What are the most worthwhile things to do in New York City on a first visit?

The harbor is the one experience that is genuinely unlike anywhere else, and its pricing is unusual too. The National Park Service levies no admission at either island museum; what you pay is the ferry fare, listed at $26.00 for ages 13 and up, $23.00 for seniors 62 and over, $17.00 for children aged 4 to 12, and nothing for children under 4. Ranger-led tours are free for all ages and the audio tour is included. The separate Ellis Island hard hat tour of the hospital complex costs an additional $55 for ages 13 and up and runs subject to availability.

Ellis Island itself is larger than it was when it mattered most: the Park Service records that the island grew from an original 3.3 acres to 27.5 acres through landfill. That is why the main building sits in the middle of open ground rather than at a water's edge.

Uptown, the arithmetic rewards planning. The Met charges $30 for adults, $22 for seniors 65 and over and $17 for students, with children 12 and under admitted free. The American Museum of Natural History runs two price columns: New York State residents pay $25 for an adult, $20 for a senior or student and $14 for a child aged 3 to 12, while visitors from outside the state pay $37, $30 and $22 respectively. It opens daily from 10 am to 5:30 pm and closes only on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

From the ferry rail the skyline detaches from the land — Lower Manhattan reads as a single mass of towers from the water in a way it never does from inside the street grid, where you see one building at a time and never the shape of the whole.

The $55 hard hat tour is the only way onto the derelict south side of Ellis Island, where the hospital buildings stand unrestored. It is a separate ticket on a separate schedule from the ferry fare, and because it depends on availability it is the single element of a harbor day most likely to be unavailable when you arrive without it booked.

• First boats — Liberty Island fills from the ferry, so the earliest departures mean the shortest wait at the pedestal.
• Midday — Ellis Island's 27.5 acres absorb crowds better than Liberty Island's narrow walkways do.
• Late afternoon — The Natural History museum runs until 5:30 pm every day it is open, which makes it a reliable end to a day that started on the water.

Resident pricing is enforced with documents, not goodwill: the Met accepts a New York driver's license or ID card, IDNYC, a New York library card or a recent bill showing a New York address, and the Natural History museum limits its resident rate to General Admission, excluding ticketed exhibitions. Harbor access is weather- and capacity-dependent, and the Park Service warns against third-party sellers around the ferry terminal. The Natural History museum's two closed days fall on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so a late-December visit needs checking against the calendar.

The when-to-visit answer in this group carries the Central Park climate normals and the museum closing days; the weekend question covers the free alternatives to every ticket named here.