Your first trip to New York City can be truly daunting. It’s got the largest population, the most famous sites, and it never sleeps. With so much to do, where do you start? Start with this list of the top ten must-sees in the Big Apple.
The Top 10 Things to Do in New York City
This list gives you the perfect itinerary, and you want to be prepared. I’ll give you details about each of these fun activities and place them in helpful categories so that you can prioritize for your adventure in NYC. I’ll also give you some tips for your trip.
The Classics
New York City’s landmarks have become a mainstay of the American imagination and for good reason. You should definitely explore them, but perhaps with a little twist.
Explore Central Park
Central Park is 843 acres filled with 25,000 trees and packed with activities. Any one of these makes the visit worthwhile, but having all this history and fun in one place makes it clear why Central Park is a National Historic Landmark.
- Enjoy Shakespeare in the Park for free. As you might guess, you have to line up at the crack of dawn for tickets to this sunset show.
- Take a horse-drawn carriage for a whimsical trot around the park.
- Rent a rowboat or take a gondola tour on the lake.
- Find your perfect photo op at the Loeb Boathouse or Bethesda Fountain.
- Meet 130 different animal species at the Central Park Zoo. You can even see the See Lion Pool and the iconic clock with dancing animals from the road.
- Visit the less-busy bits, like Strawberry Fields, the Sheep Meadow, or the Alice in Wonderland Statue.
Pro tip: Most of Central Park’s 40 million annual visitors enter around 59th street. This area gets very crowded, and it doesn’t even have the most interesting sights! Enter Central Park West on 72nd street and head East.
See a Broadway Show
If you’re a fan of Broadway and live performances, don’t miss the opportunity to explore NYC’s Theater District, home to some of the world’s most renowned theaters and shows.
A walk along the Great White Way is a fun time, with all the flashing lights, glamorous shows, and creative minds moving along beside you. Seeing one of the performances is life-changing.
You might be tempted to restrict your viewing to massively famous, award-winning shows you’ve already heard of. But every show on Broadway is bound to be a hit, whether it’s side-splittingly hilarious or thought-provoking.
Check out the Broadway show dates online before you go. Dare to pick one you may not have heard of. Just read the reviews or synopsis first, so you have some idea of what you’re getting into!
Be Overwhelmed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has three locations, most open seven days a week (the Met Breuer is closed on Mondays), but the Met Fifth Avenue is the most famous. Its five floors of art history span 5,000 years of human creation. Give yourself time to browse and not rush.
For visitors not from New York State, senior tickets are $17, adults are $25, and students are $12. If you have little ones under twelve years old, they get in for free.
If you want a truly unique experience, you can take a tour of the Met before it opens to the general public. For a little over $200, you can have all that art to yourself. You get your own personal guide, too.
Free Things to Do in New York
Let’s face facts: New York City is expensive. You throw that many people into one place, and the cost of doing anything is going to skyrocket. Luckily, New York still has a few precious activities you can enjoy for no money at all.
Relax on The High Line
This was train track that was just another abandoned part of the West Side until the city turned it into a 1.45 mile-long park. Now The High Line boasts great views of NYC’s skyline, the Hudson River, and sculptures, murals, and performance art to appreciate.
The featured artworks rotate every season, so there’s always something new to see. Neighborhood clubs organize stargazing and dance nights. If you want to take it all in, grab yourself an ice cream or soda from a nearby shop and sit on the stairs over 10th avenue.
If you’re looking to avoid the crowds, don’t go at sunset. Everyone’s going to head there to see the flowers blooming in the setting sun. Try in the morning or afternoon, when at least the locals will be at work.
Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Bandshell
Celebrate Brooklyn! is an annual festival in Prospect Park, where you can gather with avid Brooklynites and enjoy indie-rock, hip-hop, and soul stars.
A lot of concerts over the summer are free, so make sure to go check it out on your trip, so go check Prospect Park Bandshell out. Even if no concerts are playing, Prospect Park is a beautiful way to start your journey into Brooklyn.
You’ll want to get there early to grab the good seats! It’s a popular stop for locals, so space fills up.
Gawk at the New York Public Library
Start your journey through the library on its iconic front steps. Get a picture with the famous marble lions, named Patience and Fortitude. Then wander through the hallways of the New York Public Library and view the beautiful marble archways and gorgeous lighting.
Make your way to the Rose Main Reading Room, where you’ll be so distracted by the chandeliers and gorgeous ceiling murals. You’ll barely remember the books. If you want to find anything in particular, save yourself some time and speak to one of their excellent librarians.
The library also hosts lectures, author readings, and special exhibitions, many of which are free to the public, all of which are fascinating.
Things to Do in NYC at Night
New York is the city that never sleeps, and while you might be tired after a day of wandering, you have to get out and enjoy everything the city has to offer.
Walk Around Times Square
Why is this one not in my section of the classic sights? Because to do Times Square justice, you’ve really got to see it at night. It’s the most tourist-trapping, hyped-up part of the city, but it’s got a chaotic energy like nowhere else.
The following are just a sample of the many fun things you can do in this area. You’ll probably run into them by accident.
- Catch street performers doing outrageous stunts with hilarious banter.
- Hug a dirty Elmo. They work on tips.
- Wander down a sidestreet to find delicious food. Any kind of food. It’s all there, waiting for you.
- Visit Madame Tussaud’s or Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Ripley’s looks like a small building, but be warned- you’ll need several hours to get through it all.
- People watch. New York City has the most eclectic cross-section of anywhere in the US. You can see every kind of person walk by, and it sure is fun to watch.
If you give yourself an evening to wander around Times Square, you’re bound to run into an adventure. Make sure to give yourself time to take it all in, and don’t get borne away by the fast-walking, no-nonsense New Yorkers.
Catch a Show at Upright Citizen’s Brigade
Located in the now-trendy Hell’s Kitchen, the Upright Citizen’s Brigade features an improv format called the AsssssCat 3000, which was originally developed by the founding members, including Amy Poehler.
Now for just $10, you can sit back, relax, and see some of the finest up-and-coming improv comedians in the country. Many of the players you watch will go on to become national comedy stars, and some big names show up to play, like Stephen Colbert and Lena Dunham.
You’ll laugh all night for a reasonable price, and someday be able to say you saw comedy’s biggest stars when they were just starting out!
Unusual Things to Do in New York
New York City is the home of the edgy, the weird, and the little bit angsty, and has been for a long time. If you’re looking for something off the beaten path and a little more adventurous, these are for you.
Enjoy the Museum of Sex
The Museum of Sex is an in-depth study one of the most universal aspects of humanity. Far from lewd or childish, this museum is a celebration of groundbreaking art, intersectionality, and feminism.
They have rotating art exhibits, fascinating historical displays, and even a bouncy castle made of inflatable breasts. Now, that’s an instagram photo that’ll make you stand out. Plus, they’ve got a great bookstore and souvenir shop. Buy some goodies for the folks back home.
You’ll want to spend 2-3 hours to see everything. There are a few floors, and the rotating exhibits are always eye-opening. Admission is $16.50, and that gets you into everything, except a virtual reality experience you can enter alone or with a partner, which is another $15. Worth it.
Learn About New York’s Immigrant History at the Tenement Museum
Book ahead to make sure you are able to visit this fascinating piece of history, the Tenement Museum. At 97 Orchard Street, three tenement apartments have been restored to tell the stories of three immigrant families who lived there over New York’s long history.
- The Moores, from Dublin, who lived there in 1869.
- The Rogarshevsky family, from Russia, who lived there in 1918. This exhibit highlights their mourning over the head of the family, Abraham.
- The Baldizzi family, from Sicily, who lived there in the 1930s.
Originals and replicas of the furniture flesh out the experience of these families throughout your guided tour.
If your family immigrated through New York, it’s possible they lived in tenement apartments like these and went through the same struggles as these families. It’s a fascinating, affecting look into American history.
Honorable Mentions
Though these sights didn’t make it into my top ten, they’re still worth mentioning, so you can go check them out if you’ve got extra time or they strike your fancy.
- New York’s Fifth Avenue: Fancy shops. Maybe you can’t afford Prada at the moment, but it’s fun to stand outside and feel like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
- Rudy’s Bar and Grill: Hell’s Kitchen has gotten hella trendy, but this dive bar has been serving up rock and blues since the 1930s. Plus, free hot dogs!
- Metropolitan: Williamsburg’s gold standard for gay bars. Cheap drinks, 1950s ski-lodge inspired decor, and a fun crowd. Free Sunday afternoon backyard barbecues as well.
(Looking for more famous New York City nightclubs, check out that article!)
- Russian Tea Room: Feel luxurious with afternoon tea surrounded by the glamour of a by-gone age. Red velvet seats will pamper you under a golden ceiling.
If you need an extra bit of fun in your trip, any of these honorable mentions will up your trip’s awesome factor.
Getting the Most Out of Your Trip to NYC
So you’ve picked where you want to go and what you want to do. That’s half the battle. Now you’ve got to prepare, so you can actually get to all the fun, interesting activities you planned for your trip.
(Only planning a short trip? Wondering how many of these amazing things you can do in New York in 3 Days? Check out that article to find out!)
The following are pro tips from a seasoned New York traveler to help you get the most out of your first trip.
How to Prepare Before You Go to New York
With all this great stuff to do, you’ll want to make sure you’ve prepared yourself to fit it all in.
- Pick a hotel after you know what you want to see. Try and pick a hotel that’s central to all of them. Hell’s Kitchen is a good neighborhood for this.
- Get a good pair of shoes!
- Bring two battery packs! Without them, if your cell phone runs out of juice, you better hope you’re loud enough to hail a taxi, and you can remember the address of your hotel.
- Pick a travel buddy. Two heads are better than one, so you’ll find your way around easier, and feel safer while you do it.
- Warning: pick a travel buddy who wants to do similar things at a similar pace. You don’t want to be itching for a Broadway show while your friend needs an early bedtime.
- Familiarize yourself with the subway system. You’ll want it after walking all day.
- Make a New York City-themed playlist to get hyped up. T-Swift’s “Welcome to New York” is a great starter.
- Most importantly of all, relax! Give yourself some buffer periods for spontaneity and travel delays, and it’s okay if you don’t hit every spot on the list. Enjoy yourself!
Practice these tips while you prepare for your trip, and you’ll set yourself up for a great time.
While There, Travel Smart
New York City is not as scary as your Mom would have you believe, but like any big city, if you’re not careful, it could be dangerous, or at least too stressful to be fun. Follow these tips throughout your trip to make sure you have the best possible time.
- Bring water and make time for food. Nothing wrecks a trip faster than thirst or “hanger.”
- Hand sanitizer! You may laugh now, but when you’re desperately searching for soap in a New York public restroom, you’ll thank me.
- Check your route before you leave anywhere. Get an idea of the directions. NYC is on a grid system, so if Google gives up on you, you should still be able to find your way.
- Taxis can be cheaper than an Uber. Check it out and save a little money.
- Try not to look like a tourist. The “I [heart] New York” shirt is just begging to get pickpocketed. And yes, pickpockets do still exist, they aren’t just in Oliver Twist.
- Speaking of pockets, put your wallet in one that zips, so it’s less likely to fall out or be taken away without you noticing.
- Stay in crowded areas. I know it’s a pain to have to navigate so many people, but areas with heavy people traffic are safer.
- Budget appropriately. New York is pricey. You don’t want to be left with an empty wallet or a declined card, with most of your day remaining.
Keep these tips in mind while you’re in New York City, and you’ll have a great, fun, safe trip.
(For everything you need to know about your trip to New York, from cheap flights to places to stay to things to see and do, check out cheap flights to New York!)
Once You’re Back Home
Congratulate yourself (and your sore feet) on all your walking and seeing. You made the most of your trip. Now it’s time to upload the pics and make everyone back home jealous!
Of course, make a list of all the spots you didn’t hit the first time, so you can go back again and enjoy the wild ride that is New York City. If you can make it there… You know the rest.
(If you are looking for a more quiet getaway to New York, check out these Airbnbs in upstate New York!)