A trip to New York City is exciting, especially for those who have never experienced big city life. There are so many things to do and see and so many opportunities that you cannot find elsewhere. It can be difficult to decide exactly which aspects of New York City you would like to experience during a trip, but here are some of the great attractions that make NYC the greatest city in the world!
New York City is home to some of the most famous landmarks in the United States. The Statue of Liberty (nps.gov/stli) and Ellis Island (ellisisland.org) are both symbols of the freedom that the United States represents. Visitors may also enjoy the Empire State Building (esbnyc.com) observation deck, located high above the city streets and offering a different perspective of the big city. New York City is also home to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (stjohndivine.org), which is the largest cathedral in the world.
As one of the largest cities in the country, New York City offers numerous museums to visitors. Many of these museums are located along a stretch of 5th Avenue that is known as Museum Mile. Madame Tussauds Museum (madametussauds.com) consists of wax figures of many famous people. Those who appreciate art can visit the the Metropolitan Museum of Art (metmuseum.org), Museum of Modern Art (moma.org) and the Cloisters Museum and Gardens (metmuseum.org/cloisters). Several of New York's museums focus on children, such as the Brooklyn Children's Museum (brooklynkids.org) and the Staten Island Children's Museum (statenislandkids.org). Those who would like to learn more about the city and its ethnic makeup may enjoy the Jewish Children's Museum (jcm.museum), the Museum of the City of New York (mcny.org) and the Weeksville Heritage Center (weeksvillesociety.org).
Even though New York is one of the biggest urban areas in the United States, tourists can also find green spaces within the city. Central Park (centralparknyc.org) is the most well-known green space in the city. Another prominent city park is Prospect Park (prospectpark.org), which is a 585-acre park landscaped by famous architect landscapers and featuring a lake, meadow and forest, all in the heart of Brooklyn. In addition to these parks, visitors can find three different botanical gardens in New York City: Brooklyn Botanic Garden (bbg.org), New York Botanical Garden (nybg.org) and Snug Harbor Botanical Garden (snug-harbor.org). Another large park found within the city is Wave Hill (wavehill.org), which is a 28-acre public garden in the Bronx.
New York City offers many opportunities for live theater, and many venues can be found in the city's Theater District, located from 42nd to 53rd Streets between 6th and 8th Avenues. Some of the theaters showing Broadway shows like "The Phantom of the Opera," "Wicked" and "Mama Mia!" include the Gershwin Theater (gershwintheater.com), Majestic Theater (majestic-theater.com) and Palace Theatre (palacetheatreonbroadway.com). Off-Broadway shows can be enjoyed at such theaters as the American Place Theater (americanplacetheatre.org), Greenwich House Theater (greenwichhouse.org) and Players Theater (theplayerstheatre.com). Visitors can purchase same-day discounted tickets for some major shows through a TKTS booth (tdf.org) for up to 50 percent off.
Some people have a difficult time finding their way around a big city all by themselves. These people can benefit from one of the many tours that are available throughout the city. Cruises of the New York Harbor and out on the Hudson River through Circle Line (circleline42.com), Sail New York City (sail-nyc.com) and Spirit Cruises (spiritcruises.com) give visitors a new perspective of the city. Walking tours take visitors through many areas of the city, including the NBC Studios (nbcstudiotour.com), Carnegie Hall (carnegiehall.org) and the Broadway Theater District. Broadway Theater District Tours are available through Uncle Sam's (unclesamsnewyork.com) and Trusted Tours (trustedtours.com).
The sports teams that make their home in New York City are among the most popular in their respective sports. Visitors may enjoy taking in a game, depending on the sport season at the time of the visit. Baseball's Mets and Yankees call New York City their home. The Mets play at Citi Field (newyork.mets.mlb.com) in Queens and the Yankees play at Yankee Stadium (newyork.yankees.mlb.com) in the Bronx. In basketball, New York houses the Knicks at Madison Square Garden (thegarden.com) in Manhattan. For those who enjoy hockey, the New York City Rangers also play at Madison Square Garden (thegardencom). For football, New York City is home to the Giants and Jets, who both play at Meadowlands Stadium (newmeadowlandsstadium.com) in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
There are numerous places to eat and shop within the city. Visitors can find any type of food they can imagine in the many restaurants located throughout the city. Some of the unusual restaurants that visitors can find include MARS 2112 (mars2112.com), Moda Lounge and Outdoor Bar (no website; 135 W. 52nd St.; New York City; 212-887-9880) and World Yacht Dining Cruises (worldyacht.com). New York City is also home to some shopping experiences that are not found anywhere else, such as the NBC Experience Store (nba.com/nycstore). The city is also home to famous department stores like Macy's (macys.com) at Herald Square, the largest department store in the world, and Bloomingdales (bloomingdales.com).
