https://https://au.trip.com/toplist/tripbest/recommend/new-york/best-things-to-do/100000008368
Best Things to Do
Top 50 Best Things to Do in New York [2025]
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Statue of Liberty
4.7
/5
2910 reviews
10
From AU$ 42.37
Based on 44,307 reviews
4.3 km from downtown
Phone +12123633200
Address: New York, NY 10004, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 2-3 hours
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
Climb to the Crown and Overlook New York Harbor
Climb Crown & view NYC skyline
Saved by 1225 users1455 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
The Ctrip website gave me the wrong ferry terminal location. The ferry terminal is at Battery Park, not Battery Park, which is over a kilometer away. I bought a ticket for the 9:15 a.m. ferry, but because I was only in the wrong location, I didn't arrive at the ferry terminal until 9:30 a.m. Fortunately, the ferry ticket takes time into account. Liberty Island had been closed for many years and had just reopened. The museum had been moved from under the station to a standalone museum. The movie was a 10-minute film with three parts, and you had to change theaters for each part, so you could just walk through it. To see the interior of the Statue of Liberty, you had to make a reservation three months in advance, and the ticket price was the same. On the return trip, you could also take a tour of Ellis Island and see the century-old US Immigration Office.
I’ve been here many times, but this is my first time coming from the New Jersey side. I didn’t have to wait long to board the ferry, but it’s still a good idea to check the schedule to avoid a long wait. You should set aside a full day to explore both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
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Empire State Building
4.7
/5
2472 reviews
10
From AU$ 64.79
Based on 96,899 reviews
Gramercy | 4.2 km from downtown
Phone +12127363100
Address: 20 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 1-2 hours
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
360° view from 86th floor
24 hours, bars and restaurants for a drink
Saved by 1382 users1216 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
The Empire State Building is still the most classic of all the viewing spots in New York. Even though it is so old, its facilities are not outdated and the scenery is unbeatable. As long as you catch the sunset and night view, it is worth the ticket.
It's worth a visit. We bought afternoon tickets and happened to see the sunset and night view. We saw it during the day and it was worth it. It was so beautiful. We took the children there and saw a beautiful view. We could see that side very clearly. The ticket was a little expensive, but everything else was good. I strongly recommend everyone to go and see the night view of New York. It's really worth a visit. It's very cool and beautiful. You can't get enough of it.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
4.8
/5
2328 reviews
9.9
From AU$ 97.89
Based on 55,457 reviews
Upper East Side | 8.1 km from downtown
Phone +12125357710
Address: 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 0.5-1 day
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
Virtual experience beyond borders
Rooftop garden with Manhattan views
Saved by 1115 users1394 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
- Wide variety: collection of 3 million artworks from all over the world, spanning more than 5,000 years of history, covering ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Asia, Africa, Oceania and other regions, as well as European paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, etc. There are also a large number of American and modern art works. - Many boutiques: with many famous collections, such as the Danyu Temple in ancient Egypt, China's "Light Night White" and "Medicinal Buddha Changing Map", as well as many paintings and sculptures by ancient European masters. Architecture and layout - Majestic exterior: Neoclassical style architectural exterior, solemn and elegant, complements Central Park and becomes one of New York City’s iconic cultural buildings. -Reasonable layout: 19 exhibition departments are distributed on different floors and regions, the exhibition space is spacious and bright, the exhibits are displayed in an orderly manner, and the focus is on creating a display atmosphere that matches the exhibits, so that the audience can better appreciate and understand the artworks.
🚶 Plan at least 3 hours for the highlights
10:00-11:30: Egyptian Pavilion (Mummy, Sphinx) → American Wing (Oil Painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware River)
11:30-12:30: Asian Pavilion (Bronze, Ukiyo-e) → Medieval Armor Exhibition Hall (Knight Armor Array)
12:30-13:00: Roof Garden (Central Park Panorama + Contemporary Art Installation)
📌 Practical Tips
Tickets: Non-New York residents need to pay $25 full price ticket, and can enter the branch museum The Met Cloisters for free within 3 days with the ticket.
Guide: Download The Met App to get free Chinese audio guide, or rent a guide on the first floor ($7 including map).
Taboo: Backpacks need to be stored, selfie sticks and flash are prohibited, and only plastic bottles of water are allowed.
No.
4
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The Museum of Modern Art
4.7
/5
644 reviews
9.5
From AU$ 37.98
Based on 18,594 reviews
Midtown West | 5.8 km from downtown
Phone +12127089400
Address: 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 2-3 hours
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
New nighttime art appreciation experience
Admire masterpieces by Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso
Saved by 941 users364 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
Had an hour to spare during a business trip in NYC, quickly saw it was near the hotel and entrance was cheap enough. Really didn’t expect to see iconic pieces the Starry Night and Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in person, as I didn’t research this place before so it was a nice surprise. Try to get there before noon for an uncrowded experience.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is a leading institution in the field of modern art, located on 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City. It ranks alongside the Tate Modern in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Notable works within the museum's collection include Van Gogh's "Starry Night," Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Dalí's "The Persistence of Memory," Monet's "Water Lilies," Matisse's "Dance," Mondrian's "Broadway Jazz," and Cézanne's "Bathers."
The museum boasts a collection of over 150,000 works of art, encompassing painting, sculpture, photography, film, and industrial design, and continually updates its exhibitions through digital technology.
Admission is $25 for adults.
No.
5
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Central Park
4.8
/5
1786 reviews
9.3
Based on 134,345 reviews
Upper West Side | 8.3 km from downtown
Phone +12123106600
Address: New York, NY, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 3-4 hours
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
Park tour by carriage, 30min
Castle overlooking panoramic autumn park views
Saved by 960 users861 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
Central Park is very fun. There are large lawns and many squirrels running around. You can rent bicycles and ride horse-drawn carriages in the park. It is also nice to just walk around. There is a huge children's playground not far from Columbus circle. Children from all over the world who come to New York come here to play. They can play in the sand and water, and there are slides, swings, and rockeries. It is easy to play for half a day. There are also many people playing on the lawn. Many people there like to throw frisbees. Many families come here for vacation. It doesn't get dark until about 8:30 in the summer in the United States, so it's no problem to play in the park for a whole day!
Walking through New York's Central Park, it seems to fall into the gentle cracks of the steel forest. Morning light penetrates the forest, spreads powder and white brocade on the cherry blossom avenue, the wind is outdated petals fall, and the corners of the skyscraper soften into a background sound in the flower shadow. The city code on the bench is the most moving. The cold chair was stroked by the fingertips, and the short text on the nameplate hid the New Yorker's temperature: "Give my wife Carol, because she loves Central Park, and I love her" - the separation of life, the young encounter, the mother and son bonding, all condensed into a dew in the wood grain. When high school students spread out books and laughed on the sheep lawn, and when the reciting of Shakespeare’s poems drifted from Cherry Hill to the lake, the park became an emotional resonant box, full of human narratives that transcended language. In the afternoon, I closed my eyes in the Ramble Forest area. Bird song and stream sound woven into natural white noise, suddenly understand the deep meaning of Olmsted: this 3.4 million square meters of green lung, originally dedicated to "the handicrafts of tired industrial workers", so that people who can not travel far can drink nature here. The boat house pier at dusk is the most magical, The wooden paddles smashed the red-stained lake, and the wild ducks swam through the reflection of Manhattan. The hustle and bustle of the city sank to the bottom, leaving only the breathing in the shadow of the oasis of the oars. "When the whispers of the bench fell into the palms with the cherry blossom rain, I knew that the oasis in this concrete wasteland, It was New York's prose poem to the world. "
No.
6
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Rockefeller Center
4.7
/5
705 reviews
9.2
From AU$ 58.68
Based on 25,698 reviews
Midtown Manhattan | 5.4 km from downtown
Phone +12125888601
Address: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 1-2 hours
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
69th-floor 360° NYC view
Top of the Rock overlooks New York's night lights
Saved by 656 users335 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
The Rockefeller Center is located in Manhattan, New York, United States, a complex of 19 commercial buildings, the bottom floors of each building are connected. The largest is the General Electric Building, 259 meters high, a total of 69 floors, the center covers a total of 22 acres, completed in 1939. The designer is Raymond M. Hood. The Rockefeller Center stands east-west, from 48th to 51st Street, three blocks north-south, and three vertical blocks from Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue. The complex was built with the investment of the Rockefeller family. In 1987, it was designated by the US government as a “National Historic Landmark,” the largest privately owned complex in the world, and a landmark that marks Art Deco-style architecture, with significant significance that has long surpassed the building itself. The Rockefeller Center, known as one of the greatest urban plans of the 20th century, opened a new urban planning landscape for public space, with complete malls and office buildings making Midtown Manhattan the second city center in New York after Wall Street. Rockefeller Center is almost a perfect representation of Ferris’s paintings, including the distribution of the complex and the configuration of the heights, the lower international building next to Fifth Avenue slowly undulating to the tallest General Electric building next to Sixth Avenue, and the square for public use intersects (Strait Garden Channel Garden, Lower Plaza, etc.).
It is recommended to queue up at the time of booking tickets. You can enter after the time and you don't have to wait;
The diversion guidance is good and not too crowded;
The observation deck is crowded and windy, and it is quite cold in May;
The ticket price for watching the sunset in the evening is a bit more expensive, so make a reservation in advance.
No.
7
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SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
4.7
/5
136 reviews
9.1
From AU$ 64.99
New York City Center | 4.9 km from downtown
Address: 45 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 2-3 hours
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
Overlooking New York's unique city skyline
Immersive, interactive exhibit challenging the senses
Saved by 808 users127 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
I highly recommend this spot. I experienced it both during the day and at night this year, and it was truly breathtaking. The sound and light show started from the elevator and continued all the way to the top. Every step was like Inception. It was a wonderful experience, and the photos were great too, with a panoramic view of Manhattan. You can also experience it outdoors.
Due to the schedule, we went there in the morning and started queuing at the arrival hall: In fact, it is difficult to start the scheduled time completely according to the time marked on the ticket after queuing, security check, and going up the building. It belongs to a batch of time. There are a lot of people in each batch. The observation deck is very unique among the several in New York. Children like the space full of balloons the most... Not only should you control not to take pictures too hard, but also control not to be hit by others' pictures
No.
8
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American Museum of Natural History
4.7
/5
905 reviews
8.9
From AU$ 40.70
Based on 26,508 reviews
Upper West Side | 7.9 km from downtown
Phone +12127695100
Address: 200 Central Park W, New York, NY 10024, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 3-5 hours
Selected for 2 years in a row
Highlights:
Immersive cosmic exploration experience
See giant dinosaur models in the Fossil Hall
Saved by 590 users431 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
This museum is well worth a visit. Highlights include the dinosaur gallery on the fourth floor, where you can see Tyrannosaurus and Brontosaurus fossils from the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago. Also, the Big Bang film is a must-see. Also, the gem gallery is a must-see. And finally, the butterfly gallery is a must-see. Remember to ask for the gallery map when you pick up your ticket, or you'll get lost!
Our family had an amazing time at the American Museum of Natural History! From the moment we stepped inside, we felt like we were on a journey through time and across the world. The dinosaur skeletons were absolutely jaw-dropping — the kids couldn’t stop talking about them.We loved exploring the different halls, from the giant blue whale in the ocean life exhibit to the fascinating space displays in the planetarium. There was something for everyone in the family to enjoy, and we learned so much while having fun together.The museum was well-organized, and the staff was friendly and helpful. We spent hours there and still felt like there was more to see — it’s a place we’d love to visit again.It was a perfect mix of education and adventure, and we left with wonderful memories and lots of great family photos. Highly recommend for anyone visiting New York City!
No.
9
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Broadway Shows New York
4.7
/5
38 reviews
8.8
From AU$ 90.60
Harlem | 11.6 km from downtown
Phone +18663020995
Address: Broadway, New York
Featured in 2025 Americas 50 - Family-Friendly Attractions
Highlights:
Near Times Square & Central Park
41 theaters in 12 blocks
Saved by 226 users95% positive reviews
Verified user reviews
A very good musical magic show with great special effects and stage design. The visual effects are very shocking and worth checking out. There are a lot of dialogues, so some English listening skills are required.
It was a fantastic experience! Once in New York, a Broadway show is a must-see. I originally wanted to see The Lion King, but I couldn't make it, so I booked the Chicago show instead. It's also a very famous Broadway show, and I felt it was well worth the investment. One thing to note: if you can confirm your New York itinerary, buy your tickets in advance. Broadway show tickets are quite popular, so try to buy them in advance. When purchasing, make sure you check your seat location; you can choose your seating area! The show features live music and storytelling from the actors. One important thing to note: the closing curtain isn't the end; it's just intermission. Don't leave; there's still a second half. Also, there's a security check upon entry, and you're not allowed to bring water in bottles or food! Also, during intermission, the restrooms are on the second floor, and the line is incredibly long, so make sure you go quickly during intermission. 😂
No.
10
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Statue Of Liberty Cruises With Landing
4.6
/5
147 reviews
8.8
From AU$ 42.51
Wall Street/Financial District | 1.6 km from downtown
Phone +18775239849
Address: New York, NY 10004, United States
Recommended sightseeing time: 1-2 hours
Highlights:
Statue's top & harbor view
Capture Statue & view NYC
Saved by 602 users129 positive reviews
Verified user reviews
The Statue of Liberty cruise with landing is an unforgettable experience! Enjoy breathtaking views of NYC, explore Liberty Island, and visit the museum. A must-do for history and sightseeing lovers! #StatueOfLiberty #Cruise #NYC #Travel #History
The ticket on site is 25 US dollars. I was in a hurry to buy it, so I didn't go to Fliggy to compare prices. The on-site signs are clear, and it's basically no problem to go there by yourself. The boat 🛳️ is very stable, but if you are farther back when getting off the boat, the boat will shake quite a lot. It is recommended to get off the boat early.
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