New York 3 attraction tickets - what to pick??

[CoolShoeshine]

Hopefully going to NYC soon, taking two teen dcs. Due to the general expense of the trip, especially accommodation and food, we can’t blow the budget and do all the must see attractions. Probably going to buy a 3 attraction explorer pass. Of you were to do this, what 3 attractions would you recommend? I’m thinking one building, such as the Empire State, one boat cruise and something else - perhaps a walking tour of movie sights? What would you recommend?

Does anyone know of any New York markets, rather than the Chelsea one? I found it a bit touristy tbh. I'd love to know if there's a locals market, foodie if possible.

Sorry to hijack op, but thought the question may be relevant!

Teen DD’s top paid picks from a multiple ticket are:
Circle Line ferry trip
Empire State Building
Guggenheim

And also a baseball game - Yankees or Mets

Freebies:
High Line
Central Park
9/11 memorial (not the museum)
Wall Street (the bull sculpture)
Staten Island Ferry (at night)
Various shops of interest to teens...
Brooklyn Bridge walk and pizza

We did a few other things (visits the UN, Flat Iron etc, Chelsea Market, St Patricks Cathedral, Natural History Museum, Grand Central etc)

Some of the most memorable things were stumbled across - amazing buskers on the subway, some famous you tuber/gamer happening in the Village (no idea!!) with freebies being given out, getting baseball caps personalised in Lids, happy hour in Starbucks, buying ‘dollar water’ from the street vendors, wandering through Little Italy and other neighbourhoods.

We walked miles OP, because every street felt like being on a movie set and you recognised it from somewhere.

Soho and Tribeca are gorgeous to just wander the streets and window shop. Central Park too. We walked over Brooklyn Bridge; loved the Staten Island Ferry. Walked through the Financial District too, Grand Central Station, the Library. Some amazing architecture. We bought a subway pass that allowed you to hop on and off buses too.... it never looks far on the map but it is! 9/11 site a must, so well done and quite haunting with the roar of the water. Lots of nice little streets around it full of little bakeries and stuff....we really liked lower Manhattan.

Only thing we really hated was the Top of the Rock - took ages to find the entrance, terrible signing and staff were so rude. We stood in a pointless queue for an hour and gave up.

How long are you going for?
We have just got back. We bought the 5 day New York Pass www.newyorkpass.com/new-york-pass-prices.php

We went to so much - when I got back, I sat down and worked it out - if we paid for everything we did separately it would have cost us more than $600 each (and we paid $250 each for the pass) - so a massive saving. And we didn't have to worry about not being able to do stuff when we were there.

You can save money on food - there are 99 cents pizza places EVERYWHERE - 1 or 2 slices of pizza is more than enough for tea. We only ate breakfast and tea. A couple of days we maybe stopped for a coffee and cake if we were peckish.

As others have mentioned, Staten Island Ferry is free - we went to Staten Island Zoo which is included in the pass, as a man outside Central Park Zoo told us it wasn't worth the money.
Walking Brooklyn Bridge is free - DS loved being in Brooklyn because of Brooklyn 99 haha!

We did the Liberty Cruise tour (Circle Line Ferries - included on the pass), but you can see the Statue of Liberty better on the Staten Island Ferry.

Walk the High-Line, it's an old railroad which they are turning into a park. That is free.

9/11 memorial museum was good - I enjoyed that more than I thought I would.

There is an interactive tour bus called 'The Ride' (also included in the pass), which is well worth doing - very entertaining, and my teenager would love it. I think it's $69, so quite steep for 1.5 hours if you don't get the pass. experiencetheride.com/

Other highlights for us including Empire State Building (we went first thing in the morning to avoid the queues) and Top of the Rock (which we did at night). 9/11 memorial museum was touching in a way I didn't expect, and I'm really pleased we went. Loved the Intrepid Museum. Also this place natgeoencounter.com/
And we went to a catacomb candlelight tour, which particularly impressed teenage DS - the tales that the guide told were great, all about the 'Gangs of New York' etc ...

Sorry, I realise I've just typed an essay :(