Top Spots for NYC Tourists and Locals

Ashley Rossi is always ready for her next trip. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram for travel tips, destination ideas, and off the beaten path spots.

After interning at SmarterTravel, Ashley joined the team full time in 2015. She's lived on three continents, but still never knows where her next adventure will take her. She's always searching for upcoming destination hotspots, secluded retreats, and hidden gems to share with the world.

Ashley's stories have been featured online on USA Today, Business Insider, TripAdvisor, Huffington Post, Jetsetter, and Yahoo! Travel, as well as other publications.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A reusable filtered water bottle—it saves you money, keeps you hydrated, and eliminates waste—win-win."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "A week in a bamboo beach hut on India's Andaman Islands."

Travel Motto: "Travel light, often, and in good company."

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Window—best view in the house."

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In a recent data report from Foursquare, local and tourist hotspots were compared to figure out who was going where in the Big Apple. As one of the most visited cities in the world with 58.3 million visitors last year, NYC continues to define tourism trends, while the 8.4 million locals pride themselves on originality. So find out who goes where and know which places to avoid if massive crowds aren’t your thing.

Foursquare tracked popular NYC attractions and restaurants based on users who checked in via Swarm (Foursquare’s app) with location tracking enabled between September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016. For attractions with multiple locations, I’ve specified which one.

Top Attractions & Restaurants Visited by Both Tourists and Locals

Central Park
Times Square
Bryant Park
UrbanSpace Vanderbilt
Shake Shack, 8th Ave.
Shake Shack, 11 Madison Ave.

Top Attractions & Places Visited by Tourists

Rockefeller Center
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Battery Park
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Top Attractions & Places Visited by NYC Locals

Manhattan Bridge
Prospect Park
Columbus Circle
Union Square Park
Madison Square park

Top Restaurants Visited by Tourists

The Halal Guys, W 53rd St.
Junior’s Restaurant & Bakery
Magnolia Bakery, Avenue of the Americas
Katz’s Delicatessen
Carlo’s Bake Shop, 8th Ave.

Top Restaurants Visited by NYC Locals

Birch Coffee, 7th Ave.
Dos Toros Taqueria, Park Ave. S
Rue 57
Chick-fil-A, Avenue of the Americas
sweetgreen, Broadway

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