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The Atlas Obscura Guide To New York

396 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Manhattan, New York

Updated April 13, 2023

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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

The Resilience of New York in 10 Remarkable Sites

New York has been described as a playground for the rich and powerful, but the state's history is full of ordinary people who have overcome extraordinary struggles. What if Seneca Falls, the village that launched the fight for women's suffrage, were as famous as Niagara Falls? What if Weeksville, the historic free Black community in Brooklyn, were as well-known as Williamsburg? From immigrant sanctuaries to the Survivor Tree, here are sites where New York has shown its resilience. As the pandemic continues, we hope this virtual trip helps you explore America’s wonders. If you do choose to venture out, please follow all guidelines, maintain social distance, and wear a mask.

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Explore Manhattan, New York

Architectural Oddities 43
Art 41
History 32
Shops 32
Museums And Collections 32
Hidden 23
Sacred Spaces 22
Homes 20

Manhattan Leaderboard

Recent New York Activity

Stories About Manhattan

The Gocta Waterfalls in northwestern Peru are the subject of one of our favorite recent Atlas Obscura Podcast episodes.

7 Recent Atlas Obscura Podcast Episodes You Just Have to Hear

For our two-year pod-iversary we're headed back to some of the coolest places we've taken you recently.
by April White

Podcast: NYC’s Most Beautiful Public Bathroom

You've gotta go.
by The Podcast Team

Podcast: Times Square Hum

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
During his lifetime, Thomas Edison received more than one thousand patents. But when asked which of his many inventions was his favorite, Edison said, "I like the phonograph best. Doubtless this is because I love music."

Saving the Sounds of the Early 20th Century

Some recordings in the New York Public Library’s wax cylinder collection haven’t been heard in generations—until now.
by Sarah Durn

Podcast: Hotel Theresa

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
A ghoulish 1915 poster from Jay's collection advertising a seance with the magician Howard Thurston.

For Sale: Ricky Jay's One-of-a-Kind Collection of Magic, Mystery, and Masterpieces

The late, legendary magician and actor always followed his curiosity.
by Matthew Taub

Inside the Year-Long Effort to Restore the Waldorf Astoria's Famed Clock

If they could turn back time.
by April White
Crisco released a slender cookbook aimed at "the Jewish Housewife."

Inside the World's Largest Jewish Cookbook Collection

A librarian with a love for eBay built this trove of culinary history.
by Anne Ewbank

Lists Featuring Manhattan

The Geographic Center of NYC is located on a traffic meridian on Queens Boulevard.
Vale of Cashmere.
Underneath the entrance to the nature walk is a small separate garden (Michelle Enemark CC Attribution Share Alike)

30 Unexpected Places to Have a Joyful Adventure in New York City

Sponsored by Volkswagen
30

Including Geographic Center of New York City, Vale of Cashmere, and Marie's Crisis

Phyllis Diller
Detail of the Texaco map terrazzo mosaic tile floor of the New York State Pavilion (Tent of Tomorrow), 2009

18 Places to Discover Innovation in Roosevelt Island and NYC

Sponsored by Graduate Hotels
18

Including Holographic Studios Inc., Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, and Patent Pending

Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
View from the pier

11 Surprisingly Romantic Places in New York City

We heart New York on Valentine's Day.

11

Including Albertine, Deno's Wonder Wheel, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The door to Otto Penzler’s office in the Mysterious Bookshop, marked by police tape.
The carousel - minus the usual middle pole

New York's Top 18 Wonders of 2018

The strange and unusual places Atlas Obscura readers wanted to visit most in the Big Apple in 2018.

18

Including Mysterious Bookshop, Obscura Antiques and Oddities, and Tannen's Magic Shop

Madaba Mosaic Map
The gallery of maps, showing the ceiling
Great Polish Map of Scotland

13 Marvelous Maps That Go Way Beyond Paper

Charting the world's most intriguing out-of-the-box cartography.

13

Including Madaba Mosaic Map, Gallery of Maps - Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, and Mapparium

The outside of The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company.

21 Cool and Unusual Kid-Friendly Places in New York City

Hidden gems to earn you major parent brownie points.

21

Including Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store, 767 Third Avenue, and Tannen's Magic Shop

Yellow dashes mark the old tunnel
Dashes mark the old tunnel, solid lines are the newer ones
Los Angeles Tunnels
The tunnels all look slightly differiently

7 Hidden Tunnels Under Government Buildings

The literal underbelly of public agencies.

6

Including FDR's Bomb Shelter, Steam Tunnels Under Capitol Hill, and Underground Tunnels of Los Angeles

Overlooking New York Harbor.
Gravestone at Trinity Churchyard.
The New York Marble Cemetery.

Unique Cemeteries in New York

Famous and historic graveyards to visit in the five boroughs.

14

Including Green-Wood Cemetery, Trinity Churchyard, and First Shearith Israel Graveyard

Can you hear it?
The beautifully tiled Art Deco tunnel hidden underneath 34th street.
Known as a "Zip Tube" this carries the book requests down to the stacks many floors below.

Even Midtown Manhattan Has Its Secrets

There are treasures hidden in plain sight in America's most commercial neighborhood.

34

Including Times Square Hum, Tannen's Magic Shop, and The Hidden Art Deco Tunnel Underneath the New Yorker Hotel

Taxidermy and insect displays
Inside the shop.

15 Cool Shops in New York

You know you need these unique New York stores.

15

Including The Evolution Store, George Glazer Gallery, and Tannen's Magic Shop

Mmuseumm
Detail of the Tiffany-designed elevators. Economical cast iron, not bronze!

The Unusual Sights of Manhattan's Financial District

An off-the-beaten-path walking tour of weird and wonderful sights at the tip of the Manhattan Isle.

12

Including Mmuseumm, The 'Ghostbusters' Firehouse, and The Woolworth Building

Fort Richmond ruins, Fort Wadsworth.
Detail of the Texaco map terrazzo mosaic tile floor of the New York State Pavilion (Tent of Tomorrow), 2009
One of the formidable Harris Batteries.

New York City's Most Accessible Abandoned Ruins

11 essential stops on an urban explorer's tour of New York.

11

Including The New York City Farm Colony , Remains of Fort Wadsworth, and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

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