Stand at the Crossroads of the World
You feel Times Square before you fully see it: a wall of light spilling across the pavement, the sound of a dozen languages, and the low roar of one of the busiest pedestrian intersections on earth. This is where Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street meet in Midtown Manhattan, and where the city's entertainment industry puts its face on. Together with adjacent Duffy Square, the plaza forms a bowtie shape five blocks long, running between 42nd and 47th Streets. Broadway cuts diagonally across Manhattan's street grid, and that crossing is what produces the bowtie. The neighborhood takes its name from the intersection: it was renamed Times Square in 1904, when The New York Times moved its headquarters into the newly built Times Building on 42nd Street—the tower now known as One Times Square. The square has been called "the Crossroads of the World," "the Center of the Universe," and "the heart of the Great White Way," and it is the physical hub of the Theater District, where most Broadway theaters are located.
Watch the Screens, Climb the Red Steps, and Find a Show
What you do here is mostly look up and keep walking—and that is the point. The square is constantly illuminated by digital billboards and advertisements, alongside businesses offering 24/7 service, so the spectacle never switches off. A few things worth building your visit around:
- The red steps. Climb them for a sweeping view over the square—the same vantage point made famous in the "Empire State of Mind" music video. From the top you can pick out One Times Square, the building from which the New Year's Eve ball drops.
- The TKTS booth. The discount ticket booth for same-day Broadway and off-Broadway theaters has stood at the site since June 1973. It sells theater tickets at up to 50% off—a practical way to turn a stroll through the Theater District into an evening in a Broadway house.
- The pedestrian plazas. Pedestrian-only zones furnished with tables and chairs make good perches for people-watching—costumed characters, street musicians, and the passing crowd.
- Duffy Square's statues. The northern triangle of the bowtie is officially Duffy Square, dedicated in June 1939 to honor Father Francis P. Duffy of the 69th New York Infantry Regiment. A statue by Charles Keck, dedicated in May 1937, memorializes Duffy, and there is also a statue of composer and entertainer George M. Cohan.
- The Lincoln Highway marker. The intersection of Broadway and 42nd Street is the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway, the first road across the United States for motorized vehicles.
Time Your Visit for the Light and the Crowds
Times Square is a 24-hour place, but it changes character through the day. Come after dark if you want the billboards at full effect—the square is at its most theatrical when the screens are the brightest thing in sight. If you want room to stand and look, aim for quieter hours; the busiest days bring over 460,000 pedestrians through, and roughly 330,000 pass through on a typical day. Give yourself time to walk the full five blocks between 42nd and 47th Streets rather than treating it as a single photo stop—the view from the red steps, the TKTS booth, and Duffy Square are spread along that stretch. If you are in New York for New Year's Eve, this is the site of the annual ball drop, which began on December 31, 1907, and draws over a million visitors to the square each year, plus a worldwide audience of a billion or more on digital media. Be aware that the Times Square–42nd Street and 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal subway stations are consistently among the busiest in the system, moving more than 200,000 passengers daily—so plan your arrival and departure with that in mind.
Eat, Drink, and Stay Awhile
The square is built for people who don't want to go home: businesses here offer 24/7 service, so you can eat, drink, and wander at any hour. Let the theater schedule set your evening—grab a drink nearby and walk to your curtain rather than joining a line, or pick up same-day tickets at the TKTS booth and let the discount decide your show. The tables and chairs in the pedestrian zones make an easy place to sit with a coffee and watch the costumed characters and street musicians work the crowd.
Step Beyond the Bowtie
Times Square sits in the middle of Midtown, which makes it an easy starting point for the rest of the city. Head south for the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, or look up at the Empire State Building. Uptown you'll find the American Museum of Natural History and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, and across the river in Brooklyn, the BAM Peter Jay Sharp Building. Each is a destination in its own right—treat Times Square as your crossroads and build a day outward from it.
Start with an evening: arrive before dark, walk the five blocks from 42nd to 47th, climb the red steps while the billboards are at their brightest, and see what's playing at the TKTS booth. Everything else in the city radiates from there.