343 Best Sights in New York City, New York

This rust-tinted spaceship of an arena with a lawn for a roof houses the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and the WNBA's New York Liberty, and hosts events from concerts to family shows to boxing. With a capacity hovering around 17,000, Barclays Center also has plenty of room to offer concessions courtesy of local restaurateurs, including Parm, Federoff's Cheesesteaks, and Fuku.

Walking the stretch of Bleecker Street between 7th Avenue and Broadway provides a smattering of just about everything synonymous with Greenwich Village these days: NYU buildings, record stores, Italian cafés and food shops, pizza and takeout joints, bars and nightclubs, and funky boutiques. A lazy afternoon here may consist of sampling some of the city's best pizza, grabbing an espresso, and soaking up the downtown fashion scene. Foodies love the blocks between 6th and 7th Avenues for the specialty purveyors like Murray's Cheese (No. 254). At the intersection of Bleecker and Carmine Streets is Our Lady of Pompeii Church, where Mother Cabrini, a naturalized Italian immigrant who became the first American citizen to be canonized, often prayed. West of 7th Avenue, the shops get more upscale, with fashion and home-furnishings boutiques featuring antiques, eyeglasses, handbags, shoes, and designer clothing.

The small plaza that is Bowling Green, at the foot of Broadway, became New York's first public park in 1733. Legend has it that before that, this was the site upon which Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans, in 1626, supposedly for what amounted to 24 U.S. dollars. On July 9, 1776, a few hours after citizens learned about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, rioters toppled a statue of British King George III that had occupied the spot for 11 years; much of the statue's lead was melted down into bullets. In 1783, when the occupying British forces fled the city, they defiantly hoisted a Union Jack on a greased, uncleated flagpole so it couldn't be lowered; but patriot John Van Arsdale drove his own cleats into the pole to replace it with the Stars and Stripes. The copper-top subway entrance across State Street is the original one, built in 1904–05. Many know Bowling Green as the home of Arturo Di Modica's 7,000-pound, bronze Charging Bull statue (1989), look for it on the northern tip of the park.

Just steps from the subway, this stretch of golden sand is the showpiece of Brooklyn's oceanside playground. Families set up beach blankets, umbrellas, and coolers, and pickup games of beach volleyball and football add to the excitement. Calm surf, a lively boardwalk, and a handful of restaurants for shade and refreshments complete the package. That spit of land in the distance is the Rockaway Peninsula, in Queens. Amenities: toilets. Best for: people-watching, sunsets, Russian food.

The main thoroughfare of "Little Odessa" is where you'll find a Russian caviar boutique amid the Cyrillic shop signs advertising everything from pickled mushrooms to Armani handbags. When the weather's good, local bakeries sell sweet honey cake, cheese-stuffed vatrushki danishes, and chocolatey rugelach from sidewalk tables.

The four towers of this complex (once known as the World Financial Center) range from 34 to 51 stories high and are topped with different geometric ornaments designed by Cesar Pelli. Inside are the company headquarters for the likes of American Express and Dow Jones. But the main attraction is the glass-domed Winter Garden atrium with its signature palm trees—a pleasant open space that hosts music and dance performances and links to a sweeping array of stores and restaurants. A concourse passes underneath West Street, connecting Brookfield Place to the World Trade Center site. There's also a pedestrian crosswalk at grade across West Street. The massive windows at the top of the Winter Garden's grand staircase on the north side of the atrium provide a view of the 9/11 Memorial Plaza and Westfield World Trade Center (the Oculus) to the east.

Built in 1848 as Brooklyn's city hall, this Greek Revival landmark, adorned with Tuckahoe marble, is one of the borough's handsomest buildings. The statue of Lady Justice atop its cast-iron cupola was part of the original plan but wasn't installed until 1988. Today the landmarked building serves as the office of Brooklyn's borough president, and the backdrop of weekend skateboarders in adjacent Columbus Park.

Most of Brooklyn Heights, with picturesque brownstones spanning Old Fulton Street to Atlantic Avenue, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. This includes the quiet "fruit streets"—Pineapple, Cranberry, and Orange Streets—named in the 19th century by one Lady Middagh, a resident who thought it was more democratic to get rid of the former names of aristocratic families. Ironically, Middagh Street still exists. One notable building in the area is 58 Joralemon Street, which at a glance appears to be a 19th-century Greek revival townhouse, but is actually a facade for an MTA ventilation shaft. 

Facing the East River, this park, named for a German immigrant who was a prominent newspaper editor in the 19th century, is so tranquil you'd never guess you're directly above the FDR Drive. Walk along the promenade, and take in views of the river and Roosevelt Island across the way. To the north are Randall's and Wards Islands and the RFK Bridge (aka the Triborough Bridge)—as well as the more immediate sight of locals pushing strollers, riding bikes, or walking their dogs. Within the park is a Federal-style wood-frame house that belies the grandeur of its name: Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the city's mayor.

One of the most influential dealers of the 20th century, Leo Castelli helped foster the careers of many important artists, including one of his first discoveries, Jasper Johns. Castelli died in 1999, but the gallery continues to show works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, Robert Morris, and other heavy hitters. There's a satellite gallery in the Times Square area.

By some measures the largest cathedral in the world, even with its towers and transepts still unfinished, this divine behemoth comfortably asserts its bulk in the country's most vertical city. As such, the cathedral has long been a global landmark, and it was finally designated a New York City landmark in 2017. The seat of the Episcopal diocese in New York, it acts as a sanctuary for all, offering special interfaith services that include a celebration of New York's LGBTQ+ community. Built in two long spurts starting in 1892, the cathedral remains only two-thirds complete. What began as a Romanesque Byzantine–style structure under the original architects, George Heins and Christopher Grant Lafarge, shifted in 1911 to French Gothic.

Above the 3-ton central bronze doors is the intricately carved Portal of Paradise, which depicts St. John witnessing the Transfiguration of Jesus. Step inside to the cavernous nave: more than 600 feet long, it holds some 5,000 worshippers, and the 162-foot-tall dome crossing could comfortably contain the Statue of Liberty (minus its pedestal). The Great Rose Window is the largest stained-glass window in the United States. Sunday services are at 10:30, 2, and 7. Tours, including self-guided and guided Highlights Tour and a Vertical Tour, are offered throughout the week. The grand and gothic interior hosts regular musical events including choir performances, organ recitals, artists in residence, and visiting national and international artists; check the online calendar for more details and to purchase tickets.

Four centuries' worth of art and artifacts bring Brooklyn's story to life at this marvelous, newly renovated space. Housed in an 1881 Queen Anne–style National Historic Landmark building, the center surveys the borough's changing identity through interactive exhibitions, landscape paintings, photographs, portraits of Brooklynites, and fascinating memorabilia. The Othmer Library’s magnificent reading room, with its stained-glass windows and carved wooden columns, transports visitors to an earlier era.