New York is the most visited city in the United States. About 61.8 million people visited New York in 2023. Most of them are US citizens, but there are also many foreign tourists.
Probably every American would like to visit New York, Manhattan at least once in his life. There are many Americans who regularly come to New York, some for business and some for tourism. Although this guide is written for foreign tourists, Americans may also find something useful in it.
The number of foreign tourists was approximately 10.8 million in 2023. Most foreign tourists come to New York from the UK, Canada, Brazil and China.
New York is located in the east of the country, on the Atlantic coast, next to the mouth of the Hudson River. The city is located partly on several islands (Manhattan, Staten Island, the western part of Long Island Island and some others) and partly on the mainland. The length of the city from west to east is about 31 miles (50 kilometers), from north to south about 25 miles (40 kilometers). New York City encompasses five administrative divisions called boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Manhattan is the destination for most tourists heading to New York.
Distance from New York to some cities: Los Angeles - 2450 miles (3950 km), Miami - 1090 miles (1750 km), Las Vegas - 2235 miles (3600 km), London - 3460 miles (5570 km ), Beijing - 6830 miles (11,000 km).
Where is it located in New York? Look at the map.
The parade can be viewed along 5th Avenue between 44th Street and 79th Street from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
You can find location on the NY map.
Attraction
New York (as well as the United States) have a relatively short history, if compared with cities such as Rome, Jerusalem or Athens. There are no ancient architectural sights connected with history and culture of all mankind in New York. But there are places that are connected with the history and culture of the United States. They will certainly be interesting for foreign tourists visiting New York.
Do not rely on guidebooks completely. Buy one (or several) city tours with a professional guide. Interesting guided tours around New York are also carried out by local people who are keen on the history and culture of their city.
Times Square is one of the most visited places in the world. It is estimated that about 50 million people visit this square annually. Times Square is located in Manhattan at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Metro station: Times Square - 42nd Street.
The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) is probably the only sculpture in the US that is known all over the world. The sculpture is situated on Liberty Island, about 3 kilometers southwest of the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The height of the sculpture from the base to the top of the torch is 92 meters. Since 1984, the Statue of Liberty is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
You can look at the Statue of Liberty (and Manhattan) from the ferry that runs between Manhattan and the Staten Island. The ferry leaves from the Whitehall Terminal in Manhattan and arrives at St. George Terminal on Staten Island. The journey by Staten Island Ferry is free of charge (2024). The journey takes about 25 minutes.
The Empire State Building was the highest building in the world from 1931 to 1970. The skyscraper is included in the list of national historical monuments of the USA and in the list of the best American architectural achievements (according to the American Institute of Architects). The Empire State Building is located on Manhattan, on Fifth Avenue between Western 33rd and 34th Streets.
The Empire State Building and the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller center) skyscrapers have observation platforms for tourists. The first one is the most popular, but the second one has significant advantages (less waiting time in line, an opportunity to see the Empire State Building).
Central Park is one of the most famous parks in the world. The park is located on Manhattan Island, between 59th and 110th Street and Fifth and Eighth Avenue. The central park has a rectangular shape. Its length is about 4 kilometers, width is about 800 meters. The park is visited by approximately 25 million people a year. A walk through the Central Park can be recommended to all tourists who come to the city.
The UN headquarters is also one of the popular attractions of the city. Approximately one million people visit this place annually. The buildings are located in the eastern part of Manhattan, between 42nd and 48th streets, First Avenue and the East River Strait. Address: United Nations square, 760, New York, NY 10017, USA. Guided tours to the UN headquarters in New York are held on on weekdays. A ticket can be bought on the UN website. (The cost of the full ticket is 20 USD (2018).
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. The bridge was completed in 1883. At that time it was the largest suspension bridge in the world (length 1825 meters). The bridge crosses the East River Strait and connects Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Metropolitan Museum (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) is one of the most famous museums in the world. The main building of the museum is located in the eastern part of the Central Park. Address: 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028. The nearest metro station is 86th Street (lines 1, 4, 5, 6).
Museum mile. Nine museums are located on Fifth Avenue, between 82nd and 105th streets in New York. This section of Fifth Avenue is called the Museum Mile. The Museum Mile Festival is held here every second Tuesday of June. Museums open a free entrance for the public on the day of the festival.
Since it happens on the second Tuesday of June, the Museum Mile Festival will take place on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
New York
European settlements appeared on the territory of New York in 1624. The indigenous population of America lived on the banks of the Hudson River long before that. Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam was founded the in 1625 on the Manhattan island. The city was captured by the British in 1664, after which the city was renamed to New York. A large number of immigrants arriving in America fell into the United States through New York port.
New York is one of the most important economic centers of the world. Main offices of many large companies are located here. The decisions made on Wall Street affect the standard of living of a large number of people in different countries.
New York is a city of students. More than 600,000 peoples study in higher educational institutions in New York. This is more than in any other city in the US. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City.
New York is one of the world's main centers of art, design and fashion. There are more than 500 art galleries of various sizes in New York. Broadway theaters are known throughout the world. The Metropolitan Museum is one of the most visited and best museums in the world.
You can buy Skip-the-line tickets (museums and tsights) online.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the most famous part of the city of New York. Manhattan is one of the boroughs of New York, and the island on which most of this boron is located. (Boro is a territorial unit, a district of the city of New York.)
The island of Manhattan is located next to the mouth of the Hudson River. The island is separated from the mainland by the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, as well as the East River Strait. Dimensions of the island of Manhattan: 21 kilometers in length (along the Hudson River) and 3.7 kilometers in width.
The Borough of Manhattan also includes a small area on the mainland and several small islands.
The borough of Manhattan has the largest number of interesting for tourists places. Including: Times Square, Central Park, historic skyscrapers, the Statue of Liberty, the Museum Mile, the UN headquarters, Broadway (Broadway theaters).
Transport
Unlike other major US cities, more than half of New Yorkers use public transportation to travel around the city.
The New York Subway (Metro) is the largest in the world in terms of the number of stations, and the seventh in the world for annual passenger traffic. New York
Subway had 472 stations in 2024. (There are lights of a spherical shape located near the entrance to the station, this will help you find the station). Metro is the most popular type of transport for tourists too.
Plastic cards (MetroCard) are used for payment of travel. The base rate (one trip) is $ 2.75, if you pay with a reusable MetroCard. ( You can continue trip on a city bus after leaving the subway for the same ticket.)
A 7-day ticket costs $ 31.00 and entitles you to multiple, unlimited travel in the metro and buses of the city during its validity.
The new payment system uses contactless cards and gadgets, including Apple Pay, Google Wallet and bank cards. It is planned to keep the MetroCard cards active until 2023.
New York has the largest bus fleet of public transport in North America.
The Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT) is the main departure point for intercity buses in Manhattan. The bus terminal is located in the city center, on Eighth Avenue 625, between 40th Street and 42nd Street, one block west of Times Square.
The Grand Central Terminal is the oldest train station in New York. It is located in Manhattan, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Park Avenue. The station is the largest in the world in terms of the number of platforms (44 platforms). The central station is also one of the tourist attractions of the city.
Pennsylvania Station is the main station of New York and one of the busiest (by the number of passengers) stations in the world. Trains leave from here to many US cities. The Pennsylvania Railway Station is located underground, under the sports center of Madison Square Garden, on the site bounded by Seventh and Eighth Avenue from the east and west, 31st and 33rd streets from the south and north. The inhabitants of the city often call it Penn Station.
Airports
There are three airports Near New York: Kennedy Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
- Kennedy International Airport (JFK) serves the largest number of international flights, among the airports of New York. Most tourists arrive in New York via this airport.
- Newark Liberty International Airport is located 25 kilometers south-west of New York.
- LaGuardia Airport serves mainly domestic flights.
More than 130 million passengers were served at these three airports in 2016.
Cruise port
There are three main cruise terminals in the New York metropolitan area. Cruise ships depart from New York to the Caribbean, to the south of the Antarctic and trans-Atlantic cruises.
- The Manhattan Cruise Terminal (formerly known as the New York Passenger Ship Terminal) is a terminal for passenger ships in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It is located on the Hudson River between West 46th and West 54th Street (about 0,8 miles west of Columbus Circle and Central Park).
- The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal is one of three terminals for ocean-going cruise ships in the New York metropolitan area. The terminal is located in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn.
- The Cape Liberty Cruise Port is one of three trans-Atlantic passenger terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey. It is located in Bayonne, New Jersey About 13 miles from Pennsylvania Station (Manhattan).
How are you going to get to the cruise terminal? The best way is to order a transfer (taxi) online: Manhattan Cruise Terminal, Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, Cape Liberty Cruise Port.
Accommodation in New York
Accommodation is quite expensive in hotels in New York, compared to other cities in the world. You should carefully consider the choice of a place to stay when preparing for a trip to New York.
Read also: cheap hotels and hostels in Manhattan.
The hotel location is very important. It is important for the tourist that the hotel is located in a convenient location (near attractions and close to the metro station) and in a safe place.
Most tourists are advised to choose hotels in Manhattan (preferably in the central and southern parts). There are places convenient for tourists to live in other parts of the city too.
Explore the reviews of tourists on any online booking service before choosing a place to stay. (Tourists often prefer to rent apartments, instead of a standard hotel room.)
A few examples of hotels with good location and with good customer reviews in Manhattan.
Conrad New York (5 stars). It is the luxury hotel located near the World Trade Center. Works of art are exhibited in the hotel's atrium. There are also shopping centers Brookfield Place and Westfield World Trade Center nearby. The distance to the Century21 department store is about 700 meters. John F. Kennedy International Airport is located at a distance about 20 kilometers from the hotel.
Address: 102 North End Avenue, New York, NY 10282, USA.
InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel (5 stars). This is an excellent hotel for wealthy people in the heart of New York City. The distance from the hotel to the Museum of Modern Art is 0.6 kilometers, Times Square - 1 kilometer, the Empire State Building - 1.3 kilometers, and the Central Park is 1.6 kilometers away. You can also walk to 5th Avenue (shopping and restaurants).
Address: 111 East 48th Street, Midtown East, New York, 10017, USA.
The French Quarters hotel (3 stars). This is a relatively inexpensive hotel in Manhattan. Near the hotel there are Majestic theaters and the Playstation Theater. The 50th Street Station is less than 500 meters away. Times Square is also within walking distance. According to tourists' reviews, there are many inexpensive restaurants in walking distance.
Address: 346 West 46th Street, Midtown West, New York, NY 10036, USA.
U.S. Pacific Hotel (1 star). Hotel U.S. Pacific is one of the inexpensive hotels that is located in the southern part of Manhattan, 300 meters from the Little Italy area. The distance to the Brooklyn Bridge is about 1.4 kilometers.
Address: 106 Bowery 2FL, New York, NY 10013, USA.
Central Park West Hostel. Hostels are the cheapest option when choosing a place to stay for tourists. This hostel is located in New York's Upper West Side, 1 block from the 86th street subway station. Shared kitchen facilities are available at the FIT Hostel. The distance to the American Museum of Natural History is about 0.6 km, to the Metropolitan Museum - 1.4 km, to the Central Park about 2 km.
Address: 201 West 87th Street, Upper West Side, New York, NY10024, USA.