Is a city pass worth it in New York?
New York attractions are expensive enough that a pass often pays for itself within a handful of stops — the question is which one. CityPASS locks you into a fixed set of five tickets; Go City lets you choose. Both skip MoMA entirely, since it doesn't participate in third-party pass programs.
🗽 Passes available in New York
What each one costs, covers, and who it’s actually for.
Top attractions & single-ticket prices
The walk-up prices we compare every pass against.
Run the numbers for your New York trip
Your dates, your travelers, your attractions — one clear verdict.
What the passes actually cover
New York has three passes worth comparing, and they handle choice very differently.
New York CityPASS ($146, valid 9 days) is a fixed bundle. The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum are always included, plus a rotating choice between Top of the Rock and another headliner, and between the American Museum of Natural History and the Guggenheim. That’s five tickets for $146 against a combined single-ticket price that’s routinely $160–190 depending on which two you draw — a real saving, with zero decisions left to make once you’ve bought it.
Go City: New York Explorer Pass is pick-N: buy a block of 2, 3, 5, 7 or 10 credits ($74 up to $199) and redeem them across 13 attractions, including all four other observation decks (Top of the Rock, One World, Edge at Hudson Yards, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt), the Met, AMNH, the Guggenheim, the Intrepid, Madame Tussauds and the Central Park Zoo. You choose the mix, which matters if your list doesn’t look like CityPASS’s.
Go City: New York All-Inclusive swaps credits for unlimited entry to that same list over 1 to 7 consecutive days ($134–$284). It only beats the other two if you’re actually moving fast — three or more paid attractions in a day, most days.
The observation deck trap
New York has five observation decks: Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, One World Observatory, Edge at Hudson Yards, and SUMMIT One Vanderbilt. Single tickets run $40–47 each, and they photograph almost identically from height. CityPASS’s design — forcing you to pick just one of two headliners — is a tacit admission that most visitors don’t need more than one or two. If your pass technically includes three or four of them, that’s not a reason to visit three or four; it’s unused capacity, not value.
How to decide
- Classic five — Empire State, Statue/Ellis, 9/11 Memorial, plus AMNH or the Guggenheim → New York CityPASS.
- Want to swap a museum for a different tower, or aren’t sure yet → Go City Explorer Pass.
- Full days of sightseeing, three-plus paid stops daily → Go City All-Inclusive.
- Short trip or a narrow list → run it through the calculator. New York’s cheapest attractions here still start around $22, so single tickets add up fast, but not every combination beats a pass — and none of the three touches MoMA or the Met’s special exhibitions.
Head-to-head
Which should you buy?
Frequently asked questions about New York passes
Is CityPASS worth it in New York?
Usually, if you want the attractions it actually includes. New York CityPASS bundles the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum with a rotating choice of two more (Top of the Rock or another headliner, AMNH or the Guggenheim) for $146. Run your specific list through the calculator to see the exact saving.
Does any New York pass include MoMA?
No. MoMA doesn't participate in third-party pass programs, so it's excluded from CityPASS, Go City Explorer and Go City All-Inclusive alike. If MoMA is on your list, budget for it separately.
Do I need to pick between the observation decks?
Not with Go City, but you should anyway. New York has five: Empire State ($47), Top of the Rock ($46), One World Observatory ($44), Edge at Hudson Yards ($40) and SUMMIT One Vanderbilt ($43). They look similar from the top — most visitors only need one or two, pass or no pass.
Which New York pass is best for a short trip?
For two or three attractions, Go City's Explorer Pass starts at $74 for two credits — cheaper to enter than CityPASS's fixed five-ticket bundle. For a single day moving fast through several paid stops, compare that against Go City All-Inclusive's one-day rate. The calculator does the side-by-side math.