12 Awesome Things to Do in New York City for First Timers!

New York City is a vibrant city with plenty of things to do and places to see. We fell in love with the “Big Apple” after our first visit and it is now our favourite city in the world! We had a fabulous time checking out the tourist attractions, cultural experiences and culinary pleasures. Below is a list of our favourite things to do in New York for first time visitors, categorised by the respective areas of Midtown Manhattan, Downtown Manhattan, Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Queens, and Brooklyn. Also read: The Ultimate Seven Day New York Itinerary

Midtown Manhattan

1. Times Square

Times Square is arguably the most iconic attraction of New York. We were entranced by the pulsing neon lights from the towering billboards, the bright commercial buildings flanking the square, and the bustling energy of the area. We were even lucky enough to visit Times Square on New Year’s eve and witness the world-famous Times Square Ball Drop. The energy of the countdown party was amazing and we had a great time! And seeing the renowned ball drop was definitely a special experience too.

2. Broadway Musical

New York is famous for its awesome Broadway Musicals. We managed to catch The Phantom of the Opera, a classic that I’ve wanted to watch since young. It was a surreal experience to finally see the show inside an actual Broadway theatre! We sat at the Rear Mezzanine (Row B) seats, where we got decent aerial views though it was a little far from the stage. We bought our tickets from Telecharge, but found out later that it is possible to get discounted tickets from Klook.

3. Central Park

Central Park is a beautiful urban park with expansive green fields, lush trees, scenic lakes, a wonderful variety of flora and fauna, ice skating rinks, pretty sculptures, and many other attractions. I was amazed to see such a large and gorgeous park right in the middle of bustling New York City! We spent about three hours exploring the park and taking many awesome photos. This is definitely one of our favourite attractions in New York.

4. Top of The Rock (TOTR)

If you are visiting New York for the first time, I highly recommend getting tickets for Top of The Rock (TOTR), an observatory perched atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza. We went to the observatory in the afternoon and got amazing views of the Manhattan skyline, Central Park, and the Empire State Building. On the whole we enjoyed our TOTR experience very much, though the wind up there was really strong and we had difficulties getting a decent photo without our hair being messed up. You can click here to get discounted admission tickets for Top of The Rock.

5. Woodbury Commons Premium Outlets

This was probably Raevian’s favourite attraction in New York. Woodbury Common Premium Outlets is an outlet centre with over 200 retail stores. There are daily discounts here, with some stores offering discounts of up to 65%. It is about an hour’s bus ride from New York City. We bought our Coach USA/ Shortline bus tickets through this Groupon deal for Woodbury Commons round-trip at USD25. Do not buy the tickets directly from the official Woodbury Commons site as it is more expensive at USD42. We took Coach USA/ Shortline for all our three visits and had no problems at all.

This was truly a shopping paradise! Raevian had an amazing time shopping at the massive number of mass market and luxury boutiques here. There were so many stores that even yours truly (the shopping cynic) found some stuff to buy for myself: specifically, two Coach wallets and one pair of Nike running shoes. I felt guilty for giving in to my materialistic desires, but it was hard to resist with so many incredible bargains. You can check out our full review of Woodbury Commons Premium Outlets.

Downtown Manhattan

6. Wall Street

We enjoyed exploring the financial district of Wall Street very much. It was pretty surreal to check out the place where finance power brokers can make or break our global economy. However, this area is definitely more than just finance. We were impressed by the many beautiful neoclassical and neo-Gothic architecture stemming from the opulent Gilded Age. We also saw many famous landmarks such as the New York Stock Exchange, Charging Bull and Fearless Girl Statues, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 911 Memorial, and more. Check out our list of 12 Awesome Things to do in Wall Street for more details!

7. SoHo

SoHo (short for “South of Houston Street”) is a super popular shopping district with over 300 retail stores! This is a beautiful area where retail stores are nestled in classic cast-iron buildings lined along cobblestoned streets. Raevian had a great time shopping here, while I had a great time surfing Facebook and playing online poker while waiting.

8. Staten Island Ferry

When we visited New York the first time, we were really excited to take the Staten Island Ferry. This ferry transports passengers between Manhattan and Staten Island, and is completely free. Each one-way trip takes around 25 minutes. And yes, this is the same ferry that was split in half in the Spiderman movie (and subsequently welded back together by Iron Man). You can check out the Staten Island Ferry schedule.

On the ferry, we got awesome views of the majestic Statue of Liberty and beautiful Manhattan skyline. But it was a little hard to take photos because of the moving boat, and many of our photos were a little blur due to motion. We stayed on the lower deck because most people rushed to the upper deck so it was very crowded. And personally, I felt that the lower deck (near the boarding area) provided better views since there were no windows or posts obstructing the view at all.

Upper West Side

9. American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)

New York is known for its many world class museums and we visited quite a few of them. Our favourite was probably the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), a large museum with 45 exhibitions halls displaying a huge variety of natural history specimens. I enjoyed the dinosaurs exhibitions the most because it is always fun to see the massive T-Rex skeleton with its gaping jaws and rows of serrated teeth. You can click here to get discounted admission tickets for the museum.

Upper East Side

10. Madison Avenue

Madison Avenue is a fabled shopping district famous for being the mecca of high end retail therapy. It is basically a long street that is lined with an abundance of luxury brands such as Hermes, Valention, Gucci, Prada and many more. We enjoyed window shopping along the avenue, though our pockets were not deep enough to afford the many luxury items here.

Queens

11. Explore The Diverse Neighbourhoods of Queens

The Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Park

Little India in Jackson Heights

Enjoying Chinese food at Flushing Chinatown

If you can spare the time, I highly recommend spending one full day in Queens to check out the wonderful attractions here. This is one of the five boroughs of New York, the other four being Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and The Bronx. This vibrant district boasts one of the most diverse demographics in the world, with ethnic enclaves of Greeks, Filipinos, Indians, Chinese, Latin Americans, Colombians and more! It was a great cultural experience for us to explore these vibrant neighbourhoods. Consequently, we found a variety of delicious ethnic foods within these respective enclaves. We also visited plenty of awesome attractions, such as the scenic waterfront parks in Long Island City, the tranquil Flushing Meadows Park, the National Tennis Center (home of the US Open Grand Slam), the vibrant Flushing Chinatown, and many more! For more details, check out our detailed Queens articles below.
The Ultimate Queens One Day Itinerary
9 Awesome Things to do in Queens
10 Awesome Places to Eat in Queens

Brooklyn

12. Check Out The Interesting Attractions in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dazzling Christmas decorations at Dyker Heights

Along with Queens, Brooklyn is a New York borough that is seldom fully explored by first time tourists. However, there are plenty of attractions here that should not be missed. The most iconic attraction is the Brooklyn Bridge, a metal suspension bridge that links up Manhattan and Brooklyn. Most tourists will usually return to Manhattan after walking across the bridge, but we decided to check out other Brooklyn attractions such as the interesting neighbourhood of DUMBO, the tranquil Brooklyn Bridge Park, the awesome Brooklyn Flea Market and Smorgasburg food market, and many more! You can check out our Brooklyn articles below for more details.

The Ultimate Brooklyn One Day Itinerary
9 Best Things to Do in Brooklyn
8 Awesome Places to Eat in Brooklyn

Conclusion

Thanks for reading our long article! However, do note that this is by no means an exhaustive list. There are plenty of other awesome places to visit and things to do in New York for first time tourists. Therefore, make sure you check out my other New York articles as well. And with that, we hope you will enjoy your holiday in this beautiful city as much as we did!

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate New York Travel Guide for First Timers. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?