Throughout history, millions of people from around the world have flocked to the United States of America, to live and visit. One of, if not the most popular city to visit has been New York City (in New York state, so for ease of this article I’ll just refer to the city as New York). The city resembles, for many, the values of Americans across the country; the core of which stands Liberty, Equality and Self-Government. New York’s history and diversity truly makes it a melting pot, as cultures from around the world come together to live and work, providing a truly fantastic place for anyone to visit.
In my opinion, what makes New York so unique, is it’s size (in both population and structures) and variety of sights to see. They say that if New York doesn’t have it, it doesn’t exist, and after having visited New York for the week before Christmas in 2018, I certainly see where they’re coming from!
This guide is going to cover the sights of New York and, in my honest opinion, the best ways of seeing them. Different people will have their own preferences about getting around the city, places to visit and tour providers to avoid, but I’ll be able to give you information based on my experiences in the Big Apple.
Getting Around
Before we explore the sights themselves, it’s important to first appreciate how we get around the city. Spread across 5 boroughs (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island) and covering just over 300 square miles, New York is a huge place, and getting around requires some consideration. We got a taxi from JFK airport in Brooklyn to our hotel in Times Square on Manhattan, but this would be the only (if any) time to get a taxi around New York. If you have deep pockets, enjoy sitting in traffic, or would like some time to sit and observe the world from inside a cab, then a taxi would be an okay method to travel. In my humble opinion it’s not worth it (unless the heavens open torrentially, as subway stations can have some distance between them).
We found it more than suitable to travel around by the subway. Although the distance between stations is longer than what we are used to from the London Underground, it is still the fastest way to get around the city and the best value. An unlimited pass (MetroCard) for the subway and local bus travel (we didn’t use the buses as, similarly to the taxis, we wouldn’t have got far in Manhattan traffic) came to $32 for 7 days, which provided best value for money. Individual journeys cost a fixed fare of $3 and we more than got our money back travelling about the city.
With the ease of street navigation in New York (numbered streets dissected by avenues, not too tough to master) the subway stations were spaced out, but subway maps found at all stations (subject to availability) and online make getting about much easier than it could have been! MetroCards can be picked up at the ticket machines in the subway stations, or on one of the buses in the city.
We didn’t venture out to Staten Island, so can’t comment on the water travel around the island Manhattan. We used Statue Cruises for a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but that will be covered later.
New York CityPASS
Sticking to the theme of passes, along with our $32 MetroCards we also got a CityPASS for value for money. It was whilst we were queuing for the Statue of Liberty they were advertised in the ticket booth, and after some mental arithmetic, it worked out to save more money for us considering our plan. There are other providers of passes, but I can certainly recommend the CityPASS.
So our plan for the week consisted of the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, American Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 9/11 Museum. Quite a lot to cover, and in reality 8 days just wasn’t enough time.
The cost of hitting up all of those sights individually would have cost $128.50 per adult and the CityPASS price per adult was only $126, but also included access to the Top of the Rock Observatory (up the Rockefeller Center) which costs around $40 depending on when you go. So altogether, that gives us a saving of $42.50 per person and for a family of 4, that’s a huge amount of money saved! In the end, due to queues and other tours we ended up going on during the week, we didn’t have time for the American Museum of Natural History, but we still made savings of $9.50 each; every little helps!
Although the savings can be great if you use all of the coupons in the pass (Empire State Building coupon also grants access the same night that you visit in the day, from 8pm until they close for the night – a lovely little bonus!) if you use less than 5 of the 6, you will have probably lost out!
The beauty of the CityPASS is also that you have some choice. The official list of what’s included is:
- The Empire State Building
- American Museum of Natural History
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Top of the Rock Observation Deck OR Guggenheim Museum
- Ferry Access to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island OR Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum OR Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
As you can see, there is plenty of choice for the uncertain traveller!
CityPASS Sights
So having covered off the range of sights to see, I could go into detail on every one, but that would leave little to actually get to explore in the city. Instead I’ll give a whistle-stop tour of the sights on the CityPASS (that I can actually talk about from experience) before moving on to some of the other ways to see New York.
Empire State Building
The 102-storey, world renown skyscraper stands 1,454 ft (including its antenna height) above Manhattan, with spectacular views in every direction. You can purchase tickets to the 86th floor observation deck, or for a premium you can go all the way to the 102nd floor. Now this is totally down to personal preference, however we found that the 86th floor (what’s included with the CityPASS) was more than high enough to appreciate the views across New York.
View from the 86th floor observation deck. 
As seen in the film Elf.
From entering the building’s lobby through the 34th St entrance, you are directed by the friendly staff towards the ticket queues, up the elevator and to the observation deck. When you are finished you are showed down, via the gift shop, and into the foyer which is visible in many films, such as Elf. Prices to go up start from $38 for a standard pass to the 86th floor, and many extras can be added (such as guided tours, VIP service and access to the 102nd floor), but we found that once you’re up, it’s pretty self-explanatory. If you take the time to read the Dare to Dream exhibit on the 80th floor, before getting to the observation deck, you’ll cover most of the history of the building, how it was constructed and how it scales alongside other landmarks around the world. One of the icons on New York and, for your first visit to the city, definitely worth visiting.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ranked as the top museum in the world by TripAdvisor, the MET is located on the Eastern edge of Central Park on 5th Ave, between 80th and 84th St. Tickets are free for New York State residents and $25 for adult general admission. There is also the option to arrange guided tours which, if you have the time and money, would definitely be worthwhile as the site is enormous and you learn a lot more about the exhibits this way. We went around ourselves without any guide, and that too was pleasant as you are able to visit what areas you particularly want to at your own pace. You certainly need a full day for the museum; there are artefacts and artwork dating from the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, through the Medieval era and to contemporary modern art, with everything in between! Famous paintings such as Van Gogh’s self-portrait in a straw hat are on display here, and even for someone who isn’t an art fanatic, I found the day really interesting and worth the time.
Outside the MET on 5th Ave. 
Van Gogh invented the Selfie…
Top of the Rock Observation Deck
As well as appreciating the Rockefeller Center itself, with the ice skating rink and famous Christmas tree on show, we also took advantage of our CityPASS ticket for entry to the Top of the Rock. Tickets for this are sold for a time period, and as you wait for your time, it is worth wondering around the shopping facilities and cafés; they don’t let you queue until the time stated on your ticket! Once through and up the elevators, there are 3 different viewing platforms. The lower 2 have high panes of glass which, although they still provide fantastic panoramic views, can provide glare on photographs (particularly using flash at night). A small staircase leads up to the very top, just above the middle viewing platform, where you can literally see 360º around the New York city skyline, including great views of the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center.
Tickets for entry to the observation deck cost $30-36, depending on when you visit. VIP tickets grant you fastback access up and down for an extra $20, which I hardly think is worth it. Other upgrades include the option to visit during the day and night, within 24 hours. We went up in the evening after the sun had set, and the views over the night sky of New York were fantastic. An honest review of this would say that if you’ve done the Empire State Building (ESB) during the day/night, Top of the Rock isn’t much different, unless you particularly want views of the ESB itself and Central Park.
Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island
Probably the best attraction we visited during the week. You board the Statue Cruises at Battery Park (a short 5 min walk from the Battery Park/South Ferry subway station) which run a round-trip service to Liberty Island for the Statue of Liberty, then to Ellis Island and back to Battery Park. Free audio tours are available at each site and although we only took the tour for Ellis Island, I would highly recommend picking them up. They give you so much more information about the sites than you would read, however if taking both tours, I would recommend a full day allocated for this visit. Tickets cost $18.50 just for the ferry access to the islands (and the audio tours) however these can be upgraded for tours actually going up the Statue of Liberty. These tours fill up very quickly so it is suggested to book well in advance for these.
Battery Park. 
On the short walk around the foot of the Statue of Liberty. 
Inside the museum on Ellis Island.
9/11 Memorial & Museum
The most humbling of the sites visited and certainly one I didn’t feel comfortable walking around taking lots of photos of! At the site of the once tallest buildings in the world, the museum and memorial site of the World Trade Center brings thousands upon thousands of tourists, from across the world, to the site each year. Audio guides can be purchased for $7 each, however if you bring headphones with you, there is a free mobile app you can download which is exactly the same. The audio guide is certainly worth it and Robert De Niro (yes, him) does a great job of commentating throughout the museum.
Entry is reasonably priced at $24 for admission and expert-led tours can be purchased for an additional $20. Other packages are available too, however we found that going around at your own pace using the audio guide was more than suitable. The whole museum is dedicated to the events on 9/11, as well as the lesser known attack on February 26th 1993, where a bomb was set off in the car park below the North Tower. A truly interesting day and many come away feeling very emotional.
Central Park
What’s a visit to New York without at least visiting the famous Central Park? The park covers 843 acres, making it only the 5th largest in New York. That being said, it would certainly be difficult (and tiring) to try to cover the whole park by foot. To truly appreciate the magnitude of the park, which has been used countless times for films from Elf to Stuart Little, a guided tour is almost certainly recommended for tourists. On approaching the park, there are different organisers offering tours, the most popular being either horse and carriage trips around the park or a tour by Pedicab. We took the second option.
Our tour cost us $120 for the 4 of us, and this included having 2 cabs pedal us around the park. The 2 men, both from Greece and in the city studying finance, were extremely knowledgeable of the park, its history and representation in media. We stopped at several sites for photographs and a little walk around, including the John Lennon Imagine memorial, the fountain from the Friends title sequence and proposal bridge. They were also fantastic at taking photos of the 4 of us, as you can see!
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Manhattan Skyline. -
With the ‘Ghostbusters building’ behind. -
At the end of the tour, all wrapped up in the cold sun of New York.
Our tour concluded at the Christmas market on the South-West corner of the park, 2 hours later. Many other companies offer a range of other tours for various prices, so it is best to either pre-book a certain time (self-cycle tours prefer this option, where you meet at a bike rental shop and go out as a group with a guide) or just pitch up and negotiate a price there and then.
Outside Manhattan
As beautiful, busy and breathtaking Manhattan is, we couldn’t spend all of our time around the island without exploring further afield. We spent a lot of time researching tours that went from New York around the boroughs and finally settled on Amigo Tours.
The tour was the New York City Boroughs Tour which departed from a hotel just outside Grand Central Station at 8:30am, returning just after 3:00pm. The day was packed full of information and stops around all of New York outside of Manhattan. Stops included the Imagine memorial in Central Park, Colombia University (a $55k a year university!), then through Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. The tour was led by ‘Alex’, a gentleman from Argentina who had been delivering tours for decades; his vast knowledge of the city and its peoples was remarkable! The tour included passing through the Korean, Indian and Jewish communities in New York, which was mind-boggling to see such difference in culture within blocks of each other! Alex’s tour catered for the range of audiences; we were the only party from the UK, as there was a French family, some from Mexico, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands to name but a few! Alex spoke fluently between English and Spanish throughout, which in my opinion was a fantastic addition.
Costing just $55 each for an adult, the tour offered fantastic value for money, with the lunch stop coming on Coney Island, where we were able to get out and walk along the beach looking over to the Manhattan skyline. All tolls were included in the price, so there were no hidden charges. A highly recommended tour for anyone visiting New York.
So what are you waiting for?
That sums up my first post on SGB Travels! If you’re about to visit New York, I envy you. If you hadn’t considered it yet, I also envy you as you are now probably looking at flights and hotels (if I’ve inspired you enough). The city is busy and expensive (in places) but has such a vast range of sights, cultures and so much history that anyone who wants to see a ‘bit of everything’ in one place, certainly must visit!
N.B. Visiting at Christmas? Stay tuned for my Christmas in New York post which should be coming out mid-March (fantastic timing, I know).