Top 10 Things to Do in New York City for First Timers

Here is the whole list in one table, with the time to allow and what is worth checking first. Seven picks sit inside the city, and three take you out of it. Read it for the time each pick asks for rather than the order, because the seven city picks can move a day either way while the three road days run on fixed departures.

None of these seven needs a bus or a car. The subway runs 24 hours a day and reaches every one of them, so a metro card and a little walking cover the whole list.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

The statue and the old immigration halls stand in the harbor rather than on the street grid, so they arrive as one trip, and the ride out gives you the Manhattan skyline from the water. Allow half a day for the pair, and take the crossing in summer as a way off the hot sidewalks.

Check the ferry operator's timetable and ticket rules for your own date, then plan it as a morning. It suits families traveling with children, because a boat holds attention at any age.

Times Square

Times Square costs nothing and takes almost no planning. Walk it once after dark, take your photographs, and an hour covers it. Stay alert in the crowds while you are here, and the same way around Grand Central Station, where the two biggest crowds of the week both sit.

Keep to the lit blocks, keep your group together, and it works in any month. It suits a first evening, before you have worked out the subway.

The Broadway Theater District

The theater district belongs to the evening, and it is the one city pick worth arranging before you leave home. New productions open in May and October, so if your dates land in those months, sort the tickets before you book flights.

One show is enough for a first trip; an evening in a theater is a long evening. It suits couples and families with older children who can sit through a full performance.

Central Park

Central Park is free, walkable from Midtown, and it changes character with the season. October is when the foliage turns red, orange and gold, and the park fills half a day in any month: cherry blossom in spring, Shakespeare in the Park and the SummerStage concerts in summer, snow and empty paths in winter.

Take a map or keep your phone charged, because the paths do not run straight. It suits families, walkers and anyone who has spent two days on hard pavement.

The Empire State Building

The observation deck is the view of New York most first-timers picture. Give it an hour up there, and check the opening hours and ticket options before you go, because both move through the year. The deck is busiest in the sticky afternoons of July and August, when the city runs into the mid-80s°F and the day often closes with a thunderstorm, so a morning slot is the easier one.

If you would rather see the skyline from the air, helicopter tours fly out of the city for 15 to 20 minutes, in a different price bracket. On the ground, the deck is a good pick for the last morning of a city stay.

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center earns its place on the list in winter, for three things: the Christmas tree lighting, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and ice skating at Rockefeller Center or Bryant Park's Winter Village.

Outside the winter months, it is a short walk and a look at the buildings rather than a stop of its own, and the same visit pairs neatly with a theater evening. Lunar New Year celebrations and the city's Restaurant Week menus give January and February a second reason to come, with prix-fixe deals at restaurants around town. It suits anyone traveling between December and February.

The September 11 Memorial & Museum

This pick asks for time rather than money. Give it two to three hours and treat it as a half day once you add the walk there and back. It is also the one stop where you should check opening days and entry rules for your own date instead of assuming them.

It suits adults and older children more than very young ones.

The last three picks leave the city. All of them start and end in New York, so your flights do not change, and each one is a full day at the least. Two of them reward an overnight stay, because the drive eats the daylight.

If you would rather not work out the bus times yourself, New York tours cover all three routes, with the driving and the hotels handled for you.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls sits 328 miles from the city by bus, which is why this is a two-day trip rather than an afternoon. You see the water from land, and in season from a boat at the base, which is the part first-timers tend to leave until the second morning.

The night view is the part people remember: the American Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are lit after dark. Two days buys you daylight at the falls, the illumination at night, and a hotel bed in between. It suits families and anyone with two spare days and no car.

Washington, D.C.

A day trip covers Washington, D.C. from the city, and the draw is the United States Capitol Building, the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Smithsonian museums, including Air and Space and Natural History.

One long day is enough for the monuments and the drive back. Two days is better if the museums are the point, because the Mall alone can swallow an afternoon. It suits anyone curious about American history.

Philadelphia and Amish Country

Philadelphia is a straightforward day trip by road to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in the birthplace of American democracy, and then on to Amish Country in Pennsylvania, where you learn about the culture and traditions of the Amish families who farm there.

If you have a single free day outside the city and want history rather than waterfalls, this is the sensible choice. It suits families, and it suits parents or grandparents who grew up with the story of American independence.

Ten picks and a normal-length trip do not match, so the real skill is deciding what to cut. Five rules of thumb cover most first visits.

• Match the month to the pick. May and October give the best walking weather, with average highs of 68 to 75°F. December and January belong to Rockefeller Center, the holiday lights and the museums instead.
• Count free days, not wish lists. The seven city picks fit into four or five days if the ferry crossing and the observation deck each get a morning of their own.
• Book the evening early. A Broadway show is the one city pick that gets harder to arrange as the date approaches.
• Keep the road days at the end. Niagara, Washington and Philadelphia all begin and end in the city, so they slot in after your city nights without touching your flights. The pick-ups run early in Manhattan, Times Square from 7:00 and Union Square from 7:20, which decides how late your show night can go.
• Hold one wet day in reserve. The air-conditioned museums make a summer escape, and The Met and MoMA stay quiet through January and February, which keeps a rainy day from writing off the trip.

The best first trip to New York City is not about checking off every attraction, but choosing the experiences that fit your time and interests. Set aside four or five days for the city's highlights, from the Statue of Liberty and Central Park to Broadway and the September 11 Memorial & Museum. If you have extra time, add a day trip to Washington, D.C. or Philadelphia, or reserve two days for Niagara Falls. Book time-sensitive attractions in advance, keep your schedule flexible, and leave room for the neighborhoods you discover along the way.