# The 26 Best Tourist Attractions in New York City

> From soaring skyscrapers and world-famous green spaces to cult museums and offbeat borough favorites, this list spans the whole city, skyline to waterfront. Cast your vote for New York's ultimate must-see.

*By YPB Team · Published August 25, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-26-best-tourist-attractions-in-new-york-city*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Statue of Liberty** — score 1000/1000
   A 305-foot copper statue in New York Harbor gifted by France, symbolizing freedom and democracy.
2. **Little Island** — score 699/1000
   A futuristic elevated park on the Hudson River built atop sculptural concrete piers.
3. **Central Park** — score 605/1000
   An 843-acre green oasis in Manhattan with lakes, gardens, a zoo, and iconic skyline views.
4. **American Museum of Natural History** — score 524/1000
   An Upper West Side museum famous for its dinosaur fossils, planetarium, and dioramas.
5. **Top of the Rock** — score 524/1000
   The observation deck atop Rockefeller Center offering panoramic views of Central Park and the skyline.
6. **Times Square** — score 475/1000
   The neon-lit commercial hub of Midtown Manhattan, famous for its billboards and New Year's Eve ball drop.
7. **Brooklyn Botanic Garden** — score 419/1000
   A 52-acre garden in Brooklyn known for its cherry blossom esplanade and Japanese garden.
8. **High Line** — score 419/1000
   An elevated park built on a former freight rail line, running through Manhattan's West Side.
9. **New York Public Library** — score 419/1000
   The Beaux-Arts main branch on Fifth Avenue, guarded by iconic stone lion statues Patience and Fortitude.
10. **Bronx Zoo** — score 419/1000
   One of the largest metropolitan zoos in the country, home to thousands of animals across naturalistic habitats.
11. **The Cloisters** — score 419/1000
   A Met branch museum in a reconstructed medieval-style building overlooking the Hudson River, devoted to European medieval art.
12. **Governors Island** — score 419/1000
   A car-free island in New York Harbor with historic forts, art installations, and skyline views.
13. **Grand Central Terminal** — score 354/1000
   A landmark Beaux-Arts train terminal known for its celestial-mural ceiling and grand concourse.
14. **Broadway Theater District** — score 354/1000
   Midtown's cluster of historic theaters staging the world's most famous live musicals and plays.
15. **Chrysler Building** — score 354/1000
   An Art Deco skyscraper famed for its stainless-steel spire and ornamental eagle gargoyles.
16. **Guggenheim Museum** — score 354/1000
   A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed museum on Fifth Avenue famed for its spiraling white rotunda.
17. **One World Observatory** — score 279/1000
   The observation deck atop One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
18. **Ellis Island** — score 279/1000
   The former immigration inspection station in New York Harbor, now a museum of immigrant history.
19. **Museum of Modern Art** — score 279/1000
   MoMA is a Midtown museum showcasing modern and contemporary art, including Van Gogh's Starry Night.
20. **9/11 Memorial & Museum** — score 190/1000
   A memorial and museum at the World Trade Center site honoring the victims of the September 11 attacks.
21. **Empire State Building** — score 190/1000
   An Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1931, famed for its observation decks and skyline views.
22. **Metropolitan Museum of Art** — score 190/1000
   New York's largest art museum, holding over two million works spanning 5,000 years of history.
23. **Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum** — score 190/1000
   A Hudson River museum built around a retired aircraft carrier, displaying historic planes and a space shuttle.
24. **Brooklyn Bridge** — score 190/1000
   A 19th-century suspension bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn, beloved for its pedestrian walkway views.
25. **Coney Island** — score 84/1000
   A historic Brooklyn beachfront boardwalk known for its amusement parks, Cyclone roller coaster, and Nathan's hot dogs.
26. **Flatiron Building** — score 84/1000
   A distinctive triangular 1902 skyscraper that gave its name to Manhattan's Flatiron District.

Tags: usa, travel, landmarks, new york city