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New York Arts and Attractions

NYC.com's guide to arts and attractions features comprehensive cultural listings on all New York museums, galleries, classical & opera, dance, universities, parks, parades & festivals, historic city sites, beaches, gardens and hundreds of other venues. Don't miss our list of top must-see sites!

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Celebrate Brooklyn

Parades & Festivals

7.0 Miles Prospect Park South

Sadly the 2020 season has been canceled due to the Coronavirus. We look forward to sitting together and raising a glass to those we have lost, those that worked at the forefront of this awful moment. To raise a cheer for Brooklyn. For Queens. For Staten Island, the Bronx and Manhattan. To celebrate one other. Summer of 2021 will be a joy1 Founded in 1979, Celebrate Brooklyn! is one of New York City's longest-running, free, summer outdoor performing arts festivals. Top shelf musicians as well as dance & movies are mainly free throughout the summer. Some shows require purchase of tickets in order to fund the free stuff! The entrance to the Prospect Park Bandshell is located at Prospect Park West & 9th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Drawing Center

Museums

2.5 Miles SoHo

The Drawing Center has been a unique and dynamic part of New York City's cultural life since 1977. The only not-for-profit institution in the country to focus on the exhibition of drawings, it was established to demonstrate the significance and diversity of drawings throughout history, to juxtapose work by master figures with work by emerging and under-recognized artists, and to stimulate public dialogue on issues of art and culture. Called "one of the city's most highly respected small art museums" by The New York Times, The Drawing Center has become the country's preeminent venue for important contemporary and historical drawing exhibitions, attracting more than 55,000 visitors annually from the local area, across the country, and around the world. The Drawing Center has presented more than 230 exhibitions, published over 70 catalogs, and toured its exhibitions to prestigious museums around the world, including: Tate Britain, London, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia (The Stage of Drawing); the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain (The Prinzhorn Collection); and the Santa Monica Museum of Art (3 x Abstraction). The Drawing Center's acclaimed exhibitions encompass a wide range of drawing traditions, such as Shaker Gift Drawings, Rajasthani Miniatures, Plains Indians Ledger Drawings, and Norval Morrisseau/Copper Thunderbird. Through a uniquely interdisciplinary approach, The Drawing Center's exhibitions have also related drawing to science (Ocean Flowers: Impressions from Nature), architecture (Constant, Inigo Jones, Louis Kahn), literature (Victor Hugo, Henri Michaux), theater (Picasso's Parade, Theater on Paper), film (Sergei Eisenstein), music (Musical Manuscripts), and choreography (Trisha Brown). Historical Exhibitions focus on both acknowledged and under-recognized masters (such as Michelangelo, J.M.W. Turner, James Ensor, Marcel Duchamp, and Hilma af Klint) while Contemporary Exhibitions illuminate unexplored aspects of works by major living artists (such as Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois, Ellsworth Kelly, Anna Maria Maiolino, Ellen Gallagher, and Richard Tuttle), and Selections Exhibitions present innovative work of emerging artists who are contributing to new interpretations of drawing. In the Drawing Room, which was opened across the street from the main gallery in 1997, emerging and under-recognized artists are encouraged to create experimental, cross-disciplinary work and site-specific installations. Examples of artists whose work was first introduced to a wide public at The Drawing Center are: Terry Winters, Glenn Ligon, Janine Antoni, William Kentridge, Kara Walker, Shahzia Sikander, Margaret Kilgallen, and Julie Mehretu. The Drawing Center's Viewing Program has encouraged the development of thousands of emerging artists through one-on-one portfolio reviews with a curator, and through its curated public Artist Registry of over 2,500 emerging artists. The Edward Hallam Tuck Publication Program provides new scholarship and critical context on contemporary and historical drawings through its scholarly catalogs for major exhibitions and its inventive Drawing Papers publication series, which accompanies each exhibition. A lively array of Public Programs — including gallery talks, panel discussions, and literary programs — engage audiences more deeply with the work on display. The Drawing Center's Michael Iovenko School Programs, offered free of charge, has served 75,000 local public school students through drawing activities and discussions inspired by the approaches of the exhibiting artists. In addition, the Internship Program has introduced hundreds of college students to the workings of a small and active museum.

Museum of the City of New York

Museums

3.1 Miles

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is without a doubt one of the least recognized jewels of New York's cultural scene. Dedicated to providing innovative learning opportunities which interpret New York City's rich political, social, intellectual, artistic, and cultural heritages, the Museum makes for a fascinating visit. As the museum underwent extensive renovations, it will probably garner a lot more attention by visitors and native New Yorkers alike. Among the recent additions: a two level 3,000 foot glass-clad gallery pavilion, a vault which holds the museum's silver collection, and a new research room. The exterior façade has also been restored and re-landscaped with a 4,700-square-foot front terrace facing Fifth Avenue. The museum also has full disability access. The Museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions, in coordination with educational programming and publications, reflect the complexity of the history of New York City, the scope and depth of the Museum's collections, and the diversity of the Museum's audiences. The Museum's collections are among the most substantial and voluminous of their kind. There are an estimated 1.5 million objects under the auspices of the Museum, of which 2,000 are paintings ranging in date from the seventeenth century to the present. Among the Museum's most celebrated holdings are its prints, photographs and drawings. Representative of the very best in fine art photography and printmaking, as well as some of the City's most intriguing and valuable visual documentation, this collection is known for its comprehensive archives of architecture, businesses, maps, and photojournalism. The Museum is also home to collections of work by photographer Berenice Abbott, journalist Jacob Riis, and printmakers Currier & Ives, among others. The Museum also boasts the most complete collection devoted to New York professional theater including 3,500 costumes, props, costume sketches set designs and models, production photographs, playbills, scripts, and theatrical memorabilia. The MCNY Costume Collection features garment types worn by New Yorkers from seventeenth-century Dutch women to today's fashion leaders. The holdings are matchless in their breadth and variety, from christening gowns and swaddling bands to sports uniforms and outerwear. The collection has emerged as one of the most preeminent resources for fashion scholarship. A wealth of other New York-related artifacts, part of the cultural patrimony of New Yorkers, is also part of the MCNY collection. Rare and unique toys, fire-fighting equipment through the centuries, ship's figure heads, transport vehicles including - an omnibus, Bellevue Hospital ambulance, nineteenth-century police paddy wagon and 1980 Checker cab - join Yankee Stadium seats, the trademark hats of Congresswoman and women's rights activist Bella Abzug, a Vera Maxwell-designed war workers jumpsuit, and an early 20th-century barber's chair are just some of the types of artifacts that chronicle the history of the City on display at the Museum.

The Met Cloisters

Museums

8.0 Miles Fort George

This unique home for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s vast medieval holdings, built in the mid-1930s atop one of Washington Heights’ many hills, seems more a sanctuary on the mountaintop than a museum. For the Cloisters indeed recreate the experience of a Gothic monastery, incorporating architectural features of a French cloister, replete with tapestries, stained glass, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts and intricate gardens. Enjoy the spectacular views of the Hudson River and the Palisades, have a picnic outdoors or in the nearby Fort Tryon Park. The Cloisters is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. Located on four acres overlooking the Hudson River in northern Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park, the building incorporates elements from five medieval French cloisters—quadrangles enclosed by a roofed or vaulted passageway, or arcade—and from other monastic sites in southern France. Three of the cloisters reconstructed at the branch museum feature gardens planted according to horticultural information found in medieval treatises and poetry, garden documents and herbals, and medieval works of art, such as tapestries, stained-glass windows, and column capitals. Approximately five thousand works of art from medieval Europe, dating from about A.D. 800 with particular emphasis on the twelfth through fifteenth century, are exhibited in this unique and sympathetic context. The collection at The Cloisters is complemented by more than six thousand objects exhibited in several galleries on the first floor of the Museum's main building on Fifth Avenue. A single curatorial department oversees medieval holdings at both locations. The collection at the main building displays a somewhat broader geographical and temporal range, while the focus at The Cloisters is on the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Renowned for its architectural sculpture, The Cloisters also rewards visitors with exquisite illuminated manuscripts, stained glass, metalwork, enamels, ivories, and tapestries. The noted philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., who in addition to funding the Cloisters and purchasing land across the Hudson River in the Palisades area so that the views would not be obstructed, donated the Cloisters’ most famous piece, the Unicorn Tapestries. Although their origins are obscure, these magnificent tapestries depict a vivid tableaux of medieval life in brilliant hues. They alone are worth a visit!

Museum of the Moving Image

Museums

3.3 Miles Astoria

The American Museum of the Moving Image is dedicated to educating the public about the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media, and to examining their impact on culture and society. It achieves these goals by maintaining the nation's largest permanent collection of moving image artifacts, and by offering the public exhibitions, film screenings, lectures, seminars, and other education programs. The Museum is located on the site of what was once the largest, busiest, and most significant motion picture and television production facility between London and Hollywood, the famous Astoria Studio. Built in 1920 across the East River from midtown Manhattan, the studio was Paramount's East Coast production facility, and, in the 1930s, a site for independent film production. In 1942 the U.S. Army bought the Astoria Studio and renamed it the Signal Corps Photographic Center. The studio filled a major need for expanded productionapability to speed the training of millions of wartime inductees. After the Army left in 1971, the site fell into disrepair until the Museum took shape in the eighties. The museum has assembled the nation's largest and most comprehensive holdings of moving image artifacts, which is one of the most important collections of its kind in the world, numbering more than 83,000 items. For example, the collection includes: photographed studies of locomotion made by Eadweard Muybridge in 1887; an early mechanical television created in 1931 by C. Francis Jenkins; the chariot driven by Charlton Heston in the epic film BEN HUR (1959); Computer Space, the first coin-operated video arcade game released by Nolan Bushnell in 1971; a character puppet of Yoda, created by Stuart Freeborn for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980); and TUT'S FEVER (1986-88), an installation artwork by Red Grooms and Lysiane Luong.

New York Hall of Science

Museums

7.0 Miles Flushing Meadow Park

The New York Hall of Science occupies one of the few remaining structures of the 1964 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the borough of Queens in New York City. Today, it stands as New York City's only hands-on science and technology center. The more than 450 hands-on exhibits explore biology, chemistry and physics and incorporate visual, tactile and auditory components. Daily demonstrations offered by NYSCI Explainers, demonstrate the exciting properties of chemistry, physics, biology, and more right before your eyes and are free with NYSCI admission.

New York Public Library

Historic City Sites

0.3 Miles Midtown

The majestic Beaux-Arts building, flanked by the two famous marble lions, Patience and Fortitude, has been the heart and soul of the New York library system for nearly a century. Begun in 1902, the library at the time became the largest marble structure ever built in the United States. In addition to rotating exhibits, beautiful murals, a gift shop, and its exquisite interior, the real jewel of the library remains the vast, recently-renovated Main Reading Room, with its massive oak tables occupied by scholars busy reading and quietly typing on their laptops. The reference librarians are famous for their ability to quickly find answers to the many unusual questions asked of them every day. In 2008 the New York Public Library announced an ambitious $1 billion transformation plan (click here to read more) that included: • Fifth Avenue Building Dramatically Renovated to Become Flagship Lending and Research Library, A Model for the Urban Library of the Future • Large Hub Libraries Established in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island as Anchors to Neighborhood Branches • Expanded Digital Resources Increase Access to Library Collections • $100 Million Gift From Stephen A. Schwarzman is the Largest Outright, Unrestricted Donation to a New York City Cultural Institution Some impressive statistics: The New York Public Library system is the largest research library with a circulating system in the world. Over 2.34 million cardholders borrow materials from the vast system of library branches. Approximately 10,000 items per week in dozens of languages are added to the collections. Definitely explore the library's massive holdings and impressive digital library collections and electronic resources on-line.

Ice Skating at Lakeside in Prospect Park

Kid Friendly

6.7 Miles Lefferts Gardens

The Lakeside rink in Prospect Park is a wonderful family friendly escape. Spend a day gliding along their two rinks totaling 32,000 square feet of ice! One rink covered, the other open to the elements. Activities go on all day, but it can get crowded! Particularly around holidays. The Bluestone Café onsite with great food and warm drink, or feel free to bring your own food and relax at one of the many outdoor tables available. Located in the Southeast quadrant of the park, with lovely views, and easily accessible by public transportation. Open from October to March. Please check website for schedule updates.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Historic City Sites

0.6 Miles Midtown

St. Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of New York, Edward M. Egan. It is the largest decorated gothic-style Catholic Cathedral in the United States and has been recognized throughout its history as a center of Catholic life in this country. About The Church The Cathedral was begun in 1858 by Archbishop John Hughes to replace the original St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is used today as a parish church in New York. The cornerstone was laid on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1858, and, after a suspension of work during the years of Civil War, John Cardinal McCloskey, the first American Cardinal, resumed work in 1865, opening the doors in May, 1879. Archbishop Michael Corrigan added the towers on the West Front in 1888 and began work on the east addition, including the Lady Chapel in 1901. His successor, Cardinal Farley, completed work on the Lady Chapel addition. Cardinal Hayes completed an extensive renovation of the interior between 1927 and 1931 when the great organ was installed and the sanctuary was enlarged. The exterior was restored during the episcopate of Cardinal Spellman who saw to the completion of the stained glass windows as well as a new main altar and baldachin. Both interior and exterior were completely restored to their original beauty during the years when Cardinal Cooke was Archbishop. New shrines in honor of the American saints were brought to the Cathedral during the same years. During the years of John Cardinal O'Connor's episcopate, extensive renovations have been made to maintain the structural integrity of the building, including replacement of much of the roof, exterior steps, replastering of the walls in the transepts, repair of stained glass and refinishing the transept doors. A liturgical altar has been placed in the sanctuary and the baptistry has been relocated. A new amplification system and modern lighting were installed in 1988 and 1989. The Kilgen organs were restored between 1995 and 1998 and the lighting systems in 1999. The Lady Chapel and the Chapels of Sts. Anthony, Louis, Michael and Elizabeth were restored in 2003.

Whitney Museum of American Art

Museums

1.6 Miles Meatpacking District

A world famous center of American Art, the Whitney Museum's Permanent Collection is situated in its new building in lower Manhattan. Designed by architect Renzo Piano and abutting the High Line park, the building vastly increases exhibition and programming space and provide a comprehensive view of its vast collection of modern and contemporary American art. Since the Museum's opening in 1931, the collection has grown to more than 21,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and photographs, representing over 3,000 individual artists and providing the most complete overview of twentieth-century American art of any museum in the world. At its core are Museum founder Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s personal holdings, totaling some 600 works when the Museum opened in 1931. These works served as the basis for the founding collection, which Mrs. Whitney continued to add to throughout her lifetime. The founding collection reflects Mrs. Whitney’s ardent support of living American artists of the time, particularly younger or emerging ones, including Peggy Bacon, George Bellows, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Mabel Dwight, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Reginald Marsh, and John Sloan. This focus on the contemporary, along with a deep respect for artists’ creative process and vision, has guided the Museum’s collecting ever since. The collection begins with Ashcan School painting and follows the major movements of the twentieth century in America, with strengths in Modernism and Social Realism, Precisionism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Postminimalism, art centered on identity and politics that came to the fore in the 1980s and 1990s, and contemporary work. The Museum’s signature exhibition is its biennial (and annual, during certain periods) survey of contemporary art, which has always kept the focus on the present, in the spirit of its founder. The highlights of the collection are definitive examples of their type, but there is also much variety and originality in works by less well-known figures. The collection includes all mediums; over eighty percent is works on paper. The Whitney has deep holdings of the work of certain key artists, spanning their careers and the mediums in which they worked, including Alexander Calder, Mabel Dwight, Jasper Johns, Glenn Ligon, Brice Marden, Reginald Marsh, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Claes Oldenburg, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, and David Wojnarowicz.

Central Park Zoo

Zoos

1.1 Miles Central Park

Since the 1860's, animals could be found at Fifth Avenue and 64th Street in Central Park. Growing from a collection of donated animals - 72 "white swans" and a black bear cub, the Zoo today is host to over 1,400 animals of 130-plus species. From a steamy rain forest to an icy Antarctic penguin habitat, the zoo leads visitors through tropic, temperate and polar regions to encounter fascinating animals - as diverse as tiny leafcutter ants to the ever popular polar bears. The Tisch Children's Zoo allows animal lovers to meet gentle creatures up close. Year-round education classes and innovative public programs - including the zoo's "Wildlife Theater" -- encourage all ages to learn more about the natural world. A must see for anyone traveling with children!

Neue Galerie New York

Museums

2.2 Miles Carnegie Hill

The Neue Galerie is a museum of German and Austrian art. This phenomenal Ronald S. Lauder and Serge Sabarsky collection has a splendid home on Fifth Avenue. The museum is devoted to early twentieth-century German And Austrian art and design, displayed on two exhibition floors. The second-floor galleries are dedicated to art from Vienna circa 1900, exploring the special relationship that existed then between the fine arts (of Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, Richard Gertsl and Alfred Kubin) and the decorative arts (created at the Wiener Werk-stätte by such well-known figures as Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Dagobert Peche, and by such celebrated architects as Adolf Loos, Joseph Urban and Otto Wagner). The third-floor galleries feature German art representing various movements of the early twentieth century: the Blaue Reiter and its circle; the Brüke; the Bauhaus; the Neue Sachlichkeit; as well as applied arts from the Werkbund and the Bauhaus. The museum's name (which means "new gallery") has its historical roots in various European institutions, artists' associations and commercial galleries, foremost the Neue Galerie in vienna, founded in 1923 by Otto Kallir. All sought to capture the innovative, modern spirit they discovered and pursued at the turn of the twentieth century.

Empire State Building

Historic City Sites

0.5 Miles Koreatown

The legendary building soaring more than 100 stories over Manhattan's skyline made famous by the movie King Kong, the Empire State Building was for 40 years the world's tallest building. Its gorgeous Art Deco details and beautiful marble lobby make it the perfect stop for visitors, for the building captures the very essence of New York: huge, full of people, and breathtaking. Opened in 1931 on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building is located in the heart of NYC. A testament to the power of American industry, the Empire State was the first building in the world to have more than 100 floors, and its steel frame was considered a modern marvel.The building’s Art Deco design has inspired visitors from around the world. At nightfall, the 200-foot crowning spire captures the city’s gaze, illuminated by tower lights that dazzle with ever-changing combinations of color. It’s no wonder the Empire State Building is the most photographed building in the world. Ride up the elevator to the 86th floor observatory, maybe stop a moment to pick up a souvenir, then go outside for incredible panoramic views of the New York area. Marvel at the glittering roof of the nearby Chrysler Building or the neat, rectangular shaped of Central Park. Stare out at the famous bridges that span the East River. At, 1,050 feet (320 meters), reached by high speed, automatic elevators, it has both a glass-enclosed area, which is heated in winter and cooled in summer, and spacious outdoor promenades on all four sides of the Building. Maybe it's not as dramatic as it might be if there were no enclosure-there is no wind howling around you here, and you don't hear the sounds of the city more than 1,000 feet below you-but you'll find it a pleasant space, particularly when it is chilly or raining outside. High powered binoculars are available on the promenades for the convenience of visitors at a minimal cost. A snack bar and souvenir counters are also located in the 86th floor observatory. The 86th floor observatory is handicap accessible. 102 floors above New York City, the Top Deck observatory takes your Empire State experience higher, with breathtaking views in every direction. Sixteen stories above the 86th floor observation deck and accessed through a one-of-a-kind glass elevator, the 102nd floor offers true 360-degree views thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides. When you’re this high up, the view doesn’t end at New York City. On the clearest days you can gaze up to 80 miles into the distance, far enough to see six states from a single vantage point! For a romantic evening, why not go up at night? The last elevator runs at 11:15 pm. For visitors looking to dodge the crowds, we recommend taking a trip to the top between 12pm and 2pm, as the daily morning rush is over by then. Want to skip the line entirely? Add an Express Pass to your ticket at checkout and spend more time enjoying the view. Fun Fact On most nights of the year, you will see the Empire State Building's tower illuminated by a state-of-the-art LED lighting system, capable of displaying more than 16 million colors (the exception is spring and fall bird migration seasons as the birds are attracted to the lights). This is because the Empire State Building has developed an annual lighting schedule which honors National Holidays, seasons, the myriad ethnic groups living in the New York City area and many worthy causes. The following is a list of the Empire State Building's annual lighting schedule, with the related events. Learn them and impress your friends! Green: St. Patrick's Day March of Dimes Rainforest Awareness Earth Day Red, White & Blue: Presidents' Day Armed Forces Day Memorial Day Flag Day Independence Day Labor Day Veterans' Day Red: St. Valentine's Day Fire Department Memorial Day Big Apple Circus Red & Blue: Equal Parents Day/Children's Rights Yellow & White: Spring/Easter Week Blue, White & Blue: Israel Independence Day First Night of Chanukah Blue: Police Memorial Day Child Abuse Prevention Purple & White: Alzheimer's Awareness Red, Yellow & Green: Portugal Day Lavender & White: Stonewall Anniversary/Gay Pride Purple, Teal, White: National Osteoporosis Society Red & White: Pulaski Day Red Cross Red, White & Green: Columbus Day Blue & White: Greek Independence Day United Nations Day Red & Yellow: Autumn Black, Yellow & Red: German Reunification Day Pink & White: "Race for the Cure"/Breast Cancer Awareness Green, White & Orange: India Independence Day Green & White: Pakistan Independence Day Red & Green: Holiday Season Dark/No Lights: "Day without Art/Night without Lights" AIDS Awareness

Rooftop At Pier 17

Venues

3.6 Miles South Street Seaport

Pier 17 is located just South of the Brooklyn Bridge, on the Eastern edge of the South Street Seaport district. The Rooftop at Pier 17 is New York City’s most dynamic open-air entertainment venue, set against panoramic views of the Lower Manhattan skyline. The inaugural Summer Concert Series launched on The Rooftop in 2018 with opening nights from Amy Schumer and Kings of Leon. A total of 23 shows that first year earned The Rooftop multiple accolades, including being named the “Best New Concert Venue” by Pollstar. Concert goers can again expect to see their favorite artists in an intimate atmosphere (3,500 capacity), all from one of NYC’s only locations that has direct views of such iconic landmarks as the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, and One World Trade Center.

Frick Collection

Museums

1.4 Miles Upper East Side

**Note: this location is closed while the renovation of The Frick Collection’s historic Fifth Avenue home continues through late 2024. While work continues, the collection is on display at the Frick Madison, the acclaimed temporary home of the Upper East Side museum and library, ** A visit to The Frick Collection evokes the splendor and tranquillity of a time gone by and at the same time testifies to how great art collections can still inspire viewers today. Housed in the New York mansion built by Henry Clay Frick, one of America’s most successful steel and railroad tycoons, are masterpieces of Western painting, sculpture, and decorative art, displayed in a serene and intimate setting. Each of sixteen galleries offers a unique presentation of works of art arranged for the most part without regard to period or national origin, in the same spirit as Mr. Frick enjoyed the art he loved before he bequeathed it to the public. Both the mansion and the works in it serve as a monument to one of America's greatest art collectors. Built in 1913–14 from designs by the firm Carrère and Hastings, the house is set back from Fifth Avenue by an elevated garden punctuated by three magnificent magnolia trees. Since Mr. Frick’s death in 1919, the Collection has expanded both its physical dimensions and its holdings. Approximately one third of the pictures have been acquired since then, and twice — in 1931–35 and 1977 — the building has been enlarged to better serve the public. At the Frick, visitors stroll from the airy, lighthearted Fragonard Room, named for that artist's large wall paintings of The Progress of Love and furnished with exceptional eighteenth-century French furniture and Sèvres porcelain, to the more austere atmosphere of the Living Hall, filled with masterpieces by Holbein, Titian, El Greco, and Bellini. Passing through the Library, rich with Italian bronzes and Chinese porcelain vases, one arrives at Mr. Frick’s long West Gallery, hung with celebrated canvases including landscapes by Constable, Ruisdael, and Corot and portraits by Rembrandt and Velázquez. Vermeer's Mistress and Maid, the last painting Mr. Frick bought, is one of three pictures by that artist in the Collection, while Piero della Francesca's image of St. John the Evangelist, dominating the Enamel Room, is the only large painting by Piero in the United States. The East Gallery, adorned with works by Degas, Goya, Turner, Van Dyck, Claude Lorrain, Whistler, and others, usually concludes a visit to the galleries and leads visitors to the serene space of the Garden Court, where they pause beneath the skylight, surrounded by greenery and the gentle sounds of the fountain. Note:Children under ten are not admitted to the Collection, and those under sixteen must be accompanied by an adult.

Winterland At Pier 17

Kid Friendly

3.5 Miles South Street Seaport

Glide under the stars on the Rooftop at Pier 17. With stunning views of Lower Manhattan, the 3 bridges over the East River, and the Brooklyn waterfront, Winterland at Pier 17 provides an amazing, magical and romantic experience. Enjoy the shops and restaurants on Pier 17, or grab a snack and drink at the rinkside concessions.

Wollman Rink in Central Park

Kid Friendly

3.2 Miles

One of the crown jewels of Central Park, the Wollman Rink is a beautiful public rink in the Southern portion of the park. Take the kids for fun filled afternoon, or go on a romantic - if awkward - skate under the stars with that special someone. Open October - April, the rink hosts free skating as well as lessons, figure skating and hockey. VIP packages are available, please check website for details.

The High Line

Parks

1.6 Miles West Village

The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long (22 blocks) abandoned elevated railway, that stretches from the Hudson Rail Yard at 34th Street down through the West Chelsea gallery neighborhood where it continues on to Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking district. It has recently been developed into one of New York City's more remarkable public parks. Opened to the public in June 2009, just a few years ago the High Line's demolition seemed imminent. But Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the High Line's restoration is at the "core of the administration's plans to revitalize the Far West Side," forming "a necklace of dynamic waterfront communities, each with their own assets." The High Line reveals a lot about New York City history. The following history is from Friends of the Highline, an activist group founded by Joshua David and Robert Hammond to advocate for the High Line's preservation and reuse as public open space: Before the High Line In 1847, the City of New York authorized the street-level railroad tracks running down Manhattan's West Side as far south as Canal Street to allow freight to run between New York City and Albany. Days of Death Avenue As soon as traffic started running on the new line, accidents began occurring between trains, pedestrians, horses, and other traffic. So many fatalities occurred that 10th Avenue became known as "Death Avenue". Men on horses had to ride in front of trains waving flags. They were called the West Side Cowboys. The West Side Improvement Project After years of public debate about these hazardous conditions and how to eliminate them, the New York Central Railroad, the City of New York, and the State of New York, came to an agreement in 1929 for the West Side Improvement Project, which included the High Line. This project as a whole was 13 miles long, eliminated 105 street-level railroad crossings, and added 32 acres to Riverside Park. It cost over $150 million in 1930 dollars—more than $2 billion in today's dollars. The High Line ran from 35th Street down to St. John's Park Terminal, which covered four riverfront blocks between Clarkson and Spring Streets. The structure was designed to go through the center of blocks, rather than over the avenue, to avoid creating the negative conditions associated with elevated subways. It connected directly to factories and warehouses, allowing trains to roll right inside the buildings. Milk, meat, produce, and raw and manufactured goods could come and go without causing any street-level traffic. Decline of Rail Traffic and Partial Demolition In the 1950s, the rise of interstate trucking led to a decline of rail traffic on the High Line. Parts of it were torn down in the 1960s, and trains stopped running on it in 1980, when the northern end of the structure and its easement were rerouted to accommodate construction of the Jacob Javits Convention Center. At the southern end, a five-block section of the Line was torn down in 1991, bringing the Line's southern terminus to Gansevoort Street. The Threat of Demolition Since the mid 1980s, a group of private property owners who purchased land under the High Line at prices that reflected its easement have lobbied for demolition of the entire structure. Much credit for the fact that the High Line survived the demolition efforts in the mid- and late 1980s goes to Peter Obletz, a Chelsea resident, activist, and railroad enthusiast, who challenged demolition efforts in court and tried to reestablish rail service on the Line. The High Line Festival In May 2007 the first annual High Line Festival took place, featuring curator and co-founder David Bowie headlining this ten-day program of movies, music, visual arts, dance, and the customary over-the-top Chelsea nightlife.

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

Museums

0.1 Miles

Madame Tussauds New York in the heart of Times Square is the only place with no ropes or barriers holding you back from living your best life with your favorite stars. Voted as one of New York’s most unique attractions, Madame Tussauds invites you to experience famous moments with the world’s most iconic musicians, A-list stars, sports legends, world leaders and more. With over 85,000 square feet of interactive entertainment, including our Mission: Undead, NYE in NYC, Marvel Super Heroes 4D Experience, the world famous attraction is bigger and better than ever. Don’t forget to come play your part at this summer’s all-new experience Madame Tussauds New York Presents Broadway! The immersive experience that catapults you into the magic of Broadway like never before in an interactive journey behind the scenes of iconic Broadway Shows! Get ready for the ultimate fame experience! Madame Tussauds New York in the heart of Times Square is the only place with no ropes or barriers holding you back from living your best life with your favorite stars. While you’re making all your followers jealous because of you and your Kim K. candids, don’t forget to come play your part at this summer’s all-new experience Madame Tussauds New York Presents Broadway! The immersive experience that catapults you into the magic of Broadway. Come check out Madame Tussauds New York, the ultimate New York experience!

New York Botanical Garden

Botanical Gardens

9.4 Miles Bronx Park

A tranquil oasis of around 250 acres in the Bronx, the New York Botanical Garden was established in the late 19th century. Visit the stunning and recently-renovated Enid A. Haupt Conservatory to take "an eco-tour of the world under glass" or wander around the sprawling 47 gardens and plant collections. You might also check out the largest Herbarium in the Western Hemisphrere, which has over six million plant specimens. And don't miss the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, which won the 1999's President's Award for the most outstanding All-America Rose Selections. The new International Plant Science Center is includes the new William and Lynda Steere Herbarium and the renovated and expanded LuEsther T. Mertz Library, the largest plant-research collections of their kind in the Western Hemisphere and crucial resources for scientists the world over. The state-of-the-art facilities of the new International Plant Science Center will ensure that the Garden remains at the forefront of biodiversity research and that its research collections are preserved and accessible for generations to come.