Last updated March 27, 2026
Midtown Manhattan Tour – Underground & Street Level
This Manhattan tour begins aboard a Metro-North train with a view of the Hudson River. After a brief stop at the Harlem-125th St. station, we continue south, arriving at Grand Central Terminal. From there, we walk both underground and at street-level before finally arriving at the Flatiron Building.
Headphones note:
Headphones are recommended. This is a real-time walk with binaural audio, recorded to capture the natural sound of the city as you move through it. Binaural creates an immersive, spatial sound experience.
Time Stamps: Manhattan Walking Tour video
- 0:00 — Intro
- 01:02 — Metro-North train to Grand Central Terminal
- 11:33 — Grand Central Terminal walkthrough
- 25:39 — Times Square Shuttle
- 32:51 — Times Square–42nd St. station
- 41:26 — 42nd St.–Port Authority station
- 50:45 — Port Authority Bus Terminal
- 1:00 — 9th Ave.
- 1:10 — 34th St. & Penn Station
- 1:21 — 32nd St. & Greeley Square
- 1:28 — Koreatown & 5th Ave.
- 1:46 — Madison Square Park & Flatiron Building
Manhattan Walking Tour Map
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Manhattan Tour / Walking Route Breakdown
0:00 — Intro to NYC walking tour video
We start aboard a Metro-North train with a view of the Mario M. Cuomo bridge, which spans the Hudson River near its widest point. This 4-mile bridge connects the towns of Tarrytown and Nyack, which are in Westchester and Rockland Counties respectively.
Metro-North is a train system serving towns and cities near New York City (NYC). They are commuter trains, not subways. Metro-North lines start and end at Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
01:02 — Metro-North train to Grand Central Terminal
The last stop before arriving at Grand Central Terminal is Harlem-125th St. About a minute after departing this station, the train enters a tunnel at 99th St.
For the next few minutes, there is only darkness outside the train. This tunnel transports us not only to Grand Central Terminal (GCT), but into the past as well. Work began on the tunnels leading to GCT in 1903.
This part of the video is all about the sound. The train makes creaks, groans, hisses, clanks, and rattles. Its mysterious sounds match the equally mysterious, dark scene outside the train. More lights appear as it gets closer to GCT.
11:33 — Grand Central Terminal walkthrough
We exit the train at Grand Central and walk along a crowded platform before entering the terminal’s grandiose main area. After exploring the main level for a bit, we descend down a ramp to the lower level.
At about the 18:30 we arrive at Grand Central’s Whispering Gallery. At this archway, you’ll see people facing its walls at each of its four corners. When you whisper into one of the corners, the person at the corner diagonal to yours will hear you clearly.
Best time to visit the Whispering Gallery? Between 11 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. When the terminal is busy, you may have to speak in a regular voice for the other person to hear you. Late at night is the best time to appreciate just how softly you can whisper and still have the other person hear you clearly on the other side.
From here, we return to the main level and showcase the terminal’s ceiling and the never-ending controlled chaos.
25:39 — Times Square Shuttle
The Times Square Shuttle is the shortest subway line in New York City. It connects Grand Central Terminal with the Times Square subway station.
We pay our fare at a ticket machine and receive a Metro-Card. The once ubiquitous MetroCard no longer exists.
The ride to Times Square aboard the Shuttle train takes just a couple of minutes.
32:51 — Times Square-42nd St. station
Once at that Times Square-42nd St. station, we traverse stairs, ramps, and a long, crowded corridor leading to the Port Authority subway station.
41:26 — 42nd St.-Port Authority station
The Port Authority subway station is huge. We walk the equivalent of a few streets down its corridors before turning back toward one of the entrances to the Port Authority Bus Terminal upstairs.
50:45 — Port Authority Bus Terminal
We make our way upstairs to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Just like the train and subway stations we’ve already visited, New York City’s largest bus terminal is whir of people arriving from and going everywhere and anywhere.
1:00 — 9th Ave.
After exiting the bus terminal, we land on 9th Ave. at 41st St. We walk south along 9th Ave. on Manhattan’s West Side, eventually reaching 34th St. After turning left onto 34th St., we see the Empire State Building in the distance.
After walking east on 34th St. toward 8th Ave., we enter Pennsylvania (Penn) Station.
1:10 — 34th St. + 1:15 — 8th Ave. & Penn Station
Penn Station serves Amtrak’s national train network as well as regional and local trains, such as New Jersey Transit commuter trains and New York City subways.
1:21 — 32nd St. & Greeley Square
After crossing from one side of Penn Station to the other, we emerge onto 7th Ave., and begin walking east on 32nd St toward 6th Ave.
1:28 — Koreatown + 5th Ave.
At 6th Ave., we continue east on 32nd St., entering Little Korea, a.k.a. Koreatown.
Here, Korean shops and restaurants predominate, with mobile non-Korean vendors offering food and wares.
When we reach 5th Ave., we’re just one block from the Empire State Building. Turning right, we travel south along 5th Ave.
1:46 — Madison Square Park & Flatiron Building
At 5th Ave. & 26th St. we arrive at Madison Square Park, our co-favorite park in New York City. It’s tied with Central Park. We walk south through the park until reaching 23rd St., where our tour concludes with views of the Flatiron Building.
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