Madison Square Garden

Midtown

NYC's major performance venue – part of the massive complex housing Penn Station – hosts big-arena performers, from Kanye West to Madonna. It’s also a sports arena, with New York Knicks (www.nba.com/knicks) and New York Liberty (https://liberty.wnba.com) basketball games and New York Rangers (www.nhl.com/rangers) hockey games, as well as boxing and events like the Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (www.westminsterkennelclub.org).

Dubbed the 'Mecca of basketball' and 'the world's most famous arena,' good basketball has been hard to come by in recent years as the Knicks have endured years of woeful play. The arena has been part of decades-old redevelopment plans of the claustrophobic underground Penn Station.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • A woman takes notes in front of a sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    Metropolitan Museum of Art

    2.55 MILES

    What started with a handful of paintings brought over from Europe or donated by a coterie of philanthropically minded robber barons in the 19th century…

  • OCTOBER 2015: Visitors paddle in boats near a bridge at Central Park..

    Central Park

    2.64 MILES

    One of the world’s most renowned green spaces, Central Park comprises 843 acres of rolling meadows, boulder-studded outcroppings, elm-lined walkways,…

  • Ellis Island and the Immigration Museum

    Ellis Island

    4.28 MILES

    Located in New York Harbor, Ellis Island is the US's most famous and historically important gateway and is home to one of the country’s most moving…

  • Beautiful view of Manhattan during a summer sunset

    Empire State Building

    0.43 MILES

    The Chrysler Building may be prettier, and One World Trade Center taller, but the queen bee of the New York skyline remains the Empire State Building. NYC…

  • NEW YORK - MAY 29 : ONE WORLD OBSERVATORY grand opening day on May 29, 2015. It is open year round. Starting May 29th until September 7th from 9 a.m. until midnight

    One World Observatory

    2.77 MILES

    Spanning three levels at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, One World Observatory offers dazzling panoramic views over Manhattan's…

  • SolomonR. Guggenheim Museum, detailed view

    Guggenheim Museum

    2.9 MILES

    A New York icon, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, more commonly known as the Guggenheim, is an internationally-renowned art museum and one of the most…

  • Statue of Liberty

    Statue of Liberty

    5 MILES

    It’s been over a century since Lady Liberty made her debut appearance on the New York skyline, but this iconic statue is still one of the city’s most…

  • NEW YORK CITY, USA - JUNE 18 2016 - Panoramic view of the interior National 9/11 Memorial Museum. The Last Column Remnants and Slurry Wall. Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA

    National September 11 Memorial Museum

    2.86 MILES

    When the twin towers of the World Trade Center toppled during the awful events of 11 September 2001, it led to years of soul-searching about what would be…

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Nearby Midtown attractions

1. Museum at FIT

0.26 MILES

Fashionistas won't want to miss a visit to the fabulous sartorial exhibits at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), which holds one of the world's…

2. Herald Square

0.3 MILES

This crowded convergence is best known as the home of mammoth department store Macy's, where you can still ride some of the original wooden elevators. As…

3. Garment District

0.34 MILES

Otherwise known as the Fashion District, this thread-obsessed territory might look like an unremarkable stretch of designers' offices and wholesale and…

4. Empire State Building

0.43 MILES

The Chrysler Building may be prettier, and One World Trade Center taller, but the queen bee of the New York skyline remains the Empire State Building. NYC…

5. Chelsea Hotel

0.45 MILES

This red-brick hotel, built in the 1880s and featuring ornate iron balconies and no fewer than seven plaques declaring its literary landmark status, has…

6. Hudson Yards

0.48 MILES

After six years of construction and $25 billion of investment, the first phase of Manhattan's new megadevelopment 'neighborhood' on the Hudson finally…

7. Museum of Sex

0.52 MILES

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8. Vessel (TKA)

0.53 MILES

Sprouting 150ft high from the central plaza of Hudson Yards is the controversial construction called 'The Vessel.' Looking something like a giant, copper…