New York City Travel Guide 2026: Sights, Prices & Tips

The 93 m statue, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi with an iron structure by Gustave Eiffel, was a gift from France for the 100th anniversary of American independence and was dedicated in 1886. The same ferry stops at Ellis Island, where the National Museum of Immigration lets you search for ancestors in the arrival records.

Price: ferry with both islands about $25–30; pedestal and crown access extra and limited · Time needed: 4 to 5 hours · Tip: buy only from the official seller, Statue City Cruises; crown tickets sell out months ahead. For a free view, take the Staten Island Ferry.

A 341-hectare park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, opened in 1858. Walk past Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge, Strawberry Fields (the John Lennon memorial) and the Reservoir.

Price: free · Tip: rent a bike or a rowing boat at the Loeb Boathouse.

Two huge reflecting pools sit in the footprints of the Twin Towers, with the names of the 2,983 victims of the 2001 and 1993 attacks. The museum underground is very emotional. Above, One World Trade Center (541 m) is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Price: memorial free; museum about $33–36 · Time needed: 2 to 3 hours.

The Empire State Building (1931) is the classic; Top of the Rock has the best view of the Empire State itself and Central Park; Edge has a glass floor; Summit One Vanderbilt has mirrored rooms.

Price: about $40–60 each depending on time · Tip: pick one, and go at sunset.

Opened in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. Walk across from Manhattan to DUMBO for the famous view of the Manhattan Bridge framed by old warehouses.

Price: free · Tip: walk it early in the morning; it is very crowded by midday.

The bright heart of Midtown. Broadway shows are in the theatres around it.

Price: Broadway tickets about $60–250 · Tip: use the TKTS booth or lotteries for discounted same-day tickets.

An old elevated freight railway turned into a park in 2009, running 2.3 km along the West Side, ending at Hudson Yards and the Vessel.

Price: free.

The Met is one of the largest art museums in the world, from Egyptian temples to Van Gogh. MoMA has Starry Night, Monet's Water Lilies and Warhol.

Price: Met $30 for visitors from outside New York State; MoMA about $30 · Time needed: half a day each.

Each has its own feel: jazz clubs and brownstones in the Village, cast-iron buildings and shops in SoHo, dumplings in Chinatown, and bars and vintage in Williamsburg.

Price: free to wander.

A free 25-minute commuter ferry that passes the Statue of Liberty with great views of the skyline.

Price: free.