840 Best Sights in New York, USA

Five galleries house photographs, videos, costumes, and archives that explore the history and development of dance as an art form. The Hall of Fame honors top dancers, choreographers, and costumers. You may even watch dancers rehearsing in the performing-arts studios.

The National Museum of Mathematics (aka MoMath) transforms math into hands-on fun for all ages—even if numbers aren’t your thing. Solve mind-bending puzzles, ride a trike with square wheels, make your own color patterns with magnetic tiles, play brain games at interactive stations, and much more. Adults will love it as much as kids, making it a rare museum where everyone can geek out. Don’t miss the stellar gift shop, packed with clever, math-inspired finds.

There's no exact formula to get kids excited about math, but the sleek two-floor National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath)—the only cultural institution of its kind in all of North America—comes close to finding the perfect fun-to-math ratio. Kids can ride square-wheel trikes, create human fractal trees, build virtual 3-D geometric shapes (which can be printed out on a 3-D printer for a fee), use lasers to explore cross sections of objects, solve dozens of puzzles, and generally bend their minds. The popular Robot Swarm exhibition allows kids to explore swarm robotics and interact with two dozen small (Roomba-like) glowing robots using simple math rules. Exhibits are best suited to kids aged six and up, but preschoolers can still enjoy many interactive exhibits like the Math Square, a light-up floor programmed with math games, simulations, and patterns.

The museum closes at 2:30 pm the first Wednesday of every month.

Exhibits, including memorabilia from famed horse Seabiscuit, relate the story of Thoroughbred racing in the United States. In the Hall of Fame, video clips of races bring to life the horses and jockeys enshrined here. For an additional fee you may take a tour of the training track.

Massive granite columns rise to a pediment topped by a double row of statues at the marvelous Beaux-Arts Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (1907), which is home to the New York branch of this Smithsonian museum (the other is in Washington, D.C.). Inside, the oval stairwell and rotunda embellished with shipping-theme murals (completed in the 1930s) is well worth a look. The permanent exhibition, Infinity of Nations, is an encyclopedic survey of Native American cultures from across the continent, with the entire museum preserving more than 825,000 art pieces and artifacts dating from ancient to modern times. The venue presents changing exhibitions, videos and films, dance, music, and storytelling programs. There's also an excellent Museum Store serving as NYC's best place to purchase authentic Native American merchandise.

Dozens of sailplanes and gliders, dating from the late 19th to the late 20th century, are on display at this museum, part of Harris Hill Park. Movies and exhibits help explain and explore the heritage of gliding. You can even take a sailplane ride ($70; April–November weather permitting; reservations required).

You can join the gawking crowds watching news tapings outside the NBC studios (which are in the art deco GE Building on Rockefeller Plaza), or you can get even closer to the action (without having to elbow anyone) by taking a slick behind-the-scenes tour of the legendary studios. Tours depart every 20 minutes daily, delving into the history of television and the actual recording studios of some of the network's top shows, like Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and NBC Nightly News. Tours start at the Shop at NBC Studios (49th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues); visitors must reserve tickets, which are sold online, in advance, and children must be at least six years old.

Noted American artist and sculptor Walter De Maria's 1977 avant-garde installation consists, quite simply, of 280,000 pounds of gently sculpted soil filling 3,600 square feet of a second-floor loft maintained by the Dia Art Foundation since 1980. You can't touch or walk on the dirt, nor can you take photos, but looking at it is quite peaceful. De Maria's equally odd and impressive work The Broken Kilometer, an 18.75-ton installation that consists of five columns of a total of 1,000 meter-long brass rods covering the wooden floors of an open loft space, is a few blocks away ( 393 W. Broadway) and is a good complement. The two installations have the same hours. 

At the northwestern edge of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, this museum has more than 400 hands-on exhibits that make science a playground for inquisitive minds of all ages. Learn about the science behind bubbles by playing with them at The Big Bubble Experiment. Immerse yourself in Maker Space, where activities like woodworking, 3-D printing, and building electronics rotate daily. The 3D Movie Theatre, Rocket Park Mini Golf, and Science Playground require extra fees.

Along the famed Willomeoc Creek—the birthplace of American fly-fishing—a half million brown trout are raised each year to stock the state's waterways. Visitors are welcomed year-round for guided tours; experts from the state Department of Environmental Conservation are glad to answer questions and explain all things fishy. Call for specific hours.

Wraparound porches, a balconied gable, and turrets provide evidence of the 1856 building's progression of architectural phases, from Italianate to Second Empire and finally Queen Anne. The mansion has served as the official residence of New York's governors since 1875. To see the interior, you must take one of the guided tours, which last about an hour; because visiting times are so limited, reserve at least two weeks in advance.

The museum explores the state's history, geography, nature, and art; exhibits include a re-created Iroquois village, a display about New York birds, and a working 1916 carousel (with horses from the 1890s). A display about the September 11 terrorist attacks documents, through photographs and artifacts, rescue efforts at the World Trade Center. In February the museum hosts the regional flower show, "New York in Bloom."

At this waterfront educational center you can attend a dinner hosted by a local winery, take wine or food workshop, watch guest chefs in action, get expert advice on the various wine trails, or peruse the gift shop for locally made honey, pottery, and other food- and wine-related items. The center has more than 400 classes each year for the general public, including wine basics, various types of wine pairing, and cooking classes that focus on local foods. Most are a few hours in length and you can often arrange same-day signups. Drop-in classes are always available on weekends. A tasting room offers wine and beer flights, and the on-site restaurant serves a seasonal menu highlighting local food and wine.

The Niagara Gorge Discovery Center explains, through interactive exhibits and a multiple-screen movie, the natural history of the falls and the Niagara Gorge and their formation.

Niagara Falls generates power at one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world (the largest in New York State). The visitor center, 4½ mi north of the falls, has more than 50 hands-on exhibits, including an operating model-size generator, and educational displays on energy efficiency and hydroelectric power generation. Atop the Robert Moses Power Plant, the visitor center has sweeping views of the Niagara Gorge.

The Niagara Scenic Trolley travels a 3-mi route through the park, picking up and dropping off passengers at six locations.

The Niagara USA Discovery Pass includes Niagara Scenic Trolley tickets and admission to the Aquarium of Niagara, Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, the Prospect Point Observation Tower, and the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center. It's available from the Prospect Park Visitor Center.

An 1898 Upper West Side town house contains this small, eccentric museum dedicated to the work of Russian artist Nicholas Roerich, who immigrated to New York in the 1920s and quickly developed an ardent following. About 200 of his paintings hang here—notably some vast canvases of the Himalayas.

The first Black-owned gallery in New York, Nicola Vassell swung open its doors in May 2021 to great fanfare in the art world. The gallery's focus is on discourse that widens the lens of history and about the future of art with exhibitions by a diverse group of international artists. The space shows a cross-discipline of works using the mediums of film, painting, sculpture, and video installations.

This 15,000-seat amphitheater in Jones Beach State Park presents big-name musicians, including Aerosmith, The Beach Boys, and The King of Leon. It also hosts several large-scale music festivals. The concert season usually runs June through August and most concerts are rain or shine.

In 1985, the Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904–88) transformed this former industrial plant into a showcase for his modernist and earlier works. A peaceful central garden is surrounded by galleries, showing a comprehensive selection of Noguchi’s sculptures in stone, metals, paper, and ceramics, as well as architectural models, drawings, designs, and photographs. Temporary exhibits rotate, like their 40th anniversary exhibit, along with collaborations with other artists. The museum is about a mile from subway stops, but less than half a mile from the Astoria stop on the NYC Ferry; check the website for complete directions.

Built by Andrew Carnegie in 1914 as the village library, this structure now houses exhibits about the history, culture, and geography of Northport and its environs. Walking tours of Northport, educational programs, and lectures are offered.

The stunning 61-acre park, known as Hook Mountain to locals, includes a main trail that stretches alongside the Hudson River and attracts bicyclists, dog walkers, stroller-pushers, and runners. Bird-watchers look for hawks, and area residents come with their lawn chairs and Sunday papers. Bring lunch and enjoy it at a waterfront picnic table, or visit in the colder months and cross-country ski on the trails. Parking is free daily from November through March, and on weekdays from April to mid-June and Labor Day to October.

The graves of many of Nyack's artists and writers, including Edward Hopper, Carson McCullers, and Helen Hayes, are in this cemetery.

Sun seekers throng this beach park, which stretches for 5 miles on the barrier island's south side, to play volleyball, surf, swim, and sunbathe—all under the watchful eyes of lifeguards (on duty weekends late May to mid-June, daily mid-June to early September). While well known as a summer haven, the 2-mile boardwalk attracts walkers, runners and cyclists year-round. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

The church was established in 1659, and a small wooden building was erected in 1661. It was burned down in 1663, during the Second Esopus War. Today's church (the third at the site) went up in 1852 and features an 1891 window made by the Tiffany Studios. George Clinton (first governor of New York and vice president under Thomas Jefferson) and a number of Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in the graveyard. Guided tours of the cemetery, sanctuary, and museum are offered by appointment.

Built in 1685, the oldest church in New York State is surrounded by a 3 acre burial ground that's mentioned in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Made of stone and hand-hewn lumber, the church is in a style typical of the northern Netherlands.