Top Attractions

Top Attractions

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The largest art museum in the Western Hemisphere, the Met is -- naturally -- a mecca for art lovers of all stripes. Treasures from all over the world and every era of human creativity comprise its expansive collection. It's easy to get dizzy circling all the Dutch master canvases, bronze Rodins, and ancient Greek artifacts -- but if you need a breather, you can always retire to the Temple of Dendur or the rooftop café.

Times Square

Times Square is the most frenetic part of New York City: a cacophony of flashing lights, honking horns, and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds that many New Yorkers studiously avoid. But if you like sensory overload, the chaotic mix of huge underwear billboards, flashing digital displays, on-location television broadcasts, and outré street performers it will give you your fix. If you're a quieter sort, it will almost certainly give you a headache.

Empire State Building

From the 86th-floor observatory, which towers 1,050 feet above the city, you can see up to 80 mi away on a clear day (and it's heated and air-conditioned, unlike the deck 16 stories farther up). The views at night are equally stunning, with the glittering city lights French architect Le Corbusier once called "a Milky Way come down to earth." If you're afraid of heights, gazing at the building from afar will still deliver a dose of dazzle -- especially after dark, when it's illuminated by colored lights that correspond to different holidays and events.

Museum of Modern Art

Described as a "modernist dream world" after its $425 million face-lift in 2004, MoMA has since become as famous for its architecture as for its collections. Yoshio Taniguchi, the Japanese architect responsible for the redesign, created newly spacious, soaring-ceilinged galleries suffused with natural light, where masterpieces like Monet's Water Lilies, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, and van Gogh's Starry Night can get the oohs and aahs they deserve. The museum's restaurant next door is nearly as breathtaking.

Brooklyn Bridge

"A drive-through cathedral" is how the critic James Wolcott describes one of New York's noblest and most recognized landmarks. Spanning the East River, the bridge connects Manhattan island to the borough of Brooklyn (once an independent city, and still worth a visit in its own right). A leisurely hour's stroll on the pedestrian walkway (which you'll share with bicyclists and rollerbladers) is an essential New York experience. Traffic is beneath you, and the views along the East River and of Manhattan's Financial District are some of the best anywhere.

Statue of Liberty

Presented to the United States in 1886 as a gift from France, Lady Liberty is a near-universal symbol of freedom and democracy, standing 152 feet high atop an 89-foot pedestal on Liberty Island. You can get a taste of the thrill millions of immigrants must have experienced as you approach Liberty Island on the ferry from Battery Park.

American Museum of Natural History

The towering, spectacularly reassembled dinosaur skeletons that greet you when you enter this museum are practically worth the (suggested) price of admission. But there's tons more, including exhibits of ancient civilizations, animals both stuffed and living (don't miss the live Butterfly Conservatory October-May), a hall of oceanic creatures overlooked by a 94-foot model of a blue whale, and space shows at the adjoining Rose Center for Earth and Space.

Central Park

The literal and spiritual center of Manhattan, Central Park has 843 acres of meandering paths, tranquil lakes, ponds, and open meadows. For equestrians, softball and soccer players, strollers, ice- and roller skaters, rock climbers, bird-watchers, boaters, picnickers, and outdoor performers, it's an oasis of fresh air and greenery that lets them forget -- at least for a little while -- the hustle and congestion of the city.

Bronx Zoo

One urban jungle deserves another. Only at the world's largest urban zoo is there room for gorillas to lumber around a 6 1/2-acre simulated rain forest, or tigers and lions to roam nearly 40 acres of open meadows.

SoHo

The elegant cast-iron buildings, cobblestone streets, art galleries, chic boutiques, and swanky hotels make this a wonderful area in which to shop, drink, and dream of a more glamorous life.