New York City is the largest city in the United States and one of the world's great hubs for finance, the arts, fashion and culture. It sits at the mouth of the Hudson River in southeastern New York state, and it is often called NYC, New York, or simply the Big Apple. Many visitors also know it through Manhattan, the island at its heart.
What a visit offers
The city is a place to walk, look and linger. Its neighbourhoods differ sharply from one another, so moving between them is part of the experience. Visitors come for the energy of the streets, the range of its cultural life, and the sense of a city that is always busy with commerce, creativity and new ideas.
- Arts and culture: a dense calendar of theatre, music, galleries and museums.
- Fashion and design: one of the world's leading centres for the industry, with shops ranging from the familiar to the very specialised.
- Finance: a city whose financial district has shaped global markets, and which still draws people for work and for the sight of it.
- Neighbourhood life: areas with distinct characters, food scenes and histories, best explored on foot.
Planning your trip
New York is large, so it helps to choose a few areas to focus on rather than trying to see everything. Manhattan is the most familiar starting point, but the city's other boroughs repay time too. Public transport connects most parts of the city, and walking is often the best way to notice the details between the landmarks.
Whether you go for a long weekend or a longer stay, the city rewards curiosity. Plan around the places that interest you most, leave room for wandering, and expect a destination that is busy, varied and difficult to exhaust in one visit.
