With its 200 parks, 400 golf courses, 4000 lakes, rivers and ponds, 1300 museums… New York attracts approximately 133 million tourists each year. As you will have understood, this city is full of exceptional sites and activities. To visit it in the best conditions and discover a maximum of sites, you must prepare your trip well. Are you planning to visit the Big Apple on your next vacation? We give you 3 ideas to make the most of your first trip to New York.
Summary
Enjoy the city with the New York City Pass
In a few days, it is unfortunately not possible to visit all of New York City’s many attractions. It is best to target the essential visits and activities during the preparation of your trip. To make the most of the wonders of the Big Apple, we advise you to use the New York City Pass. This tourist pass brings together the unmissable attractions of this city and will allow you to save money on your visits. It brings together the most important museums, monuments and observatories. If you decide to use the New York City Pass, you can choose 5 major New York attractions to visit such as:
- the iconic Empire State Building,
- the American Museum of Natural History,
- the Guggenheim Museum or Top of the Rock,
- the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island or a Circle Line cruise,
- the 9/11 Memorial and Museum or Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
This tourist pass also allows you to save more than 40% on the price of single entry tickets. It also serves as a skip-the-line so you can skip the long queues. The New York City pass costs 105 euros for children aged 6 to 17 and 125 euros for adults. We advise you not to buy this tourist pass for children under 6 years old, as the majority of attractions and museums are free for them. You can buy your New York City Pass in the form of e-tickets on approved sites. You will therefore receive it by email with a QR code instead of waiting for your paper notebook to be sent by post.
After purchasing your New York City Pass electronically, you must save it on your phone or print it to present your QR code on D-Day. Then go to the New York City Pass reservation calendar to reserve at advance all your visits. You have the possibility to choose your entry times for each of the attractions. Once there, all you have to do is show up at each of the chosen attractions at the times you have previously chosen.
The best dates to go to New York
There is really no better time than another to go to New York. The climate of the city varies however depending on the different seasons. Each of these offers a new face to the city. The choice of the season will allow you to discover this city from completely different angles. The Big Apple is a city best explored on foot. The most pleasant time to discover it is therefore spring. However, this season is short-lived. From mid-May, the hot weather arrives. If you don’t like the heat, we advise you to go to New York at the beginning of this season. Between the end of April and mid-May, the tulips bloom and make the city beautiful.
In New York, summers are very hot (up to 35°C in August). The pollution mixed with the configuration of the city (perpendicular streets, skyscrapers) makes the climate more suffocating. However, the infrastructures are well equipped to help you live better this season. Buses, metro cars, shops, restaurants and hotels are air-conditioned. During this period, many shows are given outdoors in the parks. Brooklyn’s beaches also allow you to discover a more atypical New York. However, during this season, New Yorkers desert the city to make space for tourists. Summer is therefore not the ideal travel season if you want to discover the authentic atmosphere of New York.
Temperatures are milder in autumn and the landscape is magnificent. This season is perfect for a picnic in Central Park. This is the period during which New York art galleries and museums offer new exhibitions. However, like spring, this season is relatively short. As winter approaches, temperatures drop sharply. In « the city that never sleeps », the winter is freezing and the temperature can drop to -30°C. It is therefore not the ideal season to go to a city that is mainly discovered on foot. On the other hand, during the holiday season, New York covered in heavy snow will allow you to enjoy a unique show.
Which accommodation to choose to sleep in New York?
There are different types of accommodation that you can choose from in New York depending on your budget and the number of people you are traveling with. For example, you can choose to book a hotel. You will find several hundred of them in the city and particularly in Manhattan. However, like in most big cities, the price per night can be very high. However, the advantage with a hotel room in the heart of Manhattan is that you are closer to the main attractions of the city and you can go out easily in the evenings. Rest assured, it is possible to find affordable hotels even if their standing is generally lower.
If you want to save on your hotel, we advise you to move away from Manhattan to find cheaper hotels. Opt for Queens or Brooklyn. You can take the subway for easy access to Manhattan. On the other hand, avoid opting for a hotel that is too remote, especially if you are only in New York for a week. Renting an AirBnB for the week is also an interesting option if you are several couples traveling. It allows you to benefit from the comfort of an apartment and live like a real new yorker.
Finally, the most economical accommodation option in New York is the hostel. However, comfort is obviously limited as well as your privacy. The living room is common to all travelers and the dormitories can hold 4 to 6 beds. The advantage of this hosting solution is that it encourages meeting other travelers. Youth hostels welcome young people between the ages of 18 and 25. You will therefore be able to meet people from all walks of life.
