It’s both a lifetime must-see and a complex grid of honking cars and rushing commuters, full of potential frustrations. New York City has its own microculture, made up of tip-demanding cabbies, incredible restaurants, brusque deli owners, spendy museums, hedonistic rooftops and straight-off-the-screen sights.
You’ll need to do a bit of forward planning to get the best out of it – not least narrowing down the neighbourhoods you want to explore, attractions you want to tick off and booking restaurants that routinely fill up months ahead. But the rewards are dynamite: even a short trip can be packed full of best-ever dinners, late nights, world class culture and only-in-NY moments. At the end of it all, your memories will be vivid (even if your wallet is a little lighter).
What to do
Higher heights
This skyline is the stuff of student posters, movie marketing and migrant dreams the world over. It’s worth seeing from a high point. Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock is pretty good, with a calm, gallery-like space and an audio-visual lift to reach its dizzying heights. But those who are romantic about NY will love the Empire State Building, with its Art Deco detailing and (caged) outdoor viewing deck as seen in a million movies. Seeing a 360° view while the wind whips your hair about is the jet-lag wake up call you need (and the observatory is open until 2am for a little past-midnight magic). Adult tickets $44, children 12 and under $38, kids under six go free.
The Metropolitan Museum, Fifth Avenue
(Getty Images)
Rich culture
NY’s Metropolitan Museum is one of the biggest and best in the world, containing treasures as diverse as couture dresses, Medieval church gates and Egyptian temples. Polished, huge and echoing with space, it’s an atmospheric walk through the history of the world. Don’t miss the airy Greek and Roman sculpture court (Gallery 162), the impressive “Washington Crossing the Delaware” and other Founding Father portraits in the American Wing, and The Frank Lloyd Wright Room, a living room designed by the modernist architect. Adults $30, children under 12 free.
Take a walk
Half of the fun here is simply strolling around neighbourhoods that, to most, simply look like movie sets or romantic sketches of fire escapes and tree-lined streets. Start with the bohemian West Village, with its weekend cafe culture, moving on to the High Line, running from west-side Hudson Yards down to the Whitney art museum. Leave time for shopping-heaven…
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