10 BEST Places to Visit in New York City

Central Park

Central Park is an urban park in New York City. It is located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city by area, covering 843 acres (341 ha). It is the most visited urban park in the United States with an estimated 38 million visitors annually, and is the most filmed location in the world.

Central Park is a large public park in Manhattan in New York City. Central Park has about 35,000,000 visitors every year. It is the most visited city park in the United States. The park contains lakes, a castle, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Central Park Zoo. The park has been shown in many movies and television programs.

In 1855, New York City had four times as many people as in 1821. The city grew bigger, and there were fewer parks in Lower Manhattan. A park was being planned for Upper Manhattan. Two years before, in 1853, the New York state government gave over an 700-acre (280 ha) area, from 59th to 106th Streets, to build the Park. The land alone cost more than US$5 million.

The park first opened in 1857. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan. Construction began in the same year and was finished in 1873. Many rocks, soil, and plants were put in the park. People living in the park were forced to move out. Later, the park was made larger.

In the 1930s, because people had not taken care of the park, it was cleaned up and changed by Robert Moses. By the 1960s, the park became a bad place to go again, so in the 1980s and 1990s, the Central Park Conservancy was made. The Central Park Conservancy cleaned up Central Park from the 1980s through the 2000s.

Central Park has been mentioned in thousands of books, movies, and TV shows. In the U.S. TV show Friends (1994-2004), the coffee shop where the characters often gathered was named “Central Perk” as a pun on the term “coffee percolator” (a type of pot used to brew coffee.

The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is the World’s Most Famous Building. It rises 1,454 feet from ground to antenna & features the only 360 degree open-air vantage point of Midtown Manhattan. The 86th & 102nd Floor Observatories are open daily from 11am-11pm. On a clear day you can see up to 6 states. The brand-new 2nd floor museum (included in all ticket options) offers guests 10,000 sq. ft. of interactive exhibits that invite visitors on a journey

beginning from the building’s construction to its current place in pop culture. The 102^nd features floor-to-ceiling windows and a glass elevator with sound & light experience. It is the jewel of NYC. All signage, audio & exhibits in the building are available in 9 languages. We offer free Wi-Fi. The 34th St Lobby entrance features a grand staircase with a 2-story architectural model of the bldg & a high-tech LED exhibit that celebrates lighting ceremonies performed by famous, celebrity guests. Express guests receive red carpet VIP treatment.

The Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor within New York City, in the United States. The copper statue, a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel . The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986.

The statue is a figure of Libertas, a robed Roman liberty goddess. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. A broken shackle and chain lie at her feet as she walks forward, commemorating the recent national abolition of slavery. After its dedication, the statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea.

Bartholdi was inspired by a French law professor and politician, Édouard René de Laboulaye, who is said to have commented in 1865 that any monument raised to U.S. independence would properly be a joint project of the French and U.S. peoples. The Franco-Prussian War delayed progress until 1875, when Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the U.S. provide the site and build the pedestal. Bartholdi completed the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces

were exhibited for publicity at international expositions.

The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Madison Square Park in Manhattan from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened by lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer, of the New York World, started a drive for donations to finish the project and attracted more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was built in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe’s Island. The statue’s completion was marked by New York’s first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

At New York City’s most visited museum and attraction, you will experience over 5,000 years of art from around the world. The Met is for anyone as a source of inspiration, insight and understanding. You can learn, escape, play, dream, discover, connect.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially “the Met”,[a] is the largest art museum in the United States. With 6,479,548 visitors to its three locations in 2019, it was the fourth most visited art museum in the world. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 Fifth Avenue, along the Museum Mile on the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, is by area one of the world’s largest art galleries. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains an extensive collection of art, architecture, and artifacts from medieval Europe. On March 18, 2016, the museum opened the Met Breuer museum along Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side; it extends the museum’s modern and

contemporary art program.

Rockefeller Center & Top of the Rock Observation Deck

Top of the Rock Observation Deck, the newly opened, 3-tiered observation deck on the 67th, 69th and 70th floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, is New York City’s most amazing attraction! The unforgettable experience includes a panoramic 360-degree, unobstructed view from the 70th floor observatory, 850 feet in the sky! Hours of Operation: 8:00 AM – Midnight, last elevator goes up at 11:00 PM. Main entrance is located on 50th Street between 5th & 6th Avenues.

Times Square

Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment center, and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Brightly lit by numerous billboards and advertisements, it stretches from West 42nd to West 47th Streets, and is sometimes referred to as “the Crossroads of the World”, “the Center of the Universe”, “the heart of the Great White Way”, and “the heart of the world”. One of the world’s busiest pedestrian areas, it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District and a major center of the world’s entertainment industry. Times Square is one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of them tourists, while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days.

High Line

An exciting new attraction in New York City, the High Line is a former rail

line that has been transformed into an urban walking trail above the city streets. This unique linear public park has been planted with a variety of plants and trees, many of which are native species. In spring many of these come into bloom. The park is lined with glass railings in most areas, giving it a natural feel, while still offering outstanding views of the city.

This oasis on Manhattan’s West Side runs from Gansevoort Street at the south end (just south of West 13th Street) to West 34th Street at the north end, running parallel to 10th Ave most of the way. You can access it at various points along the route, some of which offer stair access only, and others with elevator access.

Although the High Line is only about two to three stories above street level, the views of the city’s architecture and the lookouts over the streets offer a

whole new perspective. Along the route are art installations, benches, and near the south end is a sitting area with bleacher-style seating and a glass wall looking out onto the city. The trail is heavily used, and on weekends it can be extremely busy, but without the surrounding traffic, it’s still a peaceful retreat.

You’ll find other interesting places to visit just off the High Line. The south section runs through the Meatpacking District, with plenty of trendy restaurants and fine dining. The southernmost access point is adjacent to the Whitney Museum of American Art, which is also worth a visit. If you hop off the High Line at the 16th Street access (elevator access), it’s just a short stroll to the popular Chelsea Market, located in a former Nabisco factory, where you’ll find restaurants and unique shops.

Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge, with its Gothic-shaped arches and suspension cables, is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks and has inspired generations of poets, songwriters, and painters. This historic bridge, spanning the East River from Manhattan to Brooklyn, was completed in 1883 and was the world’s first steel suspension bridge. You can see it from many of the ferries, or the east side of Manhattan, but the best way to experience this icon is to take an hour and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

A wood plank walkway, only open to pedestrians and cyclists, runs above the lanes of traffic. If you are not up for walking the whole distance, at least go as far as the first pillar, where there is a viewing platform, and you can see one of the granite towers up close.

From the bridge are beautiful views over Manhattan, the East River, and beyond to the Statue of Liberty. Biking over the bridge is another option, but pedestrian traffic is often very heavy, and cycling can be slow and challenging on busy days. Be aware that the access to the bridge begins well back from the water’s edge.

The Frick Collection

The Frick Collection is an art museum in the Henry Clay Frick House on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City. It is at 1 East 70th Street,

located at the northeast corner with Fifth Avenue. For ambience, the Frick Collection tops the list when it comes to New York City museums. Housed in an early 1900s mansion, the building and the original collection were donated by Henry Clay Frick, who had the mansion built to display his art collection.

The artwork, which includes a mix of paintings, porcelain, and furniture, is beautifully laid out in sixteen galleries. On display are works by Monet, Rembrandt, Bellini, El Greco, and many other famous artists. The collections are not laid out according to period, artist, or country, but in a more random fashion designed for enjoyment. Rooms surround a beautiful covered Garden Court, with tropical plants and a central pond.

One World Observatory

At the top of the newly constructed One World Trade Center building, One World Observatory is an observation deck offering outstanding views from floors 100, 101, and 102, 1,776 feet above the city. The elevator to the top is part of the attraction. As you ascend, the surrounding panels show New York as it transformed over the years, from a rural landscape to the metropolis you

see today.

This glass building, which can be seen from all over the city, is a unique structure on the Manhattan skyline, with angles that give it a very distinct appearance. If you stand near the base and look straight up, the tower appears pyramidal.

If you want to go up and see the view, you can buy a NYC One World Observatory Skip-the-Line Ticket to save you some time, but note, you will still need to clear security.