Throughout history, millions of people from around the world have flocked to the United States of America. Whether it’s to live or just visit. Arguably the most popular city to visit has been New York City. The city encapsulates 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. This combination of cultures provides a truly fantastic place for anyone to visit. But before visiting, it’s worth being well prepared with the Ultimate New York City Sightseeing Guide!
In my opinion, what makes New York so unique, is its size. The concrete jungle dominates the landscape, with skyscrapers looming above every sidewalk. Rumours that the city never sleeps are true. There is always something going on somewhere, and the bustling streets are rarely desolate. They (well, I) say that if New York doesn’t have it, it doesn’t exist.
This guide is going to cover the top attractions in NYC and the best ways of seeing them.
Travel Tips for First-Time Visitors
Before we explore the sights themselves, it’s important to first appreciate how we get around the city. New York is geographically huge, spanning five individual boroughs. These are Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. The city covers just over 300 square miles and getting around requires some consideration. After arriving into JFK airport, we took a taxi to our hotel in Times Square on Manhattan. 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 acceptable method to travel. Unless the heavens open torrentially, the subway is a sensible alternative.
We found it more than suitable to travel around by the subway. The distance between stations is longer than the London Underground, but 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 cost us $32 for 7 days. Individual journeys cost a fixed fare of $3 and we more than got our money back travelling about the city.
Unlike most of the cities in the UK, street planning in New York makes sense. The numbered streets dissected by avenues makes mapless navigation a breeze. Subway stations were spaced out, but subway maps found at all stations (subject to availability) 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.
CityPASS – Your New York Sightseeing Guide
Sticking to the theme of passes, along with our MetroCards we also got a CityPASS for value for money. It was whilst we were queuing for the Statue of Liberty thay they were advertised in the ticket booth. It took some quick mental arithmetic to establish it would be cheaper to pick up a pass and see it all. There are other providers of passes, but I can certainly recommend the CityPASS.
The main sights we wanted to see were 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. The CityPASS price per adult was only $126, but also included access to the Top of the Rock Observatory. This alone costs around $40 depending on when you go. Altogether that gave us a saving of $42.50 per person. For a family of 4, that’s a huge amount of money!
These savings can be great if you use all of the coupons in the pass. As a bonus, the Empire State Building coupon also grants access the same night that you visit in the day, from 8pm until they close for the night. However, if you only use less than 5 of the 6, you will have probably lost out!
Variety is the Spice of Life
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!
Top Attractions in New York City
With our passes in hand, it was time to explore the city. The main tourist attractions attract thousands of visitors annually, and for good reason. Whether it’s a scene from a film or an event cemented in human history, the city is steeped in culture. No New York City Sightseeing Guide could ever be complete. There are always new restaurants, shops and slants from which to experience the city. But there is certainly a guide of the top attractions!
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 the 86th floor is high enough to appreciate the views across New York.
Access to the building’s lobby is through the 34th St entrance. Smiling faces greet you as you are welcomed and directed towards the ticket queues. From here you head up the elevator and to the observation deck. The views from all cardinals across the city are immense. Time slows as you pace the deck, seeing as far as the eye can see. Aircraft coming and going from the city’s airports buzz overhead. Looking down, the people on the streets are ants, and helicopters give sightseeing tours below. Yes, below.
Tour Complete
When you are finished, it’s back onto the elevators. Like any good attraction, exit is via the gift shop, where you can pick up souveniers from your visit. Before leaving, you pass through 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, though extras can be added. There is the option of guided tours, a VIP service and access to the 102nd floor. 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. The story of how it was constructed and how it scales alongside other landmarks around the world is incredible. 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. More specifically 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.
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 are sold for specific time periods, so you may be waiting a short while to actually head up. During the wait, 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
This was the best attraction I visited during a week in New York. It starts by boarding Statue Cruises at Battery Park, a short 5 minute walk from the subway station. The cruise is a round-trip service to Liberty Island, Ellis Island and back to Battery Park. There are free audio tours available at each site, offering far more information than any New York City sightseeing guide!
If you plan on 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 with the audio tours. These tickets can then be upgraded for tours actually going up the Statue of Liberty. It is recommended to book well in advance, as these tours fill up very quickly!
9/11 Memorial & Museum
The most humbling of the sites visited in New York was the 9/11 memorial. The World Trade Centre’s twin towers were once the tallest buildings in the world, before the harrowing events of September 11th 2001. The site is now a museum, which brings thousands of tourists, from across the world, each year. Audio guides can be purchased for $7 each, or for free via their app. However you’ll need to bring your own headphones for the app’s guide. Robert De Niro narrates the stories of those affected as you walk through the museum. It is a sobering experience and an opportunity to learn more about one of the events that shook the world.
Admission was priced at $24 and expert-led tours were an additional $20. Other packages are available too, however we found that going around at your own pace using the audio guide worked. 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 New York sightseeing guide without at visit to the famous Central Park? The park covers 843 acres, making it only the 5th largest in New York. It would certainly be difficult (and tiring) to try to cover the whole park by foot! To truly appreciate the magnitude of the park, a guided tour is almost certainly recommended for tourists. On approaching the park, there are different organisers offering tours. The most popular options are either a horse and carriage or Pedicab.
Our tour cost us $120, which included having 2 cabs pedal us around the park. Our guides were originally raised in Greece, before they moved to New York to study finance. Their knowledge of the park, its history and representation in media was impeccable. We were shown to the scene of the snowball fight in Elf, and the remote-controlled boating lake from Stuart Little. There were opportunities to stop, take photographs and walk around. Such stops included the John Lennon Imagine memorial, the fountain from the Friends title sequence and proposal bridge. Our Greek guides were also fantastic at taking photos of the 4 of us, as you can see!
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 shop around. For self-cycle tours, pre-booking is preferred. These tours take you out on a group ride from a bike rental shop, which is another great way to see the park. Alternatively you can just pitch up and negotiate a price there and then.
Outside Manhattan
As beautiful, busy and breathtaking Manhattan is, New York City has more to offer. With the other four boroughs waiting to be explored, there are countless ways to approach it. One such option is through a coach tour from Manhattan to the surrounding boroughs.
New York City Boroughs Tour departs 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. Sitting back and relaxing on board, you are given commentary as you pass out of the central bustling streets of Manhattan. You are also afforded the opportunity to disembark and explore by foot. Colombia University was one of these stops – a $55k a year university for the brightest of young people! The tour then passed through Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
Our 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. It 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 visitors from the UK, as there was a French family, some from Mexico, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands! 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. The tour included a lunch stop 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.
Best time to visit New York City
If you’re about to visit New York, I envy you. If you hadn’t considered it yet, I also envy you as you. I expect you are now probably looking at flights and hotels. The city is busy and expensive in parts , but offers so much. There is so much culture and history, perfect for those wanting a ‘bit of everything’ in one place. As for the best time to visit – whenever! There’s always something going on. The sites in this New York sightseeing guide are there year-round, with some added bonuses in the festive season.
