New York Attractions
5 Pointz
The unique 5 Pointz on Jackson Avenue, conceived by artist Jonathan Cohen, serves as an aerosol art museum and legal painting space for artists from all five boroughs of NY and outside.
Abyssinian Baptist Church Gospel Service
Situated deep in Harlem, the Abyssinian Baptist Church is a magnificent house of worship which holds renowned Sunday morning gospel services.
American Museum of Natural History
With over 36 million specimens and exhibits, the American Museum of Natural History is one of the largest in the world, famous for its habitat groups of African, Asian and North American mammals.
Angel Feet
Ensconced in the deepest, darkest West Village is a haven for the curse of many an enthusiastic tourist: sore feet. A heaven-sent reflexology salon, Angel Feet pampers you back to life.
Bowlmor Lanes
Bowlmor Lanes is a late-night bowling club in the heart of Greenwich Village which comes complete with pumping tunes, dimmed lighting, a restaurant, a bar and waiter service to your bowling alley. DJs play house and disco to a young crowd gunning for strikes in-between gulping beers.
Bowne House
Anglo-Dutch in style, the Bowne House, built in 1661 by John Bowne, is the oldest house in Queens. Since 1947 it has functioned as a museum, highlighting three centuries of one family's tastes and their campaign for religious liberty.
Bronx Zoo - Wildlife Conservation Park
The Bronx Zoo in New York is home to thousands of animals, including some of the world's most endangered species. With 265 wooded acres devoted to spacious naturalistic habitats, it is the largest metropolitan wildlife conservation park in America.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
The Botanic Garden is a 52-acre paradise in New York's increasingly fashionable Brooklyn. The formal and informal gardens are a testament to nature's vitality within a city context and the garden holds 12,000 plants from around the globe.
Brooklyn Bridge
An iconic 1595-foot suspension bridge, completed in 1883, Brooklyn Bridge links Brooklyn to Manhattan over the East River. Chunky cables, steel girders and views make a wonderful walk, especially towards Manhattan's skyline. Walk, cycle or rollerblade across its wooden platform.
Brooklyn Museum
The renowned Brooklyn Museum gets all New Yorkers travelling to the suburbs for its five floors of exhibits, which include ancient Egyptian statues, feminist art and American paintings. The museum hosts free concerts the first Saturday of every month.
Canal Street, Chinatown
The eastern half of Canal Street is the hub of busy Chinatown and the largest Chinese community outside Asia. It comes alive here at the weekend market, when stall holders set up to sell pork dumplings and buckets of live eels, and hawkers their fake designer goods.
Central Park
Manhattan's vast Central Park, over 2.5 miles long, would take several days to explore fully. Locals love ice-skating in winter, boating in summer and cycling or rollerblading all year. Other relaxing places include the secluded conservatory and the Victorian Belvedere Castle.
Central Park Zoo
Central Park Zoo has 450 animals and over 100 species ranged across five-and-a-half acres, just a short walk away from the glitzy shops of 5th Avenue in the heart of Manhattan.
Children's Museum of Manhattan
The Children's Museum of Manhattan is a mecca for kids on Manhattan's Upper West Side. One of the highlights is the Body Odyssey exhibit, where they can experience what it feels like to be a tasty morsel of food by climbing onto a gigantic tongue.
Children's Museum of the Arts
Based downtown in funky Soho, the Children's Museum of the Arts (CMoA) is not what most of us associate with the word "museum". In fact, abiding by the belief that children learn best by doing, CMoA is dedicated to hands-on art for kids. Encouraging creativity, free expression and downright muckiness through a variety of fun programmes, workshops, interactive displays and shows, children are taught to enjoy and develop their skills in visual and performing arts.
China Town
New York's China Town district was once the largest in the world and is a popular and vibrant destination for tourists. Located in one of the oldest areas of the city, it is (unusually) both a business and residential centre, and the streets are filled with mysterious restaurants, seafood markets, souvenir shops and Asian delis.
Chrysler Building
Completed in 1930, the Chrysler Building was the world's first structure to bypass the symbolic 1000-foot mark. Built to house the Chrysler headquarters, the ornamentation at the top is designed to resemble the hubcaps of one of the company's cars.
City Hall
City Hall houses both the mayor's offices and the New York City Council. Built in 1812, it is the oldest operational City Hall in the United States and was an early statement of the New York's cosmopolitan aspirations, with a magnificent facade of granite and marble.
Commodore Barry Park
originally known as City Park, the oldest park in Brooklyn was renamed in 1951 to honour the "Father of the US Navy", John Barry (1745-1803). Located next to the Brooklyn Navy Yard that Barry helped establish, Commodore Barry Park includes baseball, football and basketball facilities and hosts a number of annual festivals, including the International African Arts Festival in July.
Coney Island
Coney Island is a kitsch throwback, thrilling entertainment and family day out all rolled into one. It has been a den of iniquity, a millionaire's playground and even the proud owner of a small hotel in the shape of an elephant.
Ellis Island Immigration Museum
In the Statue of Liberty's shadow, Ellis Island Immigration Museum honours the 12 million immigrants who landed here from countless countries, between 1892 and 1954. Photographs, archives and interviews tell their heart-rending stories of hope.
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building in central Manhattan is one of the world's most famous skyscrapers. Tourists flock here to take in the incredible views of New York, but be warned, the height and wind can make the experience pretty nerve-wracking!
Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park
A waterfront park with idyllic picnic grounds and breathtaking views of lower Manhattan, Empire-Fulton Ferry State park, located at the foot of Brooklyn bridge, was established in 1978 by Governor Carey. Aside from hosting a number of music festivals, including the annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop festival, the park also welcomes a sculpture show every summer.
Fisher Landau Center for Art
Since 1991, the Fisher Landau Center for Art has showcased contemporary art dating back to the 1960s. The private institution includes important works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Barbara Kruger and Matthew Barney.
Forbes Magazine Gallery
The late Malcom Forbes, successful magazine publisher and a passionate collector, filled this small museum in Greenwich Village with an astonishing array of toys, games and knick-knacks that will delight adults and children alike.
Forest Park
Forest Park is a huge park in Queens that caters to a range of needs, with an athletic haven including softball fields and tennis courts on the western side, and hiking trails and bridle paths to the east.
Grand Central Terminal
The Beaux Arts Grand Central Terminal in Midtown gleams with its gold-leaf ceiling of the main concourse, the iconic four-faced brass clock and marble staircase. There's also a selection of restaurants and bars here.
Grand Central Terminal
New York’s Grand Central Terminal is one of the most magnificent public spaces in the country. For many, it is simply a waypoint on a daily commute; nonetheless, most commuters still take the extra few extra seconds to walk through its glorious main concourse on their way to and from work each day. The terminal’s high windows allow sunlight to penetrate the space, glinting off the half-acre Tennessee marble floor. The brass clock over the central kiosk gleams, as do the gold- and nickel-plated chandeliers piercing the side archways. And the masterful sky ceiling, a brilliant greenish blue, depicts the constellations of the winter sky above New York.
Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture
With a 367-seat theatre, a museum-grade art gallery and a 907-seat concert hall, the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture in the Bronx hosts workshops, concerts, performances, exhibitions and symposiums on a range of subjects.
International Center of Photography
Manhattan's spacious International Center of Photography's huge permanent collection spans photographic history from early gelatin silver to digital colour prints. Other exhibits include illustrated magazines published between World Wars I and II, and classics by Cartier-Bresson and Eugene Smith.
Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art
This New York museum, built between 1945 and 1947, contains Buddhist art from Tibet, Mongolia, and northern China from the 15th to early 20th centuries. Built in the style of a hillside Tibetan monastery, the museum was visited in 1991 by Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, and continues to be a vital mouthpiece for the preservation of this fascinating and unique culture.
Jewish Museum
Housed in the ornate 1908 Warburg Mansion on the Upper East Side, the Jewish Museum includes over 28,000 paintings, religious icons and interactive installations. One of the best displays, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, illustrates the impact of history on Jewish culture.
Jivamukti
Jivamukti specialises in Hatha Yoga and is one of the most highly respected yoga centres in New York. The sumptuous surroundings and high calibre of teachers make it a favourite with local celebs and, since there are no membership rules, anyone can turn up.
Long Island
Long Island boasts a fusion of fun, natural beauty and historical wonder with its museums, historical sites and lighthouses. For a relaxing getaway, make sure to visit Wine Country, or for shopaholics visit the sophisticated malls and designer outlets.
Madame Tussaud's
Madame Tussaud's New York features some 200 life-size wax models of the world's most famous figures. There are no boundaries at this museum, so you can really get up close and personal. From Woody Allen to the Dalai Lama, all the top cats are here from the worlds of TV, film, sport, music, politics and history.
Madison Square Garden
Home to basketball, hockey and some of the world's most famous gigs, Madison Square Garden is actually the fourth building of that name. In addition to the 20,000-seat indoor arena, Madison Square Garden also has a 5600-seat theatre (formerly The Paramount).
Mother AME Zion Church
For an uplifting Sunday, join the gospel singing by both congregation and choir at the Mother AME Zion Church, perfectly capturing Harlem's spirit. This was New York's first black church, established in 1796, and gave shelter to escaped slaves, including Frederick Douglass.
Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA)
Narrating untold and marginalised stories, The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) highlights the diverse contributions made by the African Diaspora to the arts. Located in Brooklyn's cultural district, the museum hosts exhibitions, interactive tours and public discussions.
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Revamped in 2004 by Yoshio Taniguchi, MoMA's spacious and skylit Manhattan galleries contain the world's finest collection of 20th-century art. After browsing Léger's oils, Giacometti's sculpture and Schiele's drawings, watch a classic movie in the Roy and Niuta Titus Theatres.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens has the largest and most comprehensive collection of film, television and digital media artefacts in America. The collection spans the earliest existing TV receiver (1927) to modern video games.
New Museum of Contemporary Art
The stacked box architecture of the New Museum makes an astonishing landmark within which to hold New York City's only museum exclusively devoted to presenting contemporary art from around the world. It hosts numerous exhibitions of under-recognised artists.
New York Aquarium
The Brooklyn-based New York Aquarium sits on the edge of the ocean and boasts some 10,000 specimens, from sharks to seahorses. The best times to go are between the hours of 11am and 4pm, when you can catch most of the creatures' feeding times.
New York Botanical Garden
It's hard to imagine what New York must have looked like before the building frenzy filled it with concrete and glass. But if you visit the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, just 20 minutes away from central Manhattan, you will get some idea.
New York Public Library
Guarded by huge marble lions Patience and Fortitude, the Beaux Arts New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue has scholarly volumes for reference only and temporary exhibitions. Look upwards in the gallowed Rose Main Reading Room to see the restored ceiling murals, lit up by 18 chandeliers.
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest in the world by dollar volume traded. With 2780 listed companies, the market capitalisation (value of all listed shares) is an astonishing US$19.7 trillion.
New York Transit Museum
Housed in a 1930s subway station, the New York Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn details the development of New York's urban public transportation systems through exhibitions, tours, interactive and educational programmes, memorabilia and seminars.
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
One of the USA's most highly-regarded venues for contemporary art, P.S.1 occupies a disused public school in a former industrial district, just across the East River from Manhattan. From humble beginnings in 1976 it has now become an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art.
Queens Museum of Art
With a large panoramic model of New York City as one of its main highlights, the Queens Museum of Art in the New York City Building displays high-quality visual arts and offers a range of educational programmes.
Rose Center for Earth and Space
At the start of the millennium, the American Museum of Natural History opened the Rose Center for Earth and Space. At a cost of US$300 million, the building's spectacular architecture consists of a vast glass facade, behind which hangs a 2000-ton silver globe, housing two film theatres.
Russian & Turkish Baths
For a deep clean and reviving massage, the Russian & Turkish Baths in East Village has an old-world feel. Try the sizzling Russian sauna, ice-cold pool and Turkish steam room, followed by Dead Sea salt scrub.
