I once asked a friend why they wanted to visit New York City and one of the reasons they said was that, in their mind, New York was a place with thousands of things to see.
That assumption isn’t wrong. There are more things to do and see in New York than probably any one person can experience in a lifetime.
Nevertheless, there are some sights in the city that are truly unmissable.
Here are the 24 best things to see in New York!
Table of Contents
1. Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Built in the likeness of a Roman goddess, the Statue of Liberty is an icon of freedom and one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A gift from the people of France to the United States, the statue was designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and built by Gustave Eiffel (the same responsible for building the Eiffel Tower in Paris). She has been overlooking New York Harbor since 1886.
(In case you’re wondering, there’s a small-scale version of the Statue of Liberty, cast by Bartholdi himself, in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.)
Nearby is Ellis Island, where some 12 million immigrants to the U.S. were processed between 1892 and 1954.
Want to find out more? Check out my Ultimate Guide to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island!
2. Empire State Building
Built in an astounding 13 months thanks to innovative building techniques and thousands of workers, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world when it opened in 1931. It would retain that title until 1971.
The building is now just the seventh tallest building in New York, but remains its most iconic. More than 4 million visitors a year look out on the city from its three observation decks on the 80th, 86th, and 102nd floors.
3. Times Square
Probably the most famous intersection in the world, Times Square is the beating heart and epitome of New York: crowded, overwhelming, spectacular. Originally named Longacre Square, it acquired it current name in 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters nearby.
It’s best to visit at night, when the bright lights of Times Square can be seen in their full glory. The most famous celebration is the New Year’s Eve ball drop, during which some 1 million people flood the square.
If you’re not around on New Year’s Eve, don’t worry; Times Square still has a lot of magic to offer. Every night, three minutes before midnight, the billboards of Times Square synchronize and showcase the work of a new artist every month in an event called Midnight Moment.
4. Central Park
Central Park is one of the most visited attractions in New York – and it’s popular with tourists and locals alike. An estimated 42 million people come to the park to walk, run, bike, or relax. It’s also a favorite with filmmakers; it’s one of the most filmed locations in the world.
While the park may look natural, it’s actually artificial. Construction took place between 1857 and 1876 based on a winning design by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
Among the best things to see and do at the park are relaxing on the Great Lawn, ice skating at the Wollman Rink (in winter), visiting Central Park Zoo, boating on the lake, catching a free Shakespeare in the Park production at the Delacorte Theater, taking Instagram photos at the Bethesda Terrace, or just wandering aimlessly through the park’s 843 acres.
5. Brooklyn Bridge
One of the most recognizable bridges in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge was an architectural marvel when it opened in 1883. The largest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its construction, it was also the first bridge to make use of steel wire.
Today, the Brooklyn Bridge offers some of the best views of New York City – just be sure to cross from the Brooklyn side to the Manhattan side for the best effect.
And the saying “I have a bridge to sell you?” It comes from a real-life incident where a con artist tried selling the Brooklyn Bridge, which he didn’t own, to unsuspecting victims, who tried erecting toll booths on “their” bridge.
6. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Take a journey through 5,000 years of history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the best and most visited museums in the world. Founded in 1870 and commonly referred to as “the Met,” the museum boasts some 1.5 million works of art from Ancient Egypt and classical antiquity to contemporary art and fashion, from the U.S. and Europe to Africa, Asia, and beyond.
The Met’s main location is on the Upper East Side, backing into Central Park. For an immersive art experience, head up to the tip of Manhattan and visit The Cloisters, the Met’s repository for medieval European art whose building incorporates five real-life medieval cloisters.
7. 9/11 Memorial and Museum
The attacks of September 11, 2001 forever changed the world, and New York in particular. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum, commonly known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, retells the story of that fateful day and commemorates 2,977 people who perished.
The memorial includes two square reflection pools representing the fallen Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. The perimeters of the pools are inscribed with the names of the victims killed in the attacks. The museum includes more than 74,000 artifacts, including architectural features from the original tower and the damaged fire trucks of one of the responding ladder companies.
8. Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal is not just a beautiful Beaux Arts-style train station and a landmark of New York City; it’s also the southern terminus of the Metro-North Railroad. Welcoming 21.6 million visitors in 2018 and with an estimated passenger traffic of 67 million per year, it’s the third busiest train station in North America. In fact, it’s so busy, it’s entered the English language as an idiom; to be as “busy as Grand Central Station” means to be very busy, almost chaotic.
Opened to the public in 1913, Grand Central Terminal experienced a period of decline in the 1950s, but was thankfully saved from demolition. Not-to-miss are the celestial ceiling filled with constellations and the $20 million dollar Information Book Clock.
9. Wall Street
Wall Street is known as the financial center of the world, and for good reason; it’s here that the New York Stock Exchange – the world’s largest – is located. The building is a National Historic Landmark.
The New York Stock Exchange isn’t Wall Street’s only significant building. Federal Hall is located just opposite. On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the first President of the United States on the site.
10. Museum of Modern Art
Known affectionately as the MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art is one of the most influential and important museums of modern and contemporary art in the world. It’s also one of the most visited art museums, welcoming nearly 3 million visitors a year.
Among the highlights of the MoMA’s collection are Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, and Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory.
11. Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of several buildings in Midtown. Commissioned by the fabulously wealthy Rockefeller family, construction took place in the 1930s. It was the largest private construction during the Great Depression, providing jobs for thousands of workers.
Home to iconic statues such as Prometheus and Atlas and known as the headquarters of major American broadcasting corporation NBC, Rockefeller Center is also the location of Top of the Rock, a 70th-story observation deck that offers the best views of the Empire State Building.
The complex’s most famous attraction is its gigantic Christmas tree,which is lit amid much fanfare every year. The tree attracts around 125 million visitors annually.
12. American Museum of Natural History
TheAmerican Museum of Natural History is home to over 30 million specimens from the world’s natural and cultural history, from fossils to minerals to animals to cultural artifacts. It’s a perennial favorite of kids and adults alike.
The museum has been welcoming visitors since 1869. It also has a large scientific staff and sponsors more than 100 field expeditions every year. And if the museum exterior looks familiar, that’s probably because you’ve seen it in one of several movies that have been filmed here, mostly notably Night at the Museum (2006).
13. New York Public Library
With a catalogue of some 55 million items, the New York Public Library is one of the largest libraries in the world. But as you admire the Beaux Arts building with its marbled hall and elaborate ceilings, you might be wondering, where are all the books? They’re kept in 125 miles of shelves beneath the library and the adjacent Bryant Park.
Books aren’t the only previous things the library has in its collection. The library also has Charles Dickens’ favorite paper knife (the handle is the embalmed paw of his favorite cat), Emily Brontë’s hair, and pieces of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s skull.
Want to find out more interesting facts about the New York Public Library? Check out 10 Fascinating Facts about the New York Public Library!
14. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Referred to simply as “The Guggenheim,” the Solomon R. Guggenheim is one of New York’s most prominent art museums. The permanent collection includes works by Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Paul Cézanne, and Marc Chagall.
It isn’t just the museum’s collection that impresses. The building itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the structures designed by the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The spiral architecture alone is worth the visit.
15. Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings housing some of the most renowned performing arts organizations in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet, and the Julliard School.
It was built, somewhat controversially, as part of an urban renewal project in the 1950s and 1960s. Since then, it has become a beloved cultural center that welcomes 5 million visitors a year. Its iconic Revson Fountain has appeared in several movies, including The Producers (1967) and Ghostbusters (1984).
16. Flatiron Building
The Flatiron Building got its name thanks to its resemblance to a clothes iron. The building’s unusual shape is due to the constraints of its location; it is on a triangular city block bordered by Broadway to the east, Fifth Avenue to the west, and 22nd Street to the south.
Built during the First Great Age of skyscrapers in the early 20th century, the Flatiron Building was, at 20 stories high, one of New York’s tallest buildings when it opened in 1903. It has since become one of the city’s most iconic buildings, with a 2023 survey showing it to be the fourth most loved building in the U.S.
17. St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Among the luxury stores and impossibly tall buildings of Fifth Avenue, you’ll find a Neo-Gothic structure that looks somewhat out of place. This is St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a Catholic cathedral and the seat of the Archbishop of New York, and the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America. It is named after St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, in part due to the large number of Irish immigrants, most of whom were Catholic, who came to New York City in the 19th century and helped finance its construction.
Construction began in 1858 and was completed 20 years later. Its 329.5 ft (100.4 m) -tall spires made the cathedral the tallest structure in New York at the time. Thanks to its architectural importance, St. Patrick’s Cathedral is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is a New York City Landmark.
18. The Battery and Castle Clinton
A park at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, The Battery – formerly known as Battery Park – was so named for the artillery batteries that were built in the 17th century by the British to protect the island from invasion. (The British had good reason to fear invasion; they themselves had captured the settlement of New Amsterdam, where The Battery now lies, from the Dutch not long before.)
While the park has several attractions and monuments, its most significant is Castle Clinton. Built as a fort just before the War of 1812, no shots were ever fired from the structure, and it later became a customs house and an aquarium (but not at the same time). Today, it’s where visitors purchase tickets to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
19. Watch a Broadway show
New York is known as a center of culture in the world and (together with London’s West End) the Broadway theatre represents the highest level of live theatre in the English-speaking world. Some 41 theaters put on productions that are seen by some 12 million people.
The shows playing on Broadway are always changing. Check out the Playbill website for a list of what’s currently playing.
Want to listen to a few show tunes to your playlist? Check out my picks for 35 of catchy show tunes!
20. Madison Square Garden
Located in Midtown, right near Penn Station, Madison Square Garden is a multipurpose indoor arena. With a seating capacity of over 20,000, it is the home of two of New York’s major sports teams, the New York Rangers (hockey) and the New York Knicks (basketball).
Some 320 events take place at the Garden every year. While these have mainly included sports games and concerts, other events such as the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, the Grammy Awards, the NFL Draft, and the Westminster Dog Show have all been held here.
The Garden has also been the site of some historic events, including the “Fight of the Century” between boxing greats Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier.
Learn more interesting facts about Madison Square Garden here!
21. Radio City Music Hall
Nicknamed “The Showplace of the Nation,” Radio City Music Hall, part of Rockefeller Center, is an entertainment venue and theater. Since opening its doors in 1932, the Art Deco venue has hosted a number of major events, such as the Grammy Awards, the Tony Awards, and the NFL Draft. Artists who have performed here include Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Dave Chappelle, Barry Manilow, and countless others.
Perhaps the best-known and most beloved stage show at Radio City Music Hall is the Christmas Spectacular, starring the legendary Rockettes, a precision dance group famous for their incredible kickline.
22. One World Trade Center
If you’ve seen a photo of lower Manhattan, you can’t miss the imposing One World Trade Center. Not only is it the tallest building in New York, it’s the tallest building in the U.S., the tallest building in Western Hemisphere, and the seventh tallest building in the world.
Its height? 1,776 feet, an homage to the year the Declaration of Independence was signed.
One World Trade Center is also where you can find One World Observatory. Here, visitors are whisked up to the 102nd floor in 47 seconds for 360-degree views of the city from 1,268 ft (386 m) up.
23. High Line
The High Line is one of New York City’s most unique parks, but it wasn’t always that way. It started life as an elevated rail system to transport freight into the city. In fact, you can still see some of the old rail tracks as you meander along.
In 2009, the old rail trail was converted into a park. Immediately popular, it’s now a favorite of both locals and tourists alike. Some 8 million annual visitors walk all or part of the 1.45 mile (2.33 km) park, admiring the 400 species of plants, numerous art installations, and views of the city along the way.
24. Hudson Yards
At the north end of the High Line lies a 28-acre real estate development known as the Hudson Yards. Containing office buildings, residences, a mall, and public spaces, the development, which broke ground in 2012, is quickly becoming one of New York’s hottest areas.
Its main attractions are the Vessel, a 16-story structure of interconnected staircases, and the EDGE, another of New York’s top observation decks that includes a glass floor – 1,110 feet high. If you’re feeling particularly daring, do the City Climb, where you ascend to a height of more than 1,200 feet and then…lean backwards (or forwards) into the city below.
Bonus! United Nations Headquarters
You can argue that the headquarters of the United Nations isn’t technically in New York City; the land the building is on is considered extraterritorial.
Founded in 1945 in the wake of World War II, the United Nations, or UN for short, is an international organization whose goal is to maintain international peace and security.
Since the building’s completion in 1952, the General Assembly of the United Nations has been meeting here, on the eastern side of Midtown Manhattan.
There you have it! 24 of New York City’s best attractions.
Can’t decide how to spend your time in New York? Check out my one week New York itinerary!
On a budget? Check out the 23 best free things to do in New York City for visitors!
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