Depending on which website you look at, New York City is one of the, if not THE most visited cities in the U.S. According to NYC.gov, “the city,” as it’s generally known to locals, got close to 65 million visitors in 2024 alone (it was the second-highest number of visitors NYC’s ever gotten).
My husband and I write about NYC a lot, partially because we know so many people go to visit, but mainly because we know it so well. We both grew up in the greater NY tri-state area (I was born in Brooklyn and moved to Staten Island when I was about 10. Joe lived in Linden, New Jersey for his whole life, until we moved to Florida about 24 years ago) and for us “the city” just seems “normal.”
Tourists and NYC: A Different Perspective
However for a lot of tourists, NYC is anything BUT normal. They undoubtedly know about the hustle and bustle, and are probably afraid of crossing the street on a red light if there are no cars coming (easiest way to tell a tourist LOL). If they checked out the right websites, they already know how to not look like a tourist, how to avoid the biggest mistakes tourists tend to make in NYC, the easiest way to find public restrooms in NYC, the things locals wish tourists knew when they visit, and the right and wrong way to be a tourist in NYC.
But most tourists find they have more of an appreciation of NYC if they know more about it.
NYC: More Than Just Manhattan
Sure, most probably know that New York City is not the capital of New York State (Albany is). They might even also know that New York City is more than just the island of Manhattan. NYC is actually comprised of 5 boroughs:
- The Bronx (Bronx County)
- Brooklyn (Kings County)
- Manhattan (New York County)
- Queens (Queens County)
- Staten Island (Richmond County)
Frequent travelers might even know that both JFK and LGA airports are located in Queens.
But did you also know:
Population Facts
- With 8.8 million residents, New York City is the largest city in the United States. That’s about double the population of Los Angeles and triple that of Chicago.
- New York City is the second-largest city in North America (Mexico City is #1) and the fourth-largest city in the Western Hemisphere, after São Paulo (Brazil), Lima (Peru), and, of course, Mexico City.
- If Brooklyn were its own city, it would be the 4th largest in the country, after NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
- More Chinese (nearly 1 million) and Jewish people (over 1 million) live in New York City than in any other city (outside of the Asian continent and Israel, of course).
- New York City is considered the world’s most linguistically diverse city – over 800 languages are spoken there. After English, the top spoken languages are Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and Italian.
Historic Facts
- New York City was the first capital of the United States, for a period of 5 years in 1785.
- Theodore Roosevelt was the only U.S. president born in Manhattan. He was raised in a Flatiron District brownstone.
- NYC is home to 4 National Monuments: The Statue of Liberty, Castle Clinton, Governors Island, and Stonewall.
- NYC also has 114 National Historic Landmarks (that’s more than any other city in the country).
- The seven spikes on the Statue of Liberty represent the seven continents and seven oceans of the world, which indicates Liberty as a universal concept.
- Ellis Island was originally used for the hangings of pirates and criminals. After that, it was a military outpost. THEN it became the gateway that welcomed more than 12 million immigrants to the US.
- NYC is the birthplace of LGBTQIA+ rights in the USA (it all started with police raids at the Stonewall Inn, which, back in the late 60s, was a safe haven in Greenwich Village for people in the LGBT community).
Food and Beverage Facts
- You can find a plethora of food carts on the streets of NYC (around 4,000 of them!). No worries about their safety; the Department of Health inspects each of them regularly.
- The first pizzeria in the USA opened in NYC. It was Lombardi’s Pizza, at 32 Spring Street. It opened in 1905 and is still going strong.
- New York City is also where English muffins, Waldorf salad, spaghetti and meatballs, pasta primavera, red velvet cake, baked Alaska, chicken and waffles, General Tso’s Chicken, Bloody Mary, Tom Collins, Reuben sandwiches, eggs Benedict, American-style hot dogs, cronuts, and ice cream cones were all invented.
- There are roughly 25,000 restaurants in NYC (so don’t limit yourself to Olive Garden and McDonald’s!)
- Fraunces Tavern is a bar in downtown Manhattan frequented by George Washington and Alexander Hamilton (Washington’s tooth is on display there).
Broadway Facts
- There are 41 Broadway theaters in NYC
- The difference between a Broadway show and an Off-Broadway show is the number of seats in the theater. Broadway theaters have 500+ seats, Off Broadway Theaters have between 100 and 499 seats, and Off Off Broadway theaters have 99 or fewer seats.
- Most Broadway theaters skip row ‘I’ so people won’t mistakenly think they’re in row 1.
Miscellaneous!
- It’s legal to go topless in NYC.
- Times Square is named after New York Times, after they moved their headquarters there in 1904.
- It’s illegal to honk your car horn in NYC, unless it’s an emergency.
- Tattooing was banned in NYC from 1961 to 1997.
New York City is a place like no other, and whether you’re visiting for the first time or the hundredth, there’s always something new to discover. Got a favorite NYC fact or experience? Share it in the comments—we’d love to hear it!
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
