New York City is the largest city in the United States, spread across five boroughs on New York Harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island together hold more than eight million people, and the city has long been a gateway for immigrants, a center of finance, theater, art and media, and home to the headquarters of the United Nations.
Visitors come for the skyline and the museums, Broadway, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and a huge choice of neighborhoods, each with its own food and character. A first trip usually centers on Manhattan, but Brooklyn and Queens are close by subway and often quieter. The city rewards walkers and transit riders, and most visitors never need a car. Stays of under 30 days in private homes are tightly limited by city law, so travelers looking at apartments should read the rental rules below and plan a longer stay or a room with a registered host.
Midtown Manhattan, the area around Times Square, the Theater District and Rockefeller Center, puts many sights and the main train stations within walking distance, and its many subway lines make it the most practical base for a short first visit, if also the busiest. The Upper West Side and Upper East Side, on either side of Central Park, are calmer residential areas close to the big museums and suit families and longer stays.
Farther downtown, Greenwich Village, the West Village, SoHo and the Lower East Side have older low-rise streets, restaurants and nightlife, while the Financial District around Wall Street is close to the harbor ferries and quieter at weekends. Across the East River, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO look back at the Manhattan skyline, Williamsburg is known for music and food, and Park Slope borders Prospect Park. In Queens, Long Island City and Astoria are a short subway ride from Midtown. Because whole-home stays under 30 days are generally not allowed, apartment rentals here usually mean a month or more.
New York City restricts short stays in private homes more tightly than most cities. Under Local Law 18 of 2022, enforced since September 2023, anyone offering a stay of fewer than 30 days must register with the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement, and booking platforms may only process transactions for registered listings. Registered hosts must live in the home and be present during the stay, and may host no more than two guests at a time. Some buildings, including public housing and rent-regulated buildings, are excluded altogether, and an entire apartment cannot be rented out on its own for a stay under 30 days.
In practice, travelers who want an entire apartment usually book 30 nights or more, while shorter trips suit hotels or a room in a registered host's home. Rules and enforcement can change, so check the city's current official guidance before booking.
Central Park, opened in 1858 and often described as the first landscaped public park in an American city, runs through the middle of Manhattan, with the Metropolitan Museum of Art on its eastern edge and the American Museum of Natural History to the west. Farther south are the Empire State Building, the lights of Times Square and the Broadway theaters, about forty of which are classed as Broadway houses. The High Line, a park built on a disused elevated freight railway, runs through the West Side.
In Lower Manhattan, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum stands at the World Trade Center site, a short walk from Wall Street and Federal Hall, on the site where George Washington took the oath as the first president in 1789. Ferries leave the Battery for the Statue of Liberty, dedicated in 1886, and the immigration museum on Ellis Island, both managed by the National Park Service. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, gives a classic view of the skyline.
Each of the five boroughs is also a county of New York State, and each has a distinct feel. Brooklyn, the most populous, is known for brownstone streets, an independent music and art scene and a long shoreline that includes Coney Island, a seaside amusement area since the late 19th century. Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum lie near its center. Queens, the largest borough by area and one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country, holds Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, home of the US Open tennis tournament, and neighborhoods where cooking from dozens of countries sits side by side.
The Bronx, the only borough mostly on the mainland, has the Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, Yankee Stadium and Pelham Bay Park, the largest park in the city, and it is widely recognized as the birthplace of hip-hop. Staten Island, the most suburban borough, is linked to Lower Manhattan by the free Staten Island Ferry, which passes within sight of the Statue of Liberty, and has large green spaces such as the Staten Island Greenbelt.
Before Europeans arrived, the area was part of Lenapehoking, the homeland of the Munsee-speaking Lenape. The Dutch set up a fur-trading post in 1624 and began building Fort Amsterdam on the tip of Manhattan in 1625, and the town of New Amsterdam grew around it. In 1664 the English took the colony without a fight and renamed it New York after the Duke of York. After independence the city served as the national capital from 1785 to 1790, and in 1898 Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island were consolidated into today's city.
The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 tied the port to the Great Lakes, and millions of immigrants arrived through Ellis Island in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, the 1969 Stonewall uprising in Greenwich Village, now marked by a national monument, and the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after the attacks of September 11, 2001, are all part of a history visitors still meet on its streets.
Three major airports serve the city. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), in southeastern Queens about 26 kilometers from Midtown, handles most long-haul flights and links to the subway and the Long Island Rail Road by AirTrain. LaGuardia Airport (LGA), in northern Queens, is closer to Manhattan and mainly domestic. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), in New Jersey about 14 kilometers west-southwest of Manhattan, connects by AirTrain to commuter and Amtrak trains. Amtrak's long-distance and Northeast Corridor trains use Penn Station, and Metro-North commuter trains use Grand Central Terminal.
The subway, opened in 1904, has more than 400 stations and runs around the clock, and buses, ferries and a large bike-share system fill the gaps. Driving is rarely worth it for visitors: traffic is heavy, parking is scarce, turns on red lights are banned unless a sign allows them, and since January 2025 most vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street pay a congestion charge.
New York has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. Winters are chilly and damp, with a January daily mean of about 1 °C and an average of roughly 76 centimeters of snow a season, though totals vary widely from year to year. Summers are hot and humid, with a July daily mean around 25 °C and frequent thunderstorms. Spring and autumn are usually mild and are popular times to walk the city. Late November and December bring holiday lights and crowds. Hurricanes are rare, but Hurricane Sandy flooded parts of the city in October 2012, so watch forecasts between June and November.
For a change of scene, the subway reaches the Atlantic beaches of Coney Island and the Rockaways, where Gateway National Recreation Area protects Jacob Riis Park and Fort Tilden. Governors Island is a short ferry ride from Lower Manhattan. Metro-North trains run up the Hudson Valley to riverside towns and hiking, and Amtrak puts Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., within reach for a day or an overnight trip.
Midtown Manhattan is the most central base, close to Times Square, the theaters and many subway lines. The Upper West Side and Upper East Side are calmer and near Central Park and the big museums, while Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side suit travelers who want restaurants and nightlife. Brooklyn and Long Island City in Queens are close by subway.
Generally not for fewer than 30 days. Under Local Law 18, short-term hosts must register with the city, live in the home, be present during the stay and host no more than two guests, and platforms may only process registered listings. Whole apartments are usually rented for 30 nights or more. Check the city's current rules before booking.
From JFK, the AirTrain connects to the subway and the Long Island Rail Road; from Newark Liberty, the AirTrain connects to New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains into Penn Station. LaGuardia, the closest airport, is served by buses and taxis. Road journeys from all three can be slow at rush hour, so allow extra time.
Spring, from about April to June, and autumn, from September to November, usually bring mild weather that suits long days of walking. Summer is hot and humid, and winter is cold, with some snow. December is festive and busy with holiday visitors, while January and February are quieter and good for museums and theater.
Four to five days allow time for Central Park, a major museum or two, the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan, a Broadway show and an evening in Brooklyn. A week or more lets you explore neighborhoods in Queens and the Bronx at a slower pace or add a day trip up the Hudson Valley.
No. The subway runs around the clock and reaches most places visitors go, and buses, ferries, taxis, ride-hailing and bike-share fill the gaps. Driving means heavy traffic, scarce and costly parking, no turns on red without a sign, and a congestion charge for most vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
Yes. Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History, the Bronx Zoo, the Staten Island Ferry and the beaches of Coney Island are all popular with children. The Upper West Side and Park Slope in Brooklyn are residential, close to large parks and often easier with young children than central Midtown.
New York is known for the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Broadway theater, world-class museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wall Street and the United Nations. It is also known for its diverse neighborhoods, its round-the-clock subway and food from almost every corner of the world.
Researched and written with AI assistance, then fact-checked against the sources below. Last checked .