This list of the best places to visit in New York It will help you organize your trip to this iconic city, without missing anything important.
Fascinating, the city that never sleeps, leaves you speechless from the first step you take on its smoking asphalt and you look up at its imposing skyscrapers to each one taller.
Although there is no set time to enjoy everything that New York offers, in our experience we believe that for the first time you have between 7 and 10 days, it allows you to get a general idea although it is important to know that New York is an addictive city And we are sure you will want to return many more times.
In addition to visiting its most emblematic points such as Times Square, the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty, we recommend you to enjoy international cuisine and its delicious burgers, tour more authentic neighborhoods such as Harlem or Queens, climb the incredible viewpoints, visit Free museums, stroll through Central Park, go shopping on Grand Avenue, see some Brodway show and above all, feel like a New Yorker.
Any time is perfect to visit New York, although we would opt for spring or autumn with the beautiful colors of the parks or Christmas, when the city looks with its best decoration.
Based on the two times we visited this impressive city, the first on an 11-day trip to New York and the second living a month and a half in an apartment, during which we wrote this guide to travel tips New York and the New York guide, we have made this list of 20 essential places to visit in New York. We start!
1. Times Square
Times Square is the heart and the more touristy place to visit in New York. Everyone who visited this city went through this crossroads several times, either day or night, to be fascinated with its advertising signs and neon lights.
To make the best photos of this place we recommend you to climb the red stairs of the TKTS, from where you will get a fantastic panorama of all Times Square. This site is also perfect for acquiring tickets to the same-day Broadway shows, with incredible discounts.
If you want to enjoy the atmosphere, a good option is to have a long coffee and sit in one of their chairs and red tables, just to watch life go by. If we also tell you that it is one of the things to do for free in New York, the plan is even more delicious, right?
Times Square, one of the essential places to visit in New York
2. Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge, built in 1883, connects the island of Manhattan with the Brooklyn neighborhood, and is the most photogenic and cinematic bridge to see in New York.
Crossing the East River at sunset along the almost 2 kilometers of this suspension bridge is also one of the best experiences you can have in this city. Also from several points you can take some of the best photos of New York, both while crossing the bridge, and later, in Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the Empire Fulton Ferry Park, two spectacular viewpoints from where you will have unique perspectives of the bridge from the part of Brooklyn
When crossing, you just have to be careful to walk along the pedestrian-enabled lane and not invade the bike, since you can cause an accident.
We recommend approaching the bridge day and night, to see it illuminated. A comfortable and interesting way to see the best illuminated places in the city, such as this bridge or Times Square is to book this night tour with a guide in Spanish.
Brooklyn bridge
3. Central Park
Relaxing, walking, picnicking or playing sports are just some of the many things you can do in Central Park, the best place to disconnect from the stressful and noisy times New York.
This park is the green lung of Manhattan and is immense, full of lakes, viewpoints, statues and gardens, so it is advisable to take your time to complete this list of places to see in Central Park essential. We recommend visiting it on a Sunday, which is when there is more atmosphere and New Yorkers take the opportunity to play sports like baseball or have a family picnic. Another good option to explore this 4-kilometer-long park is to rent a bike on your own or do this bike tour with a guide in Spanish, so you don't miss out on any interesting points.
Central Park has also been the scene of numerous films such as "Home alone 2", "When Harry Found Sally" or "Breakfast with diamonds" You can remember booking this cinematic tour in Spanish through the park.
Central Park, another of the essential places to visit in New York
4. Top of the Rock
The Top of the Rock, located in the Rockefeller Center building complex, is our favorite viewpoint to visit in New York.
Located between the 67th and 70th floors of the Comcast skyscraper, this viewpoint has stunning panoramic views of Manhattan where the Empire State Building stands out on one side and Central Park on the other.
Admission is included if you have any of the city's tourist cards, which allow you to save time and money, such as the New York Explorer Pass, the CityPASS or the New York Pass. We will talk about all of them in the next point.
If you do not have a card, another good alternative to skip the lines is to book this ticket in advance.
You have to keep in mind that even if you have the entrance you have to go before booking the time since otherwise, you can run out of places, especially in busy hours such as sunset, the moment that according to our experience, is one of the best of the day We went an hour before sunset to see the change of colors, the sunset and New York at night.
If you come for Christmas, the famous Ice Skating Rink and the great Christmas Tree are mounted in the Rockefeller Center square.
Visiting hours: every day from 8 am to midnight (last access at 11:15 pm).
Top of the Rock
Save money in New York
There are several cards that allow you to enjoy discounts and save time by skipping the lines of tourist attractions to visit in New York more important.
- Book the New York Explorer Pass that allows you to enter 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 of the main attractions with great flexibility and you can choose the tickets from the 58 available attractions, until the last minute.
You can find more information in this post about the New York Explorer Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices. - Book the CityPass that allows you to enter 6 of the most visited attractions in New York saving you up to 43% on the price of tickets.
Extended information in this post about the New York CityPASS: how it works, what it includes and prices. - Book the New York Pass that allows you free access to more than 100 attractions to see in New York, being able to choose 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 or 10 days.
You can find more information in this post about the New York Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices. - Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
5. New York Museums
Another of the best things to do in New York is to visit one of its fantastic museums, most of them free but with a suggested price, quite reasonable.
Our favorite museums to visit in New York are:
- Museum of Natural History: Located among the best science museums in the world, it stands out for the excellent collection of dinosaur reproductions and that of the blue whale. Open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
- Metropolitan Museum (MET): It is one of the most important art museums in the world with works by Monet, Cézanne or Rembrandt, although its most popular collections are those of Egypt and the Roman. Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 9 p.m. You can enter with any of the tourist cards or reserve this ticket without queues in advance.
- Moma: It is the most important modern art museum in the world with masterpieces by Picasso, Dalí, Van Gogh, Pollock and Andy Warhol. Open from Saturday to Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Fridays it closes at 8pm and it's free the last 4 hours.
For more information you can consult this post about the best museums in New York.
Museum of Natural History
6. Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue is the most famous and commercial street to visit New York. This great avenue, which crosses the city from north to south, is full of shops, some luxurious like Tiffany & Co, known for the scene of "Breakfast with diamonds" and other more popular ones like the Apple store or Disney. These more exclusive stores are concentrated between 34th Street and 59th Street, which is the section that we recommend traveling even if only to see the shop windows.
Among the most prominent buildings on Fifth Avenue in addition to the Plaza Hotel and the Trump Tower, is St. Patrick's Cathedral, located just in front of the Rockefeller Center and considered the largest neo-Gothic Catholic church in North America. It is worth entering inside this white marble church to see its huge organs and the sculpture of the Pieta. The best photo of this building, you will make from the Atlas sculpture of Rockefeller Center, where you can see the architectural contrast of the Cathedral with the skyscrapers that surround it.
An interesting way to know the history of this avenue and other areas of the city is to book this recommended tour of Upper and Lower Manhattan with a guide in Spanish.
Visiting hours of the cathedral: every day from 7 am to 8 pm.
Sant Patricio Cathedral, one of the essential places to visit in New York
7. Empire State Building
The Empire State Buiding is the most famous skyscraper in the world besides being for many years, the tallest building on the planet, and another one of the most essential places to see in New York.
This building of 102 floors and a height of 381 meters, has two of the best viewpoints in New York, one on the 86th floor and one on the 102, both with fantastic views of Manhattan.
To avoid the long queues that form in the access, especially at the rush hour of the sunset, we recommend you book this ticket in advance.
Another option is to have one of the tourist cards in which the ticket is included.
Visiting hours: every day from 8 am to 2 am.
New York from the Empire State Building
8. Harlem neighborhood, one of the best places to visit in New York
Crossing Central Park you will reach the Harlem neighborhood, a multicultural neighborhood that has become over the years another of the best places to visit in New York.
With a large African-American community and a somewhat tumultuous history, the tourist area of the neighborhood is very quiet and safe today, so you can walk quietly through it without any problem. In addition to completing this list of the best things to see and do in Harlem, we recommend you listen to a live jazz concert at some venue with tradition and attend a Gospel mass in one of its many churches. Don't forget to try southern food like fried chicken with waffles at the recommended Amy Ruth's and Sylvia's Restaurant.
An interesting way to attend a gospel mass and learn about the history of this neighborhood is to book this excursion with a guide in Spanish or this offer that also includes the tour of contrasts, both are among the best tours and excursions in New York.
Harlem, one of the places to visit in New York
Our recommended hotel in New York
Our recommended accommodation in the city is the Holiday Inn Times Square, located a few minutes walk from Times Square. Also if you take one of the rooms on the high floors, you have incredible views of the Empire State from the bed.
For more information you can consult this post about the best neighborhoods and hotels to stay in New York.
9. Broadway
Broadway, with almost 33 kilometers, is the longest and most famous street next to Fifth Avenue, which to see in New York. The best known part is the one that crosses Times Square, where the great majority of theaters are concentrated in which many Hollywood actors began their career and in which some of them still act.
Musicals are his star show and one of the things to book in New York, especially if you want to ensure a good seat and on many occasions, take advantage of good deals. The most famous are: The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Blue Man Group, Frozen, Wicked, Chicago, and Aladdin, which was what we saw and that left us impressed, so we can do nothing but recommend it .
Broadway Theater
10. Soho from New York
SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street", It's one of the most charming neighborhoods to see in New York.
This area, where former freed slaves lived, has become over the years one of the most popular neighborhoods in the city where art galleries, charming shops, restaurants and coffee shops last Design and cast iron lofts at a gold price.
Thanks to its ancient architecture of low-rise buildings of colorful facades and fire-fighting stairs on the outside, without any skyscrapers nearby, it is widely used for the setting of movies and television series.
During our stay in the city it was one of our favorite neighborhoods and we came several times to stroll through streets such as Spring Street, Prince Street or Broadway and look for some original gift.
Soho, another place to see in New York
11. Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is one of the best known monuments in the world and the most famous to visit in New York.
This 46-meter-high statue, converted into an icon of freedom and located on a small island south of Manhattan, was a gift from the French in 1886 to commemorate the centenary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.
You get the best views of the statue from the Hudson River with one of the many cruises that surround it or with the free ferry that goes to Staten Island and leaves Whitehall Terminal.
To visit the statue you have to arrive by subway to Battery Park, where the departure dock of the boats that bring you to the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island is located, an island that was the gateway for millions of immigrants and that It has an interesting museum.
Before starting the visit, you have to take into account that it is one of the most visited attractions in the city and it is advisable to arrive at the pier early or book this tour through the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in advance.
If in addition to seeing the statue from the island you want to climb the crown, you have to reserve this ticket with time, as they usually sell out quickly.
Other good and romantic options to see the statue from the river are to book this cruise in New York at night that includes dinner or this boat ride at sunset.
Statue of Liberty
12. Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building, originally Fuller Building, is one of the most iconic buildings to see in New York. Located next to Madison Square Park, this 97-meter-old centenary building has an architecture that will not leave you indifferent with its triangular shape and with an end of only 2 meters wide. Also scene of scenes from movies like Spiderman or Armageddon, New Yorkers baptized him as "the flatiron", due to the resemblance to the plates of the time.
In addition to taking several photos from different perspectives, this area is also a good place to eat since you have right next to Eataly, an Italian shopping center, full of quality products and restaurants.
Flatiron building
13. 11S area of New York
The area of the former World Trade Center building complex with its two famous Twin Towers, has become a tribute to the victims of the savage attacks of September 11, 2001 that killed more than 3,000 people, 2,753 in this place.
In the 9/11 Memorial, located right in the place occupied by the towers, you will find two great fountains in which the names of the deceased can be registered, as well as a tree that survived the fall of the towers.
In the Museum of 11S you can see objects of the victims, material that was recovered from the towers, parts of the planes, testimonies of survivors, among many other details and objects, as well as explanations.
Although we understand that it is an overwhelming place, we believe that it is one of the places to visit in New York more essential, not to forget history and pay tribute to the victims.
If you do not have a tourist card in which the ticket is included, you can save yourself the longest line by booking this ticket in advance.
In the place occupied by the twin towers, in addition to the monuments and the museum, the tallest building in the city, the One World Trade Center, has been built.
On the 100, 101 and 102 floors of this skyscraper is the One World Observatory, a 360-degree panoramic viewpoint with incredible views of the island of Manhattan and the bay. On our last trip we went up to this viewpoint and we can confirm that it is very worthwhile.
To go up to the viewpoint it is advisable to reserve this ticket without queues in advance to avoid running out of space.
To get to this area there is nothing better than taking the subway to The Oculus, a futuristic station and shopping center designed by the Spanish Santiago Calatrava.
Museum hours: every day from 9am to 8pm; Friday and Saturday closes at 9pm.
Viewpoint hours: every day from 8am to 9pm.
11S Memorial
Book the best rated Spanish tours and excursions in New York by travelers
- New York Helicopter Tour
- Excursion to Washington DC
- Excursion to Niagara Falls
- Excursion to Philadelphia and the Amish region
- Boston excursion- Many more excursions and tours in / from New York here
14. Queens in New York
Queens is not the most touristic neighborhood or district to see in New York, but it is worth spending some time if you want to know one of the essences that characterize this city, multiculturalism.
In this neighborhood you can see at a glance how the inhabitants of each area of the neighborhood are from a different area of the world. In addition the neighborhood is full of good restaurant and shops of all these nationalities, so that, in addition to walking, it can be a perfect destination in which to taste good gastronomy and do some shopping. Some of the areas to visit in Queens are the neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, Rockaway Beach, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Jamaica and Astoria.
If you don't feel like getting here by subway on your own, one of the best ways to get an idea of this neighborhood is to book the famous New York Contrast Tour or this VIP Contrast tour that takes place in a minibus with a maximum of 15 people, in which in addition to knowing Queens with a guide in Spanish, you will approach the Bronx.
After doing this tour on our first trip we believe it is the best way to get to know the other less touristy side of the city, learning its history and more curious anecdotes. We recommend booking the tour in advance as it is the most sold in New York in Spanish.
Queens neighborhood, one of the essential places to visit in New York
15. Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, a mythical stadium where the NBA New York Knicks team and the New York Rangers ice hockey team play, is another of the places to see in New York essential.
To visit this five-story stadium and a capacity of more than 20,000 people, you can buy a ticket to watch a game or book this guided tour in Spanish that will take you through the most interesting places of this emblematic sports hall.
If you prefer to watch a game (option we recommend) and have good seats, it is best to book tickets in advance, especially in games with a good opponent. Just to see the show that is formed at the beginning and in the dead times is worth the money spent and that in the end, although you are not a big fan of this sport, the experience in general, we assure you that you will not forget it. In addition, with a little luck you can always see a famous actor or singer watching the game in the main stands.
Madison Square Garden
16. The Vessel
The Vessel, a futuristic monument full of stairs and shaped like a vessel, is the New gem to visit in New York.
Located in the new neighborhood of Hudson Yards, this work of art of 45 meters high and 2500 steps, has become the main tourist attraction of this little known area so far. In addition to climbing many stairs, it has several observation platforms to regain strength and enjoy the views.
Although The Vessel is free you have to book the ticket in advance from this page.
In addition to seeing this sculpture, in this neighborhood you can try good food and quality Spanish product in the Little Spain Market, of the renowned chefs José Andrés and the Adrià brothers, waiting for the opening of the impressive new Vertigo viewpoint in 2020.
A few meters from The Vessel, is the end of the two-kilometer walk of the High Line, a park built on an old elevated railway line and which is another of the things you should do in New York. There are several points with good views of the city and it is very nice to sit down to have a picnic in one of its areas enabled for it.
You can also take advantage of the visit to the High Line to get closer to Chelsea Market, a beautiful covered market with very good restaurants and shops with quality products.
The Vessel
17. Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal, the city's main train station, is another of the architectural wonders to see in New York. With one of the most beautiful halls in the world, which has been the scene of some scenes of famous Hollywood movies like "With death on his heels" or "Superman", this station of more than 100 years will make you fall in love.
Some of its most prominent elements are the emblematic clock located in the central part and surrounded by screens with the paths of each train, the three large windows, the vault of the main hall and the marble floors.
On the ground floor you will find all kinds of fast food restaurants like Shake Shack and coffee shops like Magnolia Bakery.
Grand Central Terminal, one of the places to see in New York that you can't miss
18. Public Library
Bryant Park is one of the prettier parks to visit New York and also one of the most central. On one side of this green space full of atmosphere in summer, is the New York Public Library and, as it could not be otherwise, it is worthy of a silent visit. Its beautiful Astor Hall welcomes us with white marble walls, ceilings and stairs and the Rose Main Reading Room, the main reading room that has been featured in numerous films, surrounded by oak shelves, tables and chairs, is one of those places you can't miss and where you would stay hours and hours.
Before leaving, do not forget to stop by their store, one of our favorites in the city, next to the MOMA store.
Visiting hours: every day from 10am to 6pm.
Public Library
19. Wall Street
In the area of the financial district is Wall Street, one of the most tourist and well-known streets to see in New York. This area includes the La Bolsa building, the Federal Reserve and a little farther away from the famous Wall Street bull or Charging Bull, which they say you should play to bring you good luck. During the midday hours of the working days, you will see some dressed brokers rushing out of the buildings to get a hot dog and eat it while they chat in small groups. And it must be borne in mind that the large amount of money that moves there does not rest.
Close to Wall Street is the famous Century 21, one of the best outlets in New York with incredible discounts on major brands.
One of the best ways to have a good first contact with this endless city and know its history is to book a free tour of New York for free! or this private tour, both with a guide in Spanish and with the meeting point located in this area.
Wall street
20. Other neighborhoods in New York
Besides neighborhoods to visit in New York mentioned in previous points, we leave you other of our favorites:
- Bushwick: a neighborhood in Brooklyn where the best urban art and graffiti in the city.
- Tribeca: one of the city's most expensive and trendy neighborhoods with a bohemian air and numerous art galleries.
- China Town: neighborhood where the great Chinese community resides with oriental restaurants and counterfeit shops with poor quality products.
- Little italy: This neighborhood almost absorbed by China Town still maintains a street full of Italian restaurants and some interesting graffiti.
- Greenwich village: a neighborhood with an architecture similar to that of SoHo in which series such as "Sex in New York" Y "Friends".
Bushwick neighborhood
How to have internet in New York?If you want to have internet in New York a good option is to buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, several GB of data, keeping your WhatsApp number and support service in Spanish.
You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.
If you feel like helping us complete the list of the 20 places to visit in New York essential, add yours in the comments.
