How to Read a New York City Subway Map

Reading a New York City subway map can be overwhelming if you don't know where or how to start. But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA, has come up with ingenious ways to help the tourist or newcomer get from points A to B in a relatively painless way. Here's what to look for when reading a subway map of New York.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Use the MTA Website for Maps and Trip Planners

1. Go to the MTA website and check out the site's Trip Planner (see Resources below). The Trip Planner allows you to type in your starting location, your destination, whether you want to avoid transfers and how far you are willing to walk once you arrive at your stop.

2. Use the Trip Planner more specifically by going to its links for
   itineraries, airport and subway stop information for museums, art galleries, colleges, parks, zoos, theaters, stadiums, business offices and even beaches.

3. Don't expect to wait long for your subway train to arrive. Although schedules vary, you can expect to wait for a subway train in New York for no more than 10 minutes. The worst times to board a subway in the city are during morning and afternoon rush hours, when the crowds can be harrowing and overwhelming for tourists.

4. Purchase Metrocards at any Metrocard vending machine in subway stations. A One-Day Fun Pass costs $7 and is good for unlimited subway riding for one day. A 7-Day Unlimited Ride Metrocard costs $24 and is perfect for a week-long stay in the Big Apple.

Understand how the Subway Works

1. Understand that subway rail lines are identified by numbers, letters and colors, which you will see on signs in subway stations, on the trains themselves and on all subway maps. Manhattan is served by colored and numbered lines that traverse the "length" of the island, uptown to downtown and vice versa, and by lines that travel "crosstown" from east to west.

2. Enter a subway station that indicates you'll be heading uptown, if that's the case, or downtown. If you are traveling crosstown, consult the subway map for your best line and the location of stations. Uptown is any area of the city in which the numbered streets get higher from your current location, and downtown is any area of the city in which the numbered streets get lower from your location.

3. Check the large subway maps located inside all subway cars, once you're on board. They are easy to read and helpful in determining if you're in the right place. As the train makes each stop, follow the map to determine if stops called out by the conductor coincide with stops on the map.

4. Choose a "local" train to be sure that it will stop at your destination. Only take an "express" train, which makes far fewer stops, unless you know that it will indeed stop where you want to get off.

5. Remain calm and do not panic. If you are on the wrong subway, you can simply exit at the next stop and begin all over again. Stops are so frequent that you won't lose a lot of time.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep your valuables close and secured. Like any large metropolitan city, New York has its share of opportunists who would like nothing more than to take advantage of an unguarded tourist with an open purse or a wallet in his back pocket.

• Avoid the system during rush hour. Subways are crammed, people are in a hurry and ticket windows are busy. It's easier to become disoriented and frustrated--you're better off walking.

• Stay behind the yellow line at stations to avoid stepping or falling into the path of an oncoming train. When you step aboard a subway car, be aware of the gap that exists between the station platform and the subway car door.

Resources

• Official website of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Maps, directions and guides for major cities, including directions via subway lines.