New York Explorer Pass: the Flexible Sightseeing Pass

What is the New York Explorer Pass?

• The New York Explorer Pass is a sightseeing pass that lets you choose 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 10 activities from a list of more than 100 attractions in New York. You pay one flat price, which is much lower than buying each ticket at full price. Overall, the Explorer Pass can save you up to 50% on regular admission prices.
• Another advantage: you choose your visits freely once you are in New York. Pick the landmarks and museums that appeal to you on the day. There is no set order and no daily limit.
• When you buy the pass, you only need to decide how many visits you want to make in total. After that, you are free to do as you like! To book your Explorer Pass, go to the New York Explorer Pass booking form. You need to enter a date when you book, but it does not matter: your Explorer Pass is valid for 1 year from the date you buy it on our site. You can simply enter today’s date or your arrival date. Again, it makes no difference.
• The Explorer Pass lets you make the mandatory reservations, such as for the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. We are here to help! We will send you a help page in French that explains how to make these reservations. You can also contact us with any questions.

Which attractions are included in the Explorer Pass?

The Explorer Pass gives you access to more than 100 attractions and tours in New York with nothing more to pay. It is very simple: just show the QR code of your pass on your smartphone at the entrance. You will find the QR code in the PDF document sent to you by email right after you pay for your Explorer Pass.

Attractions included in the Explorer Pass

Here is the list of places, landmarks, museums and attractions you can visit with your New York Explorer Pass, last updated on September 28, 2026. For most of them, you just show up at the entrance. You then go straight in or join the next tour, in the case of guided tours. Some attractions and tours require a reservation in advance. In that case, we note it in parentheses, and we summarize them in the next section:

1. The ferry and entry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (reservation required, see below).
2. The Empire State Building observatory (reservation required, see below).
3. The Top of the Rock observatory (reservation required, see below).
4. The One World Observatory.
5. The Edge observatory in Hudson Yards (reservation required, see below).
6. Access to The Vessel in Hudson Yards.
7. The American Museum of Natural History.
8. The National September 11 Memorial Museum, the official 9/11 museum at the foot of One World Trade Center (reservation required, see below).
9. 9/11 Museum Workshop, a photographer’s private museum about September 11, in the Meatpacking District.
10. The MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), with access to MoMA PS1 in Queens.
11. The Guggenheim Museum.
12. The Whitney Museum of American Art.
13. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
14. Madame Tussauds wax museum, including the MARVEL Universe 4D show.
15. A Butterbeer at the Harry Potter Store.
16. Entry to The RiseNY museum, about the history of New York.
17. Entry to the Museum of Broadway.
18. The Museum of Sex.
19. The Spyscape espionage museum.
20. Entry to Artechouse.
21. Mercer Labs, a museum of art and technology.
22. Entry to the Museum of the City of New York.
23. Entry to the Museum of Arts and Design.
24. Entry to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
25. Entry to the International Center of Photography.
26. Paley Center for Media.
27. The New York Historical Society museum.
28. Entry to the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
29. Museum at Eldridge Street.
30. Fraunces Tavern Museum.
31. Entry to the South Street Seaport Museum.
32. Entry to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
33. Staten Island Museum.
34. Staten Island Children’s Museum.
35. A choice of cruises in New York Harbor with Circle Line: the “Liberty Super Express” cruise, the “Best of NYC” cruise, the “Liberty” cruise, the “NYC Landmarks” cruise, The Beast, a sailing cruise and the “Harbor Lights” cruise. For the cruise routes, see our page on cruises in New York.
36. Full-day bike rental in Central Park, with a helmet, a lock and a detailed map of Manhattan.
37. Electric scooter rental in Central Park.
38. Full-day bike rental at the Brooklyn Bridge, with a helmet and a lock.
39. Surrey bike rental on Governors Island.
40. A 2-day ticket for the Big Bus hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus routes.
41. A 5-minute photo shoot on a rooftop terrace with views of Manhattan.
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 the Carnegie Hall auditorium, in English.
46. A 4-hour pass for 24 rides at the Coney Island amusement park.
47. Ticket for a virtual reality game experience at Escape Virtuality.
48. Entry to the Legoland amusement park, north of New York.
49. Entry to the 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 of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, in English.

Attractions that require a reservation in advance

Here are the attractions and tours that require a reservation in advance. To book your spots, you will find all the information you need in the online guide, which you can open from your exchange voucher.

1. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Update, September 2026: you must reserve a departure time for the Statue of Liberty ferry. Everything is explained on our New York Explorer Pass help page. You will receive this page after you order your passes on our site, CNEWYORK.
2. The Empire State Building observatory, with skip-the-line entry so you avoid the line at the ticket desks. You then join the regular line for the elevators. Update, September 2026: you must reserve your visit time in advance. The steps are explained on our Explorer Pass help page. You will get access to this page after you order your passes on our site, CNEWYORK.
3. The September 11 museum. Update, September 2026: you must reserve your visit time for the museum. The steps are explained on our help page, which makes booking your tickets easy.
4. The Top of the Rock observatory.
5. Bus tour of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, with an English-speaking guide.
6. Harlem tour with a gospel service, with an English-speaking guide.
7. Guided tour of the Statue of Liberty, with an English-speaking guide.
8. Guided tour on the theme of Marvel superheroes, in English.
9. Guided tour on the theme of movies and TV series in New York, with an English-speaking guide.
10. Tour of the High Line and Chelsea, in English.
11. Guided tour on the theme of speakeasy bars and Prohibition, with an English-speaking guide.
12. Guided tour on the theme of rooftops, with an English-speaking guide.
13. Food on Foot guided food tour, in English.
14. Guided tour on the theme of Wall Street and money, in English.
15. Walking food tour of the Lower East Side, in English.
16. Guided tour on the theme of New York media, in English.
17. Guided tour on the theme of gay New York, in English.
18. Tour of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Dumbo neighborhood, with an English-speaking guide.
19. Guided tour of the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, in English.
20. Guided tour of Broadway, in English.
21. Night tours of Greenwich Village, in English.
22. Guided ghost tour of Greenwich Village, in English.
23. Tour on the theme of slavery, in English.
24. Guided tour of Little Italy, in English.
25. Street art and graffiti tour in Brooklyn, in English.
26. A choice of guided bike tours with an English-speaking guide.
27. A perfect picnic set up for you in Central Park.
28. Jazz night in Harlem.
29. Piano bar night in Manhattan.
30. Guided tour of the Christmas markets, in English, available only during the holiday season.

Good to know

• Our team updates the list of attractions and tours included in the New York Explorer Pass regularly. However, the list can change at any time, without notice and without any right to compensation. The CNEWYORK site cannot be held responsible for a change, in particular if a specific attraction is removed. Feel free to contact us with any questions.

Book your New York Explorer Pass

• Good to know: the Explorer Pass is named, so each person needs their own New York Explorer Pass. Book your Explorer Pass in French by clicking here!
• When you book through our site, CNEWYORK, your Explorer Passes appear directly on your smartphone. You receive them by email less than an hour after the confirmation email for your purchase.
• Useful: to help you use your Explorer Pass, we have set up a special page. This help page is password-protected and available only to people who booked their Explorer Pass on our site. If you have not received the password, contact us! 

How does buying an Explorer Pass on our site work?

• Once your payment is complete, you receive a confirmation email telling you that your order has been received.
• Within the hour, you receive a second email with your Explorer Passes attached. The document has several pages. If you ordered several passes, the Explorer Passes follow one another. The passes are simply the QR codes in the top right-hand corners. You show these QR codes at each entrance, nothing more.
• A few minutes after you receive your Explorer Passes, you receive a third and final email with the password for 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 reservations

• The New York Explorer Pass lets you make all mandatory reservations in advance. As soon as you buy the pass on our site, you receive an email with a link to a help page.
• If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. We are here to help you use your New York Explorer Pass.

Frequently asked questions