Things to do in New York

Take the official Statue City Cruises ferry from The Battery to the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, reflect at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, then walk the pedestrian promenade of the 1883 Brooklyn Bridge or ride the free Staten Island Ferry from Whitehall Terminal for water-level skyline views. Pick your skyline from the 86th-floor deck of the Empire State Building, the terraces of Top of the Rock above Rockefeller Center, the all-glass Ascent elevator at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt or the glass floor of the outdoor sky deck at Edge at Hudson Yards. The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, whose ticket also covers same-day entry to The Met Cloisters, MoMA on West 53rd Street and the American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side make easy museum days, with a walk down the tree-lined Mall to Bethesda Terrace in Central Park in between. Meet under the four-faced opal clock of Grand Central Terminal, opened in 1913, stroll the High Line park on a former elevated rail line and stop for lunch at Chelsea Market; in the holiday season the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, the ice rink at Bryant Park's Winter Village and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of giant balloons add seasonal sparkle.

Good to knowStatue of Liberty pedestal and crown access must be bought in advance (the crown is 162 steps with no elevator) and airport-style security can take an hour at peak times, so catch an early ferry; the 9/11 Museum also needs advance tickets and is closed most Tuesdays. The Met is closed on Wednesdays, while MoMA and the American Museum of Natural History close only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The entrance to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is inside Grand Central Terminal's transit hall, not the One Vanderbilt lobby.