New York

New York is the largest city in the United States and one of the great metropolises of the planet, spread across the mouth of the Hudson on the Atlantic shore. Nicknamed the "Big Apple", it long ago became a symbol of ambition, freedom and dizzying pace, where skyscrapers stand next to green parks and hundreds of nationalities make up an inimitable urban mosaic.

General information and boroughs

The city consists of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The core of visitor life is Manhattan, a long narrow island with a clear grid of streets and avenues. Here are the financial Downtown with Wall Street, the businesslike Midtown with its skyscrapers, and the lively Uptown.

Every quarter has a face of its own. Greenwich Village keeps its bohemian atmosphere, SoHo is famous for cast-iron architecture and galleries, Chinatown and Little Italy plunge you into ethnic colour, and Harlem remains the heart of African-American culture and jazz. Across the river, Brooklyn draws people with the Dumbo district and its view of the bridges, with waterfronts and with hipster Williamsburg. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the best free views of the city.

What to see

Besides the calling cards — the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Empire State Building and the glare of Times Square — there are dozens of places worth lingering for:

• The Metropolitan Museum (The Met) — one of the largest art collections in the world, from the Egyptian galleries to European painting.
• The 9/11 Memorial and One World Observatory — two reflecting pools on the site of the Twin Towers, and an observation deck on the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.
• The Rockefeller Center and the Top of the Rock observation deck — the view that puts the Empire State Building itself in the frame.
• The Guggenheim Museum — Frank Lloyd Wright's famous spiral on Fifth Avenue.
• Grand Central Terminal — the majestic hall with its painted starry sky on the ceiling.
• Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange, the bronze Charging Bull, and beside them the green oasis of Battery Park.
• The Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Prospect Park — a quiet alternative to Central Park.

The Staten Island Ferry deserves a mention of its own — a free crossing with a panorama of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.

History and culture

Founded by the Dutch in the 17th century as New Amsterdam, the city passed to the English and was renamed after the Duke of York. Millions of immigrants arrived in the port through Ellis Island, and that layering laid the foundation of its cultural wealth. In the 20th century New York became the capital of jazz and abstract expressionism, and later of hip-hop, which was born in the Bronx.

The theatre district around Broadway is the world centre of the musical: legendary productions run here, and the TKTS system allows tickets to be bought at a discount. The city lives on festivals, parades and street art all year round.

Food

The city's food reflects the whole palette of peoples who live in it. Thin New York pizza, bagels with cream cheese and lox, pastrami sandwiches in Jewish delis, cheesecake, hot dogs from street carts — that is the basic set. It is worth trying the ethnic food too: dim sum in Chinatown, Middle Eastern falafel, Latin American tacos, and food halls such as Chelsea Market and Smorgasburg in Brooklyn.

Practical advice

• When to go. September–October and April–May are best: comfortable temperatures and golden leaves in the parks. Summer is humid and hot, winter is freezing, but pre-Christmas New York with its markets and ice rinks is particularly atmospheric.
• Transport. The subway runs around the clock and remains the most convenient way to travel; payment is by the contactless OMNY system. Trains, express services and taxis run into the centre from JFK, Newark and LaGuardia airports.
• A five-day route. A day for lower Manhattan and the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, a day for the museums and Central Park, a day for Midtown with the observation decks and Broadway, a day for Brooklyn with the bridge and the waterfronts, and one more for the High Line, Greenwich Village and shopping.
• Budget. New York is expensive: accommodation, restaurants and museum tickets all bite. A tip of 18–20% is effectively obligatory in cafes and restaurants. Many museums have pay-what-you-wish days or hours — check the schedule in advance.

New York neither sleeps nor repeats itself: every visit opens it up anew, whether that is a quiet corner of a park, a view from a rooftop or a cafe found by chance down a side street.