Six Hour NYC Sightseeing Tour
If you’re in New York for a short period of time but want to take in all of the major sites, then this NYC sightseeing tour will be perfect for you. It’ll take about 6 hours, but we feel it’s the best way to see New York City in the least amount of time possible.
Cover Major Attractions on the NYC Sightseeing Tour
You’ll first start out at the Gray Line New York flagship location located in Midtown on 8th Avenue. The building is easy to spot with its red walls and big space. The company offers many tours throughout the city such as the six hour tour we’re covering in this article. Before the tour, make sure to check-in with the concierge so they can confirm that you are in the premises. Below is a map of some of the sites that the tour passes by or stops at.
Going To and From Harlem
We hopped on the bus and made our way uptown into Harlem. We passed the west side of Central Park, The American Museum of Natural History, Apollo Theater and made our first pit stop at General Grant National Memorial. Across the memorial is the well-known Riverside Church. We spent about 10-15 minutes exploring the area. The church even has a space for tourists so they can learn more about the building.
After our quick pit-stop, we made our way to One World Trade located in downtown Manhattan. On the way down, we drove by the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art and through Fifth Ave, which is famous for shopping. We also passed by the Empire State Building, The Chrysler Building and Washington Square Park.
Pit Stop at One World Trade
Our second stop on the NYC sightseeing tour was at One World Trade. Here, we visited the 9/11 Memorial and took pictures inside the Oculus, which houses numerous stores, MTA Subway lines and also the PATH trains to New Jersey.
We also went to Brookfield Place which is across the street from One World Trade. This building has high-end shops such as Gucci and has a food court as well. Our tour guide decided to give us an hour for our lunch break here.
The Boat Cruise Portion of the Tour
After our lunch break, we made our way to the pier where Hornblower New York took our group on a boat tour. On the way to the pier, we passed by Chelsea Piers and also the retired aircraft carrier, The USS Intrepid.
This aircraft carrier is now a museum that’s docked in NYC. It displays fighter planes from around the world and even a Concorde plane.
The boat cruise itself was definitely the best part of the tour. We had awesome views of downtown Manhattan, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
Overall
As stated, we definitely recommend this tour to people that are only in NYC for a short period of time. Also, we recommend booking this tour during the summer while the weather is nice. It’s a pretty long tour, so you might as well enjoy during the warmer months.
