123 Best Sights in New York, USA

The center was built for the 1932 Olympics and renovated and expanded for the 1980 Games. During the latter, the arena here was the site of the U.S. ice-hockey team's win over the seemingly unbeatable Soviets, which led the men to a U.S. gold medal. The victory came to be known as the "Miracle on Ice." The center also houses other ice rinks, a museum, and convention space. Winter Olympics enthusiasts can purchase bobsled and luge rides with a professional on the competition track for $60 to $75. Tours of the center are available at 10, 11:30, and 1, Tuesday through Saturday for $8.50. A 50-minute audiocassette tour of the center is an option. The center hosts hockey and figure-skating tournaments and ice shows as well as other special events.

In September 2019, Pace moved into a new eight-story building at 540 West 25th Street, turning the gallery more into an art center than just a gallery. The impressive roster of talent represented here includes a variety of upper-echelon artists, sculptors, and photographers, such as Richard Avedon, Alexander Calder, Tara Donovan, Chuck Close, Sol LeWitt, and Robert Rauschenberg. Pace has two spaces in Chelsea, including 510 West 25th Street.

Opened in November 2012, the new Parrish Art Museum, originally established in Southampton in 1898, blends perfectly with its surroundings. A work of art itself, this massive yet subdued 34,440 square foot, elongated Herzon & de Meuron-designed barn blends modern clean lines with a traditional country look. Its seven sky lit galleries are filled with impressive collections highlighting Eastern Long Island greats including William Meritt Chase and Fairfield Porter, as well as exhibitions by world-renowned artists representing all media. There's also a full calendar of lectures, workshops, concerts and children's programs. Fun, family-friendly music programs take place outside during the summer. Juried art exhibitions hang on the walls during the year.

Occupying the refurbished 19th-century redbrick factory of the eponymous machine manufacturer, the Pioneer Works is a nonprofit cultural center comprising a soaring three-level space dedicated to nurturing independent artists, scientists, musicians, and their creative avant-garde communities. In fact, director Darren Aronofsky and David Byrne of the Talking Heads are on the advisory board. The performance stages and giant exhibition space designed by Red Hook artist Dustin Yellin regularly showcase changing exhibitions and performance art with lively opening parties, films, book fairs, and music concerts. On the grounds outside is an artfully landscaped yard with a bar. 

Spectacular views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains are your reward for trekking through the fields and wooded trails (2¼ miles) at this 120-acre park. Rustic cedar benches, footbridges, and gazebos add to the park's charm and offer places to picnic and rest.

The Pugliese family, in the spirit of the late founder and partiarch Ralph Pugliese, makes good, down-to-earth affordble wines that are local favorites. Its sparklers really shine: the Blanc de Blanc Brut regularly ranks in national competitions, and the off-dry sparkling merlot is an unusual treat. Try the Porto Bello dessert wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, great with chocolate, cheese, or on its own. The Sunset Meritage blend, with its deep, earthy flavors, is a winner. The hand-painted wine glasses and bottles make great gifts. Live music near the fish pond under the trellis on summer weekends attracts groups of friends and families with grandparents and children. In recent years limousine tours have brought growing crowds to this small family operation, but it's still the same friendly, beautiful winery Mr. Pugliese started 35 years ago.

Built in 1923, this famous wood-planked walkway is better known as the Coney Island Boardwalk, and in summer it seems like all of Brooklyn is out strolling along the 2½-mile stretch. The quintessential walk starts at the end of the pier in Coney Island, opposite the Parachute Jump, where you can see the shoreline stretched out before you, where the waves of the Atlantic Ocean meet the Big Apple. From here to Brighton Beach is a little over a mile and should take about a half hour at a leisurely amble. Admire the modernistic, rectangular structures perched over the beach, housing bathrooms and lifeguard stations.

This expansive green space runs alongside the Hudson River—hence its name—and offers a welcome dose of tranquility from 72nd to 158th Street, as does the park's south extension, from about 59th to 72nd Street. Walking and biking paths dot the entire park, among them the broad Promenade between 83rd and 96th Streets. The park's original sections were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux of Central Park fame and laid out between 1873 and 1888. Riverside Park also includes the soaring white marble Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (at 89th Street), dedicated to New Yorkers who served in the Civil War, and the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial Plaza (at 80th Street), dedicated in 1947. The 79th Street Marina, with its café, visiting yachts, and permanently moored houseboats, is closed for renovations to make the marina climate resilient and expand access for boaters.

Stretching almost the entire length of the peninsula, this beach is separated into sections according to and labeled with the nearest cross street. In order to prevent erosion that worsened after Hurricane Sandy, certain sections of the beach are closed on various days, so check the website for details. The adjoining concrete boardwalk becomes a see-and-be-seen bazaar in the height of summer. Bikers, strollers, joggers, and rollerbladers all share space with day-trippers trying to spot their friends on the sand. There are also plenty of eateries and some swimsuit and surf shops for browsing. Amenities: food and drink; toilets; lifeguards (in season). Best for: swimming; walking; surfing; partiers.

Six huge Ionic columns front this restored 1839 Greek Revival mansion overlooking Seneca Lake. The 21 rooms open to the public include servants' quarters, the children's playroom, the kitchen, dining room, and parlors. Some rooms are outfitted with the Empire-style furnishings that were used from 1850 to 1890 by the prosperous farm family that lived here. Guided tours of the house begin with an introductory film and are given on the hour weekdays and on the half hour weekends. The grounds include boxwood gardens.

Founded in 1925 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2017, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on Black, African-diaspora, and African experiences. Established with the collections of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, this research division of the New York Public Library features diverse programming, including exhibits that draw from a collection of more than 11 million items illuminating the richness of global Black history, arts, and culture. The Photographs and Prints Division houses over 300,000 images that document African culture and history since the 18th century, while the Rare Books Division houses an extraordinary collection of manuscripts and archives available for research purposes. 

The grounds at this 52-acre estate are a magnificent example of late-Victorian gardening and design. The rose garden overflows with 4,000 bushes; the other themed plantings include Japanese, pansy, blue-and-white, and rock gardens. An early-1900s conservatory houses the orchid collection and other exotic plants. The stunning 1887 Queen Anne mansion was built as a summer home by a wealthy New York City banker and his wife, who became Canandaigua's biggest benefactress. The library, the couple's favorite room, looks out on the Italian garden. The great hall features a massive leaded-glass window and an 1874 Steinway. Walking tours are offered weekdays at 1 and weekends at 10 and 1 from Memorial Day through September.

The well-known architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White was responsible for the beaux arts style of this grand 65-room mansion fronted with mammoth columns. Formerly known as Mills Mansion, the Hudson River estate was a family home of financier Ogden Mills and his wife, Ruth Livingston Mills, in the late 1800s to early 1900s. You may see the mansion's lavish interior by guided tour only. The estate, one of the most beautiful properties in the Hudson Valley, has hiking and cross-country-skiing trails, and a huge hill for sledding in winter.

Founded by David Rockefeller in honor of his late wife, Peggy, Stone Barns is a groundbreaking nonprofit educational center that aims to promote sustainable, community-based agriculture. The 80-acre working farm encompasses Norman-style barn buildings, a restaurant and café, a greenhouse, and livestock, including sheep and swine. Garden tours, greenhouse workshops, and introductions to local environmentalists, winemakers, and organic farmers are among the programs. Self-guided tours are free; guided tours are $15. The dinner-only restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, is an outpost of Manhattan's famed Blue Hill. The Blue Hill Café serves light fare and sandwiches until 4:30.

Sixty-three acres showcase the landscape design of Francis Cabot, founder of the Garden Conservancy. Display gardens span 12 of the acres, in settings ranging from rock cliffs and woodlands to placid pools and verdant lawns. Don't overlook the picture-perfect conservatory, where the winter garden includes trees and flowers native to South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.

Opened in June 2024, the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center on Christopher Street is an information hub and an immersive exhibition on the Gay Rights movement that started right next door at the Stonewall Inn during the June 1969 Stonewall Riots when LGBTQ+ patrons fought back against one of the police department's routine raids, ultimately galvanizing America's homosexual civil-rights movement. You can spend time in the info center learning about how the movement started and progressed and then move next door to the historic bar, literally drinking in the history of the place via a beer or cocktail among the friendly locals and visitors who frequent the place. The bar is open nightly until late.

More than 100 sculptures by major international artists—including David Smith, Alexander Calder, and Isamu Noguchi—are spread out on 500 acres of hills, fields, meadows, and woodlands. The relationship between art and nature is a focus for the center. For the best overview of the grounds and collection, ride the shuttle (wheelchair-accessible), which runs every half hour. Free "Highlights of the Collection" walk-in tours are offered daily at 2. Designated picnic areas have tree-shaded tables. Whether or not you picnic, consider wearing bug repellent. Kids love to run around the grounds and the sculptures; you just need to make sure they don't touch the installations.

Play is taken seriously at the second-largest children's museum in the country, home to the world's largest collection of toys, dolls, and play-related artifacts and to the National Toy Hall of Fame. Within its 282,000-square-foot footprint are interactive exhibits like Reading Adventureland, where you follow a yellow-brick road into a pop-up book of life-size literary creations; Sesame Street (created in collaboration with Sesame Workshop); a pint-size market where kids run the store; and an indoor butterfly garden and aquarium. Also on display are some of dolls and dollhouses of museum founder Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897–1969), who collected some 17,000 dolls throughout her life.

Taking you 1,210 feet and 93 floors above the heart of New York City, in part via an all-glass-enclosed elevator, NYC’s newest observation deck (opened in late 2021) "elevates" the observation deck concept, offering unique immersive and multisensory art installations amid three levels. Among them, the Air exhibit by Kenzo Digital evokes mirrored floors and ceilings to reflect and multiply the incredible skyline views of the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and beyond. In fact, there are so many reflective surfaces in this experience that Summit recommends pants and sunglasses to protect your modesty and your eyes.

The 91st and 92nd floors are completely enclosed. The views are endless and even with crowds, it is easy to find an impressive selfie backdrop. After you have had your fill of spotting NYC rooftops and before you come back down to earth, linger a while longer at Après on the 93rd floor, where you can enjoy food, coffee, and cocktails on the wraparound terrace. Those who dare to go higher can try Ascent, the world’s largest exterior glass-floor elevator, which takes you up the outside of the building to its highest point.

Walk up a small and unassuming staircase from St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights, and Sylvan Terrace appears as if you have magically stepped back in time to 19th-century New York City or onto a film set. The one-block cobblestone street lined on both sides with charmingly restored wooden town houses built in 1882 is one of New York City's greatest "secret streets" and hidden gems. Before the rows of town houses were built, the street served as a carriage drive to the 1765-built Morris-Jumel Mansion, the oldest house in New York City. The quaint town houses are occupied (and rarely come on the market, sorry) but are still worth visiting, especially when paired with a visit to the Morris-Jumel Mansion. A view of the mansion, framed by the charming yellow houses with ornate brown details and usually unobstructed by tourists, can be seen when looking eastward.

This leafy park is a favorite spot, year-round, for the neighborhood locals who lunch on the benches, picnic in the central green spaces, and put on impromptu jazz concerts. There's a year-round farmers' market by the southwest corner on Sunday, and an annual Halloween dog-costume event. It wasn't always so rosy in the park, though: in 1988, police followed then-mayor Ed Koch's orders to evict the many homeless people who had set up makeshift shelters here, and homeless rights and anti-gentrification activists fought back with sticks and bottles. The park was reclaimed and reopened in 1992 with a midnight curfew, still in effect today.

The nondenominational stone church built in 1922 on land donated by John D. Rockefeller is loosely based on early English Gothic buildings but deliberately devoid of sectarian detailing. The real stars of the site, however, are the stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall and Henri Matisse, also gifts of the Rockefeller family.

Occupying the western shore of one of the most scenic bends in the Hudson River, the academy consists of some 16,000 acres of training grounds, playing fields, and buildings constructed of native granite in the Military Gothic style. The oldest continually garrisoned post in the U.S. Army, the citadel was founded in 1778 and opened as a military academy in 1802. Distinguished graduates include Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, and Douglas MacArthur. The world's oldest and largest military museum, the West Point Museum in Olmstead Hall, showcases a vast collection of uniforms, weapons, flags, American military art, and other memorabilia. Fort Putnam, built in 1778 and a key component of West Point's defense during the Revolutionary War, was restored in the 1970s. Campus visits are by bus tour only (bring photo ID), but you do get a chance to step off the bus, look at a few memorials and cannons up close, and perhaps glimpse cadets in action. Civilians are also allowed on campus for sporting and cultural events, including football games, theater presentations, parades, and concerts. You can visit the museum and visitor center without taking the $11 tour. Tours aren't given during graduation week (usually late May) and on Saturdays of home football games.

The imposing 1898 McKim, Mead, and White mansion, built for Cornelius Vanderbilt's grandson Fredrick, makes a striking contrast with its Roosevelt neighbor, Springwood. A fine example of life in the Gilded Age, the house is lavishly furnished and full of paintings. It conveys the wealth and privilege of one of the state's most prominent families. The grounds offer excellent views of the Hudson River and encompass lovely Italian gardens.