Things to Do in New York by Neighbourhood: The Complete Guide

Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Times Square, that skyline… New York feels familiar before you’ve even set foot there, after seeing it in so many films and TV series. And yet, once you’re there, the city still manages to surprise you. In this guide, we share all the best things to do in New York, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, with our favourite spots, our tips and our 8-day itinerary.

I gave this trip to Alcino for his 30th birthday. At the top of his bucket list was Cuba… but after a bit of digging, we soon realised that New Year’s Eve isn’t really celebrated there. Travelling at that time of year without a memorable 31 December? Out of the question. One thing led to another, and we booked New York: 8 days, from 29 December to 5 January, four of us in total.

Things to do in New York at a glance

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Things to do in New York by neighbourhood

With 8 days in New York, there’s more than enough to keep you busy: iconic landmarks, unusual places, free activities… The hardest part is choosing.

While planning our trip, we quickly realised that in New York you can waste a huge amount of time criss-crossing Manhattan. That’s why we organised our days by neighbourhood, and why this guide follows the same logic.

For me, it was a second trip to New York, after a first 10-day stay in 2010, which I tell you about in New York: the day I made a dream come true (in French). And I completely rediscovered the city: there’s always something new to see.

Everything below was done in 8 days. We spent our first day settling into the hotel and admiring the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights, and on 31 December we gave up a good part of the afternoon for New Year’s Eve.

To find your way around, we split Manhattan into three main areas: Downtown in the south, Midtown in the centre and Uptown in the north.

Things to do in New York: Downtown

The Statue of Liberty

Does she really need an introduction? One of the city’s many symbols, and still a must-see! The standard ticket lets you walk around the island. There’s a supplement to go up to the pedestal and the crown, and it’s best to book ahead. As we didn’t do it, I can’t tell you whether it’s really worth it.

If you want to see her, but not necessarily up close, go for the free option: hop on the Staten Island Ferry and you’ll sail right past. Depending on the ferry, you can stand on the outside deck, which is much better than looking through the grubby windows of the cabin…

Brooklyn Bridge

An iconic landmark, this bridge is especially fun for its architecture and its web of cables. To tell you the truth, I found its neighbour, the Manhattan Bridge, prettier with its blue colour, but the first one is certainly very photogenic!
Allow 30 minutes to walk across. If you go at night and, like us, in winter, wrap up warm: the wind was blowing hard up there!

If you like, go a little further and stroll along Brooklyn Bridge Park: as well as being a lovely walk, it offers a superb view of the bridge and Manhattan. Worth doing by day or by night!

Manhattan Bridge

With its blue colour, it doesn’t go unnoticed. I loved this view on the right. Head to the corner of Washington and York St., in the DUMBO neighbourhood of Brooklyn. Can you see the Empire State Building?

City Hall subway station

It’s something of an open secret. This station was closed to the public in 1945 because its vaulted arches were declared unsafe.

When the 6 train reaches the end of the line at Brooklyn Bridge, it turns around and passes through the famous station.

We were a bit worried about getting told off because a technician was standing next to our carriage, but we asked him, and he told us to press ourselves against the window on the right-hand side, facing forward, and we’d see it! We suspect he asked the driver to slow down at the station, just for us!

The whole thing lasted 20 seconds at most, but we were like kids seeing this ‘secret’ station.

Financial District & Wall Street

The most famous business district in the world. Come on a weekday to see the bankers rushing about! It was already dark when we passed through, and it was rather quiet.

Trinity Church

There was a rehearsal going on when we visited, so we only admired it briefly.

9/11 Memorial

A new tower and two huge fountains: that’s what you’ll find where the Twin Towers once stood. The fountains are magnificent, peaceful, and invite quiet reflection.

One World Observatory

Right next to the memorial, the new World Trade Center tower has an observatory at the top, from the 100th to the 102nd floor. The Empire State Building and Top of the Rock were enough for us, but it’s a good option if you want a view over Lower Manhattan and the bay.

Chinatown

We didn’t spend nearly enough time there for our liking! The streets are full of colours, smells and curiosities that catch the eye…
A word of advice: don’t go on an empty stomach, as some of the smells (among other things) can turn your stomach in no time…

💡Other places to visit: Little Italy

Greenwich Village and West Village

Tree-lined streets, brick houses with their fire escapes, little cafés… This is the New York of TV series, calmer and almost village-like. Friends fans will want to find the building from the show, on the corner of Bedford Street and Grove Street, before heading to Washington Square Park and the shops of SoHo.

Things to do in New York: Midtown

Top of the Rock & the Empire State Building

For a magnificent view over the city. From Top of the Rock, you get the Empire State Building as a bonus.
Good to know: with the CityPASS, you can go up the Empire State Building twice on the same day, so you can catch the sunset. As the sun set at 4.30pm in early January, we went up at 3.30pm: there was nobody there in the middle of the afternoon, and we enjoyed the view by day, at sunset and by night.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

It’s truly imposing and beautiful: white marble and countless details carved in the stone and on the doors.

Bryant Park and the New York Public Library

I won’t list every park in New York, but at this one you can also visit the New York Public Library, which is free. Carry on along 42nd Street and you’ll reach Grand Central. Further on is the Chrysler Building, and at the end, the United Nations.

Grand Central Station

Americans don’t do things by halves! The station looks like an old stone monument, and the main hall is impressive. Look up and admire the constellations… Or, under its vaulted arches, you’ll discover a little hidden secret: if you whisper into one corner of the wall, the sound comes out on the opposite side. Strange, isn’t it? Either way, it’s quite funny to see people facing the corners like children who’ve been told off. (Head to the lower level, right next to the restaurants.)

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt

It didn’t exist when we visited: right next to Grand Central, this skyscraper houses an observatory covered in mirrors, where the sky and the city are reflected endlessly. We still have a soft spot for Top of the Rock and its view of the Empire State Building, but this is probably the most original experience of the moment.

Times Square

A must for this crossroads of a thousand screens, and why not catch a Broadway show while you’re there.

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

Included in the CityPASS, this museum is actually an aircraft carrier that served during the Second World War! We loved it so much that we wrote a dedicated article about it: the day I went aboard an aircraft carrier (in French).

Chelsea Market

A great indoor market for a bite to eat (pasta, lobster rolls and other treats), although it’s a shame there isn’t much room to sit inside. The High Line isn’t far, but in winter…

The High Line

This former railway line has been turned into a really pleasant elevated walkway.

Hudson Yards, The Edge and Little Island

The High Line now leads to Hudson Yards, a brand-new neighbourhood built after our trip. Here you’ll find the Vessel, that quirky honeycomb-like structure, and The Edge, a terrace suspended more than 300 metres up, with a glass floor for the brave. At the other end of the High Line, in the Meatpacking District, Little Island is a small free park floating on the Hudson on tulip-shaped pillars: perfect for a break.

Flatiron Building

The famous building shaped like an iron. It’s also known as one of the first skyscrapers built with a steel frame, a revolutionary technique in the early 20th century.

💡Other places to see: Madison Square Garden and MoMA. And for shopping, head to the East Village and SoHo!

Things to do in New York: Uptown

We recommend doing the next three on a Sunday, with no time wasted!

Attending a gospel service

I’ll admit I was a little disappointed at first! Three people on stage as the ‘band’ wasn’t what I expected… A short, very quick song when we arrived… Hmm, is that what all the fuss is about? But once the sermon was over, a group of singers took the stage and then… it was amazing! You just have to be patient!

There are several churches in Harlem where you can attend a service. We took the easy option and went to First Corinthian Baptist Church: close to the subway, with good reviews online. A tip: go to the 8am service. Yes, getting up is hard, but when you come out at around 9.30am and see people already queuing for the 11am one, you’ll be glad! Plus, the timing is perfect for grabbing a cookie at Levain Bakery and heading to the Natural History Museum, which opens at 10am!

American Museum of Natural History

It’s one of the largest in the world, which is reason enough to visit, isn’t it? Four floors of gemstones, the history of human civilisations and animal replicas (not stuffed, I checked)…

Personally, I didn’t like the way the museum is organised: every floor covers several themes. It does make visitors take an interest in everything, but there’s no logic to the visit, and you go from African animals to some civilisation or other, then back to animals again… We had lunch there: prices aren’t excessive, but it’s not fine dining either! The beef and the pizzas were good, though!

Central Park

It’s huge, and you won’t manage to see it all unless you go every day! Second time in New York, second time in winter, and still no snow… The park must be even more beautiful in summer… All the more reason to go back! Luckily, the squirrels are there to cheer up the tourists!

The Met and Museum Mile

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Met to its friends, sits on the edge of Central Park on the Upper East Side. It’s one of the largest museums in the world: from ancient Egypt to the Impressionists, you’d need days to see everything. It marks the start of Museum Mile, the stretch of Fifth Avenue lined with museums, including the Guggenheim a little further north.

💡Other places to visit: the Deutsche Bank Center (formerly the Time Warner Center), on the south-west corner of Central Park, and the Guggenheim, on Fifth Avenue.

Our 8-day New York itinerary

How many days do you need in New York? For a first trip, 8 days is ideal: enough to see the must-sees without rushing, and to take your time wandering through the neighbourhoods. Here’s how we’d plan our days if we did it again, grouping visits by area.

On day one, drop your bags and soak up the atmosphere in Times Square as night falls. If you’re there over the festive season, go and see the Dyker Heights lights, which we tell you all about in our article on Christmas in New York. The next day, start Downtown early: the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, the Financial District, Wall Street and the 9/11 Memorial, before walking across Brooklyn Bridge at the end of the day.

Day three is all about DUMBO and Brooklyn Bridge Park, followed by Chinatown, Little Italy and Greenwich Village. On days 4 and 5, head to Midtown: the Empire State Building or Top of the Rock at sunset, Grand Central, the library and Bryant Park, then the Intrepid, Chelsea Market and the High Line up to Hudson Yards.

Keep a Sunday for Uptown: a gospel service in Harlem, a cookie at Levain Bakery, the Natural History Museum and Central Park. For the last two days, leave yourself some leeway: a museum such as the Met or MoMA, a bit of shopping in SoHo, and everything you didn’t have time to see… because there’s always something left! Only have 4 or 5 days? Focus on Manhattan and pick one or two highlights per neighbourhood.

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Visiting New York: practical tips

Our tips

1/ Arrive early at the main sights to avoid the queues. It worked for us almost everywhere! When we got to the Statue of Liberty ticket office at 8.30am, there was hardly anyone there, and we waited 10 minutes at most for our CityPASS. When we came back after our visit, the queue zigzagged almost all the way to the subway – impressive!

2/ Don’t believe the touts! It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? It hadn’t happened to me on my first trip, so I wasn’t on my guard at all! Just before the Statue of Liberty ticket office, a tout spun us a well-rehearsed story and we nearly fell for it!

3/ Pick out one or two restaurants near the sights you plan to visit each day. We didn’t want to plan our trip down to the minute – that’s not how we travel. But if we did it again, we’d note down a few addresses so as not to wander around aimlessly once there, and above all to avoid nasty surprises!

New York City

An interesting point: most people only think of Manhattan when they hear ‘New York’, when in fact it’s just one of its five boroughs. New York is Manhattan, but also Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.

Map of the New York boroughs – source: sfvincent.fr

The ESTA

You’ll need to apply for an ESTA on the official website. It now costs $40.62 (compared with $14 when we travelled!), so beware of unofficial sites that charge much more. And of course you’ll need a biometric passport.

The CityPASS

We wanted to visit some of the paid must-sees, so we went for the New York CityPASS (not to be confused with the New York Pass, which offers more but costs more). You can buy it online here: New York CityPASS, or at any partner attraction. It now costs $149 (compared with $114 when we travelled) and lets you choose 5 attractions out of 10, to be used within 9 days. Note that most attractions now require you to book a time slot. The attractions to choose from:

• Empire State Building (morning and evening visit)
• American Museum of Natural History
• Top of the Rock
• 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
• Circle Line cruise
• Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
• Guggenheim Museum
• Edge observation deck
• Whitney Museum of American Art

Above all, watch out for touts! We came across a guy at the Statue of Liberty who told us it was closed for works, that the CityPASS couldn’t be bought there, and that it didn’t include access to the statue anyway because of the works… He even told us that access to the ferry (and therefore to the ticket office) was only for people who already had a ticket! Of course, none of it was true. But I’ll admit we almost fell for it! In the end, we went to the ticket office a little further on and bought our CityPASS without any trouble… If we did it again, we’d buy them online to avoid any hassle!

To find out whether it’s worth it, compare the price of the attractions you want to visit with the price of the pass. Otherwise, you can always buy your tickets online before you go. For example, you’ll find tickets for the Empire State Building at this link, but there are plenty of others. It’s up to you to do the maths!

Airport ⇔ hotel

From Newark airport, we wanted to arrive by road to ‘see’ the city. We spent ages searching online and found this website, which estimated the fare at $55. As there were four of us, it worked out cheaper than the shuttle (around $20 per person). Once there, we queued for a taxi, gave the address of our hotel and were handed a receipt: $64. Hmm, OK… We arrived at the hotel and the bill was steep: $90 (for four)… For the return, we took the train from Penn Station, which only cost $13 per person… A quick update: the NJ Transit train from Newark airport (AirTrain included) now costs around $16 per person, and taxis are even more expensive than back then, with tolls and surcharges to enter Manhattan.

Where to stay?

Accommodation at that time of year was all very expensive, far from Manhattan or far from public transport. There’s no secret: you have to compare hotels, Airbnb… We ended up booking a great flight and hotel package deal.
We were a bit anxious when we arrived at the Hudson Hotel, as the TripAdvisor reviews were rather negative… In the end, the room was actually pretty good – a bit small, true, but for sleeping and using the bathroom… it was enough! The room was cleaned every day, apart from the vacuuming… After 8 days, the floor was a bit grubby… The big plus was its location: next to Central Park, 10 minutes from Times Square, and next to a subway station served by 6 lines. Perfect!

A quick update: the Hudson Hotel has since closed for good, but the area between Central Park and Times Square is still ideal for staying.

Where to eat?

We’ve put together an article with all the New York restaurants we tried (in French), good and not so good! There’s certainly no shortage of restaurants, hole-in-the-wall joints and food stands! We know the United States isn’t famous for its gastronomy, but we made the most of it to enjoy burgers, cupcakes and, above all, brunch!

Public transport

We walked a lot (150 km in 8 days), but we still bought the 7-day unlimited ticket. Since then, the MetroCard has disappeared: you now pay directly at the turnstile with a contactless bank card or your phone (the OMNY system). A ride costs $3, and there’s a cap: after 12 rides in 7 days, the rest are free, so you never pay more than $35 a week. Just remember to always use the same card!

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We found that 8 days in New York was enough for a first taste, but we wouldn’t have said no to a few more days. I did lots of new things, even though I’d stayed 10 days on my first trip in 2010, so there really is plenty to do, and something for everyone!

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FAQ – Things to do in New York