This post took forever to do because I literally had hundreds of photos to narrow down and half the time my photos weren’t even that good. And I’ve been a huge slacker lately. It’s been way over half a year since I’ve been to New York City.
When I go on vacation, the number one thing I look for is DEALS EVERYWHERE. Travelling to another city is expensive enough, so I like to figure out where I can save money while doing tourist-y things. I’ve had a great experience in the past using CityPASS when I was in Toronto, and again when I went to New York City earlier in summer.
The CityPASS is a booklet that allows you to visit attractions in the city with savings up to 50%. You pre-purchase the booklet and on the first day you use it, you have 9 days to visit the attractions that are available. Inside the booklets are admissions to museums and tourist spots, such as the Empire State Building. The CityPASS is available in 12 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California, Tampa Bay, and Toronto.
For New York City, there are two options of the CityPASS you can get. My friend and I used the CityPASS option ($160.20 CAD) and we ended up going to five different attractions. 
The fun bit is seeing how much you save. Let’s break down the costs
- Empire State Building (the CityPASS lets you go in the daytime and same day at night): $49
- American Museum of Natural History (includes one giant screen film): $28
- Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET): $25
- Top of the Rock Observation Deck: $34 / Guggenheim Museum: $25
- Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island: $25.50 / Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises: $30-42
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum: $24 / Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum: $33
If you calculate all the most expensive options, it would cost over $200. Who doesn’t like saving money on vacations right?! We were so glad we had the CityPASS (although we got these passes as a complementary gift, I have purchased them before for Toronto and had a great experience as well.)
The spots my friend and I hit up were: Empire State Building, Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Top of the Rock, and 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Ever since I’ve been to the Natural History Museum in London, I kind of want to hit up other natural history museums in different cities now. The Museum of Natural History in New York was a must-see for me, as I love scientific collections but it was also mentioned in the book, The Rosie Project.
The roof on the MET is absolutely gorgeous! My only warning – don’t bother spending your money on lunch on top of the MET unless you’re absolutely desperate for food. Overpriced and subpar compared to your New York food truck (I miss those halal rice bowls!!!)
None of my photos does New York City justice and I’d definitely go back. The food, life, and fashion is so much fun and I got to live a bit of my ‘Gossip Girl’ dream during my week in the Big Apple. If there is another city that I’m visiting that has the CityPASS, I wouldn’t hesitate getting another one as it makes the process of getting into something easier (and more affordable!) For now, I’m going to focus on planning my next trip – Hong Kong and Japan!
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Disclaimer: CityPASS was complementary but my opinion is 100% my own!
