New York Sightseeing Pass

If you're reading this, it's because you're dying to eat your way through New York on your next trip. To simplify the organisation of your trip, there are a few tricks, and the New York Sightseeing Pass is one of them.

Tourist Card

New York Sightseeing Day Pass

Get access to the best attractions in New York at a lower price.

With this tourist card, you will have access to the best attractions in New York during your trip. You pay for the days you want to use it. Recommended for adventurous travellers who don't want to miss a thing!

From CAD 248 at Hellotickets

The New York Sightseeing Pass is a tourist card that gives you access to New York's most important attractions and points of interest. The Sightseeing Pass, like other tourist cards, has several advantages: you save money and time by avoiding queues at the ticket offices of each attraction.

If you're planning a big trip to New York for ten or fifteen days, this is the perfect pass for you, as it will save you around £30 per day compared to buying individual tickets for each attraction, not to mention the discounts at shops and restaurants that can help you save even more.

Like the New York Pass, the New York Sightseeing Day Pass works on a daily basis and is valid from midnight on the day of activation. It has some differences from other New York tourist passes, such as including credit to spend on attractions and a free meal at a restaurant of your choice from a list of popular places in the city.

Depending on the type of trip you prefer

Depending on which attractions you want to visit

The second thing you need to know is what you want to see in New York. I recommend making a list of the places (museums, viewpoints, tourist attractions) you want to visit to calculate how much the tickets would cost separately and see if the price of the pass is worth it.

That said, if you're deciding between several passes and you know you want to visit the One World Observatory, the New York Sightseeing Pass is the only one that includes this skyscraper. It also includes a 72-hour tourist bus ticket, unlike most tourist passes, which include a 24-hour ticket.

New York Sightseeing Flex Pass

The New York Sightseeing Pass Flex allows you to pay based on the attractions you visit instead of by the day. Otherwise, it includes the same as the regular version.

I recommend this option if you know exactly what you want to see in New York, or if you like to travel at a leisurely pace without the pressure of having to squeeze the most out of a tourist pass. This way, you can visit one or two attractions a day between walks, shopping and free attractions.

One small disadvantage of the New York Sightseeing Pass is that all attraction tickets have a fixed time. Before reading the list of the main attractions included in the pass, keep this in mind as it will make it less flexible when planning your trip.

One World Observatory

The One World Observatory is located in the One World Trade Center, the tallest skyscraper in New York (and the United States), which pays tribute to the Twin Towers destroyed on 9/11. In addition to its observation deck, the One World Observatory includes interactive activities, shops, restaurants and more. You'll see the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty up close, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge.

• Price: General admission is £32 per adult and £27 per child (and includes the Sightseeing Pass). Children under 5 are free. The combined ticket costs £42 per adult and £36 per child and gives you access to both observation decks.
• How the pass works: You don't need to buy a ticket, but you will need to present your pass to get a ticket with a set time, so keep in mind that you may have to wait. You will also need to go through security.
• About the attraction: It is open from 9:00 to 21:00, and the visit usually lasts between 45 and 60 minutes.

Empire State

It goes without saying that going up the Empire State Building is a must when travelling to New York: this is one of New York's most iconic buildings and also offers the chance to visit its observatory for some of the best views of downtown Manhattan.

• Price when purchasing tickets separately: from £35
• How the pass works: Skip the line to buy tickets and go directly to the security checkpoint, where you can show your pass and be allowed to enter. Please note that the New York CityPASS® 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.

Top of the Rock

The Top of the Rock (located 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. As a bonus, you'll also be able to see the One World Observatory and the Statue of Liberty as if they were toys.

• Price: Admission to the Top of the Rock costs £35 (adults) and £27 (children). Children under 6 enter free of charge.
• How the pass works: You can use your pass to get an online ticket with a set time, or present your pass at the ticket office to have your ticket validated.
• About the attraction: Opening hours are from 8:00 a.m. to midnight (last lift up is at 11:00 p.m.). The average visit is usually one hour.

Statue of Liberty

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 Sightseeing Pass, you won't have to worry about the ticket, because it's included. It also includes the ferry to Ellis Island.

• Price: Admission to the pedestal costs £24 per adult and £15 per child. Admission to the crown costs £28 per adult and £22 per child. Please note that tickets are limited to four per person and are non-transferable, as they must be purchased in your name and presented in person.
• 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.

Hop on Hop Off tourist bus

The New York Sightseeing Pass includes CitySightseeing's 'Best of Manhattan' tour, which, as its name suggests, takes you to all the main attractions in Manhattan in a 6-hour experience. It also includes a sightseeing cruise to continue your visit. Below are details of the main stops on the itinerary. You can read more about the best cruises on the Hudson River here.

9/11 Memorial and Museum

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum are undoubtedly one of the most special visits of the trip. For a moment, the chaos and dynamism of the city give way to contemplation and a historic tribute to the victims of the most notorious terrorist attack in modern history. The Memorial is located on the street, on the perimeter of the former Twin Towers, while the Museum requires an admission ticket.

• Price: The 9/11 Memorial is free and open to the public. A ticket with a tour of the 9/11 Museum costs £42.50 per adult.
• How the pass works: Skip the ticket line, go directly to security and present your pass to enter 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.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is the perfect way to round off your trip with a cultural and fascinating attraction. Its permanent exhibition is dedicated to the history of Planet Earth, with fascinating areas devoted to marine life, fossils and meteorites. If you only have time to visit one or two museums, this is one of the best, in my opinion.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

MoMA is a must-see museum in New York if you want to see with your own eyes an extraordinary exhibition of works of art that have defined the last century. You can enjoy works of art such as Van Gogh's famous 'The Starry Night', as well as paintings by Monet, Pollock, Mondrian, Hellen Frankenthaler and Andy Warhol, among others.

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

This museum is a fantasy for any fan of engineering, offering the unique opportunity to see inside the aircraft carrier Intrepid, whose deck houses a variety of aircraft and helicopters from different eras; the Growler submarine, which can be explored in its entirety; and the supersonic Concorde aircraft.

Now that you know everything that the New York Sightseeing Pass includes and what its advantages are, here is a summary to help you make your decision:

The New York Sightseeing Pass is for you if:

You can choose a duration of between one and ten days for this pass, but I recommend avoiding the one-day pass, as it's unlikely to be worth it. The best option is to choose three, five or seven days, which at a rate of four or five attractions per day will allow you to save a lot of money.

The Flex option is probably the best choice for you if:

If you are travelling with children

There is a child pass for children aged 3 to 12 that you can purchase at a lower price than the adult pass. The one-day child pass, for example, costs £28 less than the adult pass, but if you purchase a 10-day pass, the difference between the adult pass and the child pass is more than £150.

If you're still not sure whether the Sightseeing Pass is the best option for your trip, remember that there are three other passes available. I've put together a practical guide to each one and compiled their advantages and disadvantages in an article so you can easily compare them. Here are the links: