Hidden Gems in NYC

The main branch of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue is one of the most beautiful buildings in Manhattan, and most tourists walk right past it or only glance at the lions on the steps. The Rose Main Reading Room on the third floor is a 297-foot long hall with 52-foot ceilings, original chandeliers, and elaborate painted ceilings. It is completely free to enter and almost nobody goes up there.

Highlight: The library also holds one of the four surviving original Gutenberg Bibles in the world. Ask at the information desk to see the current exhibition room.

A secret rooftop park above an office building at 55 Water Street in the Financial District. Take the escalator up from street level and emerge onto a terraced garden with extraordinary views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge, and the harbor. Virtually no tourists come here and it is completely free.

Highlight: Best visited at lunchtime on a weekday when local workers are the only people there.

A car-free island in New York Harbor with views of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and Brooklyn Bridge Park. The ferry from Lower Manhattan takes seven minutes. The island has free admission on weekdays and has hammocks, art installations, food vendors, and some of the best skyline views in the city. Most tourists have never heard of it.

Highlight: Open from late May through October. The view of Lower Manhattan from the south end of the island is one of the best in New York.

One of the most beautiful and historically significant places in New York City, and almost entirely unknown to tourists. The 478-acre Victorian cemetery has extraordinary Gothic Revival gates, rolling hills, mature trees, and the graves of figures including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Leonard Bernstein, and Boss Tweed. Free to enter and genuinely stunning to walk through.

Highlight: The view of Manhattan from Battle Hill, the highest point in Brooklyn, is exceptional on a clear day.

The only remaining old-growth forest in Manhattan, at the northern tip of the island. The park contains pre-Revolutionary War-era caves where Peter Minuit is said to have purchased Manhattan from the Lenape in 1626. Massive tulip trees hundreds of years old line the trails. Almost no tourists come here and it is completely free.

Highlight: The caves are carved into the Manhattan schist bedrock and are the most direct physical link to the island's original landscape.

New York City's oldest surviving bridge, built in 1848 as part of the original Croton Aqueduct system. It connects Manhattan to the Bronx over the Harlem River and was restored and reopened in 2015. The views from the bridge are remarkable. The Harlem River below, the Bronx to the north, and the Manhattan skyline to the south. Almost nobody walks it.

Highlight: Start from the Manhattan side in Washington Heights, near 173rd Street. The water tower at the Manhattan end is one of the few surviving examples of this type in the city.

Every Saturday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, an outdoor food market brings together 100 local food vendors selling some of the most creative and delicious food in New York. This is where new NYC food trends start before spreading everywhere else. The views across the East River to Manhattan are excellent.

Highlight: Arrive hungry and early, the best vendors sell out. Open April through November.