Upper Manhattan – the biggest attractions (map, sightseeing plan, tickets, interesting facts)

New York City Sightseeing Plan

This entry is part of a large guide to New York, which is available at: New York - sightseeing plan [click].
If you are here and have skipped the main post, then definitely I recommend that you read it first. It contains a lot of practical advice related to moving around the city, access to attractions, organizing sightseeing, access to the Internet, etc. It contains additional maps with the location of all attractions, supporting the creation of your own routes and sightseeing plans, and a lot of helpful information allowing for quick orientation in the area.

In the main post you will find plans and descriptions of tours of some of the most interesting neighborhoods in New York:
- Central Manhattan
- Upper Manhattan
- Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty
- Brooklyn (neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo, Williamsburg)

Touring Upper Manhattan

In this chapter I assume that you already know everything I wrote about in the main guide to New York and I focus solely on detailed information needed for sightseeing. The text has been organized in such a way that it can be used quickly and conveniently during a walk.

In my guide Upper Manhattan has been marked as an area D, and its location on the New York map is visible in the image below.

Area D – Upper Manhattan – Central Park and its adjacent museums

The fourth day of sightseeing seems a bit easier, but in practice it turned out to be not so easy. Central Park itself, which is worth a stroll, takes up a lot of time, and on top of that the plan also includes:
– the small but very pleasant Guggenheim Museum

and two other powerful objects:
– Metropolitan Museum of Art (in short: MET) and
– Natural History Museum (in short: AMNH).

Depending on your interests, choose one of them (MET or AMNH). I can't imagine that you will be able to see both in one day. If you choose what interests you more, it is guaranteed that the chosen museum will absorb you for hours (!!!). The exhibitions are simply very interesting! It is difficult to tear yourself away and what to give up. Usually, it ends in the fact that you decide to visit the exhibition faster or end the tour only when you have already satisfied your curiosity and senses and feel tired, and this can take several hours. One thing is clear and certain: you will not be able to see either of these museums in one day. They are simply too big.

It's hard for me to imagine that there would be a shortage of tickets for such huge facilities as the MET or the AMNH (although apparently it does happen, and when I went to the MET website while writing this text, there were no tickets left for tomorrow). However, that's not the biggest problem. The queues at the ticket offices may be a problem. Museums receive huge numbers of people every day, and the bottleneck is selling tickets at the ticket offices, where, when there is a lot of interest from tourists, there can be really long queues. For your own convenience, it's worth taking care of the ticket in advance, buying it online and entering without having to queue or wait.
As usual, below the attraction descriptions I will provide links to the ticket sources I have selected.

Attractions on the tour route: (33) Guggenheim Museum – (34) Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) – (35) Belvedere Castle – (36) Museum of Natural History – (37) Bow Bridge – (38) Umpire Rock

Route length: 5 km (3 miles)
Time of transition (excluding time spent visiting attractions): 1 h 30 min

Upper Manhattan Attractions Description

33. Guggenheim Museum

The Guggenheim Museum is one of the most unusual architectural projects of the 20th century. Frank Lloyd Wright designed a spiral-shaped building, inspired by the forms of nature (shells, whirlpools). The extremely innovative building caused controversy from the beginning, and some artists feared that the unusual shape would distract viewers.
Construction of the museum began in 1943 but was not completed until 16 years later in 1959 (six months after Wright's death). The project was delayed by technical and financial problems, as well as disputes between the architect and investors.

The museum offers a unique way of visiting: visitors can start at the very top of the building and work their way down a spiral ramp, viewing works of art along the way. This arrangement of space allows art to be presented and viewed in a completely different way, arranging it in a forced and intentional logical sequence.

In 2019, the Guggenheim Museum was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of eight major architectural works by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is one of the few works of modern architecture to achieve this status.

The museum exhibits collections of:
– Impressionists and Post-Impressionists: paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne
– Kandinsky and abstractionism: It is worth noting that Wassily Kandinsky is particularly well represented in the Guggenheim collection, which holds many of his pioneering abstract works
– contemporary art: works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Pablo Picasso

WARNING!
You can choose the museum as one of the attractions within CityPASS New York – [click] (GetYourGuide)

Learn More: tickets to the Guggenheim Museum – [click] (provided by Tiqets)

Guggenheim Museum, GPS coordinates:
40°46’59.3″N 73°57’32.4″W
40.783140, -73.958999 - click and route

34. Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET)

As for MET, the best commentary will be what I wrote right after it came out in a Facebook post, at that time addressed mainly to a narrow group of friends.
Here is the text:

Yes, I knew it! The MET is one of the largest museums in the world (probably the third largest after the Louvre and the Hermitage). I also knew that due to the richness of its collections it is widely considered to be one of the three most important museums in the world... but knowing is one thing, and seeing is another. The preparations did not help! I was rooted to the spot and shaken so much that when I left the MET building four hours later, I was still mumbling in disbelief. Let me put it this way: if you don't like going to museums, then... go to the MET. The quality, the variety, the way it is displayed, the scale - everything at the MET is insane.
There was no chance of seeing the entire collection (due to the gigantic size of the building). So I initially thought that I would go in, see what interests me and that was it. Nothing happened!!!! The MET sucked me in completely. It sucked me in with more and more amazing offers that I was not supposed to see at all. However, it was impossible to resist. It took me 2,5 hours to reach the starting point where I intended to start viewing. A gigantic and beautiful Egyptian collection (I was in the museum in Cairo, so I can compare it with the best), an equally huge collection of Roman and Greek artifacts, a shocking exhibition of palace equipment from Europe (entire rooms are created in detail and filled with originals), beautiful and exotic art from Asia, both Americas ... No way, I have to go further. I haven't even started to see what I came for!
The purpose of my visit, the major paintings from the Impressionists to the present, overwhelmed me. Dozens of paintings that you spend your whole life only seeing in illustrations in books or on TV were within reach. I left delighted. A few hours in the museum flew by in a snap. Don't like museums? Go to the MET!!! Do you like museums? Pack some sandwiches, because you won't be leaving in a hurry.

Thanks! Visiting the MET was like a great adventure. I sincerely recommend it!

Learn More: tickets to the Metropolitan Museum of Art – [click]

Metropolitan Museum of Art, GPS coordinates:
40°46’44.9″N 73°57’45.6″W
40.779150, -73.962656 - click and route

35. Belvedere Castle

Belvedere Castle, located in Central Park in New York City, is a picturesque Gothic-style structure designed as a viewing point for viewing the landscapes of Central Park. It has two main observation decks that offer views of Turtle Pond, the Great Lawn, and the Ramble, a wild, wooded area of ​​Central Park. On the top level is a tower that offers panoramic views of the park and the city.
It is made of Manhattan Schist stone, a local type of slate, which makes it blend in perfectly with the surrounding nature. The whole thing looks like a fairytale castle and is a popular tourist spot and a great place for photos, especially with Turtle Pond and the Ramble in the background. It is one of the most photogenic places in the park.

Curiosity
At the foot of Belvedere Castle is Turtle Pond, where turtles actually live.

Belvedere Castle, GPS coordinates:
40°46’46.0″N 73°58’08.8″W
40.779447, -73.969103 - click and route

36. Museum of Natural History

It is hard to find a larger and more impressive natural history museum. The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York currently houses over 30 million exhibits. It is easy to understand why it is currently one of the most popular attractions in the United States (it welcomes over 5 million people a year). The museum's popularity skyrocketed after the film "Night at the Museum" (2006) with Ben Stiller was produced and broadcast. The film is set in the AMNH (it is worth watching the sim before visiting). In the evening, when the museum halls empty and the entrance doors close behind the last visitor, the exhibits inside come to life and start living their own lives. Brilliant animations of real exhibits make a huge impression, and visiting after watching the film takes on a new flavor. Absolutely every visitor wonders what would happen if the mighty dinosaurs from the Tyrannosaurus rex and Apatosaurus exhibition suddenly came to life?
If you are going to visit with children, be sure to watch this film together beforehand. Children will definitely recognize the main characters.

Museum of Natural History, GPS coordinates:
40°46’51.2″N 73°58’22.8″W
40.780897, -73.973001 - click and route

WARNING!
The Natural History Museum is available as part of CityPASS New York – [click] (GetYourGuide)

Learn More: tickets to the Museum of Natural History – [click] (provided by Tiqets)

37. Bow Bridge

A cast iron arch bridge that spans The Lake, connecting the east and west sides of the park, the Bow Bridge is one of the most photographed places in New York City and one of the most romantic spots in Central Park. It was designed by engineer John A. Roebling, known for building the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.
Bow Bridge has been featured in many films and TV shows, including Breakfast at Tiffany's, Night at the Museum, and New York City. It is a great place to shoot romantic love scenes and wedding photo shoots. I bet most ladies would love to have their photo taken there.

Bow Bridge, GPS coordinates:
40°46’32.7″N 73°58’18.4″W
40.775751, -73.971770 - click and route

38. Umpire Rock

Umpire Rock is a picturesque rock, or rather a giant stone, that contrasts wonderfully with the neighboring skyscrapers and is located amidst the greenery of Central Park. It is also another landmark on our walk and the last attraction of the day. Not far from Umpire Rock the park ends and there are metro stations that will take you quickly back to the hotel.

Umpire Rock, GPS coordinates:
40°46’08.8″N 73°58’40.3″W
40.769122, -73.977861 - click and route

Hotels and lodging in New York

Below I am posting a few links to hotels in New York. However, it would be madness to recommend only a few specific hotels in such a large city. The offer of New York (in this case on booking.com) is almost inexhaustible. For this reason, do not treat my suggestions as a specific indication of the hotels that I recommend. Treat them as a good start for further searches. The links I have posted use the search engine mechanism, which, in addition to a specific hotel, always offers other, similar offers, often more attractively priced. Additionally, the links contain filters prepared by me. They prevent the display of many offers that could unnecessarily clutter the search results and appropriately narrow the search area to the area that interests us. So you do not have to do it manually every time. I recommend using these links, because they make the search easier and save time.

Millennium Hotel Broadway Times Square – [click]

DoubleTree by Hilton New York Times Square South – [click]

Da Vinci Hotel – [click]

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