Fly to New York

Hardly any city on the planet squeezes as much food, culture, nightlife and sheer momentum into its streets as New York. Across its five boroughs you can go from a Broadway curtain call to a major museum, or from a walk in Central Park to a wall of Brooklyn street art, and still find something unfamiliar on your next trip.

Most first visits begin in Manhattan: stroll the High Line, spend an afternoon at MoMA or the Met, graze through Chelsea Market and end the night in the Theater District. It pays to cross the rivers as well. In Brooklyn, Bushwick and Williamsburg are full of galleries and restaurants, and Queens has the most varied dining anywhere in the US.

The city has three main airports. For international arrivals, JFK is the usual choice and its AirTrain gives it the strongest transit links. Across the river in New Jersey, Newark (EWR) frequently undercuts on price and is a short NJ Transit ride away, while LaGuardia (LGA) is mostly domestic. Whichever you pick, Manhattan is under an hour away.

For pleasant weather without overwhelming crowds, aim for spring (April to June) or fall (September to November). Summers are sticky and hot, but the calendar fills with free outdoor events. In winter you get holiday lights and ice rinks, and once New Year has passed, hotel rates fall.