343 Best Sights in New York City, New York

This sports-and-entertainment complex along the Hudson River between 17th and 23rd Streets, a phenomenal example of adaptive reuse, is the size of four 80-story buildings laid out flat. There's pretty much every kind of sports activity happening both inside and out, including golf (check out the multitier, all-weather outdoor driving range), sailing classes, ice-skating, rock climbing, soccer, bowling, gymnastics, and basketball. Plus there's a spa, elite sport-specific training, and a bowling alley. Chelsea Piers is also the jumping-off point for some of the city's boat tours and dinner cruises.

In this five-story exploratorium, children ages 1–7 are invited to paint their own masterpieces, float boats down a "stream" (seasonal), rescue animals with Dora and Diego (in an exhibition created in collaboration with Nickelodeon), walk through or crawl under larger-than-life contemporary sculptures at Inside Art, and wriggle through the human digestive system in EatSleepPlay. In the immersive, comic book–inspired Superpowered Metropolis exhibit, a trio of lively pigeons—Zip, Zap, and Zoom—guide you through a 1,500-square-foot space equipped with interactive features like a climbable, two-story tree house. Special exhibits are thoughtfully put together and fun. Art workshops, science programs, and storytelling sessions are held daily.

The CMA encourages children ages 1 to 15 to get creative through a variety of mediums. Along with the requisite children's museum offerings like pencils, chalk, and paint, you'll find a clay bar; a media lab with mounted cameras and a recording studio; a small slide and colorful ball pond that kids can play in; an airy exhibition space with rotating exhibits (and workshops inspired by exhibits); a permanent collection of children's art from more than 50 countries; and classes in ceramics, origami, animation, filmmaking, and more. Check the website for a busy calendar of events.

At the New York outpost of this famous auction house, you could easily spend an hour or more wandering the free, museum-like galleries filled with impressive works of art, estate jewelry, furniture, and other rarely displayed objects that are usually housed in (and, most likely, soon to be returned to) private collections. One of the first items to be auctioned here, when it opened in 2000, was the "Happy Birthday" dress worn by Marilyn Monroe when she sang to President Kennedy (it sold for more than $1.2 million). Yes, the auction house has come a long way since James Christie launched his business in England by selling two chamber pots, among other household goods, in 1766. The lobby's abstract Sol LeWitt mural alone makes it worth visiting the 310,000-square-foot space. Hours vary by sale, so call ahead to confirm.

You might have to share a bench in this tiny park with George Segal's life-size sculptures of a lesbian couple: titled Gay Liberation, the white-painted bronzes were cast in 1980 but not installed until 1992. Standing next to them is a gay male couple, captured mid-chat.

A monument to modernity and the mighty automotive industry, the former Chrysler headquarters wins many New Yorkers' vote for the city's most marvelous and beloved skyscraper, despite the fact that you can only love it from a distance. Architect William Van Alen, who designed this 1930 art deco masterpiece, incorporated car details into its form: American eagle gargoyles, made of chromium nickel and resembling hood ornaments used on 1920s Chryslers, sprout from the 61st floor; winged urns festooning the 31st floor reference the car's radiator caps. Most breathtaking is the pinnacle, with tiered crescents and spiked windows that radiate out like a magnificent steel sunburst. While the current owner has been given permission to reopen an observation deck on the 71st floor that closed in 1945, for now you have to make do with appreciating it from afar or ducking in for a quick look at the amazing time-capsule lobby replete with chrome "grillwork," intricately patterned wood elevator doors, marble walls and floors, and an enormous ceiling mural saluting transportation and human endeavor. You may enter the lobby during business hours (8 am–6 pm).  For a great view/photo, walk to the northeast corner of 44th Street and 3rd Avenue.

What once marked the northernmost point of Manhattan today houses the office of the mayor and serves as a gathering place for demonstrators and the news crews who cover their stories. This is the one of the oldest City Halls in the country, a striking (but surprisingly small) building dating from 1803. If the history of local politics and architecture is your thing, free tours are available (sign up in advance online). Inside, highlights include the Rotunda where President Lincoln lay in state in 1865 under a soaring dome supported by 10 Corinthian columns; the Victorian-style City Council Chamber; and the Governor's Room, an elegantly preserved space with portraits of historic figures, as well as a writing table that George Washington used in 1789 when New York was the U.S. capital.

Subway tokens, Statue of Liberty figurines, and other artifacts you might find in a New York City time capsule crowd the displays of this quirky, community-run museum inside a former bodega. Recent temporary exhibits have included one with actual children's letters addressed to Spider-Man, sent to his comic book address in Queens. 

This busy traffic circle at Central Park's southwest corner anchors the Upper West Side and makes a good starting place for exploring the neighborhood. The 700-ton, granite monument in the circle's center, capped by a marble statue of Christopher Columbus, serves as a popular meeting place. To some people, Columbus Circle is synonymous with the Deutsche Bank Center (formerly Time Warner Center) building and its several floors of shops, restaurants, and quick-bite cafés. The Whole Foods market and the food hall Turnstyle (on the subway-station mezzanine) are good spots to pick up sandwiches or sushi for a Central Park picnic. The building is also home to the Rose Hall performing arts complex, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center.

People-watching and/or eating takeout lunch are the things to do in this park. Swing by in the morning, and you'll see men and women practicing tai chi; the afternoons bring intense games of cards and mah-jongg. In the 1880s, a neighborhood-improvement campaign brought about the creation of the park, which was, in the mid-19th century, the site of the infamous area—ruled by dangerous Irish gangs—known as the Five Points because it was the intersection of Mulberry Street, Anthony (now Worth) Street, Cross (now Park) Street, Orange (now Baxter) Street, and Little Water Street (no longer in existence).

This 2½-mile beach, backed by the Riegelmann Boardwalk and the amusement park rides beyond, has become an iconic part of New York legend. Although open (and visited) year-round, the beach really heats up in summer, when it can seem like the entire population of New York is out sunning and swimming. Even in winter, however, you'll see Russian and Eastern European inhabitants of neighboring Brighton Beach strolling the boardwalk in their Sunday best. The annual Polar Bear Plunge on January 1 sees thousands of revelers greet the new year by diving into the frigid waters of the Atlantic. Run by the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, a winter bathing club founded in 1903, it's a ticketed event for charity, with a roped off "official" area. Plenty of New Yorkers who want the jolt of the cold water but don't want to pay and wait in line simply do their own thing farther down the beach, then amble over to Brighton Beach to toast the new year at Tatiana's. Amenities: toilets; snack bars; sports facilities. Best for: swimming; sunbathing; people-watching; the Polar Bear Plunge.

The cast of talented freaks and geeks who keep Coney Island's carnival tradition alive include sword swallowers, fire-eaters, knife throwers, contortionists, and Serpentina the snake dancer. Every show is an extravaganza, with 10 different acts to fascinate and impress. The Coney Island Museum houses a large permanent collection of artifacts, ephemera, photographs, and postcards celebrating the history of this legendary amusement area.

An affectionate play on the name of the nearby Murray Hill neighborhood to the north, Curry Hill is a roughly three-block area with a large concentration of Indian restaurants. There are dozens of eateries peppered (or is it spiced?) around Lexington Avenue between 26th and 28th Streets, with many regional cuisines represented, including a number of South Indian dosa spots. Check out Kalustyan's ( 123 Lexington Ave.), the long-standing Indian spice-and-grocery market, too.

Built in 1840 for merchant and developer Don Alonzo Cushman, this string of redbrick beauties between 9th and 10th Avenues represents some of the country's best examples of Greek Revival row houses. Original details include small wreath-encircled attic windows, deeply recessed doorways with brownstone frames, and striking iron balustrades and fences. Note the pineapples, a traditional symbol of welcome, on top of the black iron newels in front of No. 416.

The landmark lobby of this art deco tower contains an illuminated 12-foot globe that revolves beneath a black-glass dome. Around it, spreading across the floor like a giant compass and literally positioning New York at the center of the world, bronze lines indicate mileage to various international destinations. Movie fans might recognize the building as the offices of the fictional newspaper The Daily Planet in the original Superman movie. On the wall behind the globe, you can check out meteorological gauges, which read New York City's weather—especially fun on a windy day when the meters are whipping about. The Daily News hasn't called this building home since 1995; only the lobby is open to the public (but that's enough). The globe was last updated in 1967, so part of the fun here is seeing how our maps have changed; note Manchuria and East and West Germany.

Zwirner is one of the most prominent figures in the world of contemporary art, and his several galleries around the world show multimedia work by big-name, Instagram-friendly artists including Richard Serra, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Jeff Koons, Gordon Matta-Clark, Yayoi Kusama, and Alice Neel. The sleek modern building on 20th Street has two floors of exhibition space, and there's a complex of buildings on West 19th Street a block away, as well as another gallery on the Upper East Side.

The star attraction at Deno's is the towering 150-foot-tall Wonder Wheel, a New York City landmark. The Ferris wheel first opened in 1920, making it the oldest ride in Coney Island, and the spectacular views from the top take in a long stretch of the shoreline. Other rides for tots here include the Dizzy Dragons, the Pony Carts, a brightly painted carousel, and the Phoenix Family Thrill Roller Coaster. For older kids, there's also Stop the Zombies, a virtual-reality arcade game.

Once the grounds of the Domino Sugar Factory, this sprawling riverside park tastefully incorporates clunky metal remnants of its refinery past, including its Artifact Walk, an elevated walkway with Manhattan skyline views. There's also a playground, a garden, dancing fountains, and Tacocina, a walk-up eatery from Danny Meyer of Shake Shack fame. You’ll see locals hanging out at the bocce court or playing with their pooches at the dog run, but most of all, you’ll be able to marvel at a truly spectacular view of the Williamsburg Bridge, seemingly right above your head.

Keep an eye out under and around the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway, where walls display longstanding street art by the likes of CAM, Cey Adams, Apolo Torres, and Yuko Shimizu. The project is sponsored by the DUMBO Improvement District and the New York City Department of Transportation Urban Art Program.

Cherished by residents for its grassy knolls and superb Manhattan views, this park contains vestiges of the 19th-century dock that once occupied these 7 acres. On Saturday, more than a hundred vendors sell artisanal goods at the Smorgasburg open-air market (see Chapter 8, Park Slope and Prospect Park, for full listing). The park can get crowded on summer weekends, so don't be surprised if you find yourself scavenging for an open patch of grass.

Opened in 2020, Edge is the gleaming new observation deck at the Hudson Yards development, and at 1,131 feet, it is the highest outdoor sky deck in the western hemisphere. Its walled triangular floor juts 80 feet from the tower's edge. The views here are truly panoramic, from those of the streets 100 stories below to those of Central Park, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, and beyond. An outdoor staircase connects Floor 100, home to a gift shop and indoor champagne bar, with Floor 101's Peak restaurant and cocktail bar ( www.peaknyc.com). Besides regular adult timed-tickets, there are packages with extras, such as the Flex Pass ($60), which includes flexible-arrival-time tickets and a digital souvenir photo.

The impressive stable of 20th-century photographers represented and shown here includes Sally Mann, Robert Polidori, Nick Brandt, Lalla Essaydi, Herb Ritts, Mona Kuhn, and Elliott Erwitt. The gallery also has prints by masters Dorothea Lange and Diane Arbus.

El barrio, Spanish for "the neighborhood," is the nickname for East Harlem, a largely Spanish-speaking Puerto Rican and Dominican community; the museum, on the edge of this neighborhood, focuses on Latin American and Caribbean art. Some 10% of its collection is concentrated on works by self-taught artists from New York, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America. The permanent collection of more than 6,500 objects includes over 400 pre-Columbian artifacts, ceremonial masks from Mexico and Guatemala, sculpture, photography, film and video, and traditional art from all over Latin America. One highlight is the 360 santos, carved wooden folk-art figures from Puerto Rico. The museum's El Teatro, formerly the Heckscher Theater, dates to 1921 and has stunning murals; it's used for cultural programs. El Museo hosts performances, lectures, films, and cultural events, including a monthlong Día de los Muertos celebration.

Started in 1940 as an attempt by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to corral street pushcarts and vendors (and thereby get them off the streets), the Essex Street Market was defined early on by the Jewish and Italian immigrants of the Lower East Side and went through several incarnations. The latest and most exciting is the wholesale move from its original location on the northeast corner of Delancey and Essex Streets, across the street to the southeast corner, trading in a windowless and cramped space for one spread over three levels, including a light-filled atrium and plenty of seating. Although many of the vendors selling meat, fish, cheeses (vegan and dairy), produce, bread, pastries, and coffee, tacos, and tajines remain—as does the eccentric Shopsin's restaurant—there are many new shops and restaurants. The vast Market Line food court, downstairs, houses a plethora of famed New York outposts for dining.