🏆 Things to Do · New York City
Things to Do in New York City
78 real, currently-open attractions — observation decks, world-class museums, Central Park, Broadway, and Brooklyn day trips, checked against each attraction’s own official site.
🏗️ Every Borough
✅ Verified Open
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🏛️ World-Class Museums
🗽 Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
🌳 Central Park & Outdoor Spaces
🎭 Broadway & Live Entertainment
🚌 Guided Tours & Sightseeing
🌉 Brooklyn Attractions
🗺️ Neighborhoods Worth Exploring
👧 Family & Kids Attractions
🛍️ Shopping & Markets
New York City has an almost overwhelming amount to see and do, so we’ve organized it by category — the observation decks and skyline views everyone wants a photo from, the world-class museums that could each fill a full day on their own, Central Park’s 843 acres, the Broadway theater district, and the neighborhoods worth simply wandering, from Greenwich Village to Brooklyn. We checked each attraction directly against its own official site and confirmed a few closures and reopenings along the way, including the Vessel at Hudson Yards’ return after a multi-year closure.
11 Things to Do
Empire State Building
Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1931 offering two observation decks with panoramic views of Manhattan and beyond.
Top of the Rock
Three-tiered observation deck atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza with unobstructed views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.
One World Observatory
Observation deck on floors 100-102 of One World Trade Center featuring high-speed elevators and 360-degree city views.
Edge at Hudson Yards
Triangular glass-floored observation deck 1,100 feet above Hudson Yards with a champagne bar and glass slides.
Vessel
16-story spiral staircase structure of 154 interconnected flights at Hudson Yards, reopened to visitors after a multi-year closure.
Rockefeller Center
19-building commercial complex spanning six blocks, home to NBC Studios, a seasonal ice rink, and the famous Christmas tree.
Grand Central Terminal
1913 landmark train terminal known for its celestial ceiling mural, whispering gallery, and grand concourse.
Times Square
Bustling commercial intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue famous for giant electronic billboards and the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop.
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
Observation deck experience on the top floors of One Vanderbilt tower beside Grand Central Terminal, blending art installations with skyline views.
Brooklyn Bridge
1883 suspension bridge with a wooden pedestrian promenade offering skyline and East River views on the walk across.
The Battery
25-acre waterfront park at Manhattan’s southern tip featuring gardens, memorials, and views of New York Harbor.
15 Things to Do
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Encyclopedic art museum with over two million works spanning 5,000 years of world culture on Museum Mile.
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Midtown museum holding one of the world’s foremost collections of modern and contemporary art and design.
American Museum of Natural History
Sprawling museum on the Upper West Side with fossil halls, gems, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space.
The Frick Collection
Henry Clay Frick’s former Fifth Avenue mansion displaying Old Master paintings, reopened in April 2025 after a major renovation.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Iconic spiral rotunda building on Fifth Avenue housing modern and contemporary art by artists like Kandinsky and Picasso.
Whitney Museum of American Art
Meatpacking District museum devoted exclusively to American art, with outdoor terraces overlooking the High Line and Hudson River.
The New-York Historical
Founded in 1804, this Upper West Side institution explores American and New York history through artifacts, art, and exhibitions.
Museum of the City of New York
Upper East Side museum documenting the city’s history and culture from Dutch settlement to the present day.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Museum aboard the decommissioned USS Intrepid on the Hudson River featuring a space shuttle, submarine, and vintage aircraft.
The Morgan Library & Museum
Former private library of financier J.P. Morgan housing rare manuscripts, medieval art, and a soaring three-tiered book room.
Tenement Museum
Guided-tour museum inside restored 19th-century tenement buildings recreating the homes of immigrant families who once lived there.
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
Memorial plaza with two waterfall pools set in the World Trade Center towers’ footprints, plus an underground museum on the 2001 and 1993 attacks.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Design-focused Smithsonian museum housed in industrialist Andrew Carnegie’s former Fifth Avenue mansion, with interactive design exhibits.
Neue Galerie
Compact museum dedicated to early 20th-century German and Austrian art, including Klimt’s famed portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer.
Museum of Jewish Heritage
Battery Park City museum documenting Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust through survivor testimony and artifacts.
3 Things to Do
Statue of Liberty National Monument
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi’s 1886 copper statue on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, reachable only by official ferry.
Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
Former immigration inspection station where over 12 million immigrants were processed between 1892 and 1954, now a museum.
Castle Clinton National Monument
Circular sandstone fort in Battery Park that now serves as the ticket office and departure point for Statue of Liberty ferries.
8 Things to Do
Central Park
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s 1858 masterpiece of landscape design, with walking paths, a zoo, and a reservoir.
The High Line
1.45-mile elevated greenway built on a disused freight rail line above Manhattan’s West Side, running through Chelsea to the Meatpacking District.
Bryant Park
Manhattan’s town square, with free lawn games, a carousel, and outdoor movie nights behind the main public library.
Central Park Zoo
Compact zoo near the park’s southeast corner with a tropic zone, sea lion pool, and red panda exhibit.
Governors Island
172-acre former military installation reachable by ferry, with historic forts, art installations, hammock groves, and harbor views.
Loeb Boathouse
Rowboat and gondola rentals on the Central Park lake, alongside a lakeside restaurant with skyline views.
Randall’s Island Park
102-acre East River island park with athletic fields, tennis courts, a golf center, and waterfront running paths.
Riverside Park
Landscaped Upper West Side park running along the Hudson River, with piers, gardens, and a marina at 79th Street.
9 Things to Do
Broadway
More than 40 professional theaters concentrated around Times Square staging long-running and new musicals and plays.
Radio City Music Hall
1932 Art Deco showplace in Rockefeller Center famous for the Radio City Rockettes and its annual Christmas Spectacular.
Apollo Theater
Legendary Harlem venue that launched Ella Fitzgerald and James Brown; currently closed for a major renovation expected to run into 2026.
Carnegie Hall
1891 concert hall regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious venues for classical, jazz, and popular music.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
13-acre campus housing the Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet around a central plaza and fountain.
Metropolitan Opera
World-renowned opera company performing at Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House with a season running fall through spring.
New York City Ballet
One of the world’s foremost ballet companies, performing at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, famous for its annual Nutcracker.
Madison Square Garden
Multipurpose Midtown arena hosting concerts, the New York Knicks and Rangers, and major sporting and entertainment events.
Comedy Cellar
Basement comedy club in Greenwich Village where working comedians and surprise headliners perform multiple sets nightly.
6 Things to Do
Big Bus Tours New York
Open-top double-decker bus routes covering Manhattan’s major sights with hop-on-hop-off stops and optional cruise add-ons.
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises
Narrated sightseeing cruises around Manhattan departing from Pier 83, including full-island and harbor lights tours.
The Ride
Moving theatrical experience aboard a bus with stadium seating and floor-to-ceiling windows, featuring performers along the route.
On Location Tours
Bus and walking tours visiting filming locations from shows and movies like Sex and the City and Friends.
Roosevelt Island Tramway
Cable car crossing the East River between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, offering aerial views for the price of a subway fare.
NYC Ferry
Public commuter ferry network connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, doubling as an affordable harbor sightseeing ride.
9 Things to Do
Brooklyn Bridge Park
1.3-mile stretch of reclaimed waterfront parkland along the East River with piers, lawns, and a carousel beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.
Brooklyn Museum
One of the largest art museums in the US, with Egyptian antiquities, American art, and the Elizabeth A. Sackler feminist art center.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Landscaped botanic garden known for its cherry blossom esplanade, Japanese garden, and seasonal orchid and lightscape shows.
DUMBO
Formerly industrial Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood known for its Manhattan Bridge photo spot, converted warehouses, and Brooklyn Bridge Park access.
Luna Park at Coney Island
Seaside amusement park with the landmark Cyclone wooden roller coaster, arcade games, and rides along the Coney Island boardwalk.
New York Aquarium
Wildlife Conservation Society aquarium on the Coney Island boardwalk featuring sharks, sea lions, and a walrus exhibit.
Prospect Park
526-acre park with a lake, woodland, zoo, and the Prospect Park Bandshell for summer concerts.
Brooklyn Brewery
Williamsburg craft brewery offering tours and tastings in the neighborhood that helped spark Brooklyn’s beer renaissance.
Green-Wood Cemetery
19th-century garden cemetery in Sunset Park known for Gothic Revival monuments, hilltop harbor views, and a resident bird colony.
7 Things to Do
Greenwich Village
Historic Manhattan neighborhood of tree-lined streets, jazz clubs, and Washington Square Park, long associated with artists and writers.
SoHo
Historic cast-iron warehouse district turned upscale shopping and gallery neighborhood between Houston and Canal Streets.
Chinatown
Dense Lower Manhattan neighborhood packed with dim sum parlors and herbal shops, the largest Chinatown in the Western Hemisphere.
Little Italy
Small pocket of Italian restaurants and cafes along Mulberry Street, home to the annual Feast of San Gennaro.
Harlem
Upper Manhattan neighborhood renowned for jazz history, soul food, gospel churches, and Renaissance-era architecture along Lenox Avenue.
Flatiron District & Madison Square Park
Neighborhood around the wedge-shaped 1902 Flatiron Building, anchored by Madison Square Park’s lawns, dog run, and the original Shake Shack.
Meatpacking District
Cobblestoned West Side neighborhood of converted meatpacking warehouses now filled with boutiques, restaurants, and the Whitney Museum.
6 Things to Do
Children’s Museum of Manhattan
Interactive museum on the Upper West Side with hands-on exhibits designed for infants through age ten.
New York Hall of Science
Queens science museum built for the 1964 World’s Fair, with hands-on exhibits, an outdoor science playground, and a rocket park.
Bronx Zoo
265-acre zoo with over 6,000 animals, including the Congo Gorilla Forest and Wild Asia Monorail exhibits.
New York Botanical Garden
National Historic Landmark garden in the Bronx with a 50-acre old-growth forest, conservatory, and seasonal orchid and holiday train shows.
Madame Tussauds New York
Times Square wax museum with lifelike figures of celebrities, athletes, and historical icons for photo ops.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Crown Heights museum founded in 1899, the first children’s museum in the world, with hands-on cultural and science exhibits.
4 Things to Do
Fifth Avenue
Iconic shopping stretch from Rockefeller Center to Central Park lined with flagship stores, including Saks and Tiffany & Co.
Macy’s Herald Square
Flagship department store occupying a full city block since 1902, famous for its wooden escalators and Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Chelsea Market
Converted Nabisco factory turned food hall and shopping concourse in the Meatpacking District, with dozens of eateries and vendors.
Union Square Greenmarket
Open-air farmers market in Union Square operating year-round with regional produce, baked goods, and flowers from area farms.
Planning Tips for This Area
- Buy timed tickets in advance for the major observation decks and museums. Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Edge at Hudson Yards, and the Met all sell out peak-time slots, especially on weekends.
- The Apollo Theater is closed for renovation into 2026 — check current status before planning a visit around a specific show there.
- You need a passport-free ferry ticket for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, departing from Battery Park’s Castle Clinton or Liberty State Park in New Jersey — book well ahead for crown or pedestal access.
- Don’t try to see all five boroughs in one trip. Manhattan alone can fill a week; treat Brooklyn attractions like DUMBO, Coney Island, and Prospect Park as a dedicated day rather than an afternoon add-on.
Is the Apollo Theater open?
No — it’s closed for a major renovation currently expected to run into 2026. It’s included in this guide with that status clearly flagged, since it remains a major Harlem landmark worth knowing about for a future visit.
Is the Vessel at Hudson Yards open to visitors?
Yes — after a multi-year closure, Vessel reopened to visitors with a ticketed admission system. We verified current ticketing directly on its official site.
How does NME choose which attractions to feature?
We verify each listing directly against its own official site and current operating status rather than relying on aggregator lists, and we exclude anything we can’t confirm is still open. Read more on our methodology page.
Know an Attraction We Missed?
If you know a great attraction in New York City we’re missing, email us and we’ll take a look.
Heading to New York City?
See the full trip guide — where to stay and where to eat, organized the same way, by category.
