiration purpose. There is a small Zoo in the Park, some lakes, a lot of entertainment venues, monuments and...

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Bronx Zoo

6. Bronx Zoo and Botanic Garden

Advice: the Botanic Garden is closed on Mondays.
Location: in Bronx district in Bronx Park. Exact address of the zoo: 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460; of the garden: 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458.
How to get: to Bronx Zoo - "West Farms Sq" subway station, trains:  2   5 
Mark on the map: google-map (#6), map of the zoo: summer, winter.
Spend time: divide your day into halves: first go to the Zoo, then to the Garden, which closes one hour later, at 6pm.
Cost: admission to the Zoo is $23 and all-pass is $35 (full access to amusement rides and 4D Theater), admission fee to Botanic Garden is $20.

The Bronx Zoo and the Botanic Garden are located in the old Bronx Park. Usually the tourists visit both of them: first the Zoo and then the Garden, because it is one hour longer open. You can do...

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National September 11 Memorial & Museum

7. National September 11 Memorial & Museum

Advice: as it is still under construction all reservations must be done in advance through official website.
Location: on the spot of the World Trade Center site.
How to get: "Fulton St" subway station, trains:  2   3   4   5   A   C   J   Z  ; exit to Fulton St then to the west towards the tall skyscrapers of the new World Trade Center.
Mark on the map: google-map (#7), standard map (#7).
Neighboring attractions: Brooklyn Bridge (0.5 miles / 700 m), Battery Park (0.6 miles / 1 km).
Spend time: from half up to two hours.
Cost: more details.
Opening hours: from 10am to 8pm (in winter till 6pm).

Two years after the tragic events of September 11, 2001 it was decided to build National September 11 Memorial & Museum to commemorate the people killed in the terror attacks. The construction was started in 2006. The main sights here are...

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Broadway theaters

8. Broadway theaters

Advice: choose the performance beforehand (you can find the list of the best performances below), then look for the theater and its location.
Location: on Times Square located at Broadway and Seventh Avenue and extends from 42nd to 47th Streets.
How to get: "Times Sq - 42 St" subway station, trains:  1   2   3   7   N   Q   R   S  or "Port Authority - 42 St" for:  A   C   E  or "Bryant Park - 42 St" for:  B   D   F   M 
Mark on the map: google-map (#8), standard map (#8).
Neighboring attractions: Grand Central Terminal (0.5 miles / 900 m), Empire State Building (0.6 miles / 1 km), Rockefeller Center (0.6 miles / 1 km), Central Park (0.9 miles / 1.4 km).
Spend time: the performance itself can last two hours + the time wasted in the ticket line to get tickets at 50% off (one more hour).
Cost: $30 to $130 for the main performances, how to buy tickets at 50% off - read more.

NYC theaters can be divided into three types: Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway. If it is your first visit to New York Theater we advise you to...

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Flushing Meadows - Corona Park, 7 subway line

9. Flushing Meadows - Corona Park, 7 subway line

Advice: take the subway line 7 Flushing Local (not Express) to get to the park.
Location: in the center of Queens district, between Flushing bay and Meadow lake.
How to get: "Mets - Willets Point" subway station (old name: "Shea Stadium"), train:  7 
Mark on the map: detailed map of the park, google-map (#9).
Spend time: the whole day.
Cost: free admission, prices for the tickets to amusement rides are shown on the map.

Flushing Meadows Park is the second size park in NYC located in the center of Queens district. It attracts tourist due to a great number of sights: Queens Zoo, Botanic garden, Queens Museum of Art, Arthur Ashe Stadium (the largest in the world), Baseball Stadium "City Field", ...

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Excursions in New York by bus, boat, helicopter and other

10. Excursions in New York by bus, boat, helicopter and other

Advice: before your visit choose the excursion which interests you, booking them online will save your money. Please note that standard and big version of the city ticket include all main attractions.
Website: there are 3 websites for booking online all types of excursions. Links in this article lead to the site, which has best prices and discounts as updated in February 2025. Although you can view all three sites: GetYourGuide, CitySights, NewYorkSightseeing.com.

There are 4 main types of excursions in New York:

By bus:
The most popular tours are so called "Hop-On, Hop-Off" when you buy All Loops 48-or-72 Hour Ticket and can get off the bus at any bus stop you like (there are a lot of them) to explore the area. Then you get on any other bus belonging to the same company at the nearest bus stop. The tickets purchased online are valid within 1 year and cost less. So we recommend to buy them in advance...

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Hotel in New York City

Likely to sell out

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Price starting at 39 €
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The Standard

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Days Hotel Broadway

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