7 days of indoor New York adventures for solo travelers

Wander through the impressive permanent galleries and become awe-struck by the top-notch collection of gorgeous art. The Guggenheim is home to the works of Cézanne, Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Picasso, Pissarro, and Renoir. From Impressionist and Post-Impressionist to sculpture and the Avante Garde, this museum is an art lover’s paradise.

The American Museum of Natural History New York is one of the largest in the world, and over five million history, science, nature and space buffs visit every year. You might even recognize it as the star of the movie Night at the Museum.The impressive exhibits include a 94-foot whale model, the 563-carat Star of India sapphire and a giant Sequoia tree almost 2,000 years old. You’ll also find one of the biggest collections of fossils and dinosaur bones in the world.Our pass gives you access to all exhibition halls and one ticketed exhibition of your choice.Paid exhibitions you can choose from are: Invisible WorldsExplore nature’s hidden realms, from ocean depths to DNA strands, in this immersive family-friendly experience. Life at the Limits: Nature’s SuperheroesMeet the amazing species that survive and thrive on planet Earth. A spectacle of colors, textures, behaviors, specialized parts, and exacting skills. Encounters in the Milky Way A time-traveling journey about the cosmic movements that shape our galactic neighborhood, narrated by Pedro Pascal. The Giant-Screen FilmLupita Nyong’o narrates Worlds Beyond Earth, exploring our solar system’s dynamic worlds and Earth’s unique conditions for life. Butterfly VivariumEnjoy 80 species of free-flying butterflies in the year-round Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium. Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs explores the before-and-after story of the cataclysmic asteroid collision that led to the mass extinction of the majority of life on the planet. Discover what happened sixty-six million years ago, and how it paved the way for new species.

Enjoy immersive and fun exhibits showcasing science, technology, math, engineering and history through artifacts from the first space shuttle to the fastest commercial airliner. Find all this and more on display in and around the historic aircraft carrier, Intrepid. Intrepid is a celebrated WWII vessel, famous for having survived five kamikaze attacks and a torpedo strike, it later served in the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and as a NASA recovery vessel.Explore the museum’s collection of historical artifacts and exhibitions spanning over 150,000 square feet. Get an up-close look at the space shuttle Enterprise and 28 aircraft, including the world’s fastest military jet. Enter Growler, the only guided missile submarine open to the public. Climb into a real Bell 47 helicopter and land a space shuttle in the Exploreum.

Navigate Manhattan with ease with a Big Bus tour, where you can hop on and off at all the city's top attractions, and enjoy commentary along the way.Explore Downtown with ease on the Classic Tour, with the chance to see Times Square, 5th Avenue, Broadway, and Wall Street. Jump off in Little Italy for your foodie fix, or stop off at the Brooklyn Bridge for a selfie.You can also head to Uptown, where you can hop off and enjoy the tranquility of Central Park or pop into the world-famous MoMa for your cultural fix.With convenient stops across the city, this tour is a hassle-free way to navigate New York while taking in all the must-see sights. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned traveler, it’s the perfect way to experience the Big Apple.Popular stops Times SquareBrooklyn BridgeThe Statue of Liberty and Battery ParkCentral ParkChinatownGrand Central StationW 42nd Street and BroadwayEmpire State Building: 5th Avenue and 32nd StreetBrooklyn Bridge / City Hall: Park Row & BeekmanBattery Park: State Street between Battery Place and Bridge Street7th Avenue and W 48th StreetW 42nd Street and 8th AvenueGet the Big Bus Hop on Hop off Route Map.The tours run year-round and are perfect for visitors who want to maximize their time exploring the city. Instead of navigating the city on your own, the Big Bus New York's Hop-on Hop-off bus tours allow you to relax while you sightsee.Two Bus Routes Uptown Loop – explore the Upper East Side, home to some of New York's most popular museums. Get lost in history and the arts by exploring the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The loop also takes you through Midtown, passing by the Grand Central Terminal and the famous Chrysler Building.   Downtown Loop – take in the lower part of Manhattan while passing through the Flatiron District as well as Union Square, Greenwich Village and Chinatown before the bus tour heads back toward Times Square along the Hudson River, stopping at Pier 84, where you can hop off to take the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises. Both the Uptown and Downtown routes last approximately 90 minutes when done in full.

The Museum of Modern Art — or 'MoMA' as it's known by locals — is the most influential modern art museum in the world. It houses one of the best collections of contemporary masterpieces and is an inspiring place to spend an afternoon or an entire day.The gorgeous building is worth a visit alone — it's filled with light and boasts cutting-edge architecture. Use your pass for admission and enjoy modern art masterpieces like Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies,” and Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup Cans.”And, when it comes to the classics, you've got pieces from Frida Kahlo, Jacob Lawrence, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, and many more.After you've explored the interiors, head to the outdoor garden to relax among the plants and sculptures. In addition to its premier permanent collection, the Museum of Modern Art regularly showcases a range of special multimedia exhibitions too, so check the schedule before you plan your visit.

Make your way through fun-themed areas and interact with the characters. You can hop on a flying bike with E.T., warm-up for late-night TV with Jimmy Fallon or compete to win the Hunger Games with Katniss Everdeen. You can even attend an A-list party with the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway, and Morgan Freeman, and shake hands with world leaders including Donald Trump and Abraham Lincoln.It’s not just about snapping selfies either, there are plenty of immersive, multi-sensory exhibits where you can get involved. At the Kong: Skull Island experience, you’ll explore a replica jungle, meet an 18-foot animatronic King Kong and come face-to-face with the biggest spider you’ve ever seen.

Located in Times Square, RiseNY’s immersive three-part adventure lets you experience New York City in a whole new way, connecting you to some of the city’s most famous sights and historical moments!Your experience begins inside a replica of the original NYC City Hall Subway Station where you’ll enjoy a screening of Ric Burns and James Sanders’ documentary about the Big Apple’s evolution into a global cultural hub, narrated by Jeff Goldblum.A virtual subway car transports you to RiseNY’s seven galleries, which are themed around finance, film, fashion, music, the New York skyline, TV/radio and Broadway. Museum-quality exhibits showcase the city’s pop culture roots, with highlights including a hand-painted jacket made for Madonna by graffiti artist Keith Haring, the guitar Bruce Springsteen used to write Born To Run, Biggie Smalls’ red tracksuit, a check signed by Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and replica set designs from iconic New York TV shows including The Honeymooners.Your thrilling adventure climaxes in the state-of-the-art flying theater. Take your seat, strap in and get ready for an uplifting experience like no other. You’ll rise into the air before dipping, swooping and soaring across the New York skyline. Enjoy the best seats in the house for the Times Square New Year Ball Drop, soar over Central Park and see Brooklyn Bridge and the Yankee Stadium from dizzying heights. Amazing 8K aerial footage, realistic flight movement and wind and mist effects might even convince you that you’re experiencing the real thing!

At this multi-sensory museum, you'll experience a day in the life of a spy and discover what kind of undercover role you'd be perfect for – agent, analyst, handler, hacker, and everything in between.Learn all of the essential spy skills and take part in special ops missions to measure your agility. Crack impossible codes, take a crash course in how to spot a liar, and duck and twist through a room full of laser beams. As well as measuring your own secret agent skills, you'll get the chance to see authentic spy artifacts and real intelligence organization devices.Learn all about some of the most notorious criminals in the world and hear plenty of espionage stories – there's the one-legged spy who fled the Nazis over the Pyrenees, the teenager who hacked the CIA, and more.

You’ll head up to the 86th floor, 1,050 feet above the ground, to get a 360-degree view of the city that never sleeps. Whether you’re visiting day or night, this is a must-do for visitors to NYC. The outdoor deck's heaters will keep you toasty all year round, so you can enjoy views of the iconic NYC skyline whatever the weather.Located in the heart of Midtown and built during The Great Depression, the Empire State Building serves as a symbol of hope, perseverance, and prosperity, and it’s one of the most well-known landmarks in the world.You’ll start your self-guided Empire State Building tour in the newly-restored Observatory entrance, before you head through the interactive museum on your way to the observatory. 12 galleries will take you through the history of the legendary building and you can even snap a selfie with King Kong. You'll also visit the revamped 80th floor, which features exciting, artistic exhibits and labelled views so you know where to spot what when you head upstairs.Once you’ve learned all about the Empire State Building's unique history, make your way up to the 86th-floor observation deck for that amazing view.Don’t forget to download the official Empire State Building self-guided multimedia tour to get the details of what you’re seeing from every vantage point.

The Museum of Sex New York throws those once-taboo topics into the spotlight and takes you on an educational journey to the epicenter of human sexuality. It’s not about sleaze here - you’ll find important academic and psychological studies, and discover groundbreaking research into human behavior.There are over 15,000 artifacts on display from various time periods and cultures, each showcasing perspectives on sexuality from leading scholars and artists. See fine art and films plus historic objects that were previously destroyed for their explicit nature. The Museum of Sex New York is associated with the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, and it aims to encourage open and frank conversation about human sexuality.Exhibitions invite visitors to dive deep into such topics as the origins of pornography, sex toys across time, and artists creating work at the vanguard of sexuality and gender. An onsite bar offering signature libations allows visitors to loosen their inhibitions while creating a sexy and festive atmosphere.

Manhattan is all about skylines and Top of the Rock is up there with the best.You’ll hop in a glass elevator and whizz 70 floors up to the Top of the Rock Observatory. Comprising both indoor and outdoor spaces, this 55,000 square-foot area is made up of three observation decks that give you unobstructed, 360-degree views of the city, including Central Park, the Hudson River and even Connecticut on a clear day. Best of all, the Art Deco building offers something the Empire State Building never will – a view of the Empire State Building.You can explore the exhibits and see the short films covering Rockefeller Center’s historic 10-year construction during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Then ascend to the top in less than a minute with a ride up 850 feet (260 m) on the Sky Shuttle. You’ll spot classics of New York’s famous skyline, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the George Washington & Brooklyn Bridges, One World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty.Your pass also includes entry to a multimedia exhibition so you can learn all about the building and the man behind it – John D. Rockefeller.Visit during the day for amazing panoramic views or at night to see the electric city all lit up.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City is a place of remembrance, reflection and historical understanding. Located at the former World Trade Center site, it documents the events of September 11, 2001, and their lasting impact through carefully curated exhibitions and original artifacts.Inside the museum, exhibits present a detailed account of the day’s events, from the moments leading up to the attacks to their immediate and long-term consequences. Through a combination of recovered objects, multimedia displays and recorded testimonies, the museum highlights both the scale of the tragedy and the individual human stories behind it. Personal narratives from first responders, survivors and victims’ families provide insight into the courage, cooperation and resilience shown during and after the attacks.Your visit ends at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, where two large reflecting pools mark the footprints of the Twin Towers. The engraved names surrounding the pools honour the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives, offering a calm and contemplative space in the heart of Lower Manhattan.The 9/11 Memorial & Museum serves as both a historical record and a place for quiet reflection, ensuring the events of September 11 – and those affected by them – are respectfully remembered.

Discover the dizzying heights of the One World Observatory, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. You’ll be amazed by the 360°-degree views from its indoor observation deck, reaching out to Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and more.

Follow in the footsteps of legends on this 60-minute Madison Square Garden Tour Experience. This legendary venue has hosted unforgettable boxing bouts, concerts and live events, as well as being home to the NBA's New York Knicks and the NHL's New York Rangers.Uncover the secrets that have made The Garden the epicenter of sports and entertainment, gaining access to see exclusive backstage areas, and luxury suites, and the Chase Bridge for a unique view of the arena's concave ceiling.There's something happening all year round so each visit promises exciting surprises and a chance to imagine the crowds roaring from every angle.Whether you're a sports lover, a music enthusiast, or simply someone who thrives on a city's rich history, a trip to Madison Square Garden is a must.