Most of what surprises visitors in New York is not the famous stuff. It is the small operational differences — how prices are quoted, where the toilets are, what New Yorkers consider rude — and knowing them in advance removes most of the friction from a trip.
Money
Prices do not include tax. New York City sales tax is 8.875 per cent and it is added at the till, not shown on the shelf label or the menu. Every price you see is smaller than what you pay.
Clothing and footwear under $110 per item are exempt.
Tipping is not optional for table service, bars, taxis and hotel staff, because tipped workers are legally paid a lower base wage on the assumption of it. Budget 18 to 20 per cent in restaurants. There is a full breakdown in the tipping guide.
Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including on buses and in cabs. Some of the best cheap restaurants — particularly in Chinatown, Flushing and Jackson Heights — are cash only. Carry some.
Contactless works on the subway with any bank card or phone. There is no separate travel card to buy.
Safety
New York is one of the safest large cities in the United States and considerably safer than its reputation, which was earned in the 1970s and 80s and has not been true for a long time. Violent crime is heavily concentrated in specific areas that are not where visitors go.
Ordinary precautions apply and nothing more: watch your bag in a crowd, keep your phone out of your back pocket, do not leave anything on a café table while you go to the counter.
On the subway late at night, wait in the marked off-peak waiting area near the middle of the platform, where there are cameras and staff, and ride in a carriage with other people in it.
Scams to know: anyone handing you a CD or a bracelet in Times Square will demand payment; costumed characters charge for photographs; anyone offering you a taxi inside an airport terminal is not licensed; “free” comedy show tickets in Times Square come with a two-drink minimum at inflated prices.
Emergency number is 911. Non-emergency city services is 311, which is genuinely useful.
Toilets
There is effectively no public toilet network. This catches visitors out more than anything else on this page.
What works: museums, department stores (Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom), hotel lobbies, chain coffee shops, Bryant Park — which has genuinely good ones with an attendant — Grand Central, the New York Public Library, and the larger parks.
Go when you see one, not when you need one.
Water and food
Tap water is excellent and comes from the Catskills largely unfiltered. Restaurants serve it free and iced without being asked. Bringing a refillable bottle is normal.
Restaurant portions are large. Taking leftovers away is completely standard and asking for a box carries no stigma at all.
Meal times are early by European standards. Dinner reservations at 6pm are normal; 9pm is late.
Getting around on foot
Jaywalking was decriminalised in New York City in 2024. Crossing against the light is legal and universal. Use judgement rather than the signal, and watch the cyclists, who move fast and quietly and do not always travel in the direction of traffic.
Most streets and avenues are one way, so traffic comes from a single direction — often not the one your instinct expects if you drive on the left at home.
Do not stop dead on a pavement. Step to the side. This is the single most reliable way to annoy a New Yorker and it is a genuine courtesy rather than an affectation.
Stand on the right on escalators.
Let people off the train first.
Etiquette
New Yorkers have a reputation for rudeness that is mostly a misreading of speed. They are direct, they do not do small talk with strangers in queues, and they will help you at length if you ask a specific question. Asking for directions works; people will stop and explain.
Do not photograph people without asking, particularly in Hasidic Williamsburg, in churches during services, and in Chinatown.
Practical
Electricity is 120V, 60Hz, with Type A and B plugs. Most modern chargers handle it; hairdryers and appliances from 230V countries often do not.
Smoking is banned in all indoor public spaces, in parks, on beaches and on pedestrian plazas. Cannabis is legal for adults over 21 and you will smell it constantly; smoking it is subject to the same rules as tobacco.
The drinking age is 21 and it is enforced strictly. Bring photo ID even if you are visibly older; many bars card everyone.
Left luggage exists at staffed services near Penn Station and Grand Central, and most hotels will hold bags before check-in and after check-out.
Pharmacies — Duane Reade, CVS, Walgreens — are everywhere and open late, some 24 hours.
Time zone is Eastern, UTC−5 in winter and UTC−4 from mid-March to early November.
What to pack
Shoes you have already worn in. Ten to twelve miles a day is a normal New York sightseeing total and it is the thing most visitors underestimate.
A layer for summer, because interiors are air conditioned to a temperature considerably below the street. A proper coat, hat and gloves for winter, because of the wind down the avenues rather than the temperature itself.
An umbrella or a rain jacket in any season.