Articles
Day-by-day itineraries, what to eat, how the city actually works, and the places within a train ride that are worth the day.
A Day in Queens: The Most Diverse Place on Earth
Two and a half million people speaking something like 160 languages, almost no tourists, and the best food in New York. One subway line covers most of it.
A Short History of Central Park, and the Village It Replaced
Every stream, hill and wood in Central Park was built. So was the decision to clear Seneca Village, a community of about 225 people, to make room for it.
How New York Invented the Skyscraper
It took a lift, a steel frame, a zoning law and a race between two former business partners. The story of how Manhattan came to look the way it does.
How to Do New York on a Budget Without Missing Anything
The expensive parts of New York are the hotel, the drinks and the observation decks. Almost everything else has a cheap version that is as good or better.
Walking New York: Five Routes That Explain the City
New York is a walking city that punishes people who try to see it from a bus window. Five self-guided routes, each two to three hours, each covering ground a tour would skip.
The Immigrant City: Where New Yorkers Actually Came From
Twelve million people through Ellis Island, and then a second, larger wave after 1965 that most histories skip. How the city kept remaking itself.
A Weekend in the Hudson Valley Without a Car
Two days upriver on a commuter train: a minimalist art museum in a box factory, a village at the foot of a mountain, and a walkway over the Hudson.
Brooklyn in a Day
If Brooklyn were its own city it would be the fourth largest in America. A single day cannot cover it, but one well-chosen line through it gets closer than most visitors manage.
Eight Day Trips from New York Worth the Train Fare
The Hudson Valley, the Jersey Shore, Philadelphia and the beaches — everything you can reach and return from in a day, with the actual travel times.
Thirty Free Things to Do in New York That Are Actually Worth Doing
Not a list of parks padded out to reach a number. Free museums, free ferries, free concerts, free views and free evenings, all of which people pay for elsewhere.
From New Amsterdam to New York: How the City Changed Hands
A Dutch trading post of about 1,500 people surrendered to an English fleet in 1664 without a shot being fired, largely because its own citizens refused to defend it.
New York in Winter: Why the Worst Months Are the Best Value
January and February are cold, grey and cheap, the museums are empty, restaurants have tables, and the city stops performing for visitors. Here is how to do it properly.
Six New York Neighbourhoods Worth Leaving Manhattan For
Flushing, Jackson Heights, Sunset Park, Astoria, Arthur Avenue and Brighton Beach. The parts of the city where the food is better, the prices are lower and nobody is performing.
Three Fires That Rebuilt New York
The fire of 1776 that burned a quarter of the city, the Great Fire of 1835 that destroyed the entire business district, and the factory fire of 1911 that changed American labour law.
The History of the New York Subway
It started as a private business, was built by three competing companies, went bankrupt, nearly collapsed entirely in the 1970s, and still runs 24 hours a day.
What to Eat in New York: The Things That Are Actually From Here
Pizza by the slice, a bagel with lox, pastrami on rye, a halal cart platter and a black-and-white cookie. The New York foods that are genuinely New York, and where they came from.
The Best Time of Year to Visit New York
Every month has a case for it and two of them are genuinely difficult. Here is what the city is actually like season by season, including the weather nobody warns you about.
How Much Does a Trip to New York Actually Cost?
New York is expensive, but the expensive parts are not evenly distributed. Here is where the money actually goes and which line items you can cut without ruining the trip.
How to Get Broadway Tickets Without Paying Full Price
Lotteries, rush, standing room and TKTS. Four ways to sit down in a Broadway theatre for a third of the advertised price, and when each one works.
How to Get from JFK, LaGuardia or Newark into Manhattan
Three airports, none of them with a direct train into the city, and a wide range of ways to get it wrong. Here is what each route costs and how long it really takes.
How to Tip in New York (and What Else Is Not in the Price)
Tipping in the United States is not a reward, it is part of the wage. Here is what to give, to whom, and why the number on the menu is never the number you pay.
How to Use the New York Subway Without Looking Lost
Uptown, downtown, local, express, and why the same platform serves trains going to different boroughs. The subway is not complicated once you know the four things it assumes you know.
How the New York Grid Works, and Where It Doesn't
Twenty blocks to a mile, avenues run north–south, streets run east–west, and everything below Houston ignores all of it. The five minutes that make Manhattan navigable.
Where to Stay in New York: Choosing a Neighbourhood
The neighbourhood you book matters more than the hotel. Here is what each one is actually like at eight in the morning and eleven at night, and who each one suits.
Five Days in New York: Beyond the First-Timer List
With five days you can do the famous things at a civilised pace and still get into Brooklyn, Queens and the parts of Manhattan nobody photographs.
Four Days in New York with Children
New York with children is easier than it looks, as long as you accept that the day ends at four and that half of what you wanted to see is not happening.
One Day in New York: What Is Actually Possible
A layover, a business trip with a free afternoon, or a stopover on the way somewhere. Twenty-four hours is not much, but it is enough for one honest slice of the city.
Three Days in New York: A Plan That Doesn't Ruin Your Feet
Three days is the most common length of a first New York trip and the easiest to get wrong. Here is a plan built around geography rather than a wish list.
Two Days in New York: A Weekend That Works
Forty-eight hours, one Saturday and one Sunday, and a route that keeps you out of the subway and off your feet more than a standard whistle-stop plan.