By Harry Nara · Last updated
Yes, and New York is easier to navigate than almost any city its size, because the grid does the work for you. The thing that catches first-time visitors is not the subway or the pace but the arithmetic: the price on the label is not the price you pay, and the bill at dinner is not the amount you owe. Tax is added at the register and a tip is expected on top, and between them they can put a fifth on a day’s spending that you had not planned for.
New York is the rare enormous city that explains itself. Above Houston Street the numbered grid means an address is also a set of directions, avenues run north to south, streets run east to west, and twenty blocks make a mile. Within an hour of arriving you will be navigating without a map in a way that takes a week in London.
What no one warns you about is the money. Prices are quoted before tax, service is not included anywhere, and tipping is not a gesture but a substantial part of how the people serving you are paid. None of it is hidden, and all of it is unfamiliar if you come from somewhere that puts the final number on the menu.
How long do you need in New York City?
Five days for a first visit, and you will still leave things. Four is enough to see Manhattan properly. Anything less and the sensible move is to stop trying to cover the island and pick two or three neighbourhoods, because the distances are long and the subway, fast as it is, is not scenic.
Before you go
The subway takes contactless payment directly through OMNY, which means the card or phone you already carry is the ticket. The fare is a flat three dollars for most riders whatever the distance, and if you tap the same card or device for twelve paid trips between Monday and Sunday, every further ride that week is free. That is the equivalent of a seven day unlimited pass arriving automatically once you have earned it, with no decision to make in advance. The catch is the same one as in London: it has to be the same card or device every time, and each person travelling needs their own.
Sales tax in New York City is 8.875 percent and it is added at the register rather than shown on the shelf. Restaurant tipping runs around twenty percent and is genuinely expected rather than discretionary, because tipped wages are lower than the standard minimum. Add those together across meals and shopping and a first visit routinely spends fifteen to twenty percent more than the prices it was reading. One genuine break: clothing and footwear under 110 dollars per item are exempt from sales tax entirely in the city.
There are now several and they are individually expensive, and the view from each is largely a view of the others. The Empire State Building is the one that is not in most of the photographs, because you are standing on it. Pick on that basis rather than buying more than one.
Once you are there
Above Houston Street, streets run east to west and are numbered going north, avenues run north to south, and Fifth Avenue divides east addresses from west ones. Twenty blocks make roughly a mile, which is the single most useful conversion in the city: it turns any address into a walking time without opening anything. Below Houston the grid breaks down entirely and the old street pattern takes over, which is why the West Village is where confident navigators get lost.
Most lines run both, they share the same platforms, and an express will skip ten stops without apology. Check whether the train is local or express before boarding rather than after, and if you overshoot, the fix is to cross to the opposite platform and take a local back. The numbered and lettered lines are each a family sharing track, so the letter on the front matters more than the colour on the map.
The subway is fast and completely blind. Manhattan neighbourhoods change character over a few blocks in a way that is invisible from underground, and the twenty-blocks-to-a-mile rule means that a trip which looks like a subway journey is often fifteen minutes on foot. The city is best understood at street level and it is flat.
Pavements here work like roads, and stopping dead in the middle of one to check a map is the local equivalent of braking on a motorway. Step to the side of a building first. Most of New York’s reputation for rudeness is this.
What it costs
New York is expensive in the ways you expect and surprisingly reasonable in a few you do not. Hotels are the punishing part and there is no clever way around it. Food spans an enormous range, and the bottom of that range is excellent: a slice, a bagel, a bowl from a halal cart or a plate in Queens will feed you well for a fraction of a restaurant bill, and none of it is a compromise.
The sales tax is 8.875 percent and is never included in a displayed price, so every number you read in a shop is an understatement. The exception worth remembering is clothing and shoes under 110 dollars an item, which are exempt from the tax altogether in the city.
Tipping is not optional and is not a reward for exceptional service. Around twenty percent at a restaurant, a dollar or two per drink at a bar, and something for a taxi is the normal floor. This is a wage structure rather than a custom, and leaving nothing takes money from the person who served you rather than making a point to management.
Cards work everywhere, including on buses and in cabs, and a great many places have stopped taking cash entirely. The exception is the handful of old cash-only institutions that treat it as part of their character, which are worth having twenty dollars in your pocket for.
Going with children
New York works well with children because so much of it is outdoors and free. Central Park is not a green space to walk through but a day out with playgrounds, a zoo, boats and enough room to lose an afternoon, and the Staten Island Ferry passes the Statue of Liberty for nothing at all. The difficulties are specific and worth planning for. Subway stations frequently have no lift, so a pushchair means stairs, and you should check station accessibility before relying on a route. Distances are long and the pace on the street is unsympathetic. And restaurants at peak times are loud and tightly packed in a way small children find hard, which is an argument for eating early, or for the enormous informal end of the city’s food, where nobody minds anything.
Going alone
New York is superb alone, and the reason is density: everything is open, everything is nearby, and a solo person in a restaurant or a bar is so ordinary as to be invisible. Eating at the bar is often better than a table, because it is faster, the bartender will talk to you if you want and leave you alone if you do not, and walk-in seats exist at places whose tables are booked out for weeks. The city is safe in the ordinary sense, meaning busy streets late at night are fine and empty ones anywhere deserve the same judgement you would apply at home. The subway runs all night, which is unusual and removes the last-train anxiety that shapes evenings in most cities, though carriages thin out after about one in the morning.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Add 8.875 percent tax and about twenty percent tip and the number you pay is roughly a third higher than the number you chose from. Do that arithmetic before you order, not after.
Express and local trains share platforms and the express will take you ten stops past where you meant to be. Check the letter or number and the word on the front of the train.
Tap a contactless card or phone instead. Twelve paid trips in a Monday to Sunday week and the rest are free, with no pass to buy and no decision to get wrong.
They mostly look at each other. Choose one and spend the difference on something at street level.
It has the postcard skyline and the least interesting street life in the city. The neighbourhoods that people mean when they talk about New York are downtown and across the river, and both are fifteen minutes away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is New York City worth visiting for a first-time traveller?
Yes, and it is unusually easy to navigate for a city of its size, because the numbered grid above Houston Street turns every address into directions. The part that catches people out is financial rather than logistical: sales tax is added at the register instead of being shown on the price, and tipping is expected at around twenty percent. Together they put roughly a fifth on top of what you thought you were spending.
How many days do you need in New York City?
Five for a first visit, and you will still leave things undone. Four covers Manhattan properly. With less than that, stop trying to see the whole island and pick two or three neighbourhoods, because the distances are long and the subway shows you nothing on the way.
Do I need a MetroCard for the subway?
No. The subway accepts contactless cards and phones through OMNY, at a flat fare of three dollars for most riders regardless of distance. Tap the same card or device for twelve paid trips between Monday and Sunday and every ride after that is free for the rest of the week, which gives you an unlimited pass automatically without having to predict your travel in advance. Everyone in your group needs their own card or device.
How much do you tip in New York?
About twenty percent at restaurants, a dollar or two per drink at a bar, and something for a taxi driver. It is not a reward for good service; tipped wages are set lower than the standard minimum on the assumption that tips make up the difference, so leaving nothing takes money from the server rather than sending a message to the owner.
Is sales tax included in New York prices?
No. The city rate is 8.875 percent and it is added at the register, so every shelf price and menu price is lower than what you will pay. The one significant exemption is clothing and footwear priced under 110 dollars per item, which are free of sales tax entirely within the city.
Is New York good for families with young children?
Yes, because a great deal of the city is outdoors and free. Central Park is a full day out with playgrounds, boats and a zoo, and the Staten Island Ferry sails past the Statue of Liberty for nothing. Plan around subway accessibility, since many stations have stairs only, and around restaurant peak times, which are loud and tightly packed. The informal end of the food scene suits children far better.
Is New York safe to visit alone?
Yes, with ordinary city judgement. Busy streets late at night are fine; empty ones deserve the same caution you would use anywhere. Solo diners are completely unremarkable and eating at the bar is often better than a table, with walk-in seats at restaurants whose tables are booked for weeks. The subway runs twenty four hours, which removes the last-train problem, though carriages get sparse after about one in the morning.
What is the difference between express and local subway trains?
Local trains stop at every station on the line and express trains skip most of them, and both use the same platforms, so it is possible to board the wrong one without noticing until you are ten stops past your station. The front of the train and the platform signs say which it is. If you overshoot, cross to the other platform and take a local back.
Checked against MTA, fares and tolls, OMNY, official site, New York State Department of Taxation, clothing and footwear exemption.
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