Top of the Rock
Midtown · 75 min
The deck opens at 8 a.m. daily, so book an early timed slot online. The Empire State Building is in the view and Central Park is behind you.
from about $42
New York · United States · 4 days
4 days in New York
Four days in three boroughs: Midtown and Central Park, downtown from the High Line to the Brooklyn Bridge, the museums and the Upper West Side, then Brooklyn and Queens for the food. Each day is one part of the city, so you ride the subway once or twice and walk the rest.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 4 days
- 24 stops
- 15 with a ticket
- from $130 a day
When to go
September and October bring clear days and highs in the 60s to 70s°F (16-24°C). May and June are mild before the humidity. July and August run near 85°F (29°C) and sticky; December is lights and highs near 44°F (7°C); January and February are cheaper and bitter.
Where to base yourself
Midtown is the easy first-timer base: every subway line passes through and day 1 is on foot. The West Village and Chelsea are better at night; Williamsburg gives you Brooklyn and a river view of Manhattan, 15 minutes from Midtown on the L.
Getting around
Tap a phone or card on the OMNY reader at the turnstile: $3 a ride, and the 7-day cap stops charging after $35 (twelve rides). The MetroCard unlimited passes are gone, so there is nothing to buy ahead. Buses cross town where no subway does, and taxis are plentiful after midnight.
Day 1
Midtown and the park
- FromYour hotel in West Village
- 1
- 4 min · walk
- 2
MoMA
Midtown · 120 min
Adult tickets are $30 and the museum opens around 10:30 a.m.; Friday free evenings are for New York State residents only. Plan two hours for the fourth and fifth floors.
$30
- 10 min · walk
- 3
The Halal Guys, 53rd Street and 6th Avenue
Midtown · 40 min
Chicken and gyro over rice with white sauce, from the cart on the corner, about $10. Eat it on the steps; there are no tables.
about $10
- 3.4 km · transit or taxi
- 4
Central Park, Bethesda Terrace to the Reservoir
Central Park · 150 min
Free and open from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Walk the Mall to Bethesda Terrace, cross Bow Bridge and go through the Ramble to the Reservoir track.
- 4.2 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Grand Central Terminal
Midtown East · 45 min
Free and open every day. Stand in the main concourse under the ceiling, then try the whispering gallery outside the Oyster Bar.
- 17 min · walk
- 6
Jongro Rib, 32nd Street
Koreatown · 90 min
Korean barbecue on the Koreatown strip: order the galbi and expect a wait on weekends. Many places on the block stay open past midnight.
$40 to $60
Day 2
Downtown
- FromYour hotel in West Village
- 1
The High Line
Chelsea · 75 min
Free. Enter at 34th Street by Hudson Yards and walk south along the old rail line to Gansevoort Street.
- 16 min · walk
- 2
Whitney Museum
Meatpacking District · 90 min
Open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Tuesdays, $30 for adults; the outdoor terraces look over the Hudson. If day 2 falls on a Tuesday, swap it with day 3.
$30
- 19 min · walk
- 3
Joe's Pizza, Carmine Street
West Village · 45 min
A plain cheese slice on a paper plate, eaten standing on the sidewalk. Bring cash.
about $4
- 2.3 km · transit or taxi
- 4
9/11 Memorial and Museum
Financial District · 120 min
The outdoor pools are free and open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The museum is open Wednesday to Monday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed most Tuesdays; buy a timed ticket online, about $36.
about $36
- 1.8 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Brooklyn Bridge walk
Brooklyn Bridge · 75 min
Start at City Hall and take the pedestrian lane on the upper deck, not the bike lane. It is about 1.8 km to Dumbo and takes 40 minutes with stops.
- 3 min · walk
- 6
Juliana's Pizza, Dumbo
Dumbo · 75 min
Coal-oven pies by the bridge; order the margherita and expect a line at 7 p.m. Go earlier if you are hungry.
$20 to $30
- 5 min · walk
- 7
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Brooklyn Heights · 30 min
Free and open all night. The Lower Manhattan skyline is directly across the river, and it is quiet after dark.
Day 3
Museum Mile and the Upper West Side
- FromYour hotel in West Village
- 1
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Upper East Side · 150 min
Closed Wednesdays; open until 5 p.m. Sunday to Tuesday and Thursday, and until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Adult tickets are $30 and cover the Cloisters on the same day.
$30
- 10 min · walk
- 2
Zabar's, Broadway at 80th Street
Upper West Side · 45 min
A bagel with nova lox and cream cheese from the counter, eaten on a bench on Broadway. Take the M79 bus across the park from the Met.
around $15
- 10 min · walk
- 3
American Museum of Natural History
Upper West Side · 150 min
Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; adult tickets for visitors from outside New York State are about $37, so buy a time online. Start with the dinosaur halls and the blue whale, then the Gilder Center.
about $37
- 3.2 km · transit or taxi
- 4
Riverside Park
Upper West Side · 45 min
Free. Walk the river path from 79th Street north toward the 91st Street garden as the light drops.
- 2.1 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Jacob's Pickles, Amsterdam Avenue
Upper West Side · 75 min
Fried chicken on a biscuit with a side of pickles; the room fills by 7 p.m. on weekends, so go early or book.
$25 to $40
- 2.4 km · transit or taxi
- 6
Lincoln Center plaza
Lincoln Square · 30 min
Free to walk. The fountain is lit at night; if a show is on, the box office sells same-day tickets.
Day 4
Brooklyn and Queens
- FromYour hotel in West Village
- 1
Williamsburg waterfront and Bedford Avenue
Williamsburg · 90 min
Walk the river at Domino Park, then up Bedford Avenue for coffee and vintage shops. Everything opens around 10 a.m., so earlier is quiet.
- 25 min · walk
- 2
Smorgasburg, Marsha P. Johnson State Park
Williamsburg · 75 min
Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., April through October, on the waterfront at 90 Kent Avenue; Sundays it is in Prospect Park. On other days book Peter Luger on Resy and bring cash or a debit card.
$15 to $25
- 2.3 km · transit or taxi
- 3
Gantry Plaza State Park
Long Island City · 60 min
Take the G train to Court Square. Free; the old gantry cranes frame the Midtown skyline across the East River.
- 11 km · transit or taxi
- 4
Flushing Main Street
Flushing · 120 min
Ride the 7 train to the last stop, 20 minutes from Court Square. Eat soup dumplings and hand-pulled noodles at the New World Mall food court, where most stalls take cash.
$15 to $20
- 4.5 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Phayul, Jackson Heights
Jackson Heights · 75 min
Tibetan momos, steamed or fried, on 37th Road near 74th Street. Most dishes are under $20.
$15 to $25
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
The practical bits
From the airport
From JFK, the AirTrain to Jamaica Station and a subway ride into Manhattan costs about $11.75 ($8.75 AirTrain plus $3 subway) and takes about an hour; a taxi to Manhattan is a flat fare of about $70 plus tolls, surcharges and tip. From Newark, the AirTrain and NJ Transit reach Penn Station in about 30 minutes. From LaGuardia, the free Q70 bus meets the subway at Jackson Heights in about 10 minutes. Taxis and rideshares in Manhattan now carry a congestion surcharge since the January 2025 start of congestion pricing, 75 cents on a taxi and $1.50 on Uber or Lyft.
What a day costs
About $130 to $220 a day per person, hotel excluded. A slice is around $5, a sit-down dinner $25 to $60 before tip, museums $30 to $37 each, and the subway $3 a ride, capped at $35 a week with OMNY.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Tip 20 percent in restaurants and about a dollar a drink at bars. Cards work nearly everywhere, but pizza counters, food carts and some market stalls prefer cash.
- Book Top of the Rock, the Met, the 9/11 Museum and the Natural History Museum online for a time slot. Waystop's hours check will flag a stop placed on a closed day, and the Whitney is closed Tuesdays while the Met is closed Wednesdays.
- Avenues run north to south and streets run east to west; 20 blocks is about a mile.
- Express subway trains skip stops. Read the letter or number on the train and the sign on the platform before you board, not just the line color.
- Menu prices leave out sales tax of 8.875 percent, which is added at the register.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
We land at JFK at 3 p.m., what can we still do on day 1?Rain on day 3, what moves indoors?Swap the Met for the Guggenheim and keep the rest of day 3How do we get from the Met to Smorgasburg on Saturday?Which stops are closed on a Tuesday?
Questions
Is four days enough?
For a first visit, yes: Midtown, downtown, the museums and a borough day. A fifth day is Harlem and the Cloisters, or Coney Island.
Empire State or Top of the Rock?
Top of the Rock, because the Empire State Building is in the view. Book the earliest slot.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 3. The Met and the American Museum of Natural History are both indoors, and Jacob's Pickles is a sit-down dinner. Waystop can save a rain version of any day, and you switch to it from the day's menu.
How do I get from JFK to Manhattan?
The AirTrain to Jamaica Station plus the subway is about $11.75 ($8.75 for the AirTrain and $3 for the subway) and takes about an hour. A taxi to Manhattan is a flat fare of about $70 plus tolls, surcharges and tip.
Before you go
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Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.