12 Best Sights in New York City, New York

Grand Central is not only the world's largest (49 acres and 44 platforms) and the nation's busiest railway station, but also one of the world's most magnificent public spaces, the majesty of its 1913 building preserved, in part, by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's 1975 campaign to save it as a landmark. The main concourse stands roughly 12 stories high and is modeled after an ancient Roman public bath. Overhead, a twinkling fiber-optic map of the constellations covers the ceiling. Of course, Grand Central still functions primarily as a transit hub: underground, trains travel to the Hudson Valley and to Connecticut via the Metro-North commuter rail and to Long Island via the Long Island Rail Road; the subway connects here as well.

To best admire Grand Central's exquisite Beaux-Arts architecture, avoid rush hour and head up one of the staircases at either end, where upscale restaurants occupy balcony spaces. From this level, you can survey the concourse and feel the terminal's dynamism. Then head to the southwest corner to reach the tucked-away The Campbell cocktail lounge. Around and below the main concourse are fantastic shops and eateries—including the Grand Central Oyster Bar.  If you're with a friend, position yourselves in opposite corners of the tiled passageway just outside the Oyster Bar, facing away from each other, and murmur your secrets to the wall. Or just stand and watch others indulge in the delightful acoustic oddity that is the whispering gallery. Take Walks NYC (  www.takewalks.com/new-york-tours/grand-central-tours) leads two official daily walking tours for $35 at 11 am and 3 pm.

Taking you 1,210 feet and 93 floors above the heart of New York City, in part via an all-glass enclosed elevator, NYC’s newest observation deck (opened in late 2021) "elevates" the observation deck concept, offering unique immersive and multisensory art installations along with mirrored floors and ceilings to reflect and multiply the incredible views of the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and beyond. In fact, there are so many reflective surfaces in this experience that Summit recommends pants and sunglasses to protect your modesty and your eyes.

The 91st and 92nd floors are completely enclosed. The views are endless and even with crowds, it is easy to find an impressive selfie backdrop. After you have had your fill of spotting NYC rooftops and before you come back down to earth, linger a while longer in the spectacular skyline views at Après on the 93rd floor, where you can enjoy food, coffee, and cocktails on the wraparound terrace. Those who dare to go higher can try Ascent, the world’s largest exterior glass-floor elevators, which take you up the outside of the building to its highest point. 

A monument to modernity and the mighty automotive industry, the former Chrysler headquarters wins many New Yorkers' vote for the city's most marvelous and beloved skyscraper, despite the fact that you can only love it from a distance. Architect William Van Alen, who designed this 1930 art deco masterpiece, incorporated car details into its form: American eagle gargoyles, made of chromium nickel and resembling hood ornaments used on 1920s Chryslers, sprout from the 61st floor; winged urns festooning the 31st floor reference the car's radiator caps. Most breathtaking is the pinnacle, with tiered crescents and spiked windows that radiate out like a magnificent steel sunburst. While the current owner has been given permission to reopen an observation deck on the 71st floor that closed in 1945, for now you have to make do with appreciating it from afar or ducking in for a quick look at the amazing time-capsule lobby replete with chrome "grillwork," intricately patterned wood elevator doors, marble walls and floors, and an enormous ceiling mural saluting transportation and human endeavor. You may enter the lobby during business hours (8 am–6 pm).  For a great view/photo, walk to the northeast corner of 44th Street and 3rd Avenue.

The landmark lobby of this art deco tower contains an illuminated 12-foot globe that revolves beneath a black-glass dome. Around it, spreading across the floor like a giant compass and literally positioning New York at the center of the world, bronze lines indicate mileage to various international destinations. Movie fans might recognize the building as the offices of the fictional newspaper The Daily Planet in the original Superman movie. On the wall behind the globe, you can check out meteorological gauges, which read New York City's weather—especially fun on a windy day when the meters are whipping about. The Daily News hasn't called this building home since 1995; only the lobby is open to the public (but that's enough). The globe was last updated in 1967, so part of the fun here is seeing how our maps have changed; note Manchuria and East and West Germany.

The impressive stable of 20th-century photographers represented and shown here includes Sally Mann, Robert Polidori, Nick Brandt, Lalla Essaydi, Herb Ritts, Mona Kuhn, and Elliott Erwitt. The gallery also has prints by masters Dorothea Lange and Diane Arbus.

Although this gallery has a selection of European works, it's best known for American paintings, prints, and decorative arts. The celebrated 19th- and 20th-century artists whose works are featured include Stuart Davis, Childe Hassam, and Suzy Frelinghuysen. Each year, the gallery presents up to a dozen special exhibits exploring historical themes of works culled from its collection.

The stylish, serene lobby of the Japan Society, renovated by renowned artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, features interior gardens with large bonsai trees and Sugimoto sculptures, all complemented by a second-floor waterfall. The 1971 building is a city landmark thanks to its Japanese modernist design by architect Junzo Yoshimura, and its second-floor gallery exhibits works by well-known Japanese artists. Past shows have celebrated contemporary masters including Takashi Murakami, Yoko Ono, and Daido Moriyama. The society's annual performing arts season (September–June) shares works by established and emerging artists in dance, music, and theater. In July, the museum hosts a film festival, Japan Cuts, showcasing contemporary Japanese cinema.

This leading contemporary art gallery—with affiliated outposts in Chelsea, London, and other international locations—focuses on such modern and contemporary artists as Kiki Smith, Garry Winogrand, and David Byrne.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a pioneer of modernist architecture, built this boxlike bronze-and-glass tower in 1958, and it remains a must-visit for architecture buffs. The austere facade belies its wit: I-beams, used to hold buildings up, here are merely attached to the surface, representing the idea of structural support. The Seagram Building's innovative ground-level plaza, extending out to the sidewalk, has since become a common element in urban skyscraper design, but at the time it was built, it was a radical announcement of a new, modern era of American architecture. With its two giant fountains and welcoming steps, the plaza also is a popular lunch spot for Midtown workers. Visit late in the afternoon to avoid crowds.

This Gothic-style edifice is the largest Catholic cathedral in the United States, seating approximately 2,400 people, and marked by double spires rising 330 feet. "St. Pat's," as locals call it, provides a calm and quiet refuge in the heart of buzzy Midtown, despite the throngs of tourists: the cathedral receives more than 5.5 million visitors annually.

The church dates 1858–79, but it was beautifully restored thanks to a major rehabilitation project completed in 2015. Highlights include the choir gallery's century-old organ, with its 7,855 pipes; the famous rose window, considered stained-glass artist Charles Connick's greatest work; and the ornately carved bronze double doors, each weighing 9,200 pounds. In the alcoves around the nave, there is a modern depiction of the first American-born saint, Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton. The church's Pietà sculpture is three times larger than the version at St. Peter's in Rome.

Daily masses are open and free to the public (check the schedule online) with the exception of Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, which is a ticketed event. Self-guided audio tours ($25) are available daily 9 am to 5 pm; advance purchase is recommended.

In 1925, prominent real-estate developer Fred F. French was among the first Americans ever to buy up a large number of buildings—more than 100, in this case, most of them tenements—and join the properties into a single, massive new complex. He designed a collection of nine apartment buildings and two parks in the "garden city" mode, which placed a building's green space not in an enclosed courtyard, but in the foreground. French also built a 39-by-50-foot "Tudor City" sign atop one of the 22-story buildings, best viewed from the eastern end of 42nd Street. The development's residential towers opened between 1927 and 1930, borrowing a marketable air of sophistication from Tudor-style stonework, stained-glass windows, and lobby-design flourishes. Tudor City has been featured in numerous films, and its landmark gardens—sometimes compared to Gramercy Park, only public—remain a popular lunch spot among office workers. The neighborhood was designated a historic district in 1988.

Officially an "international zone" in the city's heart, the UN Headquarters sits on an 18-acre tract on the East River, fronted by flags of its member states, who are charged with helping maintain international security and peace. Built between 1947 and 1961, the complex completed an overhaul in 2015 that retained the 1950s look while upgrading its infrastructure. The only way to enter the UN Headquarters is with the 45- to 60-minute weekday guided tour, available in 10 languages; reservations can be made online, and you'll need a security pass from the visitors office at  801 1st Avenue.  Arrive 60 minutes before your tour's start for security screening. The tour includes the General Assembly, major council chambers, and educational details, as well as exhibits on peacekeeping, nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, and human rights. Children under five are not admitted.

The complex's buildings (the slim, 505-foot-tall green-glass Secretariat Building; the much smaller, domed General Assembly Building; and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library) evoke the influential French modernist architect Le Corbusier, and the surrounding park and plaza remain visionary. The public concourse has a visitor center with a gift shop, a bookstore, and a post office where you can mail postcards with UN stamps; bring your passport to add the UN stamp.