New York is an amazing city. It is one of the four fashion capitals of the world and it is home to tons of art museums and theaters. It can be a bit of a polarizing city, though, because for every person who finds it full of wonder and culture, there is another person who thinks it is overcrowded and over-hyped. Luckily, there are a few tourist attractions that everyone can agree are pretty great. Here is a list of the top three attractions that locals and tourists alike can agree are worth the hype.
The Brooklyn Bridge
It took 14 years to build this suspension bridge to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn, but the result is a spectacular sight. It is also useful, as it was created to be an alternate method for traveling between the two cities instead of relying on the ferry. Although this city and others have gotten increasingly taller since then, when it was constructed in the 1800s, it was the tallest structure in the entire Western Hemisphere. Today it may not be the tallest, but it is one of the most picturesque, as it offers some incredible views of the Manhattan skyline. If you want to visit the bridge without having to fight through the crowds, locals recommend arriving in the early morning before the people have begun to gather.
The Statue of Liberty
No visit to New York is complete without a visit to the Statue of Liberty. Although it is often crowded, this monument to American freedom is something that every American and visitor to America simply has to see. The statue stands at 305 feet tall and was made of copper by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi in 1875. It was a gift of friendship from France to the United States, and served as a symbol of welcome for thousands of immigrants for nearly 70 years. Today, you can visit the observation deck in the statue's pedestal, or with a special ticket you can climb 354 narrow steps up to the top to look out over the city through her crown. Even the most critical tourists will tell you that you can't over-hype that view.
Central Park
Number one on our list, beating out even the Statue of Liberty, is Central Park. This place is like an oasis in the middle of the big city: it is full of greenery and nature, and it has plenty of space to spread out so you don't get caught up in the crowds heading to other tourist attractions. Perhaps the best part about Central Park, though, is that it is more than just a park. It has multiple tourist attractions inside it, including Strawberry Fields (a memorial for John Lennon), Belvedere Castle, the Lake, multiple fountains, several beautiful gardens, and the Central Park Zoo. In the winter, you can even go ice skating at Wallman Rink. If it sounds impossible to hold all of those things inside one park, keep in mind that this one is 2.5 miles long. This is the perfect destination for tourists who want to see New York away from the bustling city streets, and definitely lives up to the hype.