- Pizza slice (Joe's, John's of Bleecker, or the corner slice)
- Bagel with lox (Ess-a-Bagel, Russ and Daughters)
- Pastrami on rye at Katz's Delicatessen
- Halal cart chicken-and-rice (the 53rd and 6th ritual)
New York City Guide
The Manhattan skyline. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
New York City is the most visited city in the United States: five boroughs, 8.3 million people, and a density of things to do no other American city approaches. Manhattan holds the icons; Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island hold the neighbourhoods.
Plan by neighbourhood, not by checklist. Midtown for the classic sights, Lower Manhattan for history, the West Village and Brooklyn for street life, Queens for the world's food. The subway runs 24 hours and goes everywhere that matters.
What to do in New York City
Icons
- 1
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island The 1886 statue; crown tickets sell out months ahead. - 2
Central Park 843 acres: the Ramble, Bethesda Terrace, the reservoir loop. - 3
Times Square See it once at night, then move on. - 4
Brooklyn Bridge Walk it at sunset toward Manhattan. - 5
9/11 Memorial and Museum The reflecting pools and the museum; allow half a day.
Museums and views
- 1
The Met The largest art museum in the Americas; the rooftop in summer. - 2
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) The modern collection; free Friday evenings are crowded. - 3
American Museum of Natural History The whale, the dinosaurs, the Hayden Planetarium. - 4
Top of the Rock The best skyline view: three decks, Central Park below. - 5
High Line The elevated park from Gansevoort to Hudson Yards.
New York City Hotel Guide
How to choose the best places to stay in New York City. Verified properties below; for the full list, search live availability on Booking.com.
Luxury
The Plaza
The 1907 landmark on Fifth Avenue; the Palm Court and the Oak Room.
View on Booking.com
Luxury
Waldorf Astoria New York
The Park Avenue icon, reopened after its restoration.
View on Booking.com
Mid-range
The Algonquin
The literary Round Table hotel in Midtown, with its resident cat.
View on Booking.com
Where to eat
Getting there and around
JFK and Newark handle international flights; LaGuardia is domestic. The subway runs 24 hours; a 7-day MetroCard (OMNY) pays off fast. Yellow cabs and rideshares fill the gaps.
Thinking of leaving New York?
Fledge Relocation covers three full routes out of New York: what each move costs, what the destination costs to live in, and the visa routes Americans actually use.
- Moving costs: New York to Lisbon › shipping, flights, deposits and first-month costs.
- Moving costs: New York to Dubai › shipping, flights, deposits and first-month costs.
- Moving costs: New York to Mexico City › shipping, flights, deposits and first-month costs.
- Move to Lisbon › the complete relocation guide.
Part of Fledge Relocation, our sister guide to living abroad.