New York City offers layers upon layers of events, historic locales, museums, restaurants, bars, shows and parks to choose from. While this is a good problem to have, our guide below will help you streamline an interests-based itinerary for your next city visit, hitting some lesser-known attractions along the way. Read on to find your preferred profile and related suggestions, and plan your next outing accordingly.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Photo: Julienne Schaer
For the Art Aficionado
Those who love all things sculpture, canvas, craft will delight in these off-the-beaten-path picks, which highlight the best of digital creativity, modern technique and traditional artistry.
Inter_
415 Broadway, Soho, Manhattan
This two-floor technological spectacle combines interactive and generative one-of-a-kind art exhibits designed to connect you with yourself and the world around you. You’ll explore elemental light installations, sound baths and more.
Banksy Museum
277 Canal St., Soho, Manhattan
The world’s biggest collection (more than 160 pieces!) of reproductions of works by the elusive contemporary street artist Banksy sprawls across two floors and 15,000 square feet. The large murals and paintings are installed on walls treated to mimic outdoor streetscapes, in the spirit of the original sites.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
2 E. 91st St., Upper East Side, Manhattan
A must-see for lovers of contemporary and historical design—it’s the only museum in the nation devoted to both. The impressive collection numbers over 215,000 items, including textiles, decorative arts and interior design installations. The 64-room Georgian-style Carnegie Mansion housing the museum is an exhibit in itself.
Alice Austen House Museum. Photo: Floto Warner
For the History Buff
Are you constantly stopping to read historical markers, craning your neck to get a better look at majestic buildings and regaling your friends with niche antiquity facts? Then these three locations are right up your (perhaps Prohibition-era, speakeasy-lined) alley.
RiseNY
160 W. 45th St., Times Square, Manhattan
This amusement park ride-meets-history lesson hybrid guides you across New York City from a flight simulator, as if you are suspended 30 feet in the air above the skyline. You’ll also travel through seven galleries, where you’ll learn about the City’s famous industries and monuments.
Untapped New York
Various locations
The group of New Yorkers who run this tour and event organization are passionate about unveiling the fascinating secrets that the City conceals. An expansive catalog of walking tours covers everything from Ellis Island’s abandoned hospital to underground Art Deco architecture.
Alice Austen House Museum
2 Hylan Blvd., Shore Acres, Staten Island
The charming Gothic cottage belonging to lauded American photographer Alice Austen is now a designated LGBTQ+ history site, and its permanent collection of her images from the early 20th century captures mostly women and immigrants in a rapidly changing NYC. Regularly rotating special exhibitions feature guest artists.
Courtesy, Madame Tussauds New York
For the Entertainment Enthusiast
If you never miss the hottest new film or television show, have an elaborate gaming system setup or are everyone’s go-to source of celebrity gossip, these three amusements will roll out the proverbial red carpet.
On Location Tours
Various locations
Want to stand in the NYC spots where your fave TV shows and movies were filmed? These guided tours will take you to the locales that graced the screen on Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Gossip Girl and many more.
Beat the Bomb
255 Water St., Dumbo, Brooklyn
Remember Nickelodeon’s Double Dare? Here’s your chance to get slimed—or foamed or painted. This immersive team game is like a next-level escape room where you’ll dodge lasers while working together to disarm a “bomb” before it unloads its aforementioned contents atop your head.
Madame Tussauds New York
234 W. 42nd St., Times Square/Theatre District, Manhattan
Having your picture taken with the uncannily lifelike celebrity wax figures at this museum is the next best thing to being beside your real-life favorites. In fact, no single movie premiere or awards show could round up such a diverse lineup of famous faces, from musicians Beyoncé and Harry Styles, to actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Angelina Jolie, to Marvel superheroes Iron Man and Captain Marvel.
New York Philharmonic. Photo: Brandon Patoc
For the Musically Attuned
Strings, percussion, woodwinds, vocals, piano, electronics—you love it all. Consider these selections the three-part harmony of your NYC excursion soundtrack.
Metropolitan Opera
30 Lincoln Center Plaza, Lincoln Center, Manhattan
If you want to go all out and dress to the nines for a night of drama, there’s no better place than the opera. And the Met can always be counted on to stage top-tier productions—La Bohème! Il Trovatore! Tosca!—starring some of the world’s greatest talents.
New York Philharmonic
10 Lincoln Center Plaza, Lincoln Center, Manhattan
Nothing compares to the experience of hearing a live orchestra at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall. From Handel to Beethoven to Chopin, the Philharmonic’s calendar is full of options for classical music lovers.
Shake Rattle and Roll Dueling Pianos
152 W. 26th St., Chelsea, Manhattan
This uncommon experience blends concert and cabaret: two entertainers at separate pianos compete over the audience’s song requests and encourage everyone to dance and sing along. On any given night, the soundtrack could span pop, disco, punk and hip-hop.
A Man and His Sandwich Tours. Photo: Ben Golan
For the Food and Drink Connoisseur
If your kitchen is brimming with cookbooks and savory aromas, and your calendar is packed with reservations at the hottest new restaurants, these gastronomical experiences are perfect for raising a toast.
A Man and His Sandwich Tours
Various locations
No need to plan your own bar crawl or gastronomic walkabout—these culinary tour guides do the legwork for you. Simply arrive hungry (wherever the tour begins) to sample the goods while strolling between various locales. Choose from themed experiences, like the best sandwiches in Times Square or Williamsburg, or a roundup for beer and burger lovers.
Kings County Distillery
299 Sands St., Navy Yard, Brooklyn
This craft distillery makes small-batch whiskey in the heart of Brooklyn’s historic Navy Yard. Spirits connoisseurs will delight in a tour of the facilities, topped off with a sampling of the goods as specialty cocktails or flights at the gorgeous gatehouse bar.
Dizzy’s Club – Jazz at Lincoln Center
10 Columbus Circle, Upper West Side, Manhattan
If you like your Southern food and cocktails with a side of jazz played by world-class musicians, this intimate space featuring panoramic views is the place to be. The menu is seasonal but expect items like pimento cheese with crostini, fried pickles, chicken and andouille gumbo, and shrimp po’boys.
From January 21 to February 9, save on attractions, museums, performing arts and tours with 2-for-1 NYC Must-See Week℠ tickets. For more information, see our program page.
