The City, as Manhattan is also called, is the vibrant center of New York, home to many world-famous landmarks and the heart of the American economy. Pack your bag and join us on the most exciting sightseeing tour of your life!
| Population: | about 1.7 million |
| Area: | 87 km2 (including 59 km2 land, 28 km2 water) |
| Location: | Northeast of New York City, New York |
| County: | New York County |
| Attractions: | Empire State Building, Times Square, 9/11 Memorial, Central Park, MoMA |
The first European to reach Manhattan was the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who sailed to America in 1524 on behalf of the French crown. During the colonial period, tribes of Algonquin and Iroquois Indians lived in the Manhattan area. It was from their language that the name Manhattan (originally Manna-hata) was derived, translating roughly as "land of many hills."
In 1609, Henry Hudson, a Briton traveling in the service of the Netherlands, reached Manhattan and explored the course of the Hudson River, which was named after him, up to present-day Albany. Dutch settlers came to the area in the following years.
According to a legend, Peter Minuit, the governor of the Dutch West India Company, bought the island of Manhattan from the Algonkin Indians in 1626 for 60 guilders (about $ 24). At the Southern tip of Manhattan, he established a colony specializing in leather trade called New Amsterdam.
With the end of the First Anglo-Dutch War, the island of Manhattan became the property of England in 1674. In honor of the Duke of York, New Amsterdam was renamed New York. The city developed into an important trading port under English leadership in the following decades and achieved great prosperity.
During the American War of Independence, several battles took place in New York State, which ratified the US Constitution in July 1788. New York City, which at the time consisted only of Manhattan, was the capital of the newly formed United States for one year.
In the 19th century, New York City was an important center of immigration to the USA and, as of 1835, the most populous city in the United States. Between 1874 and 1895, the areas of what is now the Bronx were incorporated into the city. Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island followed in 1898.
Throughout the 20th century, New York City continued to grow and establish itself as the most important economic and financial center in the world. It is also the seat of the UN, a mecca for art and culture, and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the USA.
Manhattan essentially consists of three areas: Lower, Midtown, and Uptown Manhattan. In addition, it is further divided into numerous smaller neighborhoods, but their boundaries are not precisely defined.
The Financial District stretches around New York's Wall Street stock exchange at the Southern tip of Manhattan. Behind the glittering facades of the office towers are the offices of numerous large companies, banks, and law firms. A short walk takes you to Battery Park, where ferries depart for Staten Island and Liberty Island.
SoHo ("South of Houston") was originally an industrial neighborhood that changed dramatically in the 1970s. Industrial buildings were converted into lofts, and artists as well as young people settled in SoHo, which then became a popular trendy neighborhood full of hip art galleries, chic boutiques, cool bars, and excellent restaurants.
Little Italy is where the first Italian immigrants who came to Manhattan settled. A lively neighborhood of Italian pizzerias, restaurants, bakeries, and bars developed around Mulberry Street. Although Little Italy has shrunk quite a bit since its heyday, you can still indulge your palate with great Italian food here.
The Meatpacking District in Southwest Manhattan is one of the hippest nightlife areas in New York. Where meat factories used to be located, today you'll find the boutiques of renowned designers, hip rooftop cocktail bars, brand-new luxury apartments, and young construction projects like the Whitney Museum of American Art and High Line Park.
In the very North of Manhattan, you will find the neighborhood of Harlem. It is known for its large African-American and Hispanic community and had a bad reputation for its high crime rate until the 1990s. Since then, large-scale restoration has taken place in Harlem, and it has become a livable neighborhood with cozy jazz bars and tourist attractions like the Apollo Theater.
Manhattan has so much to offer! Maybe one of these neighborhoods will become your favorite?
In Manhattan, you will find everything your heart desires. We have compiled a bucket list with the most beautiful attractions for you.
These top three attractions belong at the top of your Manhattan travel list.
Times Square in New York City lights up and flickers on every corner. The famous intersection, which was long home to the editorial offices of the New York Times newspaper, has been covered with thousands of flashing lights and large screens since the 1950s, on which the advertisements of famous brands run in an endless loop. If you're in Manhattan on New Year's Eve, you'll experience one of the most legendary New Year's Eve parties in Times Square, with the ball drop at midnight.
The striking silhouette of the Empire State Building has graced the Manhattan skyline since 1931. The 443 m high skyscraper, which was the tallest building in the USA and even in the world for several decades after its completion, also conquered the hearts of an audience of millions through Hollywood films such as "King Kong" or "Sleepless in Seattle."
The legendary observation deck on the 86th floor remains a magnet for visitors to New York to this day. The Empire State Building presents itself very festively on certain US holidays or other special occasions. Thanks to numerous LED floodlights, the skyscraper can shine in 16 million different color combinations. For example, on Independence Day, the Empire State Building shines in blue, red, and white.
You can enjoy the view of Manhattan from many places. Especially in recent years, there has been a real building boom in New York, with many new skyscrapers being constructed. In addition to the Empire State Building, you can also enjoy these magnificent viewing platforms in Manhattan:
Do you need a break from the hustle and bustle of New York City? These Manhattan parks are perfect for relaxing:
Located in the middle of Manhattan, Central Park is also called the green lung of New York City. The huge park offers a wide range of leisure activities, especially in summer. You can listen to open-air concerts on the Great Lawn, meet friends for a picnic on Sheep Meadow, visit the Central Park Zoo, or join a bike tour.
Even during the Christmas season in New York, Central Park is a great place to be. With the Wollman Rink and the Lasker Rink, you have two ice rinks at your disposal where you can get active with ice skating and ice hockey.
Bryant Park is located between 5th and 6th Avenue and is a wonderful retreat between the skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan. You can also easily move your office to a café in Bryant Park because you benefit from free Wi-Fi access throughout the park.
The summer at Bryant Park is especially enjoyable, as you can watch a movie highlight every evening at the park's free open-air cinema during the Summer Movie Nights at Bryant Park. In the run-up to Christmas, an ice skating rink and the Winter Village Christmas market await you.
The High Line in the West of Manhattan is a truly unique park that you shouldn't miss! It starts at the newly built Hudson Yards complex and runs for about 2.3 km along a disused elevated railway line. During your walk, you will have a wonderful view of the surrounding Manhattan skyscrapers and streets, as well as the Hudson River.
Discover Hudson Yards & the High Line on this tour
You'll leave High Line Park in the trendy Meatpacking District, where you can browse chic boutiques, sit in luxurious cocktail bars, or taste the delicacies at Chelsea Market.
Contemporary art, photography, and history: with its 140 museums, New York City is one of the world's cultural hotspots. Of course, you'll find the most important exhibitions in Manhattan. Start your museum tour through Manhattan at the following three top addresses.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Midtown Manhattan is one of the most renowned museums for modern and contemporary art. Its impressive collection contains over 170,000 exhibits from the fields of architecture, design, sculpture, painting, photography, illustration, film, and electronic media.
The museum also has an extensive library that includes more than 300,000 books. If you want to learn more about the art on display at MoMA, you can participate in demonstrations, lectures, or workshops.
The area in Southern Manhattan where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center stood is now a place of silence and remembrance. Two large pools of water, the Reflecting Pools, mark the outlines of the collapsed towers. They are surrounded by bronze plaques engraved with the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the September 11th, 2001 attacks.
The 9/11 Memorial also includes the 9/11 Museum, which was inaugurated in 2014 in the presence of President Barack Obama. Here, you will find an exhibition with over 14,000 items recovered from the rubble, 40,000 photos, and 3,500 oral histories of eyewitnesses. On the lowest level of the museum, you can also visit the foundations of the Twin Towers.
Tip: On Mondays, admission to the 9/11 Museum is free. However, you must reserve a "Free Admission Ticket" in advance on the museum's website.
If you're a museum buff, you'll feel right at home on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Here, along the stretch of Fifth Avenue that runs from 82nd Street to 110th Street, you'll stumble upon the so-called Museum Mile, the world's highest concentration of museums and cultural institutions.
The best time to visit is the second Tuesday in June when all nine museums join together for the Museum Mile Festival. On this day, admission to exhibitions is free, Fifth Avenue is closed all around the museums, and there is an event program with live music and art activities.
Museum Mile cultural institutions include:
Welcome to the city of unlimited leisure activities! If you're in Manhattan, you'll probably have a hard time deciding between all the nightlife options. We have put together some tips for you.
Take a big suitcase with plenty of free space with you on your New York vacation because Manhattan is the shopper's paradise par excellence! These stores and shopping malls, among others, are suitable for your forays:
In the "city that never sleeps," you'll have no trouble finding places to go out. Start your tour of Manhattan's nightlife at these five hot spots:
Fans of typical US sports can watch thrilling sporting events live at the world-famous Madison Square Garden. The multi-purpose arena is located in Midtown Manhattan and hosts the home games of the New York Knicks basketball team and the New York Rangers ice hockey team.
Around 72% of Manhattan residents and visitors use public transportation to get around. Accordingly, the subway network of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is quite extensive. Out of 472 New York subway stations, 151 are located in Manhattan alone. In addition, there are the commuter trains of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), the trains of the PATH system, which connects Manhattan with New Jersey, and the Metro-North Railroad, which runs from Manhattan to Upstate New York and Connecticut.
Many connections pass through Grand Central Station. Built in 1913, the station is not only New York's largest rail transportation hub but also impresses with its unusual architecture.
To get to areas of the city that are not accessible by subway, you can take the MTA buses and express buses. The shortest way from Manhattan to the Staten Island neighborhood is the free Staten Island Ferry. The ferries run between Whitehall Terminal at the southern tip of Manhattan and St. George Terminal in Staten Island.
If you prefer to drive a rental car yourself, you should factor into your vacation budget the sometimes high parking fees as well as fees for bridges and tunnels.
An alternative to self-driving is the iconic yellow cab, of which about 13,000 are on the road in New York City.
Manhattan is full of exciting stories: did you already know these 10 interesting facts?
Are you ready to leave the Manhattan Bubble? Even though the most famous of the four boroughs has the most popular attractions to offer, you can also discover many exciting places in the other four boroughs of New York City. Be surprised and follow us to Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx!
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