Guides · Manhattan
Manhattan
200 places · 21 areas · a free route, then $4.99 for the whole city
The free route
Free in the app, permanently, before you pay anything. 8 stops, 1 day, about 5.3 km, planned by the app's own engine.
Day 1 · ~5.3 km
1
The Mall & Literary Walk
A quarter-mile cathedral of American elms — the park's only straight path.
Walk the elm tunnel north toward Bethesda; pass the author statues (Shakespeare, Burns, Scott) on the southern Literary Walk.
2
Gapstow Bridge & The Pond
A small stone bridge with the definitive Midtown-over-water view.
Stand at the bridge for the classic look across the Pond to the Plaza Hotel and the skyline beyond.
3
St. Patrick's Cathedral
The grand neo-Gothic Catholic cathedral.
Step inside for the soaring nave, the rose window and the Lady Chapel; it's free and open daily amid the Midtown rush.
4
Top of the Rock
360° skyline with the Empire State dead-center.
Book a timed slot about 45 minutes before sunset, ride up, and claim a spot on the top open-air deck facing south — the Empire State sits dead-center in your frame as the lights come on.
5
Rockefeller Center
The Art Deco complex with the plaza and skating rink.
Walk the Channel Gardens to the sunken plaza (ice rink in winter, café in summer) beneath the golden Prometheus and the 30 Rock tower.
6
New York Public Library + Bryant Park
Marble lions out front, a lawn full of life out back.
Greet the lions, Patience and Fortitude, on the steps; walk up to the Rose Main Reading Room's gilded ceiling, then exit straight into Bryant Park and claim a green chair on the lawn.
7
Times Square
The neon heart of the city — best after dark.
Stand in the bowtie between 45th and 46th, look straight up, and let it wash over you. Ten minutes of sensory overload is the whole point.
8
Broadway Theatres
The legendary Theater District stages.
See a show — a long-running musical or a new play — in one of the historic houses clustered around Times Square.
More of the top sights
A few of the 200 places in the full guide. Each one has its own written guide in the app: what to do, what to notice, the history, and why it hits.
Statue of Liberty
The world's most famous monument to freedom.
Empire State Building
The skyline's main character since 1931.
Brooklyn Bridge
The skyline opens step by step as you walk.
Katz's Delicatessen
The legendary 1888 pastrami institution.
Grand Central Terminal
A working cathedral of travel under a painted sky.
The Met
Five thousand years of art — easily half a day.
Four Freedoms Park
Louis Kahn's austere FDR memorial at the island's tip.
Ellis Island
The gateway where millions of immigrants arrived.
Belvedere Castle
A Victorian folly on one of the park's highest points — the best viewpoint inside the park.
Areas
Inwood/Marble Hill · Washington Heights · Hamilton Heights · Harlem · Morningside Heights · Upper West Side · Central Park · Upper East Side · Roosevelt Island · Midtown East · Midtown West · Chelsea/Meatpacking · Flatiron/Gramercy · Greenwich/West Village · East Village/NoHo · SoHo/NoLita · Lower East Side · Little Italy/Chinatown · Tribeca · Financial District · Battery/Harbor
Illustrations are drawn for the app. Place descriptions are written by hand and checked against a primary source; facts draw on Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors.