New York

What changed, what it costs, and how to spend four days

The Rolodex

City , The GUIDE

Photos & words by

Coco Tran

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THE TRIP

Visited

Travelled to New York repeatedly

Basis

Trip I took

Updated

25 Oct 2026

Photos & words by Coco Tran

2023
25 Oct 2026
25 Oct 2026

The short answer

Two things changed that every older guide misses. Congestion pricing started in January 2025, so driving below 60th Street now costs nine dollars on an E-ZPass. And the MetroCard is finished – sales ended on 31 December 2025, the fare is three dollars, and OMNY caps you at thirty-five a week automatically. Beyond that: stay downtown, walk more than you think, and book the restaurant before the flight.

At a glance

Setting
Five boroughs, and for most visitors two of them – Manhattan below 96th Street and the Brooklyn waterfront
Best for
Eating, museums and walking, in a city that rewards doing less of more
Standout
Five MICHELIN three-star restaurants, including two that were not there three years ago
Consider
Congestion pricing below 60th Street since January 2025, and the MetroCard is gone – tap your phone instead
Stayed
New York, repeatedly

Trip I took
Hotels here can be booked through Coco Tran Travel. How we review.

The Manhattan Bridge framed between warehouses on Washington Street in Dumbo

Washington Street in Dumbo, which is better at seven in the morning

New York is the easiest city in the world to visit badly. Four days, a list of eleven things, two hours a day in traffic, and you go home having seen the inside of a lot of queues. The city rewards the opposite approach almost immediately: pick a neighbourhood, stay in it, walk out of it on foot, and let the days be shorter and better.

Two practical things have changed since most of what you will read online was written, and both matter from the moment you land. Congestion pricing began on 5 January 2025, so driving into Manhattan at or below 60th Street now costs money. And the MetroCard is over – sales ended on 31 December 2025 and the whole system runs on tapping a phone or a contactless card. Neither is a problem once you know; both will cost you time if you do not.

Coco Tran

You’ve reached the quiet door.

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