Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

This military museum, housed in a hulking aircraft carrier that survived both a WWII bomb and kamikaze attacks, is back in its slip after being gone for two years to undergo an extensive $115-million renovation. That entailed a refurbishment of half of the 30 aircrafts onboard, a paintjob for the entire carrier, a rebuilding of its Pier 86 and the installation of various new high-tech exhibits – including the G Force Encounter, which allows you to experience the virtual thrill of flying a supersonic jet plane, and the Transporter FX, a flight simulator that promises six full minutes of a ‘complete sensory overload.’ The flight deck of the USS Intrepid, which served in WWII and Vietnam, features fighter planes and military helicopters, while the pier area contains the guided-missile submarine Growler, an Apollo space capsule, Vietnam-era tanks, the 900ft destroyer Edson and a decommissioned Concorde. The Intrepid is also the nexus for the Fleet Week celebrations each May, when thousands of the world’s sailors descend on Manhattan for shore leave.