Manhattan Highlights Guided Bus Tour with Photo Stops New York

Midtown Manhattan and Times Square

Midtown is the busiest part of New York and the starting point for most visitors' first look at the city. The tour passes the landmarks and avenues of the district, including Times Square, the Theater District and Fifth Avenue, and your guide explains how the area grew from farmland and theatres into one of the busiest places on Earth.

The buildings here include some of the most famous skyscrapers in the world, and the guide points out their history and architecture as you drive. Many visitors ask what is included in a Manhattan sightseeing bus tour, and Midtown is always at the centre of it. The route can change with traffic and events, but the main sights are covered.

Central Park and Upper Manhattan

Central Park covers 843 acres in the middle of Manhattan and was designed in the 1850s as a place of rest and fresh air for the growing city. The bus travels along its edges and past the grand apartment blocks and museums of Fifth Avenue and Central Park West.

The route may also include neighbourhoods further north, where the guide talks about the culture, history and character of areas such as the Upper West Side and Harlem. Seen from the bus, the contrast between the green park and the tall buildings around it is one of the best views of the city.

Lower Manhattan and the financial district

Lower Manhattan is where New York began. Its narrow streets follow the old Dutch and English town, and today they lead past Wall Street, the financial district and the area around the World Trade Center. Your guide explains how the city grew from this small tip of the island.

The tour also passes neighbourhoods such as Chinatown and Little Italy, and there may be photo stops with views of the skyline and the bridges, depending on the day. If you are looking for a Manhattan guided tour that shows the historic south and the modern north in a single morning, this is what the route is designed to do.

Planning your Manhattan bus tour

The tour lasts about five hours and starts in the morning at a meeting point in Manhattan, with the exact location and time confirmed in your voucher. It is a good first activity in New York because the guide can give tips on what to see next, and you can decide which places you want to return to.

Entrance tickets to attractions are not included, so if you want to go up an observation deck or into a museum you need to book that separately. Wear comfortable shoes and layers, and bring a camera. The route and stops may change with traffic, road closures and events.