44 Best Things to Do in New York

City, According to Our Local Editors

Summary

The article describes 44 of the best things to do in New York City. The article
highlights the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden. The article also mentions
other notable attractions like the Yankee Stadium, the Cathedral of St. John the
Divine, and Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden.

In the city you could inhabit for a lifetime and never

run out of things to do, here's where to start.
By Alex Erdekian and Charlie Hobbs
May 30, 2025

Michael Lee/Getty

All products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently
selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers
and/or from purchases of products through these links.

Many editors and contributors have touched this list of the best things to do in
New York City over the years. It's a labor of love on which some entries have
lasted multiple rounds of culling and reassessment, and for obvious reasons:
both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln
Center last, for example, as do visits to Chinatown, Broadway, and
Bemelmans. But it's also a list inflected with our own personal tastes as
different types of New Yorkers, people who have lived here for quite a while
and uncovered some goods that are decidedly off the beaten path. Below, find
our list of the best things to do in NYC.

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 Read our complete New York City travel guide here, which includes:

The Best Hotels in NYC

The Best Day Trips from NYC
The Best Restaurants in NYC
The Best New Restaurants in NYC
The Best Steakhouses in NYC
The Best Jewish Food in NYC

This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish
date. Additional reporting by Andrea Whittle and Melissa Liebling-Goldberg.

Annie Schlechter/Hotel Chelsea

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Hotel Chelsea

Hotel Chelsea may not be filled with famous musicians anymore, but the rock-and-roll vibe remains. Long-
term residents who have been grandfathered into their apartments in the building still float around, and
most guests—usually drawn by the hotel’s history—have a knowingness to them, whether they’re in their
30s or 60s. The 155 guest rooms and suites have wood floors with the Hotel Chelsea monogram now inlaid;
the sun dapples through ivory eyelet fabric on the windows; and the bathrooms are classically done with
light and dark grey marble accentuated by bronze details. Animal-print chairs maintain a bit of spunk in the
now bright, airy rooms, as do ornate dark wood bedside tables. Massive closets, their interiors a riot of
wallpaper, make it even easier to imagine unpacking and sticking around for a while. If you visited the
Chelsea back in the day, you’ll recognize the original fireplaces, stained glass windows, and those iconic
wrought-iron balconies leaning over West 23rd Street, which have been restored. If you visit now, even just
with a drink in the Lobby Bar, you'll get people watching that's nearly as good.

Robert K. Chin/Alamy

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Film Forum

This is the last independent, nonprofit cinema in New York City. Little has changed about this humble,
unpretentious theater since it first opened in 1970 as a screening space for independent films—there's the
big marquee outside, lighting up an otherwise quiet stretch of West Houston; a ticket booth with
microphone and glass partition; and a red carpet underfoot. It's retro without feeling dated, a warm place
out of time. Behind the concessions counter, by the way, are some very nice people selling some very good
espresso and baked goods (try the cakes carrot and orange bundt) in addition to regular sodas and

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 candies. From new and obscure cinema made outside the US to a dazzling assortment of global classics
that has most recently included Midnight Cowboy and Le Samourai, you can rest assured that every last
thing on the marquee is worth a few hours of your time.

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Central Park

To get that Nora Ephron New York experience, you have no choice but to take a stroll through Central Park
while in the city. As you step off the crowded sidewalks of 59th Street into a mass of green, you’ll hardly
realize what lies before you: 693 acres of man-made gardens, meadows, forests, and hillsides from the
minds of Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vauk. If you were to amble down every one of Central Park’s
pathways, you would walk 58 miles. Along the way, you'd pass sculptures, bridges, and arches, plus 21
playgrounds, a winter ice-skating rink, even a zoo . But you’d hardly notice the four major crosstown
thoroughfares, which cleverly disappear into foliage-covered tunnels. Map your park route to stop at
classic Central Park landmarks, like the Bethesda Fountain, Bow Bridge, Belvedere Castle, and the
Strawberry Fields John Lennon Memorial. While part of Central Park's beauty is that most of its myriad
pleasures are free, those looking to spend a buck or two on a meal at the Central Park Boathouse (which
reopened in spring 2024 after a renovation) with a view of the rowboats, which are also lovely to rent if you
have time to wait in the line.

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Chinatown
Chinatown is one of the neighborhoods that makes lower Manhattan vibrant and unforgettable. After
surfacing from the steps of the Canal Street subway station onto the sidewalk, meandering past thick
crowds, neon light shops, and vendors peddling fake designer bags, you’ll find yourself in the narrow
streets of Chinatown, where there are bright heaps of produce, succulent ducks hanging in windows, and
restaurants old and new. Touching Tribeca, SoHo, Little Italy, and the Lower East Side, Chinatown has a rich
history and began being populated by Chinese immigrants as early as the 1850s. You can visit in whichever
way makes sense for you. Whether you spend an hour devouring a box of roast pork or duck from street-
style Wah Fung No. 1 before you have to proceed elsewhere (other Traveler-editor favorites include
Spicy Village, Mei Lah Wah, and Shu Jiao Fu Zhou) or you spend half a day shopping for produce, dining
out, and paying a visit to the Museum of Chinese in America, everyone will gain something from a visit to
Chinatown.

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 Brooklyn Bridge

When the Brooklyn Bridge was constructed in 1883—extending 1,595 feet across the East River, connecting
lower Manhattan to Brooklyn Heights—it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Now, it’s a historic
staple of the New York City skyline, transporting commuter car traffic underneath and touristic foot traffic
above. Standing before arches and rectangles with city skyscrapers rising in the distance, will at once
inspire a sense of grandiosity and slightness.

Nicholas Knight

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The Noguchi Museum

$

This intimate, meditative museum in Long Island City was conceived and built by Isamu Noguchi himself.
Here, his mostly abstract sculptures and often-copied paper lamps are displayed across two levels of
exhibition space and throughout a quiet, ivy-covered walled garden. Even if you're not familiar with
Noguchi's work, you've probably come across one of his Akari light sculptures—geometric or globular
lamps made of washi paper and bamboo that glow softly from within—which have become something of a
modern design trope since he started designing them in the early 1950s.

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Dan Gold/Unsplash

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Yankee Stadium
A spring or summer day spent cheering at an NYC ballpark is a classic activity for a reason. Located in the
Bronx, Yankee Stadium is the home field of New York’s 27-time World Champions. It’s a half-hour subway
ride from Penn Station (take the AC to the D) and just around 20 minutes from Grand Central Terminal via
the 4 train, making it easily accessible from Manhattan. It replaced the 1923 original in 2009 and cost $1.5
billion to build, making it one of the world’s most expensive stadiums. It seats 50,287 fans. New York
Yankees games, obviously, are the main event here, but you can also attend concerts, college football, and
soccer matches. With regard to food, Mets home stadium Citi Field may have them beat, but there are still
great options here like Lobel's pastrami or the 99 Burger (only 99 are served per game, so go there first if
you're keen) alongside standard hot dogs and hamburgers.

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Jewish Brooklyn: Tours of Hasidic Brooklyn

The pockets of Brooklyn inhabited predominately by the Hasidic are not often explored on the average Big
Apple itinerary. There are two guided tours you can take of Hasidic Brooklyn: Frieda Vizel's of conservative

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 Williamsburg and the Friedman family's of the slightly-more-flexible Crown Heights (none yet open us to
the cosmopolitan Borough Park.) The former rendezvouses in the bus plaza just below the Williamsburg
Bridge, the latter around the dining room table of a family home. From there, you're off to the races
learning from people who know and love their subject deeply. You'll also sample kosher sweets and stop at
the deli, dip into a toy store or wigmaker, and meet quite a few friendly faces. Both are excellent ways to
immerse yourself, for a few hours, in the culture of some of Brooklyn’s more enigmatic inhabitants.

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The Cathedral of St. John the Divine

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine on 112th and Amsterdam in Upper Manhattan’s Morningside Heights is
the largest cathedral in the world and the sixth-largest church by area. Hundreds of thousands of visitors
walk through these doors annually for a reason. The cathedral itself—and its remarkable Gothic
architecture, story-telling stained glass windows, and 17th century tapestries—is already worth visiting. But
there is artwork that is especially meaningful to New York City here as well, including Keith Haring's white
gold and bronze altarpiece and a 9/11 memorial sculpture by Meredith Bergmann, which holds debris of the
towers in it. The cathedral holds daily and Sunday worship services, which welcome all. There is no charge
to pray, meditate, or contemplate in the cathedral. Visitors who show for sightseeing purposes can enter
for $15 admission. Special tours are offered depending on the day of the week.

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Staten Island Ferry

One of the first things associate editor Hannah Towey did when she moved to New York City was board the
(free! bright orange!) Staten Island Ferry by Battery Park at Manhattan's bottom, watch the sunset over the
water on her way to that far-flung borough, and then turn around and get right back on for the return to
Manhattan. Forget the outrageously expensive Statue of Liberty cruises and the discomfort of the official
ferry (although Ellis Island, unfortunately the next stop on the same trip, is worth a visit)—here you see
plenty of Lady Liberty, Governor's Island, and the skyline without opening your purse. It's a dreamy 25
minutes each way, passed easily watching the myriad terns dip into the ship's wake. This is not to say you
shouldn't spend a few hours on Staten Island if you have the time—the Botanical Garden is as gorgeous as
it is free, and the food is impeccable with abundant Sri Lankan options (try New Asha, although you can't
go wrong anywhere) and excellent Italian at Enoteca Maria for nonnas, their appreciators, and fans of the
Netflix film depicting the restaurant's founding (beware that the success of the latter means it's nearly
impossible to book a table.)

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 Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden

If there's one place to pay a visit once you've taken the Staten Island Ferry on over, it's Snug Harbor. While
you could walk—it’s 1.6 miles from the Ferry terminal—Uber or the S40 bus will get you to the gates in 10 or
15 minutes respectively. The full name of this 83-acre campus is Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical
Garden, and there are as many things to do and see here as that all-encompassing name promises. There
are the original three structures, built in the early 19th century as the dying wish of the heir to a shipping
fortune to build a haven for “aged, decrepit, and worn-out sailors.” (Unsurprisingly, it is rumored to be
haunted.) Until the mid-20th-century, the facility flourished, housing around 900 residents from around
the world and operating farms, a dairy, bakery, power plant, hospital, and more. Through a period of decline
(and continuing funding gaps), Snug Harbor is now a museum and art gallery with extensive grounds also
housing a working farm. The real showstopper is the New York Chinese Scholar's Garden, the beauty of
which must be seen to be believed. Ahead of your visit, be sure to check their events calendar for daily
happenings.

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Broadway

For locals and first-time visitors alike, seeing a Broadway show is a special experience, and one that is
exclusive to New York City. Times Square is ordinarily a drag, but when you’re moseying into Midtown
Manhattan for a show the bright billboards and lights don’t flash in your face—they dazzle in your eyes. A
Broadway show's costumes, sets, songs, and stories are the stuff of dreams. Shows that could very well
run forever include Wicked, The Book of Mormon, and Hamilton, but there's also an ever-rotating selection
of revivals and debuts worth checking out. And that's not to mention the more daring fare happening
downtown at theaters like the Public, Off-Broadway. We also have a handy guide outlining where to eat
near Broadway that you can check out here.

Book now at GetYourGuide

Don Riddle/Bemelmans Bar

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Bemelmans Bar

$$$

At Bemelmans, Ludwig Bemelman's illustrations—you might remember them from the Madeline books—
adorn the walls. In one panel, a bunny smokes a cigar in Central Park; in another, a man hands a boy a
clutch of balloons. This is a bar where gawking is permissible. The cocktails here very much depend on
who’s making them: an Old Fashioned might be a bit watery, a whiskey sour too tart. But often a dirty gin
Martini is just perfectly executed. Everything is expensive—it’s clear why you’re here—so take the edge off
that sensation by digging into the free, hearty snacks that float your way.

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New York Botanical Garden

The New York Botanical Garden has carefully manicured flower gardens, lush fields, winding hikes, and
impeccable greenhouses. There are spaces that feel deeply intimate, as if you're truly separated from the
world, and there are vast expanses where it's hard to believe you're still in the Bronx. In winter, the
greenhouses host an annual train show recreating all of New York City in miniature; the warmer months
bring every floral delight imaginable, from cherry trees to peonies. Plan to spend at least half a day here
and pack a picnic.

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Brooklyn Heights Promenade

It’s one thing to be in the midst of Manhattan, on the ground; it’s quite another to look upon it from across
the river. In Brooklyn Heights, a couple subway stops away from lower Manhattan, the city’s image looms
large before you. Arguably the best view of the skyline in the city, the Brooklyn Heights promenade hovers
above the Brooklyn-Queen Expressway. Underlying the peaceful, tree-lined walkway, traffic rumbles below.
The promenade stretches from Remsen Street at the south end to Middagh Street at the north. Around the
corner, pedestrians can discretely cross a basketball court to access a suspended footbridge that zigzags
down to the piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park. While in the picturesque neighborhood, make stops at the New
York Transit Museum, the Sardinian trattoria River Deli, and the old-time dive bar Montero.

Jin Lee/9/11 Memorial & Museum

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9/11 Memorial and Museum

Every American should visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at least once. As you enter the museum, you
descend from the street to bedrock level—the foundation of the former Twin Towers—and are placed in a
meditative mindset, forced to recall where you were on that fateful day. The museum itself is a masterful
balance: It's grand in scale, contemplative in its construction, and personal in its execution. It pays homage
to the enormity of the loss, both physical and spiritual.

Brett Beyer/The Met Cloisters

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The Cloisters

Located on four acres in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, the Met Cloisters is a branch of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and is America’s only museum dedicated exclusively to the art and
architecture of the Middle Ages. The building overlooks the Hudson River and actually incorporates five
medieval-inspired cloisters into a modern museum structure, creating a historic, contextualized backdrop

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 in which to view the art.

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Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Located in Midtown Manhattan, the MoMA is larger than it appears as you approach it from the street
below. One of the world’s most influential museums—displaying the works of important artists like Van
Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Rothko, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, and Diane Arbus—it has 630,000 square
feet of space and attracts more than a million visitors a year. While making a beeline for the fifth-floor
Collection Galleries to take in The Starry Night and Monet’s Water Lilies is understandable, don’t miss the
exhibitions, which tell new stories and can only be experienced in a limited time frame. Allocate time to
spend pouring over the remarkable books and objects in the famous gift shop, too—an NYC must-visit in its
own right.

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Apollo Theater

Countless careers have been made and stars have passed through this world famous, legendary Harlem
theater—Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Ross, Lauryn Hill, and D’Angelo
to name a few. The venue—which began as a white-only burlesque destination until 1934, when under new
ownership it began welcoming and becoming central to the Black community—has been active for 88
years, with swing, blues, jazz, R&B, and comedy acts taking the stage. Today, visitors can attend events
like Amateur Night at the Apollo, one of the city’s most long-standing, fame-making live shows. Capacity is
1,500, with three levels of seating, and contrary to the way it appears on 'Showtime at the Apollo,' is
intimate without much legroom.

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Prospect Park

Prospect Park is in many ways the Central Park of Brooklyn; in fact, it was designed shortly after by the
same team of architects, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and has many of the same features:
sprawling meadows, walking trails, and picturesque bodies of water. In feeling though, it’s more rambling
and less manicured than its touristed Manhattan counterpart. Prospect Park Woodlands is Brooklyn’s last
remaining forest, with 250 acres of trees, turtles, chipmunks, 200 species of birds, and other fauna and
flora. There's also basketball and tennis courts, a carousel, playgrounds, zoo, and a 3.35-mile loop for
runners and bikers (they’re fast—watch out!). While there, make a trip to adjacent Brooklyn Botanic Garden,
particularly lovely during cherry blossom season.

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Coney Island

Coney Island has a reputation as a circus-worthy tourist trap, which is exactly what it is. But you may be
surprised by the old-timey charms of this beachfront American town. You’ll definitely be impressed by the
food and drinks—Totonno's Pizza, Gargiulo's and Coney Island Brewery in particular. Locals and tourists
hang out on the beach, eat ice cream cones on the promenade, and stand in line for the famed Cyclone
roller coaster. The beach and boardwalk along with spots like Nathan’s are open year-round. The
amusement park itself is seasonal. Events like the annual Mermaid Parade (crowded as they may be) are
worth watching for the audacity and theatrics you can’t find anywhere else in the world but Coney Island.

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Lincoln Center

World-renowned performing arts center Lincoln Center is always worth visiting when the opportunity
arises. The sprawling Upper West Side complex is also home to the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City
Ballet, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and Juilliard. All kinds of music, dance, theater, and
films show here; highlights from the upcoming calendar include the rapturously energetic New York Film
Festival (catch the latest films long before they hit theaters, embedded in one of the most fabulously
reactive audiences on this Earth), operas like Porgy and Bess, and bountiful ballets as well as live chamber
music. Whether you’re on a special date or reconnecting with old friend when you’re in town, seeing a live
performance or even a film at Lincoln Center will always make for an elegant and memorable night out.

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Washington Square Park

If people-watching is your sport, Washington Square Park is your place. Entertainment is a given in this
intimate, not-quite 10-acre space, filled with career chess players, musicians, performers, students,
sunbathers, strollers, and general throngs of Greenwich Villagers, desperate for a bit of fresh air. Take your
time as you go through: Pause beneath Washington Arch, honoring our country’s first president (for whom
the Park is named), and observe the laurel wreaths and intricate motifs that extend from the base to the
keystones, atop which twin eagles perch like constant watchmen. Washington Square Park is the beating
heart of this vibrant New York neighborhood.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art

For nearly a century and a half, the Met has remained the cultural epicenter of New York City, thanks to
forward-thinking exhibits and an extensive permanent collection. With its Gothic-Revival-style building,
iconic tiered steps, and Central Park location, the building is a sight to be seen. But step inside its Great
Hall—as a ceaseless parade of museumgoers move to-and-fro—and you’ll feel the overwhelming sense of
possibility and discovery that lays beyond. If you've got limited time or compatriots with limited attention
spans, start with the Temple of Dendur, a 2,000-year-old soaring Egyptian temple (the only complete one
in the Western Hemisphere.) The revolving trove of art exhibits are also worth keeping an eye out for,
whether it's the Costume Institute's annual offering or a deep dive on one of the greats like Sargent.

Nagamitsu Endo/Blue Note Jazz Club

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Blue Note Jazz Club

Blue Note has been one of the best jazz clubs in New York, and the world, since the 1980s. It offers music
every night at 8 p.m. and 10:30, and on Friday and Saturday nights has a late night series at 12:30 a.m.,
which showcases emerging talent. If you're looking to get a taste of jazz in NYC, you can do no better. Over
the years, legendary musicians including Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ray Charles have performed
on the Blue Note Stage, as well as contemporary jazz acts such as Wynton Marsalis, Keith Jarrett, and
Chris Botti. Tables are intimate, close-set, and all-ages (with the bar being 21-plus).

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Courtesy GrowNYC/Union Square Greenmarket

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Union Square Greenmarket

Union Square is a place of the people, not unlike the agoras of ancient Athens—and no offering of Union
Square showcases this quality quite like the bustling Greenmarket. From upstate New York, the Berkshires,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, vendors sell artisan bread, honey, fresh-cut flowers, heritage meats,
pastries, seasonal fruits and vegetables both common and uncommon, and much more. Don't miss the free
events, like book signings and more: Cooking demos take place at the Market Information tent daily, beer
and spirits pop-ups show seasonally, and the education station offers tours and tastings.

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Rockefeller Center
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 Rockefeller Center sits in the heart of midtown Manhattan, both in terms of its physical location and its
prominent place in the city's folklore and culture. Whether you want to check out a performance on the
plaza outside the TODAY show, visit the Christmas tree, or practice your best moves on the ice skating rink,
you're in for an iconic, family-friendly experience. If you buy a ticket to Top of the Rock, you'll enjoy
spectacular views of the city below. No matter where you are, you're bound to be constantly pointing and
shouting “hey, look at that!”

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Comedy Cellar

None of the promoters on MacDougal Street shouting “stand-up comedy tonight!” are trying to get you into
the Comedy Cellar, where the show is already sold out. Blockbuster stars like Jerry Seinfeld and Eddie
Murphy made their names at the Cellar; if you're lucky, one may show up the night you're there. Seating is
intimate and close together, and there is a two-item minimum on food or drinks. It's 21-plus and vaccine-
mandatory; be prepared to surrender your phone at the door, too. There's no bad seat in the house, but sit
in the front at your own risk of getting (playfully) heckled by the host or a comic.

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American Museum of Natural History

Truly one of the world's great natural history museums, the American Museum of Natural History spans
four city blocks just across from Central Park. All aspects of the natural world are represented here, from a
vast collection of taxidermy mammals, to depictions of the life of Native American tribes, to an entire hall
dedicated to marine life—including a life-size model of a blue whale. The crown jewel is the dinosaur floor,
with an imposing Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton that dominates the room. The newest attraction comes in the
form of the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, which opened in May of 2023
and, among many other things, boasts a comprehensive insectarium and vivarium. Breathtaking
architecture from New York-based Jeanne Gang doesn't hurt, either—the cavernous lobby brings to mind
the underground fortresses of Dune, and are thoughtfully designed so that there are no dead ends. Just as
with knowledge itself, the possibilities here are endless.

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The Strand Book Store

With its towering stacks, filled with more than 2.5 million titles, this 94-year-old bookstore is less
neighborhood haunt and more globally recognized institution. You could call the Strand's employees tour
guides, considering their deft ability to find the exact title you're looking for and recommend a book you
may not have otherwise plucked from the shelves. The store will make you question why you don’t read

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 more; and chances are you won’t leave empty-handed.

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Julie Larsen Maher/Bronx Zoo

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Bronx Zoo

With more than 700 different species spread across 265 acres of parkland thoughtfully designed to mimic
natural habitats, the Bronx Zoo is a great place to escape from Manhattan for the day, especially if you're
traveling with kids. Don't miss the giraffe building, the Congo gorilla forest, the house of reptiles, and the
flamingos in the sea bird aviary. And the sea lions always make for an exciting show. The grounds are
enormous, but there's a shuttle that loops between various points of interest. The grounds have plenty of
signs, places to sit down and regroup, and bathrooms.

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Governors Island
Located in New York Harbor, only 800 yards from Manhattan and 400 yards from Brooklyn, walking onto
quirky, car-free, brick-covered, 173-acre Governors Island feels like being transported to an alternate
universe from the city—but in reality it's a quick, affordable ferry ride away. One-way fare is $4 and boats
are serviced from Lower Manhattan’s Battery Maritime Building every day, as well as from Brooklyn Bridge
Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook on the weekends. In the past couple of years, Governors Island has
become an even more popular city destination, and has welcomed a slew of new luxury businesses. One is
special in particular: Collective, the only place you can stay overnight on the island. Collective is a
glamping experience, offering plush beds inside the tents, morning yoga, sunset cocktails, and iconic
skyline views—Lady Liberty included, herself. Which is all to say, you’re by no means roughing it here. On
the menu at their restaurant, you’ll find grilled seafood, gorgeous spreads of pastries, and more. Another
luxury experience new to the island is QC NY Spa, with top-grade saunas and a skyline view-filled pool.

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Rockaway Beach

One of the best public beaches you can visit in New York City proper, Rockaway is a sandy, sprawling
stretch of surf located in Queens on the Atlantic Ocean, complete with a 5.5-mile boardwalk of delicious
concessions. A summery way to get there in style? Take the ferry from Wall Street or Sunset Park,
Brooklyn, and let the wind blow through your hair as you take in the city views, sailing under the Verrazano
Bridge and past Coney Island on the way. From just about everywhere else in the city, you can also get

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 there via the A train. Each stretch has a different crowd and personality: Beach 90-106 is the busiest
section, with the most food and drink options; Beaches 67-69 as well as 90-92 are the surfing zones;
between Beach 153 and Beach 169 you’ll find Jacob Riis Park, which is popular with young people and is a
summer gathering place for the city’s LGBTQ+ community.

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Empire State Building

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The Empire State Building may be the most recognizable building in the United States. The 102-story
skyscraper was the tallest building in the world for 40 years and even though it's been surpassed by
dozens of projects on three continents, it remains a New York icon. With more than 4 million visitors a year,
there are always long lines to buy tickets, so it’s best to purchase in advance online. Yes, the VIP Express
pass is double the price of a standard ticket, but you skip all the lines and go straight up to the 86th Floor
Observatory, which might mean the difference between happy kiddos and whiny are-we-there-yet ones.
(Kids under six are free.) One of the best views of the Empire State Building is on the corner of 26th Street
and Madison Avenue: close enough to see details, but far enough away to get all of it in one frame. Don't
miss the Art Deco lobby, with its 24-karat gold-leaf ceiling murals and famous starburst bas relief.

Randy Duchaine/Alamy

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Industry City

This stretch of waterfront has been a hub of Brooklyn manufacturing since Irving T. Bush first developed
his family's rail-marine terminal (then called Bush Terminal) in the mid-1890s to add warehouse structures.
The sprawling campus that stands today in the quiet Sunset Park neighborhood is Industry City, the ripe
and succulent fruit of decades' worth of redevelopment efforts. The idea here is one-stop shopping: Pick
up a coffee from one proprieter and sip it while flitting through the Makers’ Guild’s wonderful artisan shops.
There's also a slate of full-service restaurants and outdoor spaces—manicured lawns on-par with what
you'd expect from those in a private, luxury apartment building.

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Russian Turkish Baths

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Russian Turkish Baths

This is a really nice place to hang out for half a day—beneath the churning East Village, sweating it out in a
no-frills den of functionality. Up a steep, nondescript stoop in that neighborhood and through a heavy door
and you’re in, leaving your wallet in a safety deposit box in exchange for a locker room key and then down

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 another stair to the subterranean saunas and steam rooms. They’ve got ‘em all here, from the red hot
Russian room (where they also perform the platza venik treatment) to a more bearable Turkish, with a cold
plunge and showers for in-between regulation. There’s also a bountiful food menu serving up such classics
as borscht and beef stew to keep you nurtured.

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David Heald

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Guggenheim

The Guggenheim is a radical departure from the typical museum layout—and from every other building in
New York, for that matter. The circular concrete structure stands in stark contrast to the rectangular steel-
and-glass buildings that surround it. Inside, a central ramp—which spirals upward and outward from one
exhibition floor to the next—creates an open interior space, flooded with daylight that pours in through a
glass dome. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the iconic building that houses Solomon R. Guggenheim's
modern art collection, which includes paintings by Kandinsky, plus works by Picasso, Klee, Miró, and more.

Liam Marshall/Courtesy Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

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Intrepid

The Intrepid is a floating museum: a WWII aircraft carrier with a storied naval career home to some of the
most famous air and spacecraft in the world, plus exciting experiences and exhibits that will thrill your
young history and aviation buffs. The Intrepid served in WWII, Vietnam and throughout the Cold War era;
after it was decommissioned, it was installed at Pier 86 on the Hudson River. For four months after 9/11, the
vessel served as the FBI’s field office. Today it's a National Historic Landmark. The main hangar deck is
home to the fully interactive Exploreum, where kids of all ages can climb into the cockpit of a Bell 47
helicopter and slide into a 40-foot submarine. Space nerds (and parents who grew up during NASA's space
shuttle era) should make a beeline for the Space Shuttle Pavilion. They can get up close to the Space
Shuttle Enterprise and experience virtual microgravity in the International Space Station VR experience.

Courtesy Brooklyn Academy of Music

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Brooklyn Academy of Music

Locals love BAM for quite a few reasons. It is our movie theater and our theater theater, the place we walk
past to and from Whole Foods but also the place where we meet dates and friends to take the culture in.
BAM has everything—Wes Anderson films, A Streetcar Named Desire with Paul Mescal, an outdoor bazaar
pegged to DanceAfrica, their longest-running program. Between all the programming, there is something
for everybody and then some.

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 Read Review

Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation

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Roosevelt Island

Roosevelt Island is worth a visit for the tram ride it takes to get there alone; a mere swipe of the MetroCard
and there you are swinging above the East River like a teddy bear in a basket. That novel transport from
and to Manhattan aboard that happy red tram is an activity in and of itself, with great views of the city, but
once on Roosevelt there's more to explore. Car traffic is minimal, for one thing, and it's super walkable.
Highlights include the Manhattan Healing Forest (a rare quiet place amidst New York's cacophony) and the
Panorama Room atop the Graduate hotel.

Courtesy Barclays Center

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Barclays Center
Forget Madison Square Garden. They've got the Knicks, sure, but Barclays has everything else—not just
the Nets and the on-fire Liberty, Telfar-toting Ellie the Elephant and all, but also thoughtful food and
beverage programs and far better vibes inside and out. There are two new premium membership-only
clubs—The Toki Row and JetBlue at The Key—that are worth looking into for sure, but no matter where
you're sitting it's worth catching a game (or a concert, for that matter) here while you're in town.

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Rob Kim/Getty Images

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Knockdown Center

New York City has seen its fair share of nightlife nexus points—Meatpacking, the DMZ between East
Williamsburg and Bushwick—and now, the best dancing can be found in….Maspeth? That's right, folks,
you've got to take an Uber to get there but it's well worth it for a night at the expansive Knockdown Center.
The 50,000-square-foot building encompasses two huge dance floors, an outdoor space aptly called the
Ruins, and rather infamous downstairs venue Basement. It's a great place to listen and dance to electronic
music—it's more for true heads than those who like to congeal into little circles on the dance floor—
whether you're there on a random weekend or for one of their banner festivals like WIRE or Outline.

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Charlie Hobbs is an Associate Editor at Condé Nast Traveler, where he chips

in on pop culture, food and beverage, hotels, and features coverage. He grew
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 up in New Canaan, Connecticut and got published working for
NewCanaanite.comWhen not traveling, writing, and editing, you might find
Charlie reading, cooking, or watching ... Read more

All of our best hotel, restaurant, and activity recommendations in one place.

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