Welcome to New York City

New York City. Eight-point-three million people crammed onto islands so small the city had no choice but to build UP. What started as a Dutch trading post on the southern tip of Manhattan — purchased from the Lenape people for a bundle of trade goods in 1626 — grew into the most famous city on Earth.

This is the gateway where 12 million immigrants stepped off boats at Ellis Island, clutching everything they owned, to begin new lives. The birthplace of hip-hop, Broadway, the New York slice, and the idea that anyone from anywhere can make it here. A city where a 150-year-old Gothic bridge made of granite and steel cables stands just blocks from a 1,776-foot tower of glass that rose from the ashes of unimaginable tragedy.

Today we explore eight stops that tell the story of this impossible, magnificent city — from the torch of Lady Liberty to the backward stars painted on Grand Central's ceiling. Let's go.