840 Best Sights in New York, USA

The views of Keuka Lake from here are spectacular. The wine is less so, and the tours are touristy, but the tastings are fun. Lunch and dinner are available at the Bully Hill Restaurant.

This premier showcase for western New York artists spotlights the works of watercolorist Charles Burchfield (1893–1967) and handcrafted objects from the Roycroft Arts and Crafts community. It is New York State's first LEED-certified art museum.

Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, a wealthy Englishman under the sway of William Morris and John Ruskin, decided to create a utopian arts colony. His friend and conspirator Bolton Brown, an artist, suggested Woodstock. After a visit in 1902, Whitehead agreed. Here is the result: 250 acres holding the only intact arts and crafts colony in the U.S. Whitehead's efforts laid the groundwork for Woodstock's transformation into a colony of the arts. Artists, writers, composers, and dance and theater companies still call it home when they participate in its residency programs. There are plenty of events, from concerts to lectures to opportunities to visit artists at work in their studios. Guided tours are offered in the summer.

Located right next to Enchanted Forest, this amusement complex offers go-karts, bumper boats, miniature golf, and an arcade. A Pizza Hut is on-site. Attractions cost a ticket or more each, and each ticket is $5.

The Canandaigua Wine Trail includes just five wineries, in Fairport, Canandaigua, and Naples, and two wine centers in Canandaigua.

Named for a German immigrant who was a prominent statesman and newspaper editor in the 19th century, this 14.9-acre park is so tranquil that you'd never guess you're directly above the FDR Drive. Walk along the esplanade and soak up views of the East River and Roosevelt Island across the way. To the north is Randalls (which is conjoined with Wards Island on the east side) and the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (formerly the Triborough Bridge)—while the sights of locals pushing strollers, riding bikes, or walking their dogs surround visitors. 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. It was built in the 18th century.

Devoted to teaching the public about ecology, the Carey Institute lets you explore the walking trails and roadways where you'll find fields, upland forests, and wetlands. Stroll through a fern glen and discover diverse habitats—or relax in Adirondack chairs and take in the sounds of the creek. The center also offers free lectures on ecology and birding and one-day courses about everything from Hudson Valley landscapes to rock-garden basics.

A Hudson Valley wine pioneer, the now well-established winery produces a collection of reds and whites. The winery was built in 1977 by novelist Bill Wetmore, who recently passed the torch to his daughter Joanie Yahn.

The collection at this museum, in a gray marble–faced building on the Niagara University campus (just north of the city), encompasses more than 5,000 works—paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, and sculptures—with an emphasis on modern and contemporary art. Charles Burchfield, Alexander Calder, Salvador Dalí, Willem de Kooning, April Gornick, Keith Haring, David Hockney, Marsden Hartley, Amedeo Modigliani, and Cindy Sherman are among those represented here. An Underground Railroad interpretive center includes historic photos, video, and artifacts; Niagara Falls was one of the last stops on the "railroad" for slaves escaping to Canada.

One of the most influential art 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, Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, Robert Morris, and other heavy hitters. There's a satellite gallery in the Times Square area.

For more than four decades, Long Island's founding vineyard has been bringing a little piece of Tuscany close to home. A former barn near the main tasting room provides a lively venue for festivals, opera, jazz performances, live comedy, and art exhibits. Try the Cabernet Franc.

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 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. An Extra-Hours Photography Tour on select Saturdays (check online) offers exclusive photography access outside open hours. 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. The annual Blessing of the Animals in October is a beloved New York City tradition.

The country's oldest neo-Gothic cathedral, finished in 1852, has an imposing redbrick exterior with tall twin spires. Inside you find a high vaulted ceiling, stained-glass windows, and statues.

The 1876 Gothic-style cathedral, the bishop's house, and the St. Mary's and St. Paul's school buildings were all part of an elaborate memorial for Garden City's founder, A.T. Stewart, commissioned by his wife, Cornelia. The bells, purchased at the Philadelphia Centennial exposition in 1876, are replicas of the Liberty Bell; there are 13 of them, one for each of the original colonies. The church is noted for its hand-carved mahogany woodwork and rare marble. The Casavant organ, the largest pipe organ on Long Island, has 103 ranks of pipes.

Set in magnificent Lloyd Neck, which juts into Long Island Sound, this park covers 1,500 acres and includes a sliver of beach and a bridle path for those who bring horses in by trailer. You can also hike, fish, bike, and cross-country ski here. The park was originally the estate of Marshall Field III; his mansion can be viewed from the outside, but is closed to the public.

At this restored 1816 mill you can take a self-guided tour and watch the 12-foot-round waterwheel power the 1,400-pound millstone.

The Cayuga Wine Trail has 16 wineries stretching from Seneca Falls down to Ithaca, with most concentrated on the western-central lakefront. Montezuma Winery, on the trail, is known for its mead (honey wine).

Four centuries' worth of artifacts bring Brooklyn's story to life at this marvelous, renovated space inside 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. Upstairs, the Othmer Library’s spectacular reading room, with its stained-glass windows and carved wooden columns, transports visitors to an earlier era.

You're entering hallowed ground, because this building was once the Espresso Café, where Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, and others entertained countercultural dreamers. Now a gallery space for photography, the center aims to provoke serious consideration of the medium, offering a dynamic series of exhibits, lectures, and workshops.

The Dairy (midpark at 65th Street) is one of five visitor centers in the park. The others include Belvedere Castle (midpark at 79th Street), the Chess & Checkers House (midpark at 64th Street), the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (at the top northeast corner of the park at 110th Street, on the shore of Harlem Meer), and the Columbus Circle Information Kiosk (southwest corner of the park at West 59th Street). All have directions, park maps, event calendars, and volunteers who can give you guidance. The Conservancy also offers themed guided tours, such as views, gardens, and statues and monuments.

Even a leisurely visit to this small but delightful menagerie takes only about an hour, unless, of course, you fall under the spell of the zoo's adorable animals, be they the ever-friendly penguins, the spry snow leopard, or other furry or feathered residents. More than 130 species are found here, but there's no space for animals like zebras and giraffes to roam. Don't miss the sea lion feedings, possibly the zoo's most popular attraction, daily at 11:30, 1:30, and 3:30, or the penguin feedings at 10:40 and 2:30 daily.

Clustered around the central Sea Lion Pool are separate exhibits for each of the Earth's major environments: penguins and seabirds live at Polar Circle; the highlights of the open-air Temperate Territory are the chattering monkeys; and the Tropic Zone contains the flora and fauna of rain forests. The Tisch Children's Zoo (no additional ticket required) gives kids the opportunity to feed sheep, goats, cows, and pigs. The 4-D theater shows 15-minute-long, family-friendly films that feature sensory effects like wind, mist, bubbles, and scents. Children under 12 are not admitted to the zoo without an adult.  All visitors must reserve a date-specific ticket in advance.