More about: New York CityPASS®
The New York CityPASS® is a tourist card designed to make organising your trip to New York easier and more convenient, as well as offering discounts on admission to the city's main attractions.
New York CityPASS® Tourist Card - Visit 5 attractions in 9 days
Pay only for the number of attractions you want to visit
If you have already chosen the museums, skyscrapers or attractions you would like to visit (you can choose up to five), get this card and pay only for the number of places you want to visit, saving time and money.
When you book the New York CityPASS® tourist pass from £115, you pay for the number of attractions you want to visit. The pass includes 2 fixed attractions and 3 to choose from several options, making a total of five attractions, which you can visit within a maximum of 9 days from first use.
When you purchase the New York CityPASS® tourist card, you will receive individual tickets for each attraction, which you must present at the ticket office of each site. You can choose to receive these tickets on paper or have them sent to your email address to print out or take with you on your mobile phone and scan them at the entrance to each attraction. Once you use the pass for the first time, you have 9 days to use your tourist pass before it expires.
Why I like this option: you'll be pleased to know that compared to buying individual tickets for each attraction, you can save up to £60 with this pass, as well as skip the queue to buy tickets at each site you visit.
What's included in the New York CityPASS® tourist pass
Tickets to the Empire State Building with audio guide
The Empire State Building is one of the icons of the New York skyline, with iconic architecture and design that will transport you back to the 1930s. However, the Empire State's main attraction is the views from its observatory, undoubtedly one of the most impressive ways to see the city. Put this visit at the top of your list of things to see in the Big Apple!
- Ticketprice if purchased separately: approximately £35
- How the pass works: Skip the ticket line and go straight to the security checkpoint, where you can show your pass and be waved through. Please note that the NY CityPASS® tourist pass includes two tickets to the Empire State Building at different times.
- About the attraction: Open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., and a typical visit lasts 2 hours.
Tickets for the Natural History Museum
This museum is one of New York's perfect attractions to visit with the family. Its permanent exhibition is dedicated to the history of Planet Earth, with fascinating areas devoted to marine life, fossils and meteorites.
Tickets to the 9/11 Memorial and 9/11 Museum (optional)
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum tell the story of the attacks on the Twin Towers on 11 September. It is a very sensitive visit that will give you an intimate view of what happened during the attacks. Although this experience is not for everyone, it will give you a context for the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers that you cannot get anywhere else, changing your perspective on New York City.
- Price when purchasing tickets to the museum outside of the pass: from £24.
- How the pass works: Skip the line to buy tickets, go directly to security and present your CityPASS® card to gain direct access to the 9/11 Museum.
- About the attraction: Open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and until 9:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Most people spend about 2 hours visiting.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (optional)
This museum is a fantasy for any fan of engineering, offering the unique opportunity to see inside the Intrepid aircraft carrier, whose deck features a variety of aircraft and helicopters from various eras; the Growler submarine, which can be explored in its entirety; and the supersonic Concorde aircraft.
Tickets to the Top of the Rock (optional)
The Top of the Rock (the name given to the observatory in the Comcast Building in Rockefeller Plaza) offers the best views of New York from a skyscraper: it is from here that all those wonderful postcards of the Empire State Building have been taken. If you're passionate about photography, you'll be amazed by the photos you can take of this icon of New York architecture, especially if you go up to the Top of the Rock at sunset or on a foggy morning.
Guggenheim Museum (optional)
All Guggenheim museums around the world are famous for being amazing inside and out, and the one in New York is no exception. Its modern art collection includes works by artists such as Van Gogh, Gaugin, Picasso and Malevich, among others, and its gift shop is the perfect place to buy a souvenir of the city.
Ferry to the Statue of Liberty (optional)
The Statue of Liberty represents New York City like no other monument to any other city in the world. Seeing it up close is impressive, and almost even more impressive are the views of Manhattan from Liberty Island. To visit, you'll need to take a ferry from Battery Park, and with the New York CityPASS® tourist card, you won't have to worry about the ticket, because it's included.
It also includes the ferry to Ellis Island, where you can visit the Immigration Museum and explore an exhibition about the times when New York became a place of welcome for immigrants from all over the world in search of a better future.
- Price when purchasing tickets outside the pass: from £24.
- How the pass works: No need to purchase a ticket, just go directly to the security checkpoint and wait for the ferry to arrive.
- About the attraction: You can visit the Statue of Liberty from 9:30 a.m. to 5:25 p.m. The typical visit lasts around 4 to 5 hours.
Before purchasing the New York CityPASS® card
Too much information! I know: choosing your New York tourist pass isn't easy. If you're still not sure, here's a summary to help you make a decision. The New York CityPASS® tourist card is for you if:
- You're going to be in New York for a week
- You want to see the most "typical" sights of New York
- You have little time to organise your trip
- You like to explore a new city at your own pace
- You have a somewhat limited budget for your trip
Recommendations
Please note that the New York CityPASS® tourist card is valid for 9 days from your first use, so you don't have to do everything in your first two or three days in New York. The best way to use your pass is to space out your visits and use it at least two or three times a day.
If you're travelling to New York with children, you can get a New York CityPASS® tourist pass for them and save 40% on the adult pass for children aged 6 to 17. Children over 17 pay the adult pass price, and children under 6 usually go free at many of New York's attractions.
Other passes available
If the New York CityPASS® tourist card doesn't quite meet your needs, keep in mind that there are three other types of tourist passes for New York, so there may be another one that better suits the trip you are planning.