Things to do in New York

New York began at the southern tip of Manhattan, and that's still the best place to understand it. The Statue of Liberty, dedicated in 1886, and Ellis Island, where around 12 million immigrants were processed between 1892 and 1954, make a moving half day. Our Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour handles the ferry and the security lines so you can focus on the stories.

A few blocks north, Federal Hall marks the spot where George Washington took the oath of office in 1789, and the narrow lanes around Wall Street are full of tales most visitors walk straight past (here are ten of our favorites). The 9/11 Memorial's twin pools sit on the footprints of the Twin Towers, and a guide who knows the site, like the ones on our 9/11 Ground Zero Insider Tour, adds real depth. Browse all our history walks on the walking tours page.

The real New York lives in its neighborhoods, and each one feels like a different city. Greenwich Village ignores the street grid and rewards aimless wandering past brownstones, jazz clubs and Washington Square Park; our guide to Greenwich Village secrets tells you where to look. SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown sit side by side, and our walking tour of all three is one of the best introductions to downtown.

On the West Side, the High Line turns an old elevated freight railroad into a park that runs from the Meatpacking District to Hudson Yards. Read about its history or explore it on a private High Line and Chelsea tour. Across the East River, DUMBO's cobbled streets frame the Manhattan Bridge in one of the city's most photographed views.

You can eat around the world without leaving the five boroughs, but start with the classics: a folded slice of pizza, a bagel with cream cheese, a pastrami sandwich and a plate of dumplings in Chinatown. Downtown is the easiest place to graze, and our block-by-block guide to Chinatown, Little Italy and SoHo maps out where to go.

If you'd rather someone else did the planning, the DUMBO foodie experience pairs Brooklyn tastings with waterfront views, and the pizza-making workshop and dinner teaches you to make a New York pie yourself, then sits you down to eat it. Food halls like Chelsea Market, in the old Nabisco factory below the High Line, are a good rainy-day fallback.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art alone could fill a week, which is why a plan matters. Our tips for seeing the Met in a morning will keep you from burning out, and a guide makes the collections come alive on the Met highlights tour or the deeper, private Met in Depth. MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Whitney are all within easy reach if you still have energy.

After dark, Broadway is the headline act. Around 40 theaters cluster around Times Square, and the TKTS booth sells same-day discounted seats. For a backstage perspective, try our private Broadway and Times Square tour, or learn a routine yourself at the Broadway dance workshop.

New York changes dramatically with the seasons, so it's worth planning around them. Spring brings cherry blossoms to Central Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, summer means outdoor concerts, rooftop bars and Shakespeare in the Park, and fall paints Central Park gold before the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade kicks off the holidays.

Winter is the city at its most magical. The Rockefeller Center tree, the skating rinks, the department store windows and the over-the-top light displays of Brooklyn's Dyker Heights all draw visitors from around the world. Start with our Christmas in New York page and the insider's guide to the holiday season, then see the lights without the hassle on our Dyker Heights Christmas lights tour. Our Dyker Heights guide has everything to know before you go.