Hotels near Fort Tryon Park and The Cloisters

Fort Tryon Park occupies a ridge at the northern end of Manhattan above the Hudson River, and the combination of height, water and mature woodland makes it the best autumn hillside in the borough. The Heather Garden runs three acres along the promenade, looking across to the Palisades cliffs in New Jersey, which turn at the same time. John D. Rockefeller Jr. bought the land and handed it to the city in 1935.

The Cloisters sits at the top: a museum of medieval European art and architecture assembled from parts of five French monastic cloisters, run by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Admission is included with a Met ticket, which stays valid for three days across all three Met sites. The Bonnefont Cloister herb garden looks straight down the Hudson and is the single best view in the park.

Pro Tip: Take the A train to 190th Street and use the elevator exit, which opens directly into the park at the top of the ridge. Coming up from 181st Street adds around 100 vertical feet of climbing you do not need to do.