By trip type

First-time sightseeing trip → Midtown. Central, walkable to the icons and Broadway, and steps from transit and major venues like Madison Square Garden. You pay for convenience, but you save hours.

Couples / quieter trip → Greenwich Village or the Upper West Side. Leafy, romantic, full of restaurants, and calmer in the evening, while still well-connected. The Upper West Side puts Central Park and the big museums on your doorstep — a Central Park walking tour starts right there.

Family trip → Upper West Side or Midtown East. Residential, near Central Park and family-friendly museums, with easier evenings and good subway access.

Nightlife / food-focused trip → Lower East Side, East Village, or Williamsburg (Brooklyn). This is where the bars, music, and late kitchens are. You trade some sightseeing convenience for the best nights out.

Budget trip → just outside the Times Square core, or Brooklyn. Step a few blocks away from the most touristy streets, or cross into Brooklyn, and prices ease — just weigh the commute.

Where locals would actually skip

  • The Times Square blocks themselves. Iconic to see, exhausting to sleep in — crowded, loud, and overpriced. Stay nearby instead and visit.
  • Anywhere chosen purely on a cheap nightly rate but far from a subway. The savings evaporate in time and fares; proximity to a train matters more than the headline price.
  • A neighborhood that doesn't match your plan. A nightlife area is wasted on a family that's asleep by nine; a quiet residential block frustrates travelers who want to be out late.

The deciding questions

  1. What will you do most? Sightseeing → Midtown. Eating and nightlife → downtown or Brooklyn. Relaxing → Upper West Side.
  2. How central do you need to be? Tight schedule → stay central and pay for it. Flexible → go a little further out and save.
  3. Who's travelling? Families and couples lean quieter; groups and night owls lean downtown.

Plan the rest

Once you've picked an area, an attraction pass such as the Go City New York Explorer Pass makes it easy to bundle the sights near your base. For the full rundown of areas, see where to stay in NYC; to choose a borough, read Manhattan vs Brooklyn.