Empire State to Times Square, New York: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from the Empire State Building to Times Square in New York: 3 stops, about 2.1 km, about 30 minutes of walking plus about 20 minutes of listening. Start at the Empire State Building, whose 102 storeys rose at four and a half storeys a week from March 1930, in the middle of the Great Depression. Walk to Grand Central Terminal, opened in 1913, where the gold-leafed constellations on the ceiling of the Main Concourse are painted backwards, and finish in Times Square, renamed in 1904 for the New York Times, where the law requires every building to carry illuminated signs.
- Stops:
- 3
- Distance:
- about 2.1 km
- Walking:
- about 30 min
- Listening:
- about 20 min
Empire State to Times Square, New York: how long does the walk take?
About 50 minutes in all: about 30 minutes on foot over about 2.1 km, plus about 20 minutes of audio at the 3 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Empire State to Times Square, New York: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Empire State Building, Grand Central Terminal, and Times Square. The longest stretch between two stops is about 1.2 km, about 16 min on foot.
Route and map
Navigate with Google Maps, listen with Mappu: the stories keep playing while you follow the route.
Opens Google Maps with walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
Its stepped wedding-cake profile was a legal necessity, set by the 1916 Zoning Resolution so that sunlight could reach the street.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Grand Central Terminal · about 1.2 km, about 16 min on foot
Stop 2
The four-faced clock of opaline glass above the information booth has been the meeting point for generations of New Yorkers.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Times Square · about 0.9 km, about 12 min on foot
Stop 3
Every night at 11:57 p.m., nearly a hundred billboards switch to a single work of contemporary art for three minutes.
about 7 min of audio
How does this self-guided walking tour work?
The audio guides on this page stay free: open any stop to listen in your browser.
Walk Mode uses your location to narrate places as you walk. It opens in the Mappu app at the first stop, Empire State Building. Your first walk is free for three stops with a free Mappu account.
Walk Mode: 2 hours for 50 credits (€4.99 Starter pack)
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
More walking tours in New York
Route checked by Mappu on October 20, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.