Top 25 Sights
15. City Hall. The mayor keeps his office in what might be the most beautiful building in New York.
14. New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars are exchanged here every day. Watch other people make money.
13. New York Botanical Garden. A feast for the eyes and nose. Unless you enjoy bees, don’t wear perfume.
12. Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The largest cathedral in the United States . . . and it’s still not completed.
11. American Museum of Natural History. Dinosaurs and an overwhelming planetarium await you at this classic New York museum.
10. Bloomingdale’s. The finest department store in New York. Expensive clothing, but it’s well worth experiencing.
9. Yankee Stadium. A monumental ball park home to the world’s greatest baseball team. Get out to the Stadium and watch a game.
8. SoHo/Chelsea Galleries. Ground zero for the New York art scene. To be on the cutting edge, also head to Long Island City or Williamsburg.
7. New York Public Library. A temple to reading. Even if you’re not bookish, go inside and enjoy one of New York’s greatest public institutions.
6. The Cloisters. A museum devoted to antiquities. The tapestries will carry you off to medieval Europe. You may even contemplate becoming a monk. Or not.
5. Lincoln Center. Dress up and make like the cultured elite as you promenade through this arts complex; go at night, when the buildings and fountain glitter with lights.
4. The Bronx Zoo. Lions, tigers, and bears? Of course. Try marmosets, lynx, and nyala. This zoo puts others to shame. It doesn’t just display more animals, but re-creates their natural habitats, which might make viewing more challenging, but certainly more interesting.
3. Chinatown. The only question is which one? New York has three. There’s one in Manhattan that is traditionally known as Chinatown, another in Flushing, Queens, and yet another in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park. Chinese food is a staple of the New Yorker’s diet, and this is the best the city has to offer.
2. Grand Central Terminal. New York’s magnificent train station, and one of Midtown’s anchors. Great for eating (downstairs on the Dining Concourse), travelling (to Westchester and points north), and just staring onto the crowds of New Yorkers. Don’t leave without looking up at the ceiling.
1. St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The most recognizable church in New York gracefully sits on Fifth Avenue among myriad chic store. For a Gothic church, it lacks the requisite flying buttresses, but don’t let that keep you down.
