What to do in New York
115 places curated from 10 travel vlogs — the more a spot gets mentioned, the higher it ranks
Manhattan's huge park of about a thousand acres, described as plentiful forage for the city's urban bees.





One of the world's busiest pedestrian areas, known for its huge electronic billboards, Broadway theatres and the New Year's Eve Ball Drop. Every night at 11:57 p.m. the screens become a three-minute art show.




Home to the largest ethnic Chinese population in the Western Hemisphere. The neighbourhood is full of Chinese restaurants, shops and cultural organizations.




New York's landmark art museum, known as the Met. Its busy frontage is home to a well-known hot dog cart.



The iconic Wall Street exchange building, mentioned as a landmark next to the coffee shop.



A 19-building complex built by the Rockefeller family; 30 Rockefeller Plaza (1933) is known as NBC's headquarters. It is especially popular at Christmas for its decorated tree.



A museum of impressionist, post-impressionist, early modern and contemporary art. Its Frank Lloyd Wright building, with art displayed around a central rotunda, is a work of art itself.



A world-famous Beaux-Arts commuter terminal completed in 1913, with shops, restaurants and an iconic main-concourse clock. Its Whispering Gallery below the concourse carries voices from one corner to the opposite side.



Two square reflecting pools mark where the Twin Towers once stood. The site also includes the Survivor Tree, which survived the 9/11 attacks.


A museum that is part of the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center site.


An Art Deco landmark completed in 1931 that surpassed the Chrysler Building as the world's tallest. It is still among the tallest US skyscrapers and has an observation deck.


A former Italian immigrant enclave and known mobster meeting place, where mafia walking tours are offered and The Godfather is set. It still has Italian restaurants and cafes.


An upscale neighbourhood bordering Little Italy.


An 1883 suspension bridge over the East River, once the largest in the world. Its pedestrian and bike lane offers views of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, and walking one way takes at least 20 minutes.


A disabled veteran's cart that has stood in front of the Met for 20 years. It serves $5 all-beef dogs griddled on a flat top, topped New York-style with spicy mustard, sauerkraut and onions cooked in tomato sauce.


A Manhattan hub mentioned as a reference point, with Montauk's fishing waters about 100 miles away.


The stretch of Fifth Avenue along Central Park, nicknamed Millionaire's Row. It is home to some of the wealthiest people on earth.


A smaller but impressive park in Midtown Manhattan, between 5th and 6th Avenues.


The street in Manhattan's Financial District that became synonymous with American financial markets. It is home to the NYSE, Nasdaq and impressive historic buildings.


New York's famous shopping street, known for eye-popping window displays. The video calls it the high temple of the retail world.


Japanese tonkotsu ramen restaurant with individual booths, which makes it ideal for solo dining. The classic ramen has a rich, flavorful broth, and the custardy matcha pudding was a standout.

Japanese green tea shop in SoHo known for its cute interior and matcha drinks.

Bagel shop popular on TikTok, serving pull-apart bagels with schmear. The scallion spread was the favorite.

Chinatown spot specializing in Cantonese steamed rice rolls, described as a flavor explosion.

Coffee shop near the New York Stock Exchange that went viral on TikTok for its Einspänner, a coffee topped with a thick sweet cream layer.

An East Village park mentioned as one of the green spaces where Manhattan's rooftop bees forage for nectar.

A downtown Manhattan park named as one of the foraging grounds for the city's rooftop honeybees.

Chef Chintan Pandya's Queens restaurant under the 7 train serves rustic Indian home-style cooking. Its slow-poached goat brains in curry became the restaurant's biggest talking point.

A regional Indian restaurant from the same team, described as the first Indian restaurant in the US to earn a Michelin star.

A Brooklyn bar mentioned for its live music.

A Brooklyn restaurant named as one of the places serving Raven & Boar's whey-fed pork.

A Brooklyn restaurant named as one of the places serving Raven & Boar's whey-fed pork.

A farm-to-table restaurant named as one of the places serving Raven & Boar's whey-fed pork.

A town at the eastern tip of Long Island where the Atlantic meets the sound, known for some of the best fishing in the Northeast. The crew goes out lobstering with a local fisherman and ends the day with a bonfire.

An observation deck on the top floors of One World Trade Center, with panoramic views from above 1,250 feet. The elevator ride shows a virtual time-lapse of New York's skyline developing from the 1500s to today.

An architecturally striking transit station that is part of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex.

A park nearly 1.5 miles long, built on a former elevated railroad spur and planted with green spaces. It has eleven entrances and offers food, public art and entertainment areas.

A large lawn in Central Park that is a great spot for a picnic.

A grand terrace and fountain in Central Park overlooking the lake.

A famous Central Park bridge that has been featured in many movies.

An impressive castle inside Central Park.

An ancient obelisk standing in Central Park.

A 16-storey interactive artwork opened in 2019 as part of the Hudson Yards redevelopment, near the High Line. Visitors can climb its spiral staircases to see New York from a new angle.

A redevelopment project on Manhattan's West Side that is home to the Vessel, close to the High Line.

A skyscraper completed in 1902 and considered one of the world's most iconic. It was originally called the Fuller Building and renamed for its triangular, clothes-iron shape.

An influential Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1930. It was briefly the world's tallest building, for 11 months.

The observation deck atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with views of Central Park and Manhattan.

A section of Fifth Avenue named for the many famous museums located along it.

A major collection of modern and contemporary art. It also hosts film and design displays and performances.

A museum in a former subway station that traces the history of New York's transit system. It displays subway trains from the earliest days to now.

An impressive historic building in the Wall Street area.

A notable historic church near Wall Street.

A famous statue standing in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

An iconic bull statue located in Bowling Green Park near Wall Street.

A small park near Wall Street that is home to the Charging Bull statue.

A 151-foot statue on Liberty Island, given by France to the United States in 1886 as a gift of friendship. It is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy, and tickets include a ferry that also serves Ellis Island.

A newer museum on Liberty Island where the statue's original torch is displayed.

A museum in the former immigration station (1892–1954) through which over 12 million immigrants arrived, showing what arriving in America was like. The island's immigrant hospital complex can be visited on a guided tour.

A food hall beneath the High Line with restaurants from all over the world, opened in 1997 in the former National Biscuit Company factory. The Oreo cookie was invented in this building in 1912.

A creative pizza restaurant known for Big Mac and tikka masala pizzas. It also makes over-the-top specialty hot dogs such as the Peking duck 'Quack Attack' and a Peruvian-inspired salchipapa dog.

A Chinese restaurant known for roast Peking duck. Crave uses its duck in the Quack Attack hot dog.

A whimsical restaurant and general store, open since 1954 and famous for celebrity sightings and Guinness record-breaking foods. These include a truffle-laden Kobe beef hot dog and the $1,000 golden opulence sundae.

A seafood market where you pick your own seafood from dozens of species. Staff season it with Old Bay and butter and steam it into a Southern-style seafood boil to take away, and fried frog legs are also on offer.

An elegant French-salon-style restaurant famous for the 'Chopster', a roast chicken stuffed with lobster. It is carved tableside and served with a sauce made using an antique lobster press.

A Chinese restaurant with a live seafood aquarium. It serves geoduck and coral shrimp sashimi, and turns a 10 lb king crab into cheese-baked legs, salt-and-pepper fried body pieces and fried rice served in the shell.

A lobster stall serving Maine and Connecticut-style lobster rolls. It also does inventive options like a lobster BLT and a cheesy lobster crunch wrap.

A Filipino-Mexican fusion stall putting Filipino meats like adobo and sisig into cheesy quesadillas. The quesadillas come with corn chips and homemade jalapeño ranch.

A Jamaican food stall specialising in jerk chicken. It also serves shredded oxtail 'boats' on sweet fried festival dough with jerk barbecue and spicy avocado sauces.

A New York dining institution opened in 1950 by Harry Rosen, famous for its original New York-style cheesecake made from a recipe unchanged for 75 years. It also serves an over-the-top cheesecake-topped milkshake called the New Yorker Cake Shake.

Angel Jimenez's weekend stall in the South Bronx has served some of the city's best Puerto Rican roast pork (lechón) for over 20 years. Platters come piled with rice, octopus, shrimp and plantain, drenched in garlic sauce, and the stall often turns into a party.

A landmark Jewish deli founded in 1888, famed for towering pastrami-on-rye sandwiches made with brisket cured for up to 30 days. Pickles and mustard come on the side.

A family-run Brooklyn pizzeria established in 1973 by immigrant parents. Its signature slices are a fluffy, crispy Sicilian and a thin, foldable classic New York plain slice.

A Harlem soul food institution opened in 1962 by Sylvia Woods and now run by her grandson Chef Marcus using the original recipes. Highlights are the fried chicken, smoky barbecue ribs, collard greens with smoked turkey and mac and cheese.

A popular Chinatown bakery whose handmade pineapple buns, filled with sweet pork, sell out almost as soon as each batch leaves the oven. The queue often stretches down the sidewalk.

A tavern opened in 1937 and often named by New Yorkers as having the best burger in town. It serves a thick, medium-rare patty with melted cheese and caramelized onions on a buttery bun, with crispy fries.

A halal cart near Times Square, operating since 1987, that draws block-long lines every night. Its platters are piled with chicken and lamb over spicy red rice, topped with white, spicy and barbecue sauces and fries.

A neighbourhood that still has the cafes and bars where creative residents like Bob Dylan first performed before becoming American icons.

A melting-pot borough with its own distinctive neighbourhoods, museums and open spaces.

Brooklyn's famous seaside destination, highlighted as one of the borough's unforgettable attractions.

Old-school, low-key burger tavern serving simple griddle-cooked cheeseburgers with diced crispy bacon, cooked to order. It is cash only.

Historic burger institution open since 1884, known as Sinatra's hangout and a Mad Men filming spot. It serves the bacon-topped Cadillac burger with thick, crispy bacon.

Art deco bar open since 1951 with a classic Americana menu, including a double cheeseburger with crispy bacon, Wisconsin cheese curds, deviled eggs and martinis. One host named its burger the best of the day.

Modern, hip spot that cooks a 75/25 beef blend over an open wood-fired grill and makes only a limited number of burgers each day. Its burger with garlic-caramelized onions and mustard sauce was one host's favorite.

Fine-dining restaurant mentioned as often ranked among the best restaurants in the world.

Acclaimed fine-dining restaurant mentioned as often ranked among the best in the world.

Danny Bowien's fusion restaurant, cited as one of the city's experimental and cool dining spots.

Pizza tours led by Scott Wiener, who explains what makes the classic New York slice unique: crust, sauce and cheese.

A classic New York slice shop on 8th Avenue across from Penn Station, open since 1964. It is a holdout serving excellent cheese slices in an otherwise touristy area.

Chelsea bagel shop where the host tries the quintessential New York bagel with a schmear of cream cheese.

An old-school appetizing shop and bagel spot started 12 years ago. It has the biggest range of smoked fish in New York and serves chewy sourdough-starter bagels, a pastrami salmon bagel and big deli sandwiches.

A Chinatown bakery billed as a Portuguese custard specialty store, which chefs told the hosts is the best in the area. It is known for thick, eggy custard tarts and lemon and custard buns.

A lively Middle Eastern restaurant whose chef was a 2024 James Beard finalist. It is known for fresh-baked bread with dips, chicken marinated for three days in yogurt and saffron, and small, juicy meatballs.

Named the best pub in New York City, this five-floor Irish bar occupies the old headquarters of the Dead Rabbits gang. It is famous for its frozen Irish coffee and black velvet.

A super cool Brooklyn neighbourhood where the hosts were based during their trip.

A historic restaurant mixing traditional Italian and Italian-American cooking, run by the charismatic Emilio. It is famous for pork-and-beef meatballs slow-cooked for about 7 hours and linguine with clams.

An industrial waterfront area of South Brooklyn about a half-hour cab ride from Manhattan, with a very different feel to the city centre.

A farm brewery whose ingredients all come from New York State. It pours hazy pale ales and IPAs by the water in Red Hook.

Sells classic single-serving key lime pies and 'swingles': chocolate-dipped key lime pies on a stick, including a chipotle-chocolate version.

A cozy tavern by Billy Durney that many chefs say serves the best burger in New York, a dry-aged blend perfected over eight months. Other dishes include country ham croquettes, a wedge salad and cavatelli.

A rooftop taco and margarita spot on top of the Penny. It serves inventive margaritas made with fresh avocado or rhubarb, celery and cucumber.

A bright, airy bakery, open less than a year at the time of filming, that the hosts called one of the top three in the world. Highlights include the maitake mushroom croissant, the Earl Grey morning bun and the rhubarb and custard pastry.

Frank Pinello's slice shop bakes large pizzas in a 120-year-old former coal oven and uses house-made mozzarella.

George Motz's buzzy diner-style burger joint, which earned a two-star New York Times review. It is famous for Oklahoma-style fried onion burgers, classic smash burgers and coffee milk.

A 17-year-old, 10-table, no-reservations pizzeria that many New York chefs call the best pizza in the city. It serves thin, crisp pies plus meatballs made with brisket, short rib and spicy sausage.

A tiny taqueria run by a couple from Mexico City with a short menu of six tacos. It is known for its al pastor and its suadero-and-longaniza taco, which the New York Times named one of the city's best dishes of 2022.

Named the best cocktail bar in New York, inspired by old New Orleans, Paris and New York. It goes through about 6,000 oysters a week and offers tableside martinis, absinthe and a garden.

A beloved Ukrainian institution in Little Ukraine, recommended as a favourite brunch spot. It serves house-made pierogies, waffles, eggs and sausage, often with lines at peak times.

A contemporary Korean restaurant blending the owners' Korean heritage with their childhood in Atlanta, Georgia. Dishes include ox bone marrow pasta, gochujang-style fried chicken and playful desserts.

Ignacio Mattos's relaxed, Mediterranean-inspired Michelin-starred restaurant, a chef favourite that also opens for weekend lunch. It is known for its long-running endive salad, scallops with uni and wagyu steak.

A monument at Manhattan's southern tip marking the Dutch founding of New Netherland and New Amsterdam in 1624, near the site of the old Dutch fort. The host found the monument itself underwhelming, but the area's history is the draw.

Once called Kleindeutschland by German immigrants, this neighbourhood later became a hub for Beat poets, artists and punk rock. It is now gentrified but keeps some rawness, with graffiti and detailed local spots, and film shoots are common on its streets.

New York's 'old money' neighbourhood, built up during the Gilded Age with grand mansions and doorman apartment buildings. It sits right beside Central Park and is quieter and safer than much of the city.

The former mansion of industrialist Andrew Carnegie, one of the great barons of the Gilded Age.

A busy South Bronx transport and shopping hub where many subway lines meet, with street vendors and small local businesses. The host saw an ongoing street drug scene, and a local warned that tourists should be cautious there.

A small island in the Bronx with a small-town New England feel: salt air, white picket fences and porches. It has a history of shipbuilding and oystering, and its old-school seafood restaurants serve affordable lobster and scallops.

A small park near Wall Street that is home to the Charging Bull statue.