Manhattan

200 Fifth Avenue

This building, formerly part of the Toy Center, used to be connected to the formerly matching one that was between 24th and 25th Streets by a pedestrian bridge, but that building was torn down and substituted for with a new building in the 2010s. However, the remaining landmark building between 23rd and 24th Streets and 5th Avenue was built in 1909 and as of 2021 is occupied most prominently by Eataly, a large purveyor of foodstuffs that concentrates particularly on Italian foods that are imported or made on site.

23 Wall Street

Located across from the Stock Exchange is this imposing office building which was constructed in 1914 and served as the headquarters of JP Morgan. The Wall Street Bombing of September 16, 1920 damaged the building, with shrapnel blasting several holes in the limestone facade. The holes are still there for any to see.

40 Wall Street

Trump Building

A very impressive skyscraper with a green spire which was completed in 1930 and surpassed the height of the nearby Woolworth Building (see Manhattan/TriBeCa), making it the tallest building in the world until the Chrysler Building was completed just a month later (which in turn lost that title to the Empire State Building less than a year later). The building was leased by Donald Trump in 1995, hence its current name.

African Burial Ground National Monument

For most of the 18th century, Africans in New York City were buried in a graveyard outside the city. The graveyard was eventually forgotten and was rediscovered in 1991. This museum and memorial site commemorate the estimated 15,000 Africans that were interred on the site of the memorial. Note that the museum is located inside of a Federal building so airport-style security should be expected.

Visitor Center: Tue-Sat 10AM-4PM except Federal holidays; Memorial: Daily 9AM-5PM except Federal holidays. Memorial closed November–March·Free

Alamo

A sculpture at the center of Astor Place. This steel cube actually rotates as you push on any side, though you may need the strength of two or three people for a complete rotation. One of its sister cubes resides on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This sculpture was removed in 2015 but returned to an enlarged pedestrian area in the fall of 2016.

American Irish Historical Society

Yet another unique but rich treat on 5th Avenue, the AIHS is a non-profit organization that educates visitors on Irish American culture and history. Immersive and traditional events are held often along with exhibits showcasing the array of unique art and music. If performing and visual arts aren't your thing, you can visit the library instead with over 10,000 books, newsletters, newspapers, and pieces of literature dating back to the 1700s that feature a wide variety of otherwise unknown topics that are great for anyone interested in European culture and history.

Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM

American Museum of Natural History

Holding a remarkably large collection, each of the 5 floors of this massive building has expansive and well-designed exhibits devoted to astronomy, biology, geology, anthropology, climatology, and paleontology. You will want to allow a full day if you hope to see the entirety of the museum. Some of the highlights are the Rose Center for Earth and Space on the northeast corner of the building, which contains a seven-story glass cube holding the Hayden Planetarium, a huge sphere suspended above the exhibit halls below and holding a "cosmic pathway" exhibit; the numerous habitat diorama halls on the first, second and third floors, with recreations of African, Asian, North American, and ocean plants and animals, including a full-size model of a Blue Whale suspended above the Ocean Life Hall; a Hall of Minerals and Gems, which contains many rare and beautiful specimens, including the largest star sapphire in the world and a chunk of a massive meteorite; extensive anthropology halls on the first, second, and third floors, with exhibits devoted to people of Asia, Africa, Central America, the Pacific, and Native Americans; and the natural history halls on the fourth floor, with one of the largest collections of dinosaur skeletons in the world.

10AM-5:30PM (closed Thanksgiving/Christmas)·$30/adult, $24/senior/student, $18/child, pay-what-you-wish for NY/NJ/CT residents, special exhibitions cost extra

Ansonia

formerly the Ansonia Hotel

This pretty 17-story Beaux Arts building was completed in 1904 and designed to be New York City's first air conditioned hotel. It was a residential hotel, and housed a number of very famous people, including the Hall of Fame baseball player, Babe Ruth; the Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso; the modernist composer, Igor Stravinsky; the Italian conductor of the NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini; and writers Theodore Dreiser and Isaac Bashevis Singer. The building is now a condominium.

Apthorp

A beautiful early 20th-century high-rise luxury apartment building, taking up the entire square block between 78th and 79th Sts. between Broadway and West End Avenue. Its companion, the Belnord, takes up the square block between 86th and 87th Sts. between Broadway and Amsterdam. Both buildings were completed in 1908, at a time when the Upper West Side was still full of wide open spaces.

Arsenal

A picturesque brick building that actually predates the park. It was built in 1851 to serve as a munitions supply depot for the New York State National Guard, and was designed to look like a medieval fortress, with battlements overlooking the area. Today the building holds a refreshment stand and a small art gallery with rotating/seasonal exhibits.

Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM·Free

Asia Society Museum

The Asia Society is a unique educational organization like no other in the area promoting relationships and understanding among and of leaders, people, and organizations of Asia. It features a vast array of Asian art including art, business, culture, and education, promoting collaboration and a new, progressive understanding of Asian relations. The opportunities for discovery here are endless, with lessons about art, calligraphy, language, literature, politics, and religion.

Tue-Sun 11AM-5PM·$15/adult, $10/concession, free for children under 16, members, visitors with disabilities and people accompanying them

Balto Statue

A popular monument to the famous sled dog who successfully led a sled team through a treacherous blizzard to deliver medicine to Nome, Alaska, thus ending an epidemic.

Barnard College

One of the Seven Sisters colleges, and is affiliated with Columbia University.

Battery Park

At the southern tip of Manhattan, Battery Park is a waterfront green space, named for the artillery batteries which were installed here to protect the settlement of New York when it was under Dutch, then British rule. In the lead-up to the War of 1812, was constructed as a fort to protect the city, and is now operated as a small museum. There are several memorials in the park, including, a public art piece originally housed on the World Trade Center site which survived the events of September 11 and was moved to Battery Park. Ferries departing to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (see below) depart from here.

Free

Belvedere Castle

Sitting on Vista Rock, one of the highest points in the park, the castle provides excellent views of Central Park, particularly to the north. It is a popular spot for photography and contains a visitor center and a nature conservatory. Just below the castle to the north is Turtle Pond, a small, swamp-like pond holding various fish, frogs, insects, and birds.

Tue-Sun 10AM-5PM·Free

Bethesda Terrace and Fountain

One of Manhattan's favorite meeting points, the centerpiece of this Terrace is the Angel of the Waters fountain, dedicated in 1873 and an enduring icon of the park.

Bowling Green

A small park at the foot of Broadway which is the oldest public park in the city and is the site of the Charging Bull sculpture created after the 1987 stock market crash. Bowling Green is also the origin point for the Broadway ticker-tape parades; if you walk up Broadway, you can view plaques in the sidewalk honoring the people or events celebrated in these parades.

Brooklyn Bridge

From its intersection with Park Row (just east of City Hall) you can walk (takes about 20-30 minutes each way), bike, or drive across the historic and iconic bridge to Brooklyn. The view from the bridge is quite lovely, with excellent views of Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn and good views of Midtown and the New York Harbor in the distance.

No toll

Bryant Park

Located behind the Main Library, this shady park is an excellent spot to relax and get some good views of the surrounding skyscrapers. The park has free wireless internet, a children's carousel, several food and drink kiosks, and seasonal shows such as Fashion Week.

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

The world's largest neo-Gothic cathedral, the place has been a work in progress for over a century! There are also resident peacocks on campus, and many songbirds stop by during their seasonal migrations.

Central Park Zoo

Small and gem-like, New York's "oldest, newest zoo" opened in its current guise in 1988, although animals in various zoo incarnations have resided here since the 1860s. This zoo is fairly small and doesn't have as many large animals as you might expect, but this zoo does include sea lions, snow leopards, penguins, polar bears, monkeys, red pandas and exotic birds in pleasant exhibits. Next door is a children's zoo, covered in the cost of admission, which has a barnyard animals you can pet, a duck pond, and lots of play areas for kids.

Nov-Mar: Daily 10AM-4:30PM, Apr-Oct: Mon-Fri 10AM-5PM, Sat-Sun: 10AM-5:30PM·$15.95/adult, $12.95/senior, $9.95/child, children under 3 free

Central Savings Bank building

This building, which is occupied by Apple Bank for Savings, is a notable Italianate palazzo whose stone facades and metal-barred windows are meant to ooze a sense of security.

Charles A. Dana Discovery Center

On the north shore of the Harlem Meer, the Discovery Center holds education and community programs and seasonal exhibits, as well as offering a popular place for catch-and-release fishing.

Tue-Sun 10AM-5PM

Chatham Square

At this square at the confluence of several major streets, there is a memorial archway to Chinese-Americans who died in World War II which has some interesting calligraphy. Also in the square is a statue of Lin Zexu, a Chinese scholar who opposed the opium trade in the 19th century.

Chelsea Arts Tower

A 21-story commercial condominium in the heart of the gallery district. Built in 2006, this is Manhattan's first art gallery condominium. This building features the Marlborough Chelsea gallery, Tina Kim Gallery, the Flag Art Foundation gallery, Joan Mitchell Foundation, and even the Calvin Klein Studio. This is the perfect place to spend an afternoon with all of its galleries and amazing views. The Chelsea Arts Tower is also home to The Glass Houses on floors 14 and 21. This is one of the most premier spaces for over-the-top parties and events in NYC.

Hours vary by gallery

Children's Museum of Manhattan

A children's museum home to exhibits featuring Adventures with Dora & Diego.

Wed-Sun 10AM-5PM

Chrysler Building

One of the most recognizable and favored structures of New York, the Chrysler was the world's tallest building when completed in 1930, but lost that title to the nearby Empire State Building less than a year later. But what it lost in fame it makes up for in beauty, with its gorgeous, instantly recognizable Art Deco crown.

Citigroup Center

With its distinctive slanted roof and long, slender base columns, this building is another great skyscraper with a grand atrium.

City Hall

On a triangular city block between Broadway, Park Row and Chambers Street sits City Hall, a gorgeous gleaming white building completed in 1812, which still hosts the mayor's office and the New York City Council chambers. The building itself is fenced off and only accessible by tour, but there is a lovely park surrounding the building, with plenty of shady trees and a pleasant fountain just to the south of the building. Just north of City Hall and on the same block is the, a gorgeous government structure and the legacy of Tammany Hall boss William M. Tweed, who used the courthouse project to embezzle large sums of money from the city budget and was convicted in a courtroom in this building.

City Hall Station

The original subway station, and quite a marvel to witness--the chandeliers and ornate tiling are a sharp contrast to the nearby Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station. There's one catch, though: it's been closed since 1945. However, you can see it by staying on the downtown 6 train after its last stop Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall; it will turn around in the old station. This is the one place in the system where this is allowed, and the announcements reflect that. The Transit Museum (in Downtown Brooklyn) offers occasional tours as well, which allow you to actually walk around the station, but you must be a museum member and a US citizen, making this an impractical choice for most visitors.