The elms of Central Park, the brownstones of the Village and the bridges to Brooklyn – the tables, the hotels and the neighbourhoods, in one guide.
In New York now
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MICHELIN
69 ✱ tables · 29 Key hotels
Photo: TTstudio/Adobe Stock
In this guide
Every table and hotel the MICHELIN inspectors have chosen in New York – 69 starred, 54 Bib Gourmand, 169 more restaurants and 29 hotels – on one map, with our own stories as we write them.
Join the old elevated railway at Hudson Yards and walk south above the streets through the autumn planting to Gansevoort Street; free, open 07:00–22:00 until 30 November (07:00–20:00 from 1 December).
Photo: Courtesy, Chelsea Market/NYC Tourism + ConventionsChelsea Market
Step off the High Line into Chelsea Market, between Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, for a coffee or a bite from the food stalls; the concourse is open 07:00–22:00.
Jody Williams and Rita Sodi's West Village osteria serves without a break from late morning to 23:00 (Friday from 10:00); no bookings needed – walk-ins are always welcome.
From Doris C. Freedman Plaza at Fifth Avenue and 60th Street, follow the Conservancy's 2 km Iconic Views route past Sheep Meadow, the elms of the Mall and the Lake; the Fall Foliage Tracker shows where the colour peaks.
Take the subway down to City Hall and walk the 1883 bridge's elevated promenade – open at all times – from Park Row to Brooklyn, with Lower Manhattan behind you.
Back across the river to Keith McNally's tavern on MacDougal Street, once a haunt of Hemingway and the Beats, now known for French cooking, grilled cuts and its burger; dinner daily 17:00–23:00.
Bagels and smoked fish at the Orchard Street café opened in 2014 for the centenary of the family's appetizing shop; walk-in only, from 08:30 at weekends with last seating at 15:30.
From Whitehall Terminal, the free 25-minute crossing passes the Statue of Liberty; boats run every 30 minutes at weekends, so ride straight back for the Lower Manhattan skyline.
Bank of America Winter Village is open from 28 October: skating on the rink is free (rentals extra), daily 08:00–22:00, with Holiday Shops open 10:00–20:00 at weekends.
✱ MICHELIN star · Bib Gourmand: good cooking at a fair price · ◆ selected in the Guide · € to €€€€: the Guide's own price bands, from «on a budget» to «spare no expense».
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Sunset and drinks
Where to drink
Hotel bars with murals, cocktail institutions and two rooftops for the sunset.
Rooftop cocktail bar · Williamsburg, BrooklynSunsetWestlight
Andrew Carmellini's 22nd-floor bar atop The William Vale, with sweeping views across the East River to the Manhattan skyline – the Brooklyn sunset drink.
Hotel cocktail bar with live piano · Upper East SideBemelmans Bar
Art deco banquettes under Ludwig Bemelmans' whimsical Central Park murals – the creator of Madeline – with a pianist every night and a Gin-Gin Mule worth ordering.
Where, legend has it, the Bloody Mary made its American debut – here called the Red Snapper – drunk beneath Maxfield Parrish's famous Old King Cole mural.
Cocktail bar in Grand Central Terminal · Midtown EastThe Campbell
The 1920s private office of tycoon John W. Campbell, now three bars including a terrace above Grand Central's main hall – reached up the marble staircase from the concourse.
Irish pub and cocktail bar · Financial DistrictThe Dead Rabbit
An 1828 townhouse with a ground-floor Taproom and a Cocktail Parlour above for punches, fizzes and flips, opened in 2013 by Belfast bartenders Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry.
Sources: NYC Tourism + Conventions and the bars' and hotels' own pages, read 27 October 2026.
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Where to stay
The hotels worth the trip
The MICHELIN Guide's Keys first – its mark for hotels with character, service and a sense of place – then the rest of its selection and the ones we would book ourselves.
A 1.45-mile park planted on a disused elevated railway, so you walk above the traffic through gardens, between old warehouses and new towers, from the Meatpacking District to Hudson Yards.
Past Gansevoort Street entrance in the Meatpacking District, Planting of more than 500 species of plants and trees along the old elevated rail line, Views over the far West Side and the Hudson
Open daily, free. 1 April–30 November 07:00–22:00; 1 December–31 March 07:00–20:00.
Step-free access by elevator at several entrances, including Gansevoort Street (check the elevator-status page before going).
Start: Gansevoort Street at Washington Street, Meatpacking District (southern end; elevator on the north-west corner)
1.8 km · About 25–30 minutes one way at an easy pace · Easy, with a gentle climb to the centre of the spanAcross the Brooklyn Bridge
The classic New York crossing on foot: an 1883 suspension bridge with Lower Manhattan behind you and Brooklyn ahead, ending a few minutes from Dumbo.
Past The stone arches and towers designed by John A. Roebling (built 1869–1883), Views of Lower Manhattan, the East River and the harbour, Main span of 1,595.5 ft, 135 ft above the water
Promenade open at all times (NYC DOT). Occasional lane and sidewalk closures during inspection and repair works.
Manageable for older children; the pedestrian promenade is separate from the protected bike path.
Start: Manhattan entrance at Park Row and Centre Street, opposite City Hall Park (Brooklyn entrance at Cadman Plaza East / Tillary Street)
The postcard Central Park in a compact loop – skyline over Sheep Meadow, the elm tunnel of the Mall and the Lake – the same route the Conservancy's guides use for first-time visitors.
Past Sheep Meadow and its skyline view, The Mall under its American elms, the only straight line in the park, with the Literary Walk statues of Shakespeare, Burns and Scott, The Lake and its boathouse
All year. In late October and November the Conservancy's Fall Foliage Tracker maps where the park's 19,000 trees are at peak colour.
Good for children who can manage a few inclines and stairs; the Conservancy rates this route as not wheelchair accessible.
Start: Doris C. Freedman Plaza, the south-east entrance to Central Park at East 60th Street and Fifth Avenue
1.5 km · About 20–25 minutes one way at an easy pace · Easy – open lawns and park paths.Prospect Park's Long Meadow
Olmsted and Vaux's Brooklyn masterpiece at its most open: a sweeping meadow where the city falls away, a short walk from Grand Army Plaza.
Past Long Meadow, nearly a mile long and the longest unbroken meadow in any US urban park, The west side of the park from Grand Army Plaza towards Prospect Park Southwest, Litchfield Villa, the park's main information centre (open Monday–Friday 09:00–17:00)
All year; autumn colour in late October and November.
Room to run: the meadow is a favourite for picnics, kite-flying and children's birthday parties (NYC Tourism).
Start: Grand Army Plaza entrance, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
A quiet promenade above the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway with a balcony view of Lower Manhattan, then down to the waterfront piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park and Dumbo.
Past The Promenade from Joralemon Street to Orange Street, lined with grand townhouses in Brooklyn's first historic district, Views of Lower Manhattan, the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge, The piers of Brooklyn Bridge Park
All year. Brooklyn Bridge Park is open 06:00–01:00 daily.
Playgrounds along Brooklyn Bridge Park and a carousel ride at the end (Jane's Carousel is closed Monday and Tuesday in autumn).
Start: South end of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade at Joralemon Street, Brooklyn Heights
Sources: Friends of the High Line, NYC DOT, the Central Park Conservancy, the Prospect Park Alliance, NYC Parks and NYC Tourism + Conventions, read 27 October 2026. Coastal paths close in rough seas – check before you set off.
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With kids
New York for children
Zoos, carousels, ferries and museums made for children – across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
Free skating on a 17,000 sq ft rink between the library and the Midtown towers, with free skating shows, holiday market stalls and a food hall for warming up.
Leisure park · Ages Child rate 3–12; 2 and under free.Central Park Zoo
Sea lions, snow leopards, red pandas and penguins in a compact zoo that small legs can manage, with feeding times through the day and the Tisch Children's Zoo for petting and feeding animals.
Skating in the middle of Central Park with the Midtown towers rising over the trees – the classic New York winter outing, with a skating school for beginners.
Ice skating open daily 28 October 2026–16 March 2027.
The highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, 100 floors up, with a glass floor section that makes older children gasp and the Hudson sunset to the west.
Hours on 27 October 2026: 09:00–22:00 (the site shows the day's hours and sunset time).
The oldest (1927) and largest playground in Central Park, 1.8 acres of swings, slides, a maze-like climber and rocks to scramble on, a few minutes from Columbus Circle.
The T. rex, the life-size blue whale and the dioramas, plus free-flying butterflies in the new Richard Gilder Center – a whole rainy day for children of any age.
Open daily 10:00–17:30; closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Built for the under-sixes: hands-on exhibits, art-making, storytelling and music, with a daily PlayWorks programme of circle time and messy art for toddlers.
The first US history museum designed for children, telling the city's past through the eyes of children who lived it, with a children's history library and weekend family programmes.
An aerial cable car over the East River for the price of a subway ride, rising about 250 feet with views of Midtown and the Queensboro Bridge – children love it.
Walk the flight deck of a real aircraft carrier among 28 aircraft, see the space shuttle Enterprise and Concorde, and go below in the submarine Growler; the Exploreum lets children climb into a helicopter.
Fall and winter (1 October–31 March): daily 10:00–17:00, last entry 16:00.
A park on tulip-shaped concrete piles in the Hudson, with winding paths, lawns and lookouts – free, and short enough for small children to explore end to end.
Open 365 days from 06:00, weather permitting: until 31 October 06:00–23:00; 1 November–31 December 06:00–21:00.
A free 25-minute crossing of New York Harbor past the Statue of Liberty, with the Lower Manhattan skyline behind – the best-value boat trip in the city.
Runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week; every 15–20 minutes in weekday rush hours (06:00–09:30 and 15:30–20:00), otherwise every 30 minutes, and every 30 minutes at weekends.
The boat out to Lady Liberty and on to Ellis Island, where the National Museum of Immigration tells the story of millions who arrived here – a big day out that older children remember.
Reached only by Statue City Cruises ferry; see the ferry schedule for times.
The longest pier in Hudson River Park (985 ft), with Manhattan's only 18-hole mini golf course, a playground with climbing structures and water features, a turf field and views of the Statue of Liberty.
Hours, prices and season for the mini golf are handled by Manhattan Youth (not stated on the park's page).
Climb aboard the 1885 tall ship Wavertree and the 1908 lightship Ambrose, then watch the 19th-century letterpress shop at work – with free hands-on activity stations for children.
The museum's visit page gives Friday–Sunday 11:00–17:00; its page footer says Wednesday–Sunday 11:00–17:00.
A chain of piers under the Brooklyn Bridge with playgrounds at both ends – Pier 6 has swings, slides, a giant sandbox and a water feature – and the best view of Manhattan's skyline.
Open seven days a week, 06:00–01:00; Pier 5 06:00–23:00; Pier 2 08:00–23:00 (seasonal).
Housed in a decommissioned subway station in Brooklyn, with the trains and turnstiles of the city's transit past to explore – a favourite with small transport fans.
Wednesday–Sunday 10:00–16:00; closed Juneteenth, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
The world's first children's museum (1899): three floors of hands-on exhibits for babies to ten-year-olds, from the toddler zone Totally Tots to miniature shops.
Wednesday–Sunday 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:50); closed Monday and Tuesday.
250 acres and more than a million plants next to the Bronx Zoo, with the glasshouse rainforests and deserts of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory for a chilly day.
Open 10:00–18:00, Tuesday to Sunday and Monday federal holidays.
On the Coney Island boardwalk: the Ocean Wonders: Sharks! exhibit puts children nine inches from 18 species of sharks and a hundred other marine species.
8 September–31 October 2026: daily 10:00–16:00 (grounds close 17:00).
Nearly three miles of sand and the historic boardwalk, with the Parachute Jump overhead and the original Nathan's Famous – a classic day out even when the rides are shut.
Beach and boardwalk open all year; NYC Parks recommends the off-season for a boardwalk walk, the Parachute Jump and the aquarium.
A 47-acre working farm inside the city limits, with fields, an orchard, historic farm buildings and goats, pigs and other animals – and free to visit most days.
Grounds open daily 10:00–17:00, all year; closed New Year's Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Sources: NYC Tourism + Conventions, NYC Parks, the Central Park Conservancy, the National Park Service and the places' own pages, read 27 October 2026. Travel times from the centre. Check seasons and ages with the place before you go.
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The atlas
New York at a glance
The MICHELIN tables, the hotels and the sights, on one map.
Photo: Ondrej Bucek/Adobe Stock
10
The directory
Every place in New York
Every restaurant, hotel and sight the MICHELIN Guide lists within 6 km – 326 places, each with its own page. The six nearest the centre of each kind are here; the rest are in the directory, A to Z.
