40 Wall Street

A riverfront park providing pleasant views of New Jersey and sometimes breezes off the river. Summer brings al fresco movies and music to the park.

48 magnificent gardens and plant collections on a 250-acre historic site.

This beautiful park extends along the Hudson River north of Riverside Park and features wonderful views of the George Washington Bridge and New Jersey and a community feel.

Probably the most famous of the Guggenheim foundations (others found in Bilbao and Venice), which hold avant-garde modern art by artists such as Kandinsky and Mondrian, the New York branch is housed in a unique and famous building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and rendered in a rounded, organic form and completed in 1959. Be sure to take the elevator to the top floor, then follow the spiral viewing floors downwards to the street level. One of eight buildings by Wright to be listed as a world heritage site.

One of Brooklyn's most prized brownstone neighborhoods. It is predominantly residential, characterized by late 19th- and early 20th-century rowhouses with architectural significance. Street signs in the Historic District are brown rather than green.

The Manhattan Bridge, just a bit to the east of the Brooklyn Bridge, with signposted access from Jay St. slightly over 4 blocks north (toward the river) of Tillary St., can also be crossed by pedestrians and cyclists, but if you do so, you will be rattled by passing subway trains that traverse the bridge, your view will be partly obstructed by mesh, and you won't be in a position to see much to the north of the bridge (so no great views of the Midtown skyline like you get from the Brooklyn Bridge walkway). It's still worth doing if you have enough time, though, partly because of the views of the Brooklyn Bridge that you can see from the Manhattan Bridge. As of November 2021, construction is taking place on the bridge; it narrows the path pedestrians and cyclists share in places, but access is otherwise unimpeded.

On the site of the former World Trade Center towers, the memorial consists of two enormous waterfalls and reflecting pools set within the footprints of the twin towers, lined with bronze panels with the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of that fateful day inscribed. The surrounding plaza holds a grove of trees. The museum, which sits underground right next to the memorial, contains exhibits which explain the events of 9/11 and their aftermath, with remnants of the original towers and artifacts from that day. If you see a white rose on one of the names, it's because today is that victim's birthday.

Most well known as the Model Boat Pond, visitors can often see a racing regatta between members of the Model Yacht Club, or rent a model boat from a boathouse and cafe on the pond. Just to the north of the pond is the Alice in Wonderland sculpture depicting the Tea Party scene, and on the west side of the pond is the Hans Christian Andersen sculpture, which shows the writer seated on a bench reading a book to his Ugly Duckling character.

For most of the 18th century, Africans in New York City were buried in a graveyard outside the city. The graveyard was eventually forgotten and was rediscovered in 1991. This museum and memorial site commemorate the estimated 15,000 Africans that were interred on the site of the memorial. Note that the museum is located inside of a Federal building so airport-style security should be expected.

Inwood Hill Park contains the last tracts of virgin forest in Manhattan. Many arrowheads and other artifacts of the former Native American occupants of Manhattan Island have been found in this park.

This 11 acre lake is one of Central Park's finest spots; surrounded by flowering trees and inhabited by several fish and turtle species.

Housed in the Alexander Hamilton US Custom House, this Smithsonian museum is the New York branch of the National Museum of the American Indian (the other branches are in Washington, D.C. and Maryland).

An Episcopalian (Anglican) church and parish was first established on this site in 1697 under charter by King William III. The present Neo-Gothic Revival church building (the third incarnation) dates from 1846 and remains a significant landmark within Downtown. The original burial ground at Trinity Church includes the graves and memorials of many historic figures, including Alexander Hamilton, William Bradford, Robert Fulton, and Albert Gallatin.

One of the greatest and most popular collections of modern art, on a par with the Tate Modern in London or Paris's Centre Georges Pompidou. Exceedingly popular so be warned: queues for tickets start early and stretch long. To avoid the crowds, turn up at the door at least a half hour before opening, then take the elevator to the top floor and work your way down. The building is as much a draw as the outstanding collection; possessing arguably the best collection of modern masterpieces world-wide, MoMA houses important art works from Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Salvador Dalí, Paul Cézanne, Frida Kahlo, Piet Mondrian, and works by leading American artists such as Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, Edward Hopper, Andy Warhol, and Chuck Close. MoMA also holds renowned art photography and design collections. In addition to being the crown jewel of modern art museums, MoMA puts on a terrific repertory program in a nicely renovated theater below the museum.

Small and gem-like, New York's "oldest, newest zoo" opened in its current guise in 1988, although animals in various zoo incarnations have resided here since the 1860s. This zoo is fairly small and doesn't have as many large animals as you might expect, but this zoo does include sea lions, snow leopards, penguins, polar bears, monkeys, red pandas and exotic birds in pleasant exhibits. Next door is a children's zoo, covered in the cost of admission, which has a barnyard animals you can pet, a duck pond, and lots of play areas for kids.