New York Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Eat, and What's New for 2026

Three Michelin stars (plant-based since 2021). Daniel Humm's vegetable-forward tasting menu in a 1929 Art Deco room. The most internationally celebrated NYC restaurant — and the only major Michelin three-star to go fully plant-based.

Two Michelin stars. The Korean-American tasting menu by chef Junghyun Park — currently Asia's 50 Best and World's 50 Best perennial. The 14-seat counter is among the hardest reservations in NYC.

Three Michelin stars. Eric Ripert's French seafood — held three stars since 1995, the longest-running three-star restaurant in NYC. The Almost-Raw, Barely-Touched, Lightly-Cooked tasting structure.

Properly classic.

Three Michelin stars. Thomas Keller's New York French Laundry — at the top of the Time Warner Center with Central Park views. The salmon tartare cornet is the signature.

The Major Food Group's tribute to 1950s Italian-American — the spicy rigatoni vodka started a global trend. Tableside service, captain in tuxedos, the most theatrical NYC dinner. Reservations open 30 days ahead at exactly 10am.

The Carmine Street original since 1975 — possibly the most NYC pizza slice. The plain cheese is the order. Stand at the counter; eat in 4 minutes.

Multiple locations now.

Open since 1888 — the most New York Jewish deli. The pastrami sandwich is the order (When Harry Met Sally was filmed here). Tip the carver — they cut bigger slices.

Open since 1914 — New York's most beloved 'appetizing' store (smoked fish + bagels). Take-out at Houston; the sit-down Russ & Daughters Café around the corner. The smoked-salmon-and-cream-cheese bagel is the order.

The Milan-style breakfast spot — properly pulled espresso, cornetti, the morning Italian breakfast as it should be. Multiple locations; the SoHo location is the locals' favorite.

Keith McNally's 1997 Parisian-bistro classic — the brunch is a New York institution. The French toast, the eggs Benedict, the bread basket from the in-house bakery. Reservations weeks ahead for weekends.

Colombian specialty coffee — the cinematic plant-filled Williamsburg flagship. Single-origin Colombian beans, properly pulled. Among the most photogenic coffee shops in NYC.

Among the East Village's best bagels — fresh-rolled and boiled. The classic everything bagel with scallion cream cheese is the order.

World's 50 Best Bars top-10 regular. No menu — you describe a flavor, mood, or spirit you like, and the bartender makes a custom cocktail. Among NYC's most respected bars.

No reservations, queue from 6pm.

Ludwig Bemelmans's 1947 hand-painted Madeline murals cover every wall. Live piano nightly. Among Manhattan's most cinematic bars — properly Old New York.

World's 50 Best Bars regular — opened 2007, helped invent the modern American craft-cocktail movement. The cocktail book is essentially the modern bartender's textbook.

World's 50 Best Bars top-10 regular. Italian aperitivo and Negroni-focused — the Negroni Sessions tasting menu. Among NYC's most internationally celebrated bars.

On top of The William Vale hotel — the most spectacular Manhattan skyline view from Brooklyn. Properly mixed cocktails, walking distance to the East River ferry.

Hidden behind an unmarked door on Doyers Street — Chinatown's most internationally respected cocktail bar. Apothecary-themed (cocktails sorted as 'prescriptions' by flavor profile).

America's biggest art museum — 2 million objects, 5,000 years of history. The Temple of Dendur, the Egyptian wing, the European paintings. Pay what you wish for NYC residents; $30 for non-residents.

Plan four hours minimum.

The world's most influential modern art museum — Starry Night, the Demoiselles d'Avignon, Campbell's Soup Cans. The 2019 Diller Scofidio + Renfro expansion. Closed Tuesdays.

Reopened 2025 after a four-year renovation by Selldorf Architects. Henry Clay Frick's private collection — Vermeer's Mistress and Maid, Bellini's St Francis, Whistler's Symphony in Flesh Color and Pink. In his 1914 Fifth Avenue mansion.

Possibly NYC's most rewarding museum.

Renzo Piano's 2015 building in the Meatpacking District — at the southern end of the High Line. American art from 1900 to today. The Whitney Biennial (every two years) is the most important American contemporary art exhibition.

Frank Lloyd Wright's 1959 spiral building on Museum Mile — the building is more famous than most of the art inside. Walk down the ramp from the top floor. The Solomon R.

Guggenheim Collection plus rotating major shows.

The dinosaurs, the blue whale, the dioramas (some controversial), the Rose Center for Earth and Space planetarium. The Gilder Center extension opened 2023. Beloved by families.

843 acres designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (1858-73) — the Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, the Reservoir, the Conservatory Garden. Walking from north to south takes 1.5 hours; rent a bike for the loop.

1883 — the oldest standing suspension bridge in the United States. Walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn (or reverse, better view); the dedicated pedestrian walkway is above the cars. 30 minutes one way.

Best at sunset.

A converted elevated railway turned linear park — 2.3km from the Meatpacking District up to Hudson Yards. The original elevated park concept that inspired projects worldwide. Free.

Best at sunset.

Take the Statue Cruises ferry (only authorised operator) from Battery Park or Liberty State Park — book online weeks ahead. The Crown access requires booking 6+ months ahead. Free Staten Island Ferry passes by for the budget photo.

The most touristed crossroads in the world — 360,000 daily visitors. Cliché but iconic; do it for 20 minutes (after dark, when the lights are best) and then leave. The pedestrian plazas opened 2009.

Three options for the city panoramic view. Top of the Rock has the best Manhattan view (because the Empire State is part of it). Empire State Building is the most iconic.

One World is the highest at the southern tip. Book online for best times.

The 1913 Beaux-Arts station — the constellation ceiling in the main concourse, the Oyster Bar in the basement, the Whispering Gallery (whisper at one corner, hear at the diagonal opposite). Free, always open.

Covered above — but listed separately for what it is: 843 acres of designed wilderness in the middle of Manhattan. Find a bench, watch the city happen around you.

Olmsted & Vaux's 'better park' (their own opinion) — 526 acres in Brooklyn. Less touristed than Central Park, more wild. The Long Meadow, the Audubon Center.

Where actual Brooklyn families spend Sundays.

A 172-acre former military base in New York Harbor — ferry from Battery Park (May-October). The Hills (artificial hills with panoramic views), bike paths, no cars. Among NYC's most underrated escapes.

500 acres of contemporary sculpture in the Hudson Valley — Calder, Serra, Goldsworthy. 1.5 hours north of NYC by car or shuttle bus. Full day.

The most ambitious outdoor sculpture park in America.

Brooklyn's beach + classic American boardwalk — the Cyclone roller coaster (1927), Nathan's hot dogs (since 1916), the Mermaid Parade (June). Take the Q train. Half-day.

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