Washington Square Park Was an Execution Ground Before It Was a Dog Run

The park’s gravel surface has served as a potter’s field for an estimated 20,000 bodies, a place of public hanging, and subsequently a military parade ground, before becoming the Greenwich Village neighbourhood square it is today. The arch at the north entrance, modelled on the Arc de Triomphe, was built temporarily in wood in 1889 to mark the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration and rebuilt in marble in 1895 after New Yorkers refused to let it come down. New York has always been in the business of repurposing things while pretending they were always what they are now.

Getting Around

Manhattan’s subway runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The single-ride fare is 3 dollars in 2026 (up from 2.90 in previous years following MTA fare adjustments). OMNY, the tap-to-pay system using a contactless bank card or phone, works at every subway turnstile and bus reader. You do not need to buy a MetroCard. Weekly unlimited passes for the subway and local buses are available at 34 dollars if you plan to make more than 12 journeys in a seven-day period.

Congestion pricing, launched in January 2025, charges drivers 9 dollars to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. The programme has meaningfully reduced midtown traffic volumes (down roughly 11%) and pushed more people onto the subway, which now carries about 1.3 billion annual riders. For visitors, the practical effect is faster taxi and rideshare travel in central Manhattan and more crowded trains at rush hour.

From JFK, the AirTrain to Jamaica station and then the E, J, or Z subway to Manhattan costs around 10 dollars total and takes about 60 minutes. The LIRR from Jamaica to Penn Station is faster (about 30 minutes total door-to-door from the AirTrain connection) but costs more, around 15 dollars. From LaGuardia, the subway connection involves a bus transfer; rideshare at around 30 to 45 dollars to midtown is often the more practical option.

What to See

The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue operates on a suggested admission model (30 dollars suggested for adults, but you can pay less). The permanent collection spans five millennia across two million objects. The Costume Institute in the basement, the Egyptian Wing with the Temple of Dendur, and the European Paintings galleries on the second floor are each individually world-class. Allow more time than you think you need.

The 9/11 Memorial occupies the footprints of the original towers as reflecting pools. Admission to the outdoor memorial is free. The museum beneath it charges 33 dollars and is one of the most carefully designed documentary spaces in the country, though it can be emotionally exhausting in a way that requires some preparation.

One World Trade Center’s observation deck charges around 45 dollars. The views are excellent but similar to those from the Empire State Building (44 dollars) and Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center (40 to 45 dollars). Of the three, Top of the Rock has the advantage of including the Empire State Building in the view rather than standing inside it.

The City Hall 1 train station, built in 1904 as part of New York’s original subway line, is closed to regular service but visible if you stay on the downtown 6 train past its last stop. As the train loops back uptown, it passes through the station’s vaulted Romanesque Revival tiled arches, chandeliers and skylights intact. No ticket or tour required, just patience and awareness of which train you are on.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

The ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island departs from Battery Park (Manhattan) and Liberty State Park (New Jersey). Tickets include access to both islands; the basic admission runs around 24 dollars, with an additional fee for pedestal or crown access to the statue itself. The crown requires advance booking months ahead, particularly in summer. Ellis Island’s immigration museum is the more substantively interesting of the two stops for most adult visitors.

Where to Eat

Katz’s Delicatessen on Houston Street has operated since 1888. The pastrami is the point, and it is genuinely excellent, cured in-house and hand-sliced to order. Expect to spend around 25 to 30 dollars for a sandwich and a drink. It is not a tourist trap in the pejorative sense: the locals who eat there go because the food warrants it.

Xi’an Famous Foods started as a small stall in the Golden Shopping Mall basement in Flushing, Queens, before expanding to multiple Manhattan locations. The spicy lamb noodles and cold-skin noodles are the dishes that established its reputation. Prices are low (12 to 16 dollars for a main), and the flavour profile, rooted in northwestern Chinese cuisine, is not widely represented elsewhere in the city.

Carbone in Greenwich Village is the place for old-school Italian-American at modern prices. The spicy rigatoni vodka costs around 32 dollars, the room is deliberately loud and theatrically designed, and reservations open 30 days ahead and fill within minutes. It is worth the effort if Italian-American cuisine with serious technique appeals to you.

For a lower-key meal, Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market makes tacos that most Mexican cities would recognise as legitimate, at around 4 to 5 dollars each.

Where to Stay

The Plaza on Fifth Avenue and Central Park South is the statement luxury option, with rooms from around 500 to 900 dollars per night. The Nomad Hotel in the Flatiron district offers thoughtfully designed rooms from around 250 to 400 dollars and a bar that is worth visiting regardless of whether you are staying.

For budget travellers, the boroughs offer considerable value. Long Island City in Queens is a single subway stop from Midtown and has several mid-range hotels at 120 to 200 dollars per night with excellent transport access. Williamsburg in Brooklyn remains popular for short-term rentals due to good food, nightlife, and the L train connection to Manhattan.

Broadway and Evening

Broadway tickets range from around 70 dollars in rear orchestra to 300 dollars or more for premium seats at hit productions. The TKTS booth in Times Square and at South Street Seaport sells same-day discount tickets at 20 to 50% off face value, with the Seaport location typically having shorter queues than Times Square.

One Practical Note

New York is not a cheap city, and the instinct to book everything in advance is well-founded for anything popular: Brooklyn Bridge Park gets crowded on summer weekends, the Statue of Liberty crown visits sell out months ahead, and Katz’s can have a 20-minute queue on Saturday mornings. Plan the most wanted experiences first, then leave the schedule loose enough to follow whatever neighbourhood you happen to be in. The best version of New York often appears in the gaps between appointments.