Mid-range · 12-hour walk · New York City
Manhattan in a day: twelve hours south to north
Battery Park to the Met by way of the memorial, the bridge, two observation decks, MoMA and Central Park. Eight kilometres on foot.
One day in New York is a real question and this is the honest answer to it: south to north, one subway ride in the middle, and roughly eight kilometres on your feet. Everything with a lift is booked in advance — the Empire State, SUMMIT and One World all sell timed entry and all of them are an hour longer without it. Two observation decks in one day is deliberate: they look at different things, and the second one is the one you do at dusk.
The route, stop by stop
-
Battery Park
Start at the bottom of the island at eight. The ferry queue is already forming; this route walks past it.
20 min here Walk here → -
9/11 Memorial & One World Observatory
First timed slot of the day. Clear mornings here are the exception, so take the one you are given.
-
Brooklyn Bridge
Out to the first tower and back rather than the full crossing — Brooklyn is a different day and this one goes north.
50 min here Walk here → -
Empire State Building
Arrive by metro from the previous stop
Take the 4/5/6 from Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall to 33rd. Walking it is 5 km of nothing and an hour you do not have.
-
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
Fifteen minutes east beside Grand Central. Mirrored, disorienting and the better of the two decks at dusk.
-
MoMA
Ten blocks north. Two hours would be better; ninety minutes gets you the fifth floor, which is the one with the Starry Night.
-
Central Park
Enter at 59th and walk north through the Mall and around the Bethesda Terrace. Half an hour of this beats an hour of midtown.
-
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Two hours, one wing, on the east edge of the park. Open late on Fridays and Saturdays, which is what makes it the last stop.
More in New York City
Every walking route in New York City, or the full New York City guide for where to stay and what a day costs.