Here’s the rub: New York is home to about nine million residents. It has the largest concentration of businesses in the United States, and the city towers over the heads of street dwellers. For visitors, that means that there is a lot to see and a hearty competition when it comes to seeing everything. Since the city has many of the tallest buildings in the States, visitors might assume it is impossible to miss them. Could you walk past the Empire State Building and not even know it was there? Absolutely! On a block where all the buildings tower overhead, and the Empire State Building is one of the least impressive in terms of ground-level architecture, it is not hard to walk right past, especially if you have a destination in mind and are walking without paying attention to your surroundings. Navigating New York using landmarks is an important skill to keep from getting lost in the big city.

When you visit the Big Apple, the best way to get the most out of your trip is to commute with open eyes. If you can afford the time, familiarize yourself with some of the pop-culture destinations throughout the city. Try some of these locations: New York University, the Metropolitan Museum, the World Trade Center Plaza, the Chrysler Building and the Brooklyn Bridge. All five of these locations have renown, and if you can keep a basic map of them in your head, navigating New York can be fairly easy.

For example, if you are headed to a restaurant on a recommendation, and you come out of the subway and see the Chrysler Building’s tower standing in the sky nearby (the building with the eagles on all four corners at the top), you know to look for the Empire State Building or the NY Library. If you are close to the Trade Center, Wall Street is nearby, and Battery Park. From the Brooklyn Bridge, China Town and Little Italy are nearby. If you see New York University, you are near to all of the best shopping in Midtown.

Using popular landmarks as a way to orient yourself is the way to travel in New York, since the number of possible historic destinations is so vast. Keep your eyes open and read passing signs. Many famous New York hotels can easily be missed if you do not read signs. If you are hungry from a long day, and you see a hole-in-the-wall pizza place that serves up one dollar slices, just turn around and look up. Chances are, you’ll see a looming landmark that otherwise might have gone unseen.