New York City

New York City is five boroughs, three airports and a subway that costs $3.00 a ride. Its Statue of Liberty National Monument counted 3,538,231 recreation visits in 2025, by the National Park Service's own count.

A first visit from abroad starts with the practical side: the airports, the fares, the ticketed sights and the taxes on a hotel bill. We checked the figures below on 27 October 2026 on the Port Authority's airport sites, OMNY's, the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission's, the National Park Service's, the sights' own pages, the state and city tax offices' and NOAA's normals. The site of the MTA, which runs the subway, could not be read from where we checked.

How do you get from JFK to Manhattan by train?

JFK to Penn Station takes about 50 minutes by AirTrain and the E train and costs $11.75 in all, by the airport's own figures. The Long Island Rail Road is quicker, about 30 minutes, at $14.00 off-peak or $16.00 at peak times. For Lower Manhattan, the A train takes about 60 minutes for the same $11.75.

Every one of those fares includes the $8.75 AirTrain fee, which is charged only when you enter or leave Jamaica or Howard Beach stations. Between the terminals, and to Federal Circle for rental cars and hotel shuttles, the AirTrain is free. Trains run every 5 to 15 minutes, and children under five ride free. You pay at the gate with any contactless bank card or phone, or with an OMNY card.

What does a taxi from JFK to Manhattan cost?

A yellow taxi between JFK and Manhattan charges a flat $70 in either direction, set by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Several charges go on top, and the Commission adds "plus tips and any tolls":

• Rush hour: $5.00 on weekdays from 4 to 8 p.m., except legal holidays.
• New York State congestion surcharge: $2.50 for a yellow taxi on trips that start, end or pass through Manhattan south of 96th Street.
• MTA congestion pricing toll: 75¢ inside the zone south of and including 60th Street.
• Airport access fee: $2.00 for any taxi pick-up at JFK or LaGuardia.
• Improvement and state surcharges: $1.00 and 50¢.

Our sum of those fixed charges for a ride from JFK to Midtown is $76.75, or $81.75 on a weekday between 4 and 8 p.m., before tolls and tip. Our guide to tipping in the USA covers the tip.

From LaGuardia, taxis run on the meter, plus a $5.00 surcharge and the $2 pick-up fee. A taxi from the city to Newark runs on the meter, plus a $20.00 Newark surcharge, the tip and the return tolls. The meter starts at $3.00 and adds 70¢ for every fifth of a mile, or for every minute stopped or crawling. At night, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., it adds $1.00.

The MTA's own pages on its congestion zone could not be read, so we cannot confirm what a private car pays to drive into Manhattan below 60th Street. In a taxi you pay the 75¢ toll as part of the fare. Parking in New York City is taxed at 10.375%.

How do you get into Manhattan from Newark and LaGuardia without a taxi?

Newark Liberty International, which is in New Jersey, links to Manhattan by train: NJ Transit to Penn Station takes about 30 minutes and costs "approximately $17.25", the airport says. The AirTrain carries you from the terminals to the airport's rail station. Its $8.75 fee is included in an NJ Transit or Amtrak ticket to that station, so one fare pays for all.

Terminal A is not on the AirTrain: the airport gives a 15-minute covered walk or a 5-minute shuttle to reach it. An express bus from Newark to the Bryant Park, Port Authority Bus Terminal and Grand Central area takes about 50 minutes. It costs $23.50 one way or $39.50 return.

LaGuardia Airport has no rail link, and five MTA bus routes serve it instead. The Q70 LaGuardia Link is free from Terminals B and C to the subway at Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue and 74 Street–Broadway, for the E, F, M, R and 7 lines. The M60 Select Bus Service stops at Terminals A, B and C and runs along 125th Street in Harlem. Buses take contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Wallet and OMNY cards.

How does OMNY's weekly fare cap work?

OMNY caps what you pay for the subway and local buses at $35 in any seven days, counted from your first tap. A ride costs $3.00, so by our arithmetic the cap is reached on the twelfth ride, and every later ride in those seven days is free. With express buses included, the cap is $67.

The cap only works if you tap the same way every time: the same bank card, the same phone or the same wearable. Group trips and transfers do not count towards it. OMNY readers take contactless credit and debit cards, phones and wearables, and an OMNY card can be bought and loaded with cash.

OMNY's own pages say the MetroCard "is going away and OMNY is taking its place", and that the MTA encourages tourists to pay with their bank cards and digital wallets. We could not read an end date for the MetroCard, the free-transfer window or the rules for children's fares on the MTA's site. OMNY also works on the AirTrain at JFK and the Roosevelt Island Tram.

Do you pay to visit the Statue of Liberty?

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island charge no National Park Service entrance fee, and neither is on the 2026 list of parks that add $100 for visitors from abroad. The cost is the ferry: Statue City Cruises is the only operator the Park Service authorizes. The Park Service calls the ticket "a transportation fee", which no America the Beautiful pass or fee-free day covers. From 2026, fee-free days are for US residents only anyway.

The ticket covers the round trip from Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, to both islands. It includes the Statue of Liberty Museum, the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration and an audio tour. Buy it online or at the only authorized office on site, inside Castle Clinton in The Battery. The Park Service warns of aggressive, unauthorized ticket sellers nearby.

The time on the ticket is when to join the security queue, not a ferry time, and at busy times the wait can be an hour or more. To see both islands in a day, the Park Service recommends an early ferry. The boats run every day except Thanksgiving and 25 December, and cancellations made at least 24 hours ahead are refunded.

Crown tickets usually sell out months ahead, Statue City Cruises says, and it suggests booking three to four months in advance. Crown visitors must be at least 42 inches tall, and there is no elevator to the crown. The Park Service counts 162 steps from the statue's feet to the crown, while the operator's FAQ gives 377 in most answers and 393 in one.

The Staten Island Ferry is free and runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, on a 5.2-mile crossing from Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan to St. George. It passes the Statue of Liberty but does not stop at Liberty or Ellis Island. At weekday rush hours, boats leave every 15 minutes.

The city's other Park Service sites are free too. Federal Hall, at 26 Wall Street, opens from Monday to Friday, with sidewalk scaffolding around the building until the end of 2030, by a Park Service alert. The African Burial Ground opens from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday. Our guide to national park fees for international visitors explains the $100 surcharge and where it applies.

Which days are the Met and the 9/11 Museum closed?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is closed on Wednesdays, and the 9/11 Museum on most Tuesdays. Both sell tickets online, and the 9/11 Museum requires them in advance.

The Met charges an adult $30, a senior $22, a student $17, and nothing for children aged 12 and under. Pay-what-you-wish entry is only for New York State residents and for students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Paying online that way needs a New York State billing address.

The 9/11 Memorial is free and open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Museum opens from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with last entry at 5:30 p.m., and admission costs $24 to $36. Free Monday tickets go online each Monday from 7 a.m. Eastern Time, first come, first served. The Museum suggests 45 to 90 minutes inside, and its audio guides come in nine languages.

How long is the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and along the High Line?

The Brooklyn Bridge is 6,016 feet long with its approaches, and the High Line runs 1.45 miles, by the city's and the park's own figures. The High Line costs nothing to enter.

The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883. It carries a pedestrian promenade and, since September 2021, a protected two-way bike path in a former traffic lane. The city counted an average of 5,504 cyclists a day in 2024, as well as the walkers. Its page gives no current opening hours for the walkway.

The High Line runs along an elevated rail structure on the West Side, from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street. It opens from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. from 1 April to 30 November, and to 8 p.m. from December to March. Elevators stand at Gansevoort, 14th, 23rd and 30th Streets.

Central Park covers 843 acres and opens from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., 365 days a year, the Central Park Conservancy says. Its bathrooms are free, except at the Central Park Zoo, where a purchase is required.

For the view from above, the Empire State Building sells its 86th-floor deck from $46 and the 102nd and 86th floors together from $81. The 86th floor is open-air at 1,050 feet, with heaters in winter, and the 102nd is enclosed at 1,250 feet. The building's hours change by date: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on 3 November 2026, with doors closing at 9 p.m.

How much tax goes on a New York City hotel bill?

A New York City hotel bill carries three taxes and a fee, in the city's Department of Finance's words. Those are the 8.875% sales tax, the city's 5.875% hotel tax, $2.00 per room per night for rooms of $40 or more, and the state's $1.50 unit fee per room per night.

On a $300 room, that comes to $47.75 a night, or about 15.9%, by our own arithmetic. On a $200 room it is $33.00. The city taxes any charge you must pay to stay, such as a mandatory resort or facility fee, as part of the rent.

The 5.875% rate is set in law for stays before 1 December 2027. Our guide to where to stay in New York City compares the areas, and our New York itinerary sets the sights out by day.

Shops and restaurants add the 8.875% sales tax, so a $20.00 meal comes to $21.78 before the tip. Our guide to sales tax in the USA explains why prices are shown before tax, and our page on New York State compares the rates upstate.

When does New York City get its snow and its heat?

New York City's snowiest month is February, with 10.1 inches on NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for Central Park, slightly more than January's 8.8. Its hottest is July, with an average high of 85°F and 7.4 days at 90°F or more. The year brings 17.4 such days and 29.8 inches of snow in all.

Precipitation is spread evenly through the year, between 3.19 and 4.60 inches in every month, so there is no dry season to aim for. The year totals 49.52 inches, with 67.3 nights at or below freezing.

New York City is on Eastern Time. Clocks went back an hour on Sunday 1 November 2026 at 2 a.m., from UTC−4 to UTC−5.

How long is the train from New York to Washington, Boston and Niagara Falls?

The Acela from New York to Washington takes 2 hours 57 minutes to 3 hours 14 minutes, by Amtrak's timetable of 24 October 2026. To Philadelphia it takes 1 hour 9 minutes to 1 hour 18 minutes, and to Boston 3 hours 41 minutes to 4 hours 14 minutes. All three leave from Moynihan Train Hall, Amtrak's New York station.

Road distances are our own routing from Penn Station, without traffic or tolls. We did not read any Amtrak fares.

The Maple Leaf is the one train a day to Niagara Falls: it leaves at 7:15 a.m., arrives at 5 p.m. and continues to Toronto. Our page on New York State covers the falls, the Hudson Valley and the Adirondacks. Our pages on Virginia and Maine continue the trip south and north.