Planning to visit New York City for the first time and feeling a bit overwhelmed?
After visiting New York more times than we can count and then living in NYC for about a year and a half, we have lots of thoughts about how the plan the perfect first trip to New York City!
From curating your personal NYC bucket list out of the thousands of things to do in the city to learning how to navigate the subway to deciding where to stay, planning a trip to New York is quite the undertaking.
Here are our recommendations for the best things to do in NYC on your first visit, plus tips for orienting yourself in the city!
Table of Contents
- An Extremely Brief Description of NYC’s Geography
- 25 Bucket List Things to Do in New York City For First-Time Visitors
- Where to Stay for Your First Trip to NYC
- Getting Around When Visiting New York City
- Essential Travel Tips for Visiting NYC for the First Time
- Read More About Visiting New York (and Beyond)
An Extremely Brief Description of NYC’s Geography
Before diving into the best things to see in New York, it’s a good idea to get a feel for NYC geography!
So much of planning a New York City itinerary (here’s our recommended one), especially for a first visit where you want to see it all, has to do with geography. To keep things manageable, you’ll want to group attractions together as much as possible.
Without getting bogged down in the details (this still feels ridiculously long without them), here is a very, very brief overview of the parts of New York you’re likely to encounter on your first NYC vacation.
The island of Manhattan is the nucleus of New York City and measures about 13 miles from north to south (walking the full length of it in one day is a semi-popular thing to do, though not one you’ll likely have time for on your first trip).
Working north to south, the north end of Manhattan is where you’ll find Harlem.
South of Harlem, you’ll find Central Park in the center (of course) of Manhattan, with the Upper West Side (home of the American Museum of Natural History) and the Upper East Side (home of the Met) flanking the park.
South of Central Park, you’ll find Midtown, which is home to many of NYC’s most iconic attractions, including the Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, Bryant Park, the famous branch of the New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, and Broadway, among many others.
Midtown runs from about 59th Street to 34 Street (which is where you’ll find Macy’s and the Empire State Building).
South of Midtown, you’ll find many of Manhattan’s most storied neighborhoods, including Chelsea, the West Village, SoHo (SOuth of HOuston Street, which is pronounced like “How” and not the city in Texas), and Tribeca on the west side, and the East Village and Lower East Side to the east.
Below 14th Street, you’ll find Lower Manhattan where, among other things, you’ll find Chinatown and the Financial District, which is the oldest part of the city and is home to Wall Street.
From 143rd Street in Harlem down to Washington Square Park in the Village, Fifth Avenue divides the island into the west side and east side (so an address of E 51st Street, for example, will always be found east of 5th).
Manhattan is flanked by the Hudson River to the west, with New Jersey beyond it, and the East River to the east, with Queens lying beyond the river.
The Bronx is located on the mainland, north of Harlem. Brooklyn is located southeast of Manhattan, connected via the famous Brooklyn Bridge (and the subway).
The fifth borough of NYC, Staten Island, is connected to the rest of the city via a (free) ferry and the Staten Island Railway, but not a bridge.
That is an extremely simplified view, of course, leaving out hundreds of neighborhoods and details, but hopefully it brings context to some famous neighborhoods that are often cited in media and helps you start to draw a mental map of your trip to New York City!
25 Bucket List Things to Do in New York City For First-Time Visitors
While there are literally thousands of bucket-list-worthy things to do in New York, we’ve narrowed this list down to the classics that we believe are worth trying to prioritize when visiting New York for the first time.
… And truthfully, you’re unlikely to have time for all of them, though we’ll do our best to help you try!
Here are 25 of the best things to do in NYC for first-time visitors.
Relax in Central Park.
From movies to TV shows to photography, New York’s Central Park has been an icon for more than 150 years. Not first trip to NYC would be complete without a stop here!
It’s impossible to experience all of the park in one visit (it covers a whopping 843 acres), but many of the top things to do in Central Park are located in its southern half.
Be sure to walk across the Bow Bridge, to admire Bethesda Terrace and enjoy its excellent buskers (and free public restrooms), check out Sheep Meadow and/or the Great Lawn, see Central Park Lake, stop by Belvedere Castle, and snap photos of the skyline from the rocks near Wollman Rink (where you can go ice-skating in Central Park in the winter… or play pickleball in the summer).
If you’d like to ditch the crowds in Central Park, head to the Ramble, or to the Ravine in the far northern section of the park (these are some of the only places in Manhattan where you can feel like you’re outside the city).
Central Park is bordered by Midtown to the south (The Plaza is at the southeast corner, and 5th Avenue runs along the edge), the Upper East Side to the east, the Upper West Side to the west, and Harlem to the north.
Very generally speaking, the further north you go in Central Park, the less crowded with tourists it will be–though there will always be New Yorkers out and about, especially on nice days.
Enjoy NYC skyline views from an observation deck.
Admiring New York’s skyline from above is, without a doubt, one of the best things to do when visiting New York City for the first time!
Heading several dozen stories or so into the sky offers a whole new perspective on the depth and breadth of the city, and no matter how many times we go, it never stops being a remarkable experience.
While there are less expensive ways to glimpse the skyline, like the Roosevelt Island Tramway (which costs the same as a subway ride), there’s nothing like NYC’s iconic observation decks.
While pricey, it’s worth making room in your budget to experience at least one of the big 5, so to speak.
(It’s worth noting that if you’re planning to use the excellent New York City Pass during your stay, the Empire State Building is automatically included, and you have the option of adding Top of the Rock).
Without getting too detailed, here’s what to expect…
Empire State Building (Midtown, first opened 1931)
The oldest and most classic of New York City’s observation decks, the Empire State Building is an Art Deco masterpiece that is at least as well-known for its architecture as the view.
Visiting is unforgettable, and the views facing south, where you can see the Financial District erupting in the distance, are magnificent.
Metal fencing does impede any photos of yourself or your group, though.
Here’s our more detailed breakdown of the Empire State Building vs. Top of the Rock.
The Edge (Hudson Yards, first opened 2020)
One of the newer decks on the scene, The Edge offers a lot of the same advantages as the Empire State Building in terms of the view facing south.
It also features a (small) glass floor section you can walk over, though only 1/4 of our group members wanted to.
There is outdoor, bleacher-like seating here that encourages you to stop and take in the view for longer.
Top of the Rock (Midtown, first opened 1933)
NYC’s other classic art deco observation deck, Top of the Rock (AKA the top of Rockefeller Center), offers excellent views of Midtown–including the Empire State Building–facing south, and views of Central Park facing north.
It’s also very committed to expanding the experience, so to speak, and offers a changing array of add-ons and upgrades for interesting photo ops.
Summit ONE Vanderbilt (Midtown/Grand Central, first opened 2021)
The newest of the 5 NYC observation decks outlined here, Summit ONE Vanderbilt is right next door to Grand Central.
While it has excellent views (mostly indoor, but a few outdoor spaces as well), it’s primarily an interactive art exhibit that just happens to double as a viewpoint, rather than a more classic observation deck.
This is also where you’ll find NYC’s skyboxes where you can sit/stand over a glass floor, though the crowd control was intense when we visited and our group didn’t have much time there.
One World Observatory (Financial District, first opened 2015)
As the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, One World Observatory offers amazing views of New York Harbor and its islands, as well as of Manhattan facing north.
Housed on the 102nd floor of the One World Trade Center that was built to replace the Twin Towers, it’s the most geographically removed from the other 4 decks and is located near the southern tip of Manhattan.
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
When it comes to iconic bridges in New York, there’s nothing quite like the circa-19th-century Brooklyn Bridge!
Stretching across the East River between Lower Manhattan and–of course–Brooklyn, the bridge is used by tourists and commuters alike.
The bridge is about 1.1 miles long and you can generously allot an hour to strolling slowly across (the commuters do it much faster: it certainly doesn’t have to take an hour).
On the Brooklyn side of the bridge, you’ll find yourself near DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) and all of its famous attractions including Pebble Beach, Jane’s Carousel, and cobblestone streets), plus that famous view of the Empire State Building through the Manhattan Bridge (you’ll find it at the corner of Washington Street and Water Street).
On the Manhattan side of the bridge, you’ll find yourself near both City Hall and a convenient subway stop, and very close to Chinatown and the Financial District (in opposite directions).
Wondering whether to walk from Brooklyn to Manhattan or vice versa?
They both have their perks, but personally, we prefer walking to Manhattan in order to appreciate the skyline views.
Whichever way you travel, be sure to watch your pockets, be mindful of the commuters, and stay out of the bike lanes (especially at rush hour)!
See Times Square lit up at night.
Crowded? Yes. Touristy? Also yes. But there’s simply nothing like seeing Times Square lit up at night!
In the City that Never Sleeps, Times Square is the eternal light source, and it’s a (somewhat bizarre and overstimulating) marvel.
While it has a particularly eerie appeal at, say, 4:00 AM (something I only know thanks to once driving through it around that time), anytime after dark is a great time to visit.
The many Broadway theaters are scattered within a short walk of Times Square, so we recommend combining a visit to Times Square with a show your first time in New York!
Visit (at least) one of NYC’s iconic museums.
New York is packed with incredible museums, ranging from the gigantic and world-famous to the minuscule and obscure.
When it comes to planning your first trip to NYC, be sure to see at least one of the big 3: the Met, the Natural History Museum, and MOMA.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) is the largest of the bunch, offering a staggering array of global art and antiques that includes everything from iconic American paintings (like Washington Crossing the Delaware) to a complete Egyptian temple to entire rooms relocated from Paris to New York.
If you want to be sure to see the most famous pieces, you might want to consider booking a tour like this. Like the Louvre in Paris, this is a museum where you could never hope to see everything in one visit.
The American Museum of Natural History is situated directly across Central Park from the Met, and is most famous for its dinosaur fossils, Hayden Planetarium, and its (admittedly dated, but historic) dioramas that include some actual taxidermied animals that were hunted by President Teddy Roosevelt.
The Museum of Modern Art covers art from 1880 forward, including pieces from iconic artists like Vincent Van Gogh (you’ll find The Starry Night here), Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Claude Monet, and many more.
Each museum costs between $25-30 to visit (no more free nights unless you happen to live and/or work in NY), and booking tickets in advance is heavily encouraged.
Shop NYC museum tickets today!
… and one of its smaller ones.
Listing all of NYC’s smaller museums that are worth your time would literally take a book (for example, this book covers a mere 111 of them), but suffice it to say that it’s worth stepping beyond the 3 most famous museums when visiting the city!
A few other incredible options include The Cloisters (technically part of the Met, but located far Uptown), the Museum of the City of New York, the Museum of the Moving Image, the New York Transit Museum, the Tenement Museum, the Intrepid (yes, you can visit an aircraft carrier in Manhattan!), the Guggenheim, the Museum of the American Indian, and, of course, the 9/11 Museum.
… and that’s just a handful off the top of my head.
If you have a particular hobby, interest, or historical period that you’re curious about, I recommend searching for a museum about it in New York–odds are, there’s something out there that fits your taste!
Marvel at Grand Central Terminal.
Grand Central Terminal is just as busy as you might expect–and also just as beautiful.
Somehow, in all the TV shows and movies I saw the station featured in growing up, I never managed to catch sight of the stunning turquoise ceiling.
I saw it for the first time in person, and it’s now one of my favorite features of the building.
For the best photos with your group, be sure to head up the staircases on either side of the main atrium (there’s an Apple store on top of one of them).
If you’re a fan of architectural quirks, be sure to also check out the Whispering Gallery, and if you’re hungry, consider also ducking down to the famous and incredibly beautiful Grand Central Oyster Bar to see a different side of the station.
Wander through Chinatown.
In Lower Manhattan, you’ll find Manhattan’s iconic Chinatown!
Packed to the brim with restaurants and shops that spill out in every direction, wandering through Chinatown will have you exploring with your head on a swivel.
Be sure to stop by Canal Street, Mulberry Street, and Mott Street.
For museums, the Museum at Eldridge Street and the Museum of Chinese in America are both popular, and consider stopping by Columbus Park, too.
If you plan to grab a meal in Chinatown, note that many restaurants are cash-only.
On the other hand, if you want to learn more about Chinatown’s food traditions and see sides of the neighborhood that you may not find alone, signing up for a food crawl like this is a great idea.
Enjoy a classic New York City deli experience.
Paying a visit to a classic New York deli is an essential NYC travel experience!
Katz’s is the most famous Jewish deli in the city, and its pastrami on rye lives up to the hype!
We also love Sarge’s Delicatessen & Diner for somewhere with a great New York vibe, reasonable prices, and a bit less of an overwhelming tourist atmosphere as compared to Katz’s.
While their pastrami sandwiches don’t quite live up to Katz’s, the food is tasty, the atmosphere wonderful, and the desserts phenomenal (order the peanut butter cheesecake, or if for some reason you truly dislike cheesecake, the German chocolate cake).
Since Sarge’s is a diner/deli combo, it has a more expansive menu than Katz’s does.
Other highly celebrated delis in NYC include 2nd Ave Deli and Pastrami Queen.
Stroll down Fifth Avenue.
Home to some of the most iconic storefronts in the world, including Tiffany & Co., Bergdorf Goodman, and Saks Fifth Avenue, Fifth Avenue is a shopper’s paradise and an interesting destination even for those not looking to make a purchase!
Fifth Avenue technically runs from 143rd Street in Harlem down to Washington Square Park in the Village, but its most famous section runs right through Midtown, starting from the southeast corner of Central Park.
Starting at 59th Street and heading south, you’ll find The Plaza on the edge of Central Park, followed quickly by Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany & Co., Cartier, The St. Regis New York, and many more.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is located at 50th, but don’t miss the striking Gothic-style St. Thomas Church at 53rd, either.
Rockefeller Center is at the intersection of 5th and 50th Street, the flagship branch of the New York Public Library at 42nd, and the Empire State Building at 34th.
Get comfortable with the subway.
We’ll cover this a bit more below when we discuss transportation options, but getting comfortable navigating the subway system absolutely belongs on your New York bucket list!
The subway is an iconic and extremely important part of the city, and it’s the main feature of the most robust public transportation system that we have in the US.
While it’s not perfect, it is incredibly practical, and taking ample advantage of it will give you the electrifying feeling of having the entire city at your fingertips… while saving you plenty of money as compared to traveling by car, too.
See a Broadway show.
Seeing a Broadway show is easily one of the best things to do when visiting New York for the first time!
Personally, I adore the theater and we’ve always tried to prioritize seeing at least one show on every trip to NYC (and we saw quite a few when living in the city).
Even if you’re not generally a theater person, though, it’s worth experiencing the immersive experience of Broadway at least once.
Tickets to long-running classics like Chicago and The Lion King are very easy to nab (even last-minute) and can be quite affordable, and even Hamilton is easy enough to see these days (almost a decade later).
We often use TodayTix to buy Broadway tickets, and you can also book tickets to popular shows through Get Your Guide and Viator.
As far as the dress code goes, don’t sweat it: you’ll see people wearing everything from jeans to cocktail dresses.
While you will probably want to dress up a little bit (a T-shirt and shorts will stand out in a too-casual way, khakis and a nice sweater or a sundress won’t get a second glance), don’t worry about packing any overly formal outfits for NYC just to see a show.
Eat a New York City bagel.
New York City bagels are an absolute classic, and any first trip to New York should include at least one!
… But if you’re a bread fan (who isn’t?), we recommend trying at least two, one with cream cheese/schmear, and one with eggs.
Personally, I’m a fan of a classic bacon, egg, and cheese on an everything bagel, or a cinnamon raisin with plain cream cheese, but the sky is the limit! Bagels with cream cheese and lox (smoked salmon) is a top choice.
The battle for the best bagel in NYC is in constant flux, and ultimately a matter of preference. We’re partial to Ess-a-Bagel, in large part because we lived close by, and other highly rated options include Zucker’s (if you like smoked salmon, order The Traditional, pictured below), Tompkins Square Bagels, and Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company.
Take a self-guided walking tour of the Financial District.
While the name evokes images of banks and suit-wearing commuters, the Financial District is also the oldest part of New York City, and home to some incredible things to do as a result!
Situated on the southernmost tip of Manhattan, top things to do in the Financial District range from the money-themed (Wall Street, the famous bull) to the deeply historic (Trinity Church, Federal Hall, and other places dating to before the Revolutionary War), to the profound (the 9/11 Museum and Memorial).
It’s also where you’ll go in order to board the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!
Here’s our full guide to the best things to do in the Financial District, but suffice it to say that a visit here is well worth your time.
Admire the Statue of Liberty.
I’ll confess: it took us several years and many trips to New York to finally visit the Statue of Liberty, and once we did, we enjoyed it so much that we returned repeatedly.
When living in NYC, we took almost all of our family and friends who visited us there over to the island!
Not only is the statue itself lovely, but the ferry ride itself is an amazing part of the experience, and Ellis Island is absolutely worth visiting at the same time.
We recommend boarding the earliest ferry to the Statue of Liberty that you can get tickets for!
Not interested in visiting Liberty Island? If so, we recommend still admiring views of the Statue of Liberty from the water, whether that’s via a sightseeing cruise or the Staten Island Ferry.
And, of course, don’t forget to look for the Statue of Liberty in the distance when visiting NYC’s observation decks!
Pick a neighborhood and wander.
Without a doubt, one of the best things to do in NYC is to simply wander through a neighborhood that interests you.
Leave the tourist attractions, lines, and restaurant reservations behind for a few moments, and instead dedicate yourself to noticing architectural details of brownstones, tiny pocket parks, fruit stands, businesses tucked into basements, and just how many dogs there are in New York (a lot).
This is one of the best cities in the world for people-watching, and there’s no better way to notice something new than to leisurely discover it on foot!
Popular neighborhoods for this include the Upper East Side and Upper West Side (both famous and beautiful, but fairly residential), the West Village (one of the oldest and trendiest parts of NYC), and Williamsburg (one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Brooklyn).
Other interesting options include the Lower East Side, Park Slope in Brooklyn, and Coney Island + Brighton Beach, but the sky is truly the limit: NYC has hundreds of neighborhoods, each with their own personality.
Visit (at least) one of NYC’s islands.
When strolling the concrete streets of Manhattan and feeling dwarfed by buildings in all directions, it’s easy to forget that New York City is an archipelago… but if you ask us, that’s one of the coolest things about the city!
While, technically speaking, 4 out of 5 of New York City’s boroughs are on islands (only the Bronx is on the mainland), NYC’s smaller islands are also worth a visit.
The most popular choices, of course, are Liberty Island (a tiny speck of a piece of land that is home to the Statue of Liberty) and Ellis Island, which are both well worth your time.
Other nearby options include Roosevelt Island for views and light sightseeing (the cable car ride there is phenomenal, and only costs as much as a subway ride), and Governor’s Island, which manages to feel like a retreat from the city while also offering stupendous views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
The aptly named Little Island is a small manmade park-within-a-park located in Hudson River Park and was just opened in 2021.
Enjoy views of New York City from the water.
Experiencing New York from the water is an experience well worth having during your first trip to the city!
There are several ways to pull this off, including riding the Staten Island Ferry (which is free), hopping on the NYC Ferry ($4.50/ride as of the time of writing) to head to an island or other borough, or even booking a dinner cruise like this (one of our friends went on one a few years ago and raved about it–and he’s lived in New York for more than a decade).
Of course, one of the most popular boat rides in New York is catching the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which offers amazing views of Lower Manhattan.
We also loved the Circle Line sightseeing cruise that we took using our New York City Pass!
It was a delight to get a quick sweep of everything from Hudson Yards to the Financial District to the Brooklyn Bridge to the Statue of Liberty and back again with our visiting family members.
Try a cuisine that you’ve never had before.
While pizza, bagels, cheesecake, and a pastrami on rye are all classic New York foods that are all worth your time, New York is home to one of the–if not the most dynamic and complex food scenes on Earth, and we highly recommend sampling a cuisine you’ve never had before while visiting!
Maybe that’s Korean barbecue in Koreatown, or stopping for Sri Lankan food in Staten Island before turning around and riding the ferry back to Manhattan, or grabbing a meal at a Greek diner in Astoria.
Maybe it’s region-specific Chinese or Italian food that’s different than anything you’ve tried at home.
Or maybe, it’s one of the unexpected and ridiculously creative fusions that New Yorkers tend to come up with–we once had a delicious meal at a Peruvian-Afro-Caribbean restaurant!
Wander through DUMBO.
DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) is the Brooklyn neighborhood located right next door to the Brooklyn Bridge, and therefore one of the most popular Brooklyn neighborhoods for first-time visitors to New York!
Here, you’ll find cobblestone streets, many boutiques, plenty of cafes, popular parks, bookstores, the famous Time Out Market New York, excellent views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge, and a couple of the top photo spots in NYC.
Don’t miss the historic Jane’s Carousel or the skyline views from Pebble Beach!
The famous Brooklyn Flea is also held here on Saturdays and Sundays from April to October.
And of course–don’t forget to stop by the intersection of Washington Street and Front Street, where you can capture the iconic Manhattan Bridge photo for yourself.
Check out a non-Broadway version of New York nightlife.
There is far more to New York nightlife than Broadway and bars–though there are plenty of those, too!
From the New York City Ballet and New York Philharmonic to small concerts in tiny venues to Madison Square Gardens to the Apollo Theater to a singalong showtunes bar (Marie’s Crisis Cafe), the music options also are limitless when exploring New York at night!
… And that’s just a few ideas for music!
Other cool NYC nightlife experiences could include but certainly aren’t limited to visiting a comedy club, attending a TV show taping, visiting the Empire State Building at night, enjoying a dinner cruise, or finding a unique experience like the immersive Life and Trust (created by the team behind Sleep No More).
Wander the West Village.
The West Village is one of the better-known areas of New York City and is full of classic New York charm.
This is one of the oldest and best-preserved parts of New York City, and the streets have a tendency to wind together somewhat incomprehensibly, looping back in on themselves and generally feeling worlds away from the wide, manicured avenues of Midtown.
If you’re a 90s sitcom fan, the West Village is probably best recognized as the home of Carrie Bradshaw and the gang from Friends (if you’re the type to hunt down filming locations, you can find the buildings used for the exterior shots of both buildings nearby).
There’s also a national landmark in the West Village: the Stonewall Inn, which was the birthplace of the LGBT rights movement in 1969.
Today, you can find everything from trendy boutiques to delicious brunch spots to improbably small and photogenic coffee shops in the West Village, along with beautiful residential streets.
The West Village is a smaller subsection of The Village (AKA Greenwich Village, though it’s rarely called that in NYC), which is also home to Washington Square Park!
Walk the High Line and visit Chelsea Market.
New York is chock full of cool places and spaces that are hidden in plain sight, and the Chelsea High Line is a great example of that!
As an elevated-railroad-track-turned-park, the High Line offers beautiful views of the surrounding area, and it gives you a chance to get a whole new perspective on NYC.
The entire High Line is almost a mile and a half long, so don’t feel obligated to walk the whole thing–but definitely spend some time up there checking out the views and the art.
There are several places to access the High Line, and we recommend choosing one of the entrances further north by Hudson Yards (which is also where you’ll find The Edge) and then walking south toward Chelsea Market.
Want to combine a walk along the High Line with a delicious food tour? This Chelsea Market + Meatpacking District food tour gets great reviews!
Grab some pizza from a slice shop.
At some point during your time in New York, you’re going to find yourself hungry, impatient, and in search of a warm meal without a wait… and that’s when it’s time to visit a slice shop!
There are slice shops (which primarily sell pizza by the slice, though you can often opt for a whole pie) all over the city, ranging from the trendy to the classic to the tourist-trap-esque.
While the best slice shop is the one with great reviews in whatever neighborhood you happen to be in at the time, Joe’s is among the most classic slices in the city for good reason.
We also love Scarr’s on the Lower East Side, and for a local chain that you can step into without worry, Marinara is reliable.
If you’re serious about your pizza, this guide from Serious Eats is an excellent deep dive into NYC slice shops!
Enjoy a season-specific attraction or event in NYC.
Whenever you choose to visit New York, there’s bound to be something season-specific happening–and it can add a lot to your trip to sprinkle a seasonal activity into your visit!
Whether that’s taking a day trip to the beach or enjoying a baseball game in the summer, or ice skating at Rockefeller Center and visiting the Christmas markets in December, New York is full of ever-changing attractions.
Other options include poking around the museums to see if there are any temporary exhibits that appeal to you, or in the depth of winter, participating in restaurant week!
Where to Stay for Your First Trip to NYC
There’s no getting around it: New York is expensive, and lodging is one of the major factors that will drive up the budget for your first trip to NYC.
If you can, we recommend staying in Manhattan, ideally in Midtown or the Financial District if you’re prioritizing ease of getting around.
While they aren’t necessarily the most trendy sections of the city, they are extremely well-connected and home to many of the city’s iconic attractions.
Basically all of NYC’s public transportation is designed to ferry thousands of commuters in and out of those neighborhoods–when it comes to the subway specifically, think of them as the center of a wheel, and all the other places in the city as spokes reaching out from them.
The traditional choices to try to save a bit of money on lodging by getting out of Manhattan–Williamsburg, DUMBO, Astoria, Long Island City–are all quite popular themselves now but definitely take a quick look out there if you’re trying to save cash.
Get much further out, though, and you’re going to be eating up your vacation by sitting on the subway, so be wary of that!
Our number one tip for choosing a place to stay in New York?
Make sure it’s within, say, a 10-minute walk of the subway. Any further, and your commute every time you want to rest up in the hotel for an hour will get on your nerves immediately.
Also: renting a full apartment for less than 30 days where the host is not present on Airbnb is illegal in New York. If you want to rent a private room in a place where the host is staying, have at it–but those prices are high, too (I know you’re shocked).
Here are a few well-reviewed and well-located hotel options that we can recommend in NYC!
Budget
POD 51 — With small, clean rooms, decent reviews, and an excellent location near some of the best things to do in NYC (you’ll be within walking distance of 5th Avenue, Grand Central, and Central Park, among others), POD 51 offers reasonable rates that don’t compromise on location.
While bathrooms are shared, the rooftop deck offers space to spread out!
Check rates & book your stay at POD 51 today!
Mid-range
Club Quarters Hotel Midtown (Times Square) — Times Square can be a surprisingly affordable (in relative terms, that is) place to stay in New York.
We’ve personally stayed in this hotel and while the room was small, the customer service was excellent and the location was phenomenal.
For a big upgrade in room size but without moving to a full luxury hotel, we also love the nearby Omni Berkshire Place, though it stretches the definition of mid-range prices (especially during the more popular seasons to visit NYC).
You can’t beat being within walking distance of highlights like Times Square, Grand Central, and the Empire State Building!
Check rates & book your stay at Club Quarters Hotel Midtown!
Luxury
Library Hotel — As there is no end to the number of luxury hotel options in the city, I’ll go ahead and feature one that I’m personally eager to stay in!
The library-themed (and aptly named) Library Hotel is located right by the New York Public Library and boasts themed rooms, a stunning reading room, and a rooftop bar.
For bibliophiles–or just those looking for a swanky and popular property in a great location–you can’t go wrong with the Library Hotel if you’re looking for a piece of luxury to enjoy during your first time in New York.
Looking for a more bucket-list-level property? The Plaza and The St. Regis are both icons well deserving of their status!
Check rates & book your stay at the Library Hotel!
Getting Around When Visiting New York City
There are many wonderful ways to get around New York–but for first-time visitors, rental cars should not be among them.
Instead, check out these NYC transport options:
Walk
Our number one tip for getting around in New York? Walk everywhere you can.
True, you’ll still likely need to pick up alternate transport a few times a day–New York is enormous–but by walking where you can, you’ll save money, see more of the city, and often not waste any extra time.
(Seriously: check the time difference in driving, catching the subway, and walking–in some spots and especially during rush hour, you’ll be shocked at how little of a time difference there is).
Enjoying the city on foot is half the fun of seeing it!
Subway
New York’s subway is not known for being well-run–quite the opposite, actually–but it’s still often one of the best ways to get around the city.
It’s now operated using tap-to-pay, which makes getting tickets a breeze!
As of 2025, each ride costs $2.90, and you can find updated fare details and information here.
If you’re visiting NYC in the summer, be prepared for the fact that not all subway lines come equipped with air conditioning, and the subway platforms aren’t air-conditioned either.
Taxi
New York’s iconic yellow taxis are most commonly found in Manhattan, especially in and around Midtown, so if you’re looking to hail one, that’s the place to do it!
The taxis are happy to take you anywhere, but good luck stepping outside and picking one up in, say, Brooklyn.
When the numbers on top of the cab are lit up, that means that the cab is open and accepting rides, and you can stick your arm out and hail it.
All New York taxi drivers are required to use the meter, and we’ve never had an issue with one trying not to. You can pay (including tip) by credit card.
Taxis are definitely a more expensive way to get around than the subway, but if you’re traveling with a group, it can be more economical than you might think.
Uber/Lyft
Uber and Lyft are popular in New York and are great options if you want to be driven and are coming from somewhere that taxis aren’t common.
At one point, ridesharing was generally a bit cheaper than taxis, but changes over time plus many back-and-forth legal battles with the city have moved the needle enough that they’re normally about even on price.
Bus
Due to traffic, New York’s buses aren’t known for always running on time, but if you’re looking to get somewhere via public transportation that doesn’t have a great subway connection, they’re an option.
You can use tap-to-pay for buses in addition to the subway.
CitiBike
Want to bike your way through NYC?
Citi Bike makes it easy to do (but if you’re not used to urban biking, you may prefer to start in less crowded neighborhoods).
Ferry
Don’t forget about the NYC Ferry when considering how to get around!
In addition to being able to use the ferry to visit islands like Governor’s Island and Roosevelt Island, you can also take ferries between some of the boroughs (it’s a popular way for Manhattanites to get to the Brooklyn Ikea, for example).
And, of course, the ferries can operate as inexpensive, mini-sightseeing cruises too, depending on where you go!
NYC Ferry rides cost $4.50 each as of the time of writing (you can check updated prices and routes here)
The Staten Island Ferry is a separate service, and it’s free to use.
Essential Travel Tips for Visiting NYC for the First Time
Make note of which airport you arrive in… and depart from.
What do JFK, Newark (EWR), and LaGuardia (LGA) all have in common?
They all service flights to New York City–and they’re not particularly close to each other.
(For the record, JFK is in southeast Queens, LaGuardia is in northwest-ish Queens, and Newark is in the city of Newark, New Jersey).
Be sure to check and double-check what airport you’re flying into and out of.
The last thing you want to do is wrap up your first time in New York by heading to JFK when your flight is leaving from Newark!
Sketch out your itinerary in advance.
There are several reasons that your first time in New York is bound to go more smoothly if you plan parts of your stay in advance, but the two biggest ones are managing reservations and managing geography!
Many of NYC’s top museums and restaurants highly encourage (or in some cases, require) reservations, and planning ahead will ensure you get a chance to experience everything you want.
Even more important, though, is making sure that you don’t spend your limited time in New York bouncing needlessly across town!
Grouping your NYC bucket list by neighborhood is the easiest way to ensure that you can see as much of New York during your first trip as possible.
Our recommended New York itineraries (we have 4-day, 2-day, and 1-day versions here on Our Escape Clause) all take efficiency very seriously, and group attractions together in a logical order.
Get out of Manhattan at least once when visiting NYC!
A typical NYC first-timer’s itinerary is bound to focus primarily on Manhattan–and that is for very good reason!
The island of Manhattan is absolutely the center of the city, and that includes its tourism scene. Manhattan is the densest and most walkable borough, has the “typical” New York atmosphere that newcomers are eager to experience, and is home to, let’s say, at least 90% of the top things to do in New York on a first trip.
… But there are 5 boroughs that make up New York City, not one, and you will get to know the city better if you prioritize seeing a different side of New York during your visit!
The second-most popular borough with visitors is, of course, Brooklyn. If you have a chance to get beyond DUMBO (the neighborhood right by the bridge), consider boutique-hopping in trendy Williamsburg, relaxing in Prospect Park, ogling the architecture in Park Slope, visit Coney Island, admire the views from the Green-Wood Cemetery, and check out the New York Transit Museum.
In Queens, admire views in Long Island City, hang out in Astoria Park, see a Mets game, visit the Queens Museum (or the Museum of the Moving Image, or MoMA PS1), relax at Rockaway Beach, visit Flushing’s famous Chinatown, and see Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The most popular things to do in Bronx for visitors are undoubtedly visiting the Bronx Zoo and seeing a Yankees game, but the New York Botanical Garden is also remarkable, Arthur Avenue is home to a beloved Little Italy, and City Island will make you marvel at how you could possibly still be in NYC.
Staten Island is largely residential and the least popular borough for visitors… with the exception of the free-to-ride Staten Island Ferry, which will take you between Manhattan and Staten Island in style and with views of the Statue of Liberty.
If you’d like to dive a little deeper, consider visiting Historic Richmond Town, Fort Wadsworth, or the National Lighthouse Museum.
… but don’t underestimate how big the city is, either.
While every borough has something to offer (and if you go beyond Manhattan and the most popular parts of Brooklyn, you’ll absolutely be well off the beaten path for first-time visitors to New York), time is a huge limitation.
Sure, all of the attractions listed above are in New York City… but considering that it takes 30-40 minutes to get from the southern part of Central Park to the 9/11 Museum in the Financial District on a good day–in other words, traveling between two popular places connected by subway that are less than half the length of Manhattan apart–you’ll need to be very careful of travel time.
Coney Island, for example, is more than an hour from Grand Central by public transportation, and the Bronx Zoo is almost an hour from Grand Central.
Think carefully about where to stay in New York.
Given how big New York City is, it’s truly not enough to just look for a hotel “in New York” or even “in Manhattan”–which neighborhood you stay in will make an enormous difference in how you feel about your trip.
Personally, I like to prioritize an easy-to-access location in the heart of everything for most trips, which in NYC means staying in Midtown or the Financial District.
Because these are Manhattan’s two biggest business centers, essentially all of New York’s subway lines and public transportation in general are designed to ferry thousands of commuters to these two neighborhoods, and you can more easily access any corner of the city from them.
They’re also each home to more than their fair share of New York attractions!
Other popular options includes the Upper East Side and Upper West Side (more residential and you’ll spend a little more time on the subway, but excellent choices), the Village (trendy and lovely, but make sure you’re near a subway stop and that you check the reviews for noise at your hotel), and the Lower East Side (iconic and quirky).
The sky is truly the limit, though… as long as you’re staying near a subway line. I recommend checking the directions to a few different major attractions (say, the Met, the Empire State Building, Central Park, and the 9/11 Memorial, for example), to get a feel for what kind of commute you’re looking at.
Consider picking up the New York City Pass.
If the Empire State Building, the American Museum of Natural History, and 3 other major attractions (the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island and the 9/11 Museum are both optional inclusions, for example), then the New York City Pass can be an excellent deal!
We rarely recommend city passes in general because they’re often designed to ferry people to less-visited corners rather than help them save money (a worthy goal for cities, absolutely, but not always what first-time visitors are looking for).
That is not the case in New York, though.
We tested the pass first-hand when one of my brothers came to visit us, and found it to be a bargain!
Get your New York City Pass today!
Don’t bring any shoes you don’t want to walk miles in.
Any first New York vacation is bound to involve lots and lots of walking!
Bring shoes that you feel comfortable wearing all day, and your trip will automatically improve.
When you can, book in advance (including for popular restaurants).
New Yorkers are big on reservations, and they’ve only become more popular in the city (and across the world, honestly) over the last 5 years.
If you have your heart set on visiting a popular attraction or restaurant–especially if you found out about it because it blew up on social media–make a reservation before visiting if you can.
For example, we lived a short walk away from Le Relais de Venise L’Entrecôte when it blew up online and watched it go from a typical restaurant to a place with lines down block before it opened for the day almost overnight!
Avoid empty subway cars.
If a train is busy but a particular subway car is empty, there’s a reason for it.
Your nose will thank you for braving the crowded car next door instead!
Bring cash.
A surprising number of New York bars and restaurants are cash-only, so come prepared!
Expect to pay full price to visit the top museums in New York City–and to frequently book tickets in advance.
Generally speaking, free nights and pay-what-you-wish policies have either disappeared or been severely limited over the last 5 years in New York.
If you happen to live or work in New York City (or in some cases, the tri-state area), you can still take advantage of certain perks (MOMA has free nights for residents on the first Friday of the month, the Met and the Natural History Museum still allow pay-what-you-wish for New Yorkers), but visitors from further afield should prepare to pay full price for tickets.
You can still find some exceptions, like at the Guggenheim during very specific hours and the Morgan Library and Museum, but free or very cheap museum visits are definitely harder to find than they used to be.
The other major change with visiting museums and major attractions like observation decks is that booking timed-entry tickets in advance is now highly encouraged, or in some cases, required.
If you can plan at least the major beats of your days in NYC in advance, your schedule will be easier for it!
Treat the sidewalk like a road.
If there’s one thing New Yorkers are notorious for, it is moving fast and being abrupt–or even rude–on the street.
While I tend to think this stereotype is overblown, there is a tendency to get frustrated with visitors who treat the sidewalk like a place to lounge or stand in groups, especially in crowded areas–because in New York, the sidewalk is the road!
Essentially, this means to prepare to navigate walking like a less dangerous version of navigating driving at home.
The polite thing to do is to stick to the right, keep things moving, and if you need to stop for any reason–like checking directions or answering a text–pull over (AKA step off to the side) first.
Check restaurant reviews before sitting down.
New York’s restaurant scene is consistently amazing… and constantly evolving.
Every day, new restaurants open, old ones close, local favorites come under new management–it would literally be a full-time job to keep up with them all.
For that reason, we strongly recommend checking the online reviews of restaurants before picking a place to eat.
It’s the most reliable way to get up-to-date information about a location and ensure that you won’t be disappointed with a single meal you eat during your time in New York!
Think twice before signing up for any kind of bus tour.
Guided tours in general are one thing–they can be very valuable, and we happily sign up for them all over the world.
Bus tours of Manhattan, though?
Unless you’re extremely intent on walking as little as possible and don’t want to navigate taxis and public transportation at all, we’d recommend thinking twice, simply because you’ll end up sitting in a lot of traffic during your vacation in New York!
Don’t be afraid to curate your perfect first time in New York City!
Ultimately, there is absolutely no way to do everything there is to do in NYC, whether you’re there for a weekend or a lifetime.
Because of that, the biggest travel tip we can offer for planning your first trip to New York is to pack your itinerary only with activities and attractions that excite you, and ruthlessly cut those that don’t appeal to you, whether they’re “must-sees” or not.
While this is always good travel advice, it’s particularly important for visiting NYC for the first time, because the sheer amount of options can easily leave you spinning in a vortex of well-intentioned advice.
As long as you travel to New York with a rough plan outlined and know what you want to see, you’ll no doubt walk away from the city feeling like you’ve had an unforgettable first trip to NYC!
Read More About Visiting New York (and Beyond)
If you found this guide to planning your first NYC vacation helpful, we’d love to continue to be part of your travel research here on Our Escape Clause!
You can check out our 100+ blog posts about the USA here, or browse these guides about the east coast:
- The (Massive) Ultimate 4 Days in New York Itinerary
- 55 Best Things to Do in Boston (+ Travel Tips!)
- Empire State Building or Top of the Rock: 9 Crucial Things to Know
- 3 Days in Philly: The Perfect Weekend in Philadelphia Itinerary
- 13 Epic East Coast Cities for Weekend Getaways
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