New York CityPASS

Are you looking for information about the New York CityPASS? You've come to the right place 🙂

The New York CityPASS : The best way to visit New York ?

To sum up the interest of the New York City Pass, it allows you to access 6 must-see tourist sites in New York, and to discover these amazing places while enjoying a discount of nearly 40% on average.

For a first visit to New York, this offer is therefore particularly attractive.

The New York City Pass (or New York CityPASS) comes in the form of a card that allows you to do the visits of your choice at your own pace, without having to wait in long queues. After purchase, the card will be valid for 6 months. It will be activated at first use (for your first visit) and become valid for a period of 9 days. Depending on the date, this period of validity can even be extended to 30 days (especially during the COVID period).

With the New York City Pass, you will be able to choose 6 places to discover among the most famous in New York, such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty or the American Museum of Natural History.

You will have to choose among the 9 visits available with the pass, and will then receive a ticket in the form of a QR Code, which you will have to present during each of your visits. If you prefer, you can also choose to print a voucher, which you will then exchange against a card on your first visit.

Unlike other passes that offer many more attractions, the New York City Pass focuses solely on the MUST-SEE activities that everyone will want to experience on their first visit to New York.

With its low price, you're almost guaranteed to save money, even if you're only interested in 4 or 5 of the places offered in the list.

What is included in the New York City Pass

This pass will allow you to choose 6 activities to do: 3 are automatically included, and you will choose the next 3 between 2 proposals each. The New York City Pass therefore gives you:

• A ticket to visit the Empire State Building and access its observation platform
• An entry to the American Museum of Natural History
• An entry to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• A Circle Line cruise OR access to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty by ferry
• Admission to the Guggenheim Museum OR access to the Top of the Rock observation deck
• A visit to the 9/11 Memorial Museum OR an entry to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Choosing which activities to select may not be easy 🙂 If you would like more information on the different activities, you can follow this link.

THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, STAR OF THE NEW YORK CITYPASS

If you had to choose only one place to discover in New York, it would probably be this one. Visiting the Empire State Building and accessing its panoramic observatory located on the 86th floor will give you the opportunity to admire one of the most beautiful views of the city. The New York City Pass will even allow you to visit the Empire State Building twice in the same day – you can make your first visit during the day, and come back in the evening to discover New York by night from the observation deck.

The American Museum of Natural History

Inside the world's most famous natural history museum, you will see an impressive collection of fossils, including the famous Tyrannosaurus. You can also discover the origins of mankind and civilisations, learn about the universe and experience many other things. A visit to the AMNH will be a memorable experience for young and old alike.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met is the New York equivalent of the British Museum. This Manhattan museum is the most visited place in New York, and its exhibits will let you discover works of art from all over the world and dating back to as far as 5,000 years ago. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collections include more than 2 million paintings, sculptures and objects from Antiquity to the present day.

I just finished talking about the CityPASS’ 3 mandatory activities. The following activities will vary depending on your choice 🙂 Just a reminder, they go together – you can only choose one of each duo. You will have the choice between:

The Circle Line cruise

With the New York City Pass you can choose between the Harbour Light, Landmarks, and Liberty cruises. On these 1 to 2 hour cruises, you'll get to see many of the city's landmarks. From the New York Bay, you can admire the Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan skyline, or even see the New York City lights on a night cruise. For more excitement, you can also choose a speedboat tour and enjoy a speedboat ride at over 70 km/h.

Ellis Island and the Statue Of Liberty

With the ferry, you will be able to discover the Statue of Liberty from up close, and enjoy a very appreciable view of the Skyline during the trip. Once on Ellis Island, you can visit the Museum of American Immigration, which tells the story of the 12 million people who arrived in New York by boat in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tickets to visit the statue and access the crown are not included in the pass.

The Guggenheim Museum

Housed in a unique building designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Guggenheim Museum is home to one of the world's most impressive collections of modern and contemporary art. The building's distinctive helix shape is also reflected inside, and you can explore this collection of 20th-century works as you move along a long, sloping corridor.

The Top of The Rock

After the Empire State Building observation deck, this is where you can enjoy the second best view of New York. The double advantage of this observatory is that it allows you to see the Empire State Building, but also offers indoor and outdoor observation platforms, spread over the 3 upper floors of the skyscraper. On the top floor, you can enjoy a completely unobstructed view, being behind neither glass nor a fence.

The 9/11 memorial Museum

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is a building dedicated to the memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks that hit New York so hard on 11 September, 2001, as well as the victims of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. The memorial is a place of remembrance where two very large ponds are located precisely where the Twin Towers stood, surrounded by 400 oak trees. The memorial museum contains a large number of objects and personal belongings that were found as a result of excavations in the rubble of the towers. In the museum's lobby, photos of the 2,983 victims of the attacks are displayed on a huge wall.

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

It is inside the Navy aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, and other museum ships, that you will find a museum dedicated to the history of the navy and of civil and military aerospace. In addition to the aircraft carrier, several other aircraft are on display, including the Space Shuttle Enterprise, the Concorde civilian aircraft and the USS Growler submarine. There are also exhibits on the history of the Navy and Air Force and on the conquest of space.

New York City Pass prices

The New York CityPASS is priced at $136 (£105) for adults and $112 (£86) for children aged 6 to 12.

The price does not vary depending on the activities you choose. When you purchase your pass, you will be asked to select an initial date for your pass, and you may cancel your order up to 24 hours before that date.

PRATIcal information

• Not all the proposed attractions have the same price. If you are unsure about which of the 6 tours to choose, choose the more expensive ones, such as the Top of the Rock and the cruises. This way, you will spend less on separate tickets for the other attractions.

• Tickets are nominative and for one person only

• Admission to the 3 main museums (the Met, AMNH and the Guggenheim Museum) is free for children under 11, which may make the New York City Pass less attractive for younger children, if these museums are your priorities.

• Top of the Rock is the only attraction where you can book a time slot for your visit

• Opening times for individual attractions may vary, so always check the times before you plan your visit