# New York: map, what to do and when to go

New York is a city of immigrants: 36% of residents were born in another country, and more than 200 languages are spoken. It has five boroughs at the mouth of the Hudson, under a single city government since 1898, and it is the financial, publishing, and theater center of the United States.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **New York: Can you get to know the city staying only in Midtown and Times Square?** No: Midtown and Times Square are the New York of offices and Broadway theaters, and more than half of residents live in Brooklyn and Queens, 20 to 30 minutes away by subway.
- **New York: How do you get from JFK to Manhattan?** JFK is 24 km from downtown: the AirTrain (about $8.50) connects the terminals to the A and E subway lines, at Howard Beach or Jamaica, or to the LIRR train to Penn Station, which is the fastest route, 50 to 70 minutes total.
- **New York: How do you get to Beacon, in the Hudson Valley?** Beacon is 80 km to the north, 1 hour 20 minutes by Metro-North's Hudson Line train from Grand Central, for $20 to 35 round trip, with the river on your left the whole way.

## The bay, the south of the island, and the bridge
Board the Staten Island Ferry at 8:30am at Whitehall Terminal; it's free, with departures every 15–30 minutes. The crossing takes 25 minutes with the Statue of Liberty to starboard, and you can come back on the next boat.
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
- 9/11 Memorial and Museum
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Grand Central Terminal

## The park, museums, and Harlem
Enter Central Park at 59th Street and follow it to Bethesda Terrace and the Lake; 3–4 km of walking take about 1 hour 30 minutes with stops.
- Central Park
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

## Brooklyn, Queens, and a show
Have a bagel breakfast in Brooklyn, in Williamsburg or Park Slope, for $6–12.
- Times Square and the Theater District

## Central Park
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-central-park
Manhattan
341 hectares designed by Olmsted and Vaux starting in 1858, with rock outcrops, lakes, and grade-separated crossings to keep cars away from pedestrians, a solution unheard of at the time. Admission is free, and from Bethesda Terrace to the Reservoir is about 1 km on foot.
Check access

## Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-estatua-da-liberdade
Nova Iorque · Half a day or more
Dedicated October 28, 1886, 93 m including the pedestal, hammered copper over a structure engineered by Gustave Eiffel. The ferry leaves from Battery Park and the ticket includes Ellis Island; access to the crown requires booking months ahead and climbing 162 steps.
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## 9/11 Memorial and Museum
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-memorial
Financial District · Up to half an hour
Two square pools occupy the exact footprints of the towers, and engraved in bronze around the edge are the 2,983 names of the victims of 2001 in New York, at the Pentagon and on Flight 93, and the six from the 1993 attack. The outdoor memorial is free; the underground museum charges admission and takes 2–3 hours.
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## Metropolitan Museum of Art
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-metropolitan-museum-of-art
Manhattan
Two million objects spanning 5,000 years, from the Egyptian Temple of Dendur to armor and European painting. Non-residents pay full admission (about $30); New York State residents and students from NY, NJ, and CT pay what they wish. The ticket is valid for three days, including the Cloisters.
Check access

## Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-museum-of-modern-art
Manhattan
The collection that defines the canon of modern art: “The Starry Night,” “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon,” Monet's water lilies in a room of their own. It's on 53rd Street and fills up after 1pm; the free Friday evenings are only for New York State residents, with a reservation, so out-of-town visitors pay admission.
Check access

## Empire State Building
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-empire-state-building
Manhattan
381 m to the roof, 443 m with the antenna; finished in 1931 after 410 days of construction. The observation decks are on the 86th floor, open-air, and the 102nd, enclosed; about $45–90 depending on floor and time slot, with shorter lines right at opening.
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## Brooklyn Bridge
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-ponte-do-brooklyn
Manhattan
Opened in 1883, the world's first steel-cable suspension bridge, with a 1.8 km wooden walkway suspended above the traffic. It's about 40 minutes on foot. Going Brooklyn → Manhattan, the skyline faces you the whole way across; leaving from Manhattan in the late afternoon, the front view comes on arrival, from Brooklyn Bridge Park, with the sunset behind the buildings.
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## Grand Central Terminal
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-grand-central-terminal
Manhattan · Up to half an hour
Opened in 1913, with 44 platforms, more than any other station in the world. The main concourse ceiling shows a sky of 2,500 stars painted backwards, an error never fixed; below it, the Whispering Gallery carries a voice from one corner of the arch to the other.
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## The High Line
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-the-high-line
Manhattan · Up to half an hour
2.3 km of linear park on an elevated freight rail spur from 1934, decommissioned in 1980 and reopened as a park starting in 2009. It runs from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street, cuts through Chelsea, and ends at the Hudson Yards complex; free entry.
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## Times Square and the Theater District
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/nyc/#g-lugar-times-square
Manhattan · Up to half an hour
The intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue, where a city rule requires buildings to display illuminated signs. It works as a starting point for the 41 theaters around it; the TKTS booth sells same-day tickets at up to 50% off.
Check access

**New York: Can you get to know the city staying only in Midtown and Times Square?**
No: Midtown and Times Square are the New York of offices and Broadway theaters, and more than half of residents live in Brooklyn and Queens, 20 to 30 minutes away by subway.

**New York: How do you get from JFK to Manhattan?**
JFK is 24 km from downtown: the AirTrain (about $8.50) connects the terminals to the A and E subway lines, at Howard Beach or Jamaica, or to the LIRR train to Penn Station, which is the fastest route, 50 to 70 minutes total. The yellow cab charges a flat $70 fare between JFK and Manhattan, plus tolls, fees, and tip, which comes to $95 to 115 in practice, in 45 to 90 minutes.

**New York: How do you get to Beacon, in the Hudson Valley?**
Beacon is 80 km to the north, 1 hour 20 minutes by Metro-North's Hudson Line train from Grand Central, for $20 to 35 round trip, with the river on your left the whole way.

**New York: How do you pay, with card or cash?**
The currency is the US dollar, and cards are accepted almost everywhere, including street carts and buses; some grocery stores still require a $10 minimum for card purchases, and store ATMs charge $3 to 5 in fees.

**New York: What's the best time to visit?**
The two comfortable windows are April to June and September to October, with 15 to 25 °C, long days, and brief rain.

## From the airport to the center


| Route | Time | Price |
| --- | --- | --- |
| JFK → Penn Station · AirTrain and LIRR | 50–70 min | AirTrain about US$8.50, plus the train |
| JFK → Manhattan · yellow cab | 45–90 min | US$95–115 in practice |
| LaGuardia → subway at Jackson Heights · Q70 bus | 10–15 min | free |
| LaGuardia → Midtown · taxi | varies | US$40–60 |
| Newark → Penn Station · AirTrain and NJ Transit | 45 min | about US$17 |
| Newark → Manhattan · taxi or ride app | varies | over US$90 |

## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 4 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/nyc/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/nyc/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/nyc.md