A traveler's guide to New York City
Pick a base you can walk from. Midtown hotels are convenient and soulless; downtown, Brooklyn, and the Upper West Side feel like a trip.
New York is a walking city disguised as a skyline. Do one museum properly, eat in a borough that is not Manhattan, and give Central Park more time than a crossing-the-street photo. The city is expensive; it is also full of $14 miracles.
The shape of a good day
Museum in the morning (MoMA, Met, or Whitney — one, not three). Walk a neighborhood after lunch. One booked dinner. Something live at night if you have the legs: jazz, a play, a rooftop, a dive bar.
Getting around
OMNY tap on the subway. Walking is faster below 59th Street than you expect. Citi Bike for the waterfront. Yellow cabs still work; rideshare surges at 5 p.m. and after midnight.
Food
Slice of pizza is not a cliché if you pick well. Bagels in the morning, a serious dinner somewhere small, and at least one meal that is not in Manhattan. Reservations on Resy disappear; set alerts.
If you only remember this
- Broadway lottery and TKTS still exist. Plan one show, not four.
- The Met is pay-what-you-wish for NY State residents; others pay full.
- Summer is hot and smellier. Winter can be magic after snow.
- Do not stand in the left lane of the sidewalk.