Battery Park a hidden gem

Smorgasburg is a big open-air food market, but it is not an every day stop. The Williamsburg edition runs on Saturdays and the Prospect Park edition on Sundays, mainly from spring through October, and the Friday market at the World Trade Center has closed for the season. Check the official schedule before you travel…

Hotel Chelsea on West 23rd Street has been a New York City landmark since 1966 and reopened after a long renovation in 2022. Writers and musicians including Dylan Thomas, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Leonard Cohen lived or stayed here, so a night here is a small tour of city history. Book through the hotel's own website…

Summer Streets closes long stretches of road to traffic on select Saturdays in August so people can walk, run and cycle. In recent years the Manhattan route has started at the Brooklyn Bridge and followed Lafayette Street and Park Avenue north, and other boroughs get their own days. Expect free fitness classes…

Dizzy's Club is the intimate room of Jazz at Lincoln Center, on the fifth floor of the building at Columbus Circle, with a city view over Columbus Circle and Central Park. There are two shows most nights, and walk-ups are limited, so reserve ahead. From Thursday to Saturday a late night session needs no reservation…

The Village Vanguard on Seventh Avenue South has been a jazz room since the late 1950s. Mondays belong to the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, a big band whose roots go back to the 1960s, while from Tuesday to Sunday the club books week long runs by one group. Buy tickets through the club website before you go and check the…

The Roosevelt Island Tram glides over the East River beside the Queensboro Bridge, linking Manhattan with Roosevelt Island in about three to four minutes. The Manhattan station is at Second Avenue and East 60th Street and the ride is part of the normal transit system, so tap in with OMNY. Cabins run about every 15…

At JFK arrivals some people approach travelers offering a ride, may claim to be a ride-hailing driver, and many are not licensed. Say no politely, keep hold of your luggage and walk to the official taxi stand, or take AirTrain JFK to Howard Beach or Jamaica for the subway or Long Island Rail Road. A licensed cab shows…

Rockaway Beach is a long Atlantic shoreline with a boardwalk that runs from Beach 3rd to Beach 153rd Streets. You can get there without a car: the A train and the Rockaway Park shuttle stop at Beach 90th and Beach 98th Streets, and the NYC Ferry docks at Beach Channel Drive. Walk a stretch of the boardwalk, watch the…