New York Explorer Pass: the customizable pass

What is the New York Explorer Pass?

• The New York Explorer Pass is a sightseeing package that lets you choose 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 10 activities from a list of over 100 attractions in New York. The pass gives you a flat rate that’s much lower than buying individual tickets at regular prices. In total, the Explorer Pass can save you up to 50% compared to standard admission prices.
• Another advantage: you pick your visits freely on the spot, based on what interests you. Visit the monuments and museums you want, whenever you want. No set order or daily limits.
• When you buy the pass, you just decide how many visits you want in total. After that, you’re completely free! To book your Explorer Pass, head to the New York Explorer Pass booking module. Note that you’ll need to enter a date during booking—but it doesn’t really matter because your Explorer Pass is valid for 1 year from the purchase date on our site. You can enter today’s date or your arrival date. Either way, it makes no difference.
• The Explorer Pass lets you make mandatory reservations, including for the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. We’re here to help! We’ll send you a helpful guide in French explaining how to make those mandatory bookings. You can also contact us with any questions.

What attractions are included in the Explorer Pass?

The Explorer Pass gives you access to over 100 attractions and tours in New York at no extra cost. It’s simple: just show the QR Code from your pass on your smartphone at the entrance. You’ll find this QR Code in the PDF document sent to your email immediately after you pay for your Explorer Pass.

Attractions included in the Explorer Pass

Here’s the list, updated August 24, 2026, of places, monuments, museums, and attractions you can access with your New York Explorer Pass. For most of these, just show up at the entrance. You’ll either get in directly or join the next guided tour departure. Some attractions require advance booking—we note these in parentheses and recap them in the section below:

1. Ferry and entry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (advance booking required, see below).
2. Empire State Building Observatory (advance booking required, see below).
3. Top of the Rock Observatory (advance booking required, see below).
4. One World Observatory.
5. The Edge Observatory in Hudson Yards.
6. Access to The Vessel in Hudson Yards.
7. American Museum of Natural History.
8. National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the official 9/11 museum at the base of One World Trade Center (advance booking required, see below).
9. 9/11 Museum Workshop, a photographer’s personal museum about September 11 in the Meatpacking District. It’s a private museum.
10. MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), including access to MoMA PS1 in Queens.
11. Guggenheim Museum.
12. Whitney Museum of American Art.
13. Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
14. Madame Tussauds wax museum with the MARVEL Universe 4D show.
15. Butterbeer at the Harry Potter Store.
16. Entry to The RiseNY museum about New York’s history.
17. Entry to Museum of Broadway.
18. Museum of Sex.
19. Spyscape espionage museum.
20. Entry to Artechouse.
21. Mercer Labs museum of art and technology.
22. Entry to Museum of the City of New York.
23. Entry to Museum of Arts and Design.
24. Entry to Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
25. Entry to International Center of Photography.
26. Paley Center for Media.
27. New York Historical Society museum.
28. Entry to Museum of Jewish Heritage.
29. Museum at Eldridge Street.
30. Fraunces Tavern Museum.
31. Entry to South Street Seaport Museum.
32. Entry to Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
33. Staten Island Museum.
34. Staten Island Children’s Museum.
35. Choice of cruises in New York Harbor with Circle Line: “Liberty Super Express” cruise, “Best of NYC” cruise, “Liberty” cruise, “NYC Landmarks” cruise, The Beast, sailing cruise, and “Harbor Lights” cruise. For cruise routes, visit our dedicated page on cruises in New York).
36. Bike rental in Central Park for the day, including helmet, lock, and detailed Manhattan map.
37. E-scooter rental in Central Park.
38. Bike rental at Brooklyn Bridge for the day, with helmet and lock.
39. Bike rental on Governors Island.
40. 2-day pass for Hop-On Hop-Off sightseeing bus tours with Big Bus.
41. 5-minute photo shoot on a rooftop terrace with Manhattan views.
42. Guided tour of Rockefeller Center in English.
43. Guided tour of Madison Square Garden in English.
44. Guided tour of Radio City Music Hall in English.
45. Tour of Carnegie Hall in English.
46. 4-hour pass for 24 rides at Coney Island amusement park.
47. Ticket for a virtual reality gaming experience at Escape Virtuality.
48. Entry to Legoland north of New York.
49. Entry to Sea Life Aquarium in New Jersey.
50. Staten Island Zoo.
51. Ticket to a New York Yankees baseball game at Yankee Stadium.
52. Guided tour of Yankee Stadium in English.
53. Audio guide and skip-the-line entry to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
54. Tour of the catacombs at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in English.
55. Rockefeller Center ice skating rink.

Attractions requiring advance booking

Here are the attractions and tours that need advance booking. You’ll find all the information you need to make reservations in the online guide accessible through your voucher.

1. Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Update August 2026: You must book a ferry departure time for the Statue of Liberty. Everything is explained on our New York Explorer Pass help page. You’ll receive this page after ordering your passes on CNEWYORK.
2. Empire State Building Observatory, with skip-the-line access to avoid the ticket queue. Then you’ll join the regular line for the elevators. Update August 2026: You must book your visit time in advance. The process is explained on our Explorer Pass help page. You’ll get access to this page after ordering your passes on CNEWYORK.
3. September 11 Memorial & Museum. Update August 2026: You must book your museum visit time in advance. The process is explained on our help page. Easy for booking your tickets.
4. Top of the Rock Observatory.
5. Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens bus tour with English-speaking guide.
6. Harlem tour with gospel service, with English-speaking guide.
7. Guided tour of the Statue of Liberty with English-speaking guide.
8. Marvel superhero-themed guided tour in English.
9. Guided tour of New York movies and TV shows with English-speaking guide.
10. High Line and Chelsea neighborhood tour in English.
11. Guided tour of Speakeasy bars and Prohibition history with English-speaking guide.
12. Guided rooftop tour with English-speaking guide.
13. Food on Foot culinary guided tour in English.
14. Guided tour of Wall Street and finance in English.
15. Lower East Side food tour in English.
16. Guided tour of New York media in English.
17. Guided tour of gay New York in English.
18. Brooklyn Bridge and Dumbo neighborhood tour with English-speaking guide.
19. Guided tour of Williamsburg, Brooklyn in English.
20. Guided tour of Broadway in English.
21. Greenwich Village night tour in English.
22. Guided ghost tour of Greenwich Village in English.
23. Slavery history tour in English.
24. Guided tour of Little Italy in English.
25. Street art and graffiti tour in Brooklyn in English.
26. Choice of guided bike tours with English-speaking guide.
27. Perfect picnic planning in Central Park.
28. Jazz evening in Harlem.
29. Piano bar evening in Manhattan.
30. Guided tour of Christmas markets in English, available only during the holiday season.

Good to know

• We regularly update the list of attractions and tours included in the New York Explorer Pass. However, the list can change at any time without notice and without compensation. CNEWYORK cannot be held responsible for any changes, including the removal of any attraction. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Book your New York Explorer Pass

• Good to know: The Explorer Pass is personal, so you need one pass per person. Book your Explorer Pass in French by clicking here!
• When you book through CNEWYORK, your Explorer Passes appear directly on your smartphone. You’ll receive your passes by email less than an hour after your purchase confirmation.
• Handy: to help you use your Explorer Pass, we’ve set up a special help page. This page is password-protected and only available to people who booked their Explorer Pass on our site. If you didn’t receive the password, contact us! 

How does buying an Explorer Pass on our site work?

• Once payment is complete, you’ll get a confirmation email letting you know your order has been received.
• Within the hour, you’ll get a second email with your Explorer Passes as an attachment. The document has several pages, and if you ordered multiple passes, they’re listed one after another. The passes are simply the QR Codes you’ll see in the top right corners. These are the QR Codes you’ll show at each entrance—nothing more.
• A few minutes after receiving your Explorer Passes, you’ll get a third and final email with the password to our exclusive help page. This page tells you everything you need to know to get the most out of your pass. Enjoy your trip!

Contact us for mandatory bookings

• The New York Explorer Pass lets you make all mandatory reservations in advance. As soon as you buy the pass on our site, you’ll get an email with a link to a help page.
• If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help you use your New York Explorer Pass.

Frequently asked questions