Bethesda Terrace and Fountain

On this site on April 30, 1789, George Washington stood on a balcony overlooking Wall Street and was inaugurated as the first president of the United States. The old building on the site had been used as New York's city hall and had hosted some of the first congregations of the colonies in the lead-up to the American Revolution, such as the Stamp Act Congress. After the revolution the building, now Federal Hall, briefly housed Congress, the Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices before the national capital moved to Philadelphia. The current building dates to 1842 and was used first as a Customs House, then later the US Sub-Treasury (millions of dollars of gold and silver were kept in the basement vaults). Today the building is maintained by the National Park Service as a museum dedicated to the history of the site. Guided tours of the building are available, or you can just walk in and look up at the rotunda and view some of the artifacts, such as the bible Washington used in his inauguration ceremony.

So named in 1981 in memory of John Lennon, the former Beatle, who was murdered close by outside his home in the Dakota building. Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, who still lives in the Dakota, subsequently donated $1 million to upgrade the area with hundreds of tree and flower species, including strawberries. The area serves as a Garden of Peace and includes a memorial floor mosaic (donated by the Italian city of Naples) that says simply "Imagine", referring to the title of one of Lennon's evocative songs.

Dedicated to preserving and collecting television programs as a service to the public, the museum consists of two museum branches in Los Angeles and New York City; combined they hold over 100,000 television programs that are available to the public, providing a historical, artistic and cultural perspective to television and radio. You may use their library here for the price of admission. They have lots of old shows and a database so you can see if they have what you want.

A sort of mini forest, described by its designer as a "wild garden," the Ramble is sculpted out of a wooded hillside, with winding paths, rocky outcrops, secluded glades, and a tumbling stream. If one travels through the ramble when the trees are full, it is easy to lose sight of the city's skyscrapers; it's as if you're no longer in Manhattan. The Ramble is also an excellent place to bird watch, with over 250 species of birds that stop here on their migration.

One of the Seven Sisters colleges, and is affiliated with Columbia University.

From its intersection with Park Row (just east of City Hall) you can walk (takes about 20-30 minutes each way), bike, or drive across the historic and iconic bridge to Brooklyn. The view from the bridge is quite lovely, with excellent views of Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn and good views of Midtown and the New York Harbor in the distance.

Holding a remarkably large collection, each of the 5 floors of this massive building has expansive and well-designed exhibits devoted to astronomy, biology, geology, anthropology, climatology, and paleontology. You will want to allow a full day if you hope to see the entirety of the museum. Some of the highlights are the Rose Center for Earth and Space on the northeast corner of the building, which contains a seven-story glass cube holding the Hayden Planetarium, a huge sphere suspended above the exhibit halls below and holding a "cosmic pathway" exhibit; the numerous habitat diorama halls on the first, second and third floors, with recreations of African, Asian, North American, and ocean plants and animals, including a full-size model of a Blue Whale suspended above the Ocean Life Hall; a Hall of Minerals and Gems, which contains many rare and beautiful specimens, including the largest star sapphire in the world and a chunk of a massive meteorite; extensive anthropology halls on the first, second, and third floors, with exhibits devoted to people of Asia, Africa, Central America, the Pacific, and Native Americans; and the natural history halls on the fourth floor, with one of the largest collections of dinosaur skeletons in the world.

Get up close to over 200 lifelike wax figures of the biggest stars and icons in entertainment, sports and history.

This neo-Romanesque fairy castle was built in 1891, and a northern addition in very similar style was built in 1933. The older building is a busy post office serving Downtown Brooklyn and the northern addition houses the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Opened on November 15, 2022, this interactive museum utilizes technology to convey the history of Broadway, complete with props from past shows, costumes, and other artifacts. You can learn about how a Broadway show is made, and there is a gift shop selling not only their own merch, but also products from current Broadway shows and Broadway in general.

Rather large, interesting museum with all kinds of documentation of events in the 400-year history of this city and delightful artifacts of life in earlier periods, such as the extensive collection of 19th-century dollhouses complete with miniature furniture.

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.

General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife are buried in this imposing mausoleum, the largest tomb in North America. If you come when it is closed, you can still see the impressive facade, but coming during open hours gives you the opportunity to view the murals, the tomb and various documentation inside. Across Riverside Drive, there is a viewpoint to look across the Hudson River, a museum, gift shop and restrooms.