695 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in New York City - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in New York City

New York, New York

City Hall Station

A beautiful and abandoned New York subway station from 1904, complete with chandelier.

New York, New York

The Evolution Store

A terrific purveyor of natural history objects and curios.

New York, New York

Dream House

La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela's "Dream House" will immerse you in an ever changing world of sound and light.

New York, New York

Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital Ruins

A crumbling hospital from the 1850s on Roosevelt Island.

New York, New York

Mmuseumm

A tiny museum housed in a New York freight elevator specializes in the "overlooked, dismissed, or ignored."

New York, New York

The Elevated Acre

Amid the bustle and noise of the Financial District hides a secluded garden oasis above the city streets.

New York, New York

Explorers Club Headquarters

A treasure trove of artifacts, books, and artwork from the "golden age" of exploration.

New York, New York

5 Beekman Street

This beautiful building in the heart of Manhattan's Financial District was empty for decades.

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Brooklyn, New York

New York Transit Museum

Ride the subways of yesteryear.

Bronx, New York

Bronx Zoo Bug Carousel

The first and only carousel with a lineup entirely of insects.

New York, New York

Tannen's Magic Shop

New York's oldest magic store.

Brooklyn, New York

Sunshine Laundromat

One of New York's best collections of pinball is hidden in a secret bar in the back of this laundromat.

Brooklyn, New York

Coney Island Museum

An oasis of calm amid the chaos of the boardwalk, the museum traces the heritage of this beloved beachside amusement park.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in New York City

New York, New York

Lexington Candy Shop

The oldest family-run luncheonette in New York, last renovated in 1948, still serves food and drinks the old-fashioned way.

New York, New York

Trinity Place Bank Vault Bar

This lower Manhattan bar is set up in an old bank vault that rests beneath a skyscraper that hides even more historic splendor.

New York, New York

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory

Celebrate Thanksgiving with pumpkin pie ice cream.

New York, New York

Tom's Restaurant

The "Seinfeld" diner.

See all 82 places to eat in New York City See all 82 places to eat in New York City

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

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Community Forums / United States / US: Northeast

Top Discussions in the US: Northeast Travel Forum

Post	Replies	Views	Activity
Map of New England Oddities	15 March 29, 2020	8493	March 29, 2020
New England Road Trip	27 February 7, 2020	5693	February 7, 2020
Liederkranz Cheese	10 August 29, 2019	3308	August 29, 2019
Try our NYC culinary scavenger hunt!	4 July 18, 2019	1623	July 18, 2019
Road Trip Creepy/ Cool things to see Traveling from New York to Salem, MA	7 August 18, 2019	2527	August 18, 2019

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Stories About New York City

<em>Hudutu,</em> a classic Garifuna dish.

Meet the Woman Writing the First Garifuna Cookbook

Isha Gutierrez-Sumner seeks to preserve, protect, and popularize her people's cuisine.

by Shehzil Zahid

September 10, 2021

This unusual artifact—now housed at the Columbia University Libraries—is part comic collection, part journal of life in the 1930s.

The 36-Pound Comic Scrapbook That Chronicles the Great Depression

How the collection went from a small-town barbershop to a big-time library.

by Amadea Tanner

August 16, 2021

Podcast: The White Squirrel of Prospect Park

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

August 12, 2021

The Cosmos cake made with acid-adjusted orange juice jelly, vodka, sweet milk jelly galaxy, and a cranberry-lemon jelly base.

This Jelly Cake Captures the Wonder of the Cosmos

Centrifuges and syringe-tipped knives are behind this edible miniature galaxy.

by Diana Hubbell

Research has included oral histories, archival sleuthing, and more.

The Quest to Collect the Stories of Bengalis in Harlem

The project has spanned decades and continents.

by Saudamini Jain

A fresh batch of sesame bagels are removed from the oven at H&H Bagels in New York.

Meet the Indispensable Bagel Rollers of NYC

A machine still can't provide a schmear experience up to New York standards.

by Emily Wilson

Podcast: Moses Gates and the Chrysler Building Eagles

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

Podcast: Brooklyn Latrine

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

by The Podcast Team

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