Trip Ideas New York City Forever! By Travel + Leisure Editors Travel + Leisure Editors Since 1971, Travel + Leisure editors have followed one mission: to inform, inspire, and guide travelers to have deeper, more meaningful experiences. T+L's editors have traveled to countries all over the world, having flown, sailed, road tripped, and taken the train countless miles. They've visited small towns and big cities, hidden gems and popular destinations, beaches and mountains, and everything in between. With a breadth of knowledge about destinations around the globe, air travel, cruises, hotels, food and drinks, outdoor adventure, and more, they are able to take their real-world experience and provide readers with tried-and-tested trip ideas, in-depth intel, and inspiration at every point of a journey. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on December 9, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email What's there to say about New York City? Everything and nothing, really. The city speaks for itself, rising triumphantly out of the ground and into the sky. But while its landmarks — the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge — tell part of the story, it's the whispers and yelling and stomping and rushing and laughter and tears of eight million individual souls across five sweeping boroughs that tell the other. Not to mention the eight million who came before and the eight million before them. This year, 2020, New York had a new word attached to its story: epicenter. One day in March people took the subway to work and then took the subway home — not realizing that it would be the last time for a very long time. While desks gathered dust in Midtown towers, ambulances whirled and buzzed across the city, the world watched in shock and awe as a Navy hospital ship cruised down the Hudson, and rooftops and windows became a 7 p.m. social club of sorts, where previously unknown neighbors smiled and waved each night from a distance while clanging pots and pans for frontline workers. Eventually, though, the sirens began to fade, the Navy ship returned to sea, and New York City opened its heavy, heavy eyes again. The fallout of the situation is real: we've lost our favorite restaurants, stores that always had just the right thing, and the curtains remain closed on Broadway. But New York City is a resilient one, home to resilient people. New York City is not dead — and it will never be dead. At Travel + Leisure, we say New York City forever! Here, our love letter to the City That Never Sleeps in the form of a beautiful essay from a born and raised New Yorker, guides to experiencing the city virtually and safely in person, rebuttals from locals challenging the idea that New York is "over," and more. We love you, New York, thanks for being our home. Jenna Brillhart/Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. Renita E, guest-favorite host at Empire State Building "The invincible spirit of New Yorkers will always make a city rise." — Renita E, guest-favorite host at Empire State Building How to Take a Virtual Trip to New York City Visit These Iconic New York City Museums From Home BroadwayHD Is Letting You Watch Your Favorite Musicals For Free — For a Limited Time (Video) The Metropolitan Opera Is Offering Free Virtual Shows — Here's What to Watch in December Lin-Manuel Miranda on Shopping Local, the Future of Broadway, and His Favorite Neighborhood in New York 24 Places in NYC That New Yorkers Love to Visit How to Eat Like a New Yorker Wherever You Are Monique Fletcher, MTA New York City Transit Bus Operator/Brooklyn As long as we keep growing as a global society, NYC will never die because people are always willing to come to live in or visit the greatest city in the world. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. — Monique Fletcher, MTA New York City Transit Bus Operator/Brooklyn Anelle Miller, Executive Director of the Society of Illustrators and the Museum of American Illustration "As a native New Yorker, I have experienced so many challenges that this city has been faced with and have seen our community rise up to meet every one of them. The people of New York are the most resilient, and determined, with an innate ability to bounce back. Within my East Midtown community, we support one another and work together to build back our businesses." — Anelle Miller, Executive Director of the Society of Illustrators and the Museum of American Illustration Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit