Travel guide New York (Manhattan)
New York (Manhattan) : The best time to go
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New York (Manhattan) : Practical information for travel
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Edition 2026
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New York (Manhattan) : What to see, what to do ?
New York (Manhattan) : Where to go?
The most beautiful tourist sites
New York (Manhattan) : Other nearby tourist attractions
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New York (Manhattan) : Petit Futé's best addresses
Discover the most beautiful addresses selected by the authors of Petit Futé.
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New York (Manhattan) : Featured articles
The 15 best rooftops for a drink in New York in 2023
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The 15 best rooftops for a drink in New York in 2023
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One can certainly say that there is no ideal season to discover New York, as the most popular of the American metropolises has to offer all year ...
New York (Manhattan) : How do I travel?
How to go alone
Traveling alone to discover Manhattan is not a problem at all and can even be a good way to meet people. If you plan well in advance, you can nowadays find round-trip flights from Europe for less than 300 €. The same goes for accommodation: anticipation will help you get by better than improvisation on the spot. As for security, travelers have nothing to fear in Manhattan, it is a safe city.
How to go on a tour
There are countless French-speaking tourist agencies offering organized trips to Manhattan and New York in general. A stay in the Big Apple is expensive, but because of their good knowledge of the area and the partnerships that some service providers have forged over the years, it is sometimes advantageous to use their services to benefit from packages combining flight and accommodation. The city has so much to offer that it is possible to choose a thousand themes to walk its corridors.
How to get around
There is no need to rent a car in Manhattan as public transportation is so well developed. The king means of locomotion here are... your shoes! The best way to discover the city is undoubtedly by walking, which you should not hesitate to combine with a few trips on the picturesque New York subway cars. The famous yellow cabs of Manhattan are also recommended, to be hailed casually. New York is also equipped with public bicycles: the City Bike.
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New York (Manhattan) : Discover
Seeing New York on the big screen and in your friends' vacation photos, you probably feel like you know the city before you've even set foot in it, and you imagine that it won't be able to surprise you... Think again! This multi-faceted city has many surprises in store, from its history to its culture, cuisine, people and indescribable energy. This is the birthplace of street art, hip-hop, punk rock, black literature and the Beat Generation. The setting for films, TV series and novels, it's inspiring and inspiring, exhausting because it's inexhaustible. We won't claim that it's the capital of the world, lest we fall into cliché, but we will dare to say that it has the makings of one.
New York (Manhattan) : The 12 keywords
#september 11
One of the most significant episodes in New York's history, and arguably its most tragic, took place on September 11, 2001, when two planes piloted by Al-Qaeda terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center towers, killing more than 2,600 people. In many ways, this catastrophe has shaped the New York of today.
#Broadway
No visit to New York is complete without a visit to Broadway, the avenue where hit musicals and plays are staged every day. The crème de la crème of comedians star in these spectacular shows that thrill tourists and New Yorkers alike. Drama, glamour and humor, there's something for everyone.
#Brooklyn
A visit to New York would not be complete without discovering Brooklyn, now the most creative and trendy borough. With its thrift shops, arty cafés, fusion restaurants, underground parties, organic markets and breathtaking views of the skyline, you'll discover a different side of the city, from Dumbo to Williamsburg, via Bushwick and Cobble Hill.
#Cinema
As soon as you step out of the cab, you feel as if you already know this city from the movies. Times Square, Central Park, Fifth Ave and its swirls of yellow cabs, fire escapes zigzagging up and down building facades... A simple stroll through the streets of New York can quickly turn into a cinematic pilgrimage.
#Organized crime
New York is perfectly safe today, but the city remains famous for its tumultuous past. Perhaps because it has been immortalized so many times on the silver screen, the Mafia is fascinating. Although its activity has diminished, it has not been eradicated, and the five families that have ruled New York since the 1930s still operate in the shadows.
#Hip-hop culture
In the 1970s, a new sound emerged from the rundown streets of the Bronx: the birth of hip-hop during block parties. Much more than just a musical genre, hip-hop is a cultural movement from which graffiti and breakdance have also emerged. New York has seen the birth of some of the greatest rappers in history, including Biggie, Nas, 50 Cent and Jay-Z.
#Diversity
New York is one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities. As you stroll through its streets, you'll notice that every community coexists peacefully. More than a third of the city's population was born abroad, and even native New Yorkers are the product of fairly recent immigration!
#Foodies
Food is one of New Yorkers' obsessions, and discovering new restaurants one of their favorite activities. In New York, we eat at all hours of the day and night and, above all, we try every imaginable cuisine. And the smells that assail us around every corner make any attempt at resistance futile..
#Marathon
The first New York Marathon was held in 1970, with 127 runners taking part. Five decades later, some 50,000 runners take part every year. To be in with a chance of running through the streets of New York on November 3, you have to be selected by lottery or pay a premium to an agency... Unless you're a top athlete!
#Skyline
The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and the One World Trade Center are all skyscrapers that make up the legendary New York skyline. Just climb on a roof or cross the river to Brooklyn or Queens to get a glimpse of this skyscraper horizon. And at night, it's even more spectacular!
#Yellow Cabs
They are the basic element of any New York postcard worthy of the name: the yellows cabs, the yellow taxis that are omnipresent in Manhattan. As in the movies, all you have to do is stand on the street and raise your arm and one of them stops. If in doubt, take the example of the New Yorkers, they are professionals in this field!
#Wall Street
What would New York be like without the New York Stock Exchange, its famous Wall Street stock exchange? Symbol of American capitalism, the world's largest stock exchange is filled with young wolves in suits and ties whose teeth scratch the floor. One of them was immortalized in the movies in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.
You are from here, if...
You belong here if you've got that little something called the New York attitude! You're impatient, always in a hurry, weaving in and out of garbage cans and cabs, jostling tourists as they look up at skyscrapers you don't even notice anymore. Deep down, you're a nice guy, it's just that all those years in the city have toughened you up.
When you're not busy working, you're busy going out. You don't cook much, preferring to eat out at trendy places, even if it means standing in line for three quarters of an hour for an empanada. You fold your slice of pizza in half before eating it, usually on the street. In fact, you know at least ten places where you can eat a slice for less than US$2.
You think it's too heavy in summer, too cold in winter, you complain that the subway never works, and yet you tell anyone who will listen that New York is the greatest city on earth.
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