Gondola gliding past Bethesda Terrace in Central Park (Tailored Tour #1)

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As you may already know, New York activities are plentiful during the day, at night and into the wee hours of the morning. From strolling through Central Park during the day to attending a New York City Ballet performance at night, you can spend months (even years) in New York City and never run out of things to do. If you don't have a New York travel guide handy, grab one from your New York hotel lobby or you can even ask for tips at any casual New York restaurant. Contrary to popular belief, most New Yorkers are quite friendly and they always know the best places to go!

Below is a list of some of the top places to go and some of the top things to do and see in New York. You can also browse through the listings to see if any of the picks pique your interest. Enjoy!

Top Things to Do in New York

Central Park: The green lung of Manhattan. Surprisingly, you can drive through Central Park, as Sixth Ave. ends there, and if you drive through the center of the Park, you will end up in Harlem. www.centralparknyc.org

Empire State Building: At 102 stories, the Empire State Building is one of the world’s most recognizable skyscrapers. The 1,454-foot tall building features an observatory on the 86th floor that’s open seven days a week from 8:00 a.m-2:00 a.m. The last elevators go up at 1:15 a.m. www.esbnyc.com

Times Square: You’ve seen it in hundreds of movies and it is the most famous square on planet earth – no trip to New York would be complete without a visit to spectacular Times Square. Ad you may very well know, Times Square is packed with popular New York restaurants such as Frankie and Johnnie’s and Zanzibar as well as Broadway theaters, hundreds of places to shop, concert venues, festivals, street performers, and more. Plan to spend the entire day exploring New York’s Time Square. Times Square is located at 42nd Street where 7th Avenue and Broadway cross. www.timessquare.com

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: Take a fun ferry ride to Ellis Island to explore the Ellis Island Museum. Then take a 15-minute ferry ride to Liberty Island to visit the world’s most famous landmark – the Statue of Liberty. www.statueoflibertyferry.com

Metropolitan Museum of Art: This 2 million square feet museum covering roughly four blocks, is the largest art museum in the western hemisphere. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection consist of close to 3 million paintings, sculptures, and other works of art from around the world. The museum is open every day except Monday. www.metmuseum.org

American Museum of Natural History: The American Museum of Natural History is the world’s largest museum of natural history. The facility houses 32 million artifacts and specimens throughout 45 exhibition halls. The museum is located a Central Park West at West 79th Street. www.amnh.org

Chinatown: Chinatown New York City, the largest Chinatown in the United States, is located in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Manhattan.  The largest Chinatown outside of Asia is in San Francisco.  Founded in the late 1870's by Chinese immigrants, Chinatown offers a unique historical and cultural experience not found anywhere else in the world. Recently, some non-Asian hotspots have opened and created quite a stir.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a 52-acre living museum and garden featuring a Japanese Garden with a pond and traditional Japanese gate called a torii gate. Other highlights include the Fragrance Garden, the Shakespeare Garden and the Cranford Rose Garden, which houses 5,000 bushes of 1,200 varieties. www.bbg.org