Location: New York City
Top Things to do in New York City
10 Hidden Gems Things to do in New York City That You Shouldn't Miss
Conquering New York in one visit is impossible. Instead, hit the must-sees – the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art – and then explore off the beaten path with visits to The Cloisters or one of the city’s libraries. Indulge in the bohemian shops of the West Village or the fine dining of the Upper West Side. The bustling marketplace inside of Grand Central Station gives you a literal taste of the best the city has to offer.
Restaurants in New York City
1. Frick Collection
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 8,658 reviews
The Frick Collection is your home for art from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. Founded by Henry Clay Frick (1849–1919), the museum offers visitors intimate encounters with one of the world’s foremost collections of European fine and decorative arts. The Frick—now in its temporary location at Frick Madison, at the Breuer-designed building at 945 Madison Avenue, while its historic buildings undergo renovation—features celebrated works by Rembrandt, Fragonard, Ingres, Bellini, Vermeer, and more. The Frick Art Reference Library, a leading art historical research center, was established one hundred years ago by Helen Clay Frick and provides access to its rich collections for scholars and the public alike.
Reviewed By JuliaManhattan - New York City, United States
Architectural critic Paul Goldberger may have said it best: "The Met is admired but the Frick is beloved." You can sit in peace in Henry Clay Frick's magnificent mansion, contemplating his extraordinary collection of old masters, all living serenely in a setting filled with Rococo and Renaissance furniture, and accumulated superb decorative arts, including Limoges enamels, Meissen porcelain, and Italian bronzes.
2. Ground Zero Museum Workshop
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2,906 reviews
Ground Zero Museum Workshop: Images & Artifacts from the 9/11 Recovery, in the Meatpacking District near Chelsea Market and the High Line Park. A 5-Star Rated Tour. Want to feel what it was like to be with FDNY Firefighters on the front lines after the 9/11 attacks? Want to educate your kids about this tough subject in a gentle and non-threatening way? Experience the Stunning Images of Official Ground Zero Photographer Gary Marlon Suson. "Rare Photos" (New York Times) are displayed, some in lifelike 3D installations, as well as artifacts & rare video. Rated in Trip Advisor's "Top 25 Museums in the USA" for 2013 and 2014 and in Trip Advisor's "Hall of Fame." Presented in BOSE Surround Sound Audio. 100 Stories. Praised by parents as a "safe" introduction to 9/11 for their young kids. Guests are allowed to pick up rare World Trade Center artifacts. Daily 1.5-hour audio tours from 11am-3pm Wednesday through Sunday include a tour guide and the self-guided audio narration in Dolby Stereo, in English, Italian, French and Spanish. Proceeds shared with Fire Department Charities. Walk-ins welcome. CLOSED MONDAY and TUESDAY. "Incredible Images" says Fox News Channel. Museum is housed in the exact building from where the Official Ground Zero Photographer shot his first images of 9/11. Known worldwide as the "Biggest LITTLE Museum in New York." The "first stop" before heading to visit Ground Zero. On display are "The Frozen Clock" - "The Bible Page" - artifacts such as the largest piece of World Trade window glass in existence and many more well-known images featured on FOX NEWS, BBC and CNN. Small gift area sells books and posters. No graphic footage nor images from morning of 9/11 are shown at GZMW. Tastefully and realistically presented. This award-winning tour is a wonderful prequel to your visit to the National 9/11 Memorial + Museum. Reservations accepted. Handicapped accessible. Private and student tours also available. New 2017 Winter Hours: Closed Monday + Tuesday. Open Wednesday thru Sunday 11am-3pm.
Reviewed By candklow - Houghton-le-Spring, United Kingdom
This museum is like no other and can’t begin to say how highly we’d receommend everyone to visit. Being able to touch some of the recovered artifacts from the tragic 9/11 incident, to seeing in detail the fantastic photography work by Gary Marlon Suson is a very emotionally humbling experience. We were fortunate enough to actually meet Gary personally, which made our visit all the more memorable - although the museum its self is something we wouldn’t forget easily. Not just seeing Gary’s photography, but hearing the emotional passion he had and has for capturing in the most respectful way an uncomprehendable event for us, was the highlight of our NY trip. It’s fairly safe to say the Ground Zero Workshop Museum would be our #1 must do for NY, and we’d certainly visit again when we next come to NY. I’d recommend you book because the museum is fairly small. But the intimacy adds to the experience.
3. Woolworth Building
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,054 reviews
Learn how the biggest retail tycoon of the early twentieth century and a star architect changed the NYC skyline forever. Designed by the renowned architect Cass Gilbert in 1913 to be Frank W. Woolworth’s NYC headquarters, the Woolworth Building was the tallest in the world for 17 years. Long closed to the public, architectural tours of its magnificent vintage lobby are now available.
Reviewed By Coffeeprincess - Spennymoor, United Kingdom
Great to see inside one of the most iconic NYC buildings in architectural history. The tour starts outside the building from the adjacent park, where the gothic facade in terracotta is explained in detail. We then viewed the grand cathedral-like lobby, the back staircase where the bank was situated, and finally the basement which contains the old bank vault. Our guide, Lisa, really brought the building and the Frank Woolworth story alive, much better than reading a conventional guide book could do. The building is still a business centre with many offices, so staff are continually coming and going which adds to authenticity of the tour. Tourists are therefore not allowed to enter the building unless they are part of the tour. The 60 minutes flew by, which gives an indication of how the guide kept our attention and interest. Overall, it was thoroughly enjoyable. I would recommend the 60 minute tour to everyone with a passion for NYC architecture.
4. Tenement Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,555 reviews
The Tenement Museum preserves the history of immigration through the personal accounts of those who built lives in the Lower East Side. Visitors can view restored apartments from the 19th and 20th centuries, walk the historic neighborhood, and interact with residents to learn the stories of generations of immigrants who helped shape the American experience. The museum is available by guided tour only. Each tour focuses on a specific theme and takes visitors to different areas of our two historic tenement buildings or neighborhood.
Reviewed By OurThoughts4 - Toronto, Canada
The Tenenment Museum is located in a neighbourhood worth exploring before or after the tour. The bookstore of the Museum is worth spending sometime in. Staff very accessible and informative from the cashiers to the tour guide. Our tour guide for the Hard Times tour was an excellent storyteller and was able to make history come alive as well as make the links to current social issues in a thought provoking and respectful way. The tour was enhanced by having some local New York visitors also on tour and making links to their day to day life now - particularly as it relates to neighbourhoods and homes available. Definitely can be hot on the tour but paper fans are provided and little stools for part of the group to take breaks on. A bit of a challenge not being able to lean against the walls.
5. Hamilton Grange National Memorial
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 191 reviews
This national memorial managed by the National Park Service was the home of statesman and United States Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. Restored and reopened in 2011, the public can enjoy exhibits on some of Hamilton's achievements and challenges on the ground floor, a brief introductory film on his incredible rise from an orphan in the Caribbean to an indespensible molder of the early nation, and visit the furnished first floor by scheduled tour.
Reviewed By canebrook - New York City, United States
Very worthwhile visit, tucked away in a nice neighborhood in upper Manhattan, with an informative short video. Also very close to the CUNY campus, which is beautiful and worth a visit in itself.
6. The Met Cloisters
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,095 reviews
Branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that was constructed out of sections of French medieval monasteries, offers an extensive collection of statues, paintings, stained glass windows and tapestries.
Reviewed By JohnK3353 - Brooklyn, United States
If in the mood for time transportation, check out the glorious Cloisters Museum in northern Manhattan. Yes, a bit of a schlep to get there (take the A or 1 subway) but worth it. Once there, a quietly serene transportation back to the Middle Ages - like walking through an exquisite monastery - the whole 9 yards, what with winding staircases, tiny chapels, gardens, crypts, and galleries loaded with amazing Christian art. And several gorgeous gardens, with breathtaking views of the Hudson River and the Palisades (cliffs) of New Jersey on the opposite side of the river. Never mobbed with tourists (unlike its Mother Museum The Met), the Cloisters can be enjoyed on dual levels. Medieval art in a unique museum that doesn't seem like a museum, or just a quiet place for reflection and/or contemplation, in a placid environment. In manic, maddening, Manhattan.
7. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 580 reviews
Effective March 14, Cooper Hewitt is temporarily closed to support the effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. Our priority is to protect the safety and health of its staff, volunteers, and visitors. Please visit cooperhewitt.org for updates on our operating status.
Reviewed By JuliaManhattan - New York City, United States
A couple of blocks north of the Guggenheim, Cooper-Hewitt projects a sense of peaceful isolation, with an imposing iron gate protecting Andrew Carnegie's splendid mansion. With its eclectic but vivid exhibits it is very much worth the short walk uptown. (And you should see this part of Fifth Avenue anyway.) At the moment Cooper-Hewitt is showing Nature by Design, featuring four centuries worth of selections from its permanent collection, including jewelry, textiles, and furnitures by designers interpreting nature's beauty and science. And in celebration of the centenary of the founding of the Bauhaus in Weimar, it has a compelling exhibit on Herbert Bayer, who spent his most productive years in the US, especially Chicago and Aspen. Cooper-Hewitt's interactive presentations will enchant the kids, especially Face Values, which takes composites of your features & tells you who you are, and Curiosity Cloud, a gorgeous chandelier w/ tiny sculptured chattering insects that you can wander through & around, producing different musical sounds and sensations. And so much more!
8. The Morgan Library & Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,027 reviews
Just a short walk from Grand Central and Penn Station, the Morgan is a major exhibition venue for fine art, literature, and music, one of New York's great historic sites, and a wonderful place to dine, shop, and attend a concert or film.
Reviewed By XSki007 - New Jersey, United States
We are all very fortunate that J.P. Morgan created such an extensive art and rare book collection is such a fabulous home - and it has been preserved for all of us to enjoy it. The buildings are truly a work of art onto themselves. I recommend taking the free head set as you walk through the premises, wherein you will learn a great deal about the man and all of this art work.
9. Governors Island National Monument
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 789 reviews
This former Dutch governor's estate, former military fort and former Coast Guard command post now enjoys its old age as a historic monument where you can take the occasional tour.
Reviewed By MS2026 - New York City, United States
It isn't as famous as central park, but just as amazing for a picnic or a family outing. The indoor attractions and guided tours were shut down due to the pandemic. Book tickets in advance if you are going during the weekends. Social distancing was a little tricky on the ferry, especially during the holiday weekends, but once you get to the island there is plenty of space to spread out. Rent a bike from the citibike stands in the island or the bike rental shop. This would be the best way to explore the island. The citibike stands get full towards the evening near the ferry docks, so you may have to bring the bike with you on the ferry and return it at the stand outside the ferry terminal in Manhattan (not sure about Brooklyn). The citibike stand at the far end of the island was empty though, so plan accordingly. Food trucks are primarily around on just on the weekends (some on them on fridays as well), so options are limited if you come during the weekdays.
10. New York City Fire Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 260 reviews
The New York City Fire Museum is the official museum of the FDNY.Occupying a renovated 1904 Beaux‐Arts firehouse at 278 Spring Street in Hudson Square, west of SoHo, the museum is home to a renowned collection of fire‐related art and artifacts from the 18th century to the present; including hand‐pumped fire engines, horse‐drawn vehicles, early motorized apparatus and firefighting tools and equipment.
Reviewed By christopherbO9687MP - Acton, United States
This museum provides an excellent overview of both the NYC Fire Department and its history within the city. There are lots of meticulously restored historic fire engines dating back to the 19th century, and a collection of artifacts related to the various volunteer and eventually professional firefighting organizations that have existed in the city (even before the merger with Brooklyn and other boroughs). There are also specialized displays related to the horses and even the mascot dogs that have populated the fire stations at various times. The 9/11 memorial is poignant, as other the summaries of other major fires that led to losses of life. The museums also coves the social aspects of firefighting organizations; such as how they also served as social clubs and some of the rivalries between them. Also covered is how the desire for better firefighting equipment and even city water pressure led to major civic improvements. A must for anyone interested in NYC's history, as well as firefighting fans.
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