The Fodor's Five
The five things you need to know before traveling to New York City
Manhattan is larger than you think. Create your itinerary with that in mind.
Jumping from Midtown Manhattan to the East Village and back to Fifth Avenue in a single day is not impossible—but it’s unnecessarily stressful. Learn about the various Manhattan neighborhoods you plan on visiting and research the distance between each, that way you can finetune your itinerary and make sure the activities you've planned each day are actually achievable.
Related: The 10 Manhattan Neighborhoods to Visit on Your First New York Trip
Use public transportation in New York City.
Taking the train is cheaper ($2.75 can take you across the entire city), and it’s typically way faster, than jumping in a cab. Google Maps is the best way to figure out which line gets you from point A to B. And be mindful of the biggest mistake most tourists make on the subway—make sure you're not only taking the right train, but that's it going in the right direction. It's easy to confuse uptown and downtown lines—and a blunder that even locals are guilty of making.
Related: Everything You Need to Know About New York City’s Public Transportation
You don’t need a ton of cash or buzzy reservations to eat well.
The best restaurants in New York are the kind that serve cheap house wine, have little regard for ambiance, drape paper tablecloths (rather than linen ones), and/or serve a staple dish out of a hole-in-the-wall location. We’re not saying you shouldn't splurge on a fancy dinner—you should! But keep your eyes peeled for smaller eateries that you can pop into while exploring the city’s expansive neighborhoods.
“Basic” New York tourist activities are usually worth the hype.
Rest assured that the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, etc., are almost always worth the hype. And what’s a trip to the Big Apple without staring up at the massive billboards that light up Times Square? Don't think you're too cool to skip an iconic attraction.
While New York City may not be cheap, there are easy ways to make it more affordable.
For example, many NYC museums are pay-as-you-wish, a pricing model that’s not available when you purchase tickets online. Rather than paying the $20+ suggested donation for a ticket to the Met, you can arrive the day of, wait in line, and pay at your own discretion.
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New York City weather is a study in extremes. Much of winter brings bone-chilling winds and an occasional traffic-snarling snowfall, but you...Read More
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