With so many iconic figures calling New York City home, it’s no surprise that some of the most profound and moving New York quotes have come from Frank Sinatra, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Billy Joel, and countless others. Throughout history, New York has inspired numerous artists, writers, musicians, and poets to capture its essence in words.
And nowadays, Instagram has become a hub for expressing love and appreciation for New York City, with countless users sharing breathtaking photos, short inspirational New York captions, and quotes capturing the essence of the city that never sleeps. These New York captions for Instagram offer a fresh perspective on why the Big Apple continues to capture our hearts and imaginations, from famous landmarks to hidden gems.
In this post, I’ve gathered the best New York quotes and great NYC captions for Instagram that will inspire, entertain, and move you, whether you’re a lifelong New Yorker or just dreaming of visiting this incredible city someday. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy the wisdom of some of the greatest minds ever to grace the streets of New York City.
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Best Short New York Quotes
1. “New York is my favorite city in the world.” – Liam Gallagher.
2. “I’m in a New York state of mind.” – Billy Joel, ‘New York State of Mind.’
3. “If ‘The New York Times’ says it, it must be true.” – Bob Newhart.
4. “New York to me means the world.” – Donna Karan.
5. “I’m in New York state of mind. ” – Billy Joel.
6. “The glamour of it all! New York! America!” – Charlie Chaplin.
7. “I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline.” – Ayn Rand.
8. “It couldn’t have happened anywhere but in little old New York.” – O. Henry.
9. “New York is the perfect model of a city, not the model of a perfect city.” – Lewis Mumford.
10. “And the most unusual and surrealistic place in New York City is Central Park.” – Christo.
11. “There’s no other city like New York in the world; I loved our life there.” – Kenya Moore.
12. “You get a timeless cool card in New York.” – Vin Diesel.
13. “New York is in my soul.” – Julian Casablancas.
14. “This isn’t a fairytale. It’s New York City.” – Alex Flinn.
15. “One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.” – Georgia O’Keeffe.
16. “New York, the nation’s thyroid gland.” – Christopher Morley.
17. “When you leave New York, you ain’t going anywhere.” – Jimmy Breslin.
18. “Broadway is a main artery of New York life – the hardened artery.” – Walter Winchell.
19. “Practically everybody in New York has half a mind to write a book, and does.” – Groucho Marx.
20. “People have a negative impression of New York that I don’t think is quite fair.” – Billy Graham.
21. “New York can be any city it wants to be.” – Nipsey Russell.
22. “New York is my favorite city in the world.” – Liam Gallagher.
23. “I’m in a New York state of mind.” – Billy Joel, ‘New York State of Mind.’
24. “If ‘The New York Times’ says it, it must be true.” – Bob Newhart.
25. “New York to me means the world.” – Donna Karan.
26. “The glamour of it all! New York! America!” – Charlie Chaplin.
27. “Things always change and New York teaches you that.” – Richard Hell.
28. “I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline.” – Ayn Rand.
29. “It couldn’t have happened anywhere but in little old New York.” – O. Henry.
30. “New York is the perfect model of a city, not the model of a perfect city.” – Lewis Mumford.
31. “There’s no other city like New York in the world; I loved our life there.” – Kenya Moore.
32. “You get a timeless cool card in New York.” – Vin Diesel.
33. “New York is the only city in the world where you can get run down on the sidewalk by a pedestrian.” – Russell Baker.
34. “New York is in my soul.” – Julian Casablancas.
35. “Most cities are nouns. New York’s a verb.” – John F. Kennedy.
36. “One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.” – Georgia O’Keeffe.
37. “New York, the nation’s thyroid gland.” – Christopher Morley.
38. “When you leave New York, you ain’t going anywhere.” – Jimmy Breslin.
39. “Broadway is a main artery of New York life – the hardened artery.” – Walter Winchell.
40. “Practically everybody in New York has half a mind to write a book, and does.” – Groucho Marx.
41. “People have a negative impression of New York that I don’t think is quite fair.” – Billy Graham.
42. “I think of New York as a puree and the rest of the United States as vegetable soup.” – Spalding Gray.
43. “New York can be any city it wants to be.” – Nipsey Russell.
44. “Give me the streets of Manhattan!” – Walt Whitman.
45. “If you’re not in New York, you’re camping out.” – Thomas Dewey.
Best New York Captions for Instagram
46. “New York is always a good idea!”
47. “Take me to New York!”
48. “New York is a 24-hour city. It never stops.”
49. “New York is not a place. It’s a feeling.”
50. “Finally made it to the Statue of Liberty. It’s a boat time!”
51. “New York is where your wildest dreams come true.”
52. “No matter what you’re looking for, you can find it in New York.”
53. “New York is my therapy.”
54. “The city that never sleeps.”
55. “New York is calling, and I must go.”
56. “Let’s begin our story in New York.”
57. “A bad day in New York City is still better than a good day anywhere else.”
58. “I’m just a little apple in the Big Apple.”
59. “Hello, New York. You are looking gorgeous today.”
60. “Maybe I just need to go to New York.”
61. “New York is the city of dreams.”
62. “One day, I will move to New York and stay there.”
63. “Empire State of mind.”
64. “Welcome to New York. It’s been waiting for you.”
65. “Run away with me, and say hello to New York City.”
66. “New York City is my goal.”
67. “New York City is a tourist trap I don’t mind being in.”
68. “Enjoy every New York minute.”
69. “I’m so happy we MET”
70. “Follow your heart, even if it takes you to New York.”
71. “Anything is possible. This is New York.”
72. “The city where everyone belongs.”
73. “Once upon a time in New York.”
74. “New York is a concrete jungle where dreams become reality.”
75. “Happiness is… holding a ticket that says New York!”
76. “You are going to make it happen. This is New York.
77. “You can leave New York, but it will never leave you.”
78. “Somewhere between living and dreaming, there’s New York.”
79. “Someone asked me for directions, so you can call me a real New Yorker.”
80. “Meet me in New York.”
81. “New York is always in my mind.”
82. “There’s nothing quite like a New York Christmas.”
83. “Times Square’s so bright, I need to wear shades.”
84. “New York, the city that steals your heart.”
I LOVE NY Captions
85. “New York, I love you.”
86. “I can’t explain my love for New York City and won’t even try.”
87. “I fell in love. His name is New York.”
88. “New York is always on my mind.”
89. “Either you love New York, or you are wrong.”
90. “People never forget two things: their first love and their first day in New York City.”
91. “I left my heart in New York.”
92. “I’m in love with New York and its chaos.”
Top I Love New York Quotes
93. “I love New York because within its borders you can travel the world.” – Dennis Gonzalez.
94. “Quite simply, I was in love with New York. I do not mean ‘love’ in any colloquial way. I mean that I was in love with the city, the way you love the first person who ever touches you, and you never love anyone quite that way again.” – Joan Didio.
95. “In the beginning, New York and I had kind of a love–hate relationship. It seemed so abrasive compared to Europe. But the transformation here in recent years is really something. I don’t think I would have seen as much change if I’d lived in any other city in the world.” – Shalom Harlow.
96. “I love New York. You can pop out of the Underworld in Central Park, hail a taxi, head down Fifth Avenue with a giant hellhound loping behind you, and nobody even looks at you funny.” – Rick Riordan.
97. “I love New York, even though it isn’t mine, the way something has to be, a tree or a street or a house, something, anyway, that belongs to me because I belong to it.” – Truman Capote.
98. “To start with, I love New York… It’s a little bit of the whole world… In New York, the whole world comes to you.” – Billy Graham.
99. “I really love New York. I just love the aesthetics and the spirit of New York. I’ve just always loved the energy of it. When you’re flying into New York and you look out of the window, it’s like you’re flying into another planet. I’ve never stopped being amazed at it.” – Kirk Franklin.
Best New York Quotes
100. “And New York is the most beautiful city in the world? It is not far from it. No urban night is like the night there…” – Ezra Pound.
101. “One belongs to New York instantly; one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” – Thomas Wolfe.
102. “It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story.” – Agatha Christie.
103. “A hundred times have I thought New York is a catastrophe and 50 times: it is a beautiful catastrophe.” – Le Corbusier.
104. “The only people who can afford to be artists in New York are rich.” – Sophie Frances.
105. “There is hardly a place in New York that you can’t walk a block and a half and get a cup of coffee. Believe me; I’ve been all over the world. There’s no place like that but New York City.” – Patti Smith.
106. “I miss New York terribly. There is no place like the city. I miss people–watching. I miss the nightlife. I miss the food. There are so many options in New York City.” – Regina Hall.
107. “There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless.” – Simone de Beauvoir.
108. “A car is useless in New York, essential everywhere else. The same with good manners. – Mignon McLaughlin.
109. “I get out of the taxi, and it’s probably the only city which in reality looks better than on the postcards, New York. – Milos Forman.
110. “When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough.” – Fran Lebowitz.
111. “New York City is a great monument to the power of money and greed… a race for rent.” – Frank Lloyd Wright.
112. “I think there’s no city quite like New York, and I’ve seen most of the developed cities of the world. I admire this place, its energy. It’s the repository of so much history and culture and diversity.” – Harry Belafonte.
113. “It always feels good to come back here. I love New York… it’s just nice to see a lot of familiar faces.” – Latrell Sprewell.
114. “I like that New York sensibility where you can be edgy, but still super–glamorous.” – Leven Rambin.
115. “No place epitomizes the American experience and the American spirit more than New York City.” – Michael Bloomberg.
116. “There is more sophistication and less sense in New York than anywhere else on the globe.” – Elbert Hubbard.
117. “I realized the other day that I’ve lived in New York longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. It’s amazing: I am a New Yorker. It’s strange; I never thought I would be.” – David Bowie.
118. “New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself.” – Joan Didion.
119. “Like the United Nations, there is something inspirational about New York as a great melting pot of different cultures and traditions. And if this is the city that never sleeps, the United Nations works tirelessly, around the clock around the world. ” – Ban Ki-moon.
120. “New York is the perfect place for a film festival because there’s already so much energy and life here, and New Yorkers love movies.” – Clark Gregg.
121. “More than anything else New York is a city of superlatives, a place where the best, the brightest, the biggest is the norm.” – Marilyn J. Appleberg.
122. “I think New York is a good place to write in general because it’s a grid. It’s organized. You know where you are on the map. That centers you, and your imagination is perhaps freer to roam.” – Alex Turner.
123. “When I went to New York to try and make it, I never thought it wouldn’t happen.” – Carol Burnett.
124. “New York is really the place to be; to go to New York, you’re going to the centre of the world, the lion’s den.” – Zubin Mehta.
125. “New York is traditional New York, you know what I’m saying? It’s the stomping ground of the hustlers and go-getters.” – Busta Rhymes.
126. “My dad was the town drunk. Most of the time that’s not so bad; but New York City?” – Henny Youngman.
127. “My favorite thing of all time is a New York City weekend when there’s a blizzard. Everything gets really quiet, and everyone goes to the movies and the park.” – Idina Menzel.
128. “Unusual weather for New York City. Today it was 68 and foggy. No, wait a minute, that’s me. I’m sorry, that’s me.” – David Letterman.
129. “I’m attracted to wilderness in any sense. Which is why I’m attracted to New York in a way, because I feel like it’s a wilderness of people and textures. Just like, there’s so much life and richness here. And you can get lost in it.” – Adrianne Lenker.
130. “When I’m in New York, I just want to walk down the street and feel this thing, like I’m in a movie.” – Ryan Adams.
Living in New York Quotes
131. “But there is one thing about it – once you have lived in New York and it has become your home, no place else is good enough.” – John Steinbeck.
132. “The great thing about living in New York is the constant change of things. It inspires me to keep moving, push forward, and question ideas.” – John Varvatos.
133. “New York is about as cosmopolitan as it gets. It’s a fairly mixed and woke town, so there weren’t a lot of situations growing up where I felt like the outsider or the alien.” – Jordan Peele.
134. “The best thing about New York is working late into the night. At one in the morning on a Saturday, to be still working, there’s immense satisfaction in being enclosed by it.” – Colm Toibin.
135. “I feel very comfortable in New York, in a city where there is no such thing as ‘nationality.'” – Bernard Tschumi.
136. “If I go to someplace like Switzerland, I find a lot of uptight people because they’re living amongst so much beauty; there’s no urgency in trying to find the beauty within themselves. If you’re stuck in New York, you have to somehow look within yourself – otherwise, you’d go crackers.” – George Harrison.
137. “You always feel like your 18–year–old self in some sense. And that’s what walking through New York on a June evening feels like – you feel like it’s Friday, and you’re 17 years old.” – John Darnielle.
138. “I just try to reflect the grittiness in New York. I try to protect the grit and the dirt that comes with it, which is a good thing.” – Aesop Rock.
139. “I’m not saying you have to be totally despondent or anything, but… in New York, it’s cold sometimes; it rains sometimes; even if everything in your life is great, bad weather can set the mood. You can write songs in New York because it’s not always perfect. To write a good song, things can’t be perfect.” – Tom Odell.
140. “I go out in New York, and I think, boy, you can look at someone and pretty much determine their zip code. Everyone seems to want to conform. I wonder, are they all just button–pressers on the Internet all day long? I don’t know.” – Iris Apfel.
141. “Living in N.Y.C. has truly awakened me to the New York elite and their penchant for the city’s self-described brilliant public transit system. I think it sucks… just like public transit always does.” – Steven Crowder.
142. “Look at the shows that are really successful on Broadway. They’re musicals. They’re things that a woman will pick out the tickets for, or a man will buy the tickets with a woman in mind. It’s a date. It’s boyfriend–girlfriend, husband–wife. That’s what the theater in New York has become.” – Alec Baldwin.
143. “In New York City, the meek don’t inherit the earth. The big mouth does.” – Barbara Corcoran.
144. “What I like about New York City is nobody cares. If they do, they don’t ever approach. They just give you a ‘What’s up?’ and that’s it.” – Chaske Spencer.
145. “These are such First World problems, but there’s a certain claustrophobia to New York. You don’t escape in the East Village, but it at least feels full of camaraderie and youth – or full of camaraderie and youth in an East Village that is as full of Chase banks and Starbucks as the Upper West Side, or anywhere else in Manhattan.” – Timothee Chalamet.
146. “My father died when I was nine and a half. We were on relief for two years. They call it welfare now, but it was relief then… I never forgot the generosity of New York.” – Larry King.
147. “It had always been a dream of mine to come to New York to work. Coming to New York and looking for work is one thing, but coming to New York and already having a job and feeling like you are already part of the city has been an amazing experience for me.” – Karine Vanasse.
148. Living in New York is quite a unique experience. New York challenges, tests, and rewards you, inspiring you to try new things and set big goals. You will never be the same after New York and will always crave more of the city. The following New York quotes about living in this unique city.
Best New York vs. World Cities Quotes
New York City has long been a global hub for innovation, diversity, and opportunity. But how does it stack against iconic world cities like London, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, and other major cities? From its skyscrapers that define New York’s skyline to the diverse neighborhoods, New York City stands in a class of its own. Many people have offered up their thoughts on the city that never sleeps compared to its global counterparts in famous quotes about New York and Instagram captions about NYC.
So, whether you’re a native New Yorker, a world traveler, or simply a lover of all things urban, get ready to be inspired and enlightened by the best quotes and Instagram captions about New York that compare the city to other great places worldwide.
149. “The people who say Las Vegas never sleeps must never have visited New York.”
150. “London is a mystery, and New York City is an explanation.”
151. “I don’t like Los Angeles. The people are awful and terribly shallow, and everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to play the game. I’m from New York. I will kill to get what I need.” – Lady Gaga.
152. “I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, ‘There’s no place like New York. It’s the most exciting city in the world now. That’s the way it is. That’s it.'” – Robert De Niro.
153. “In New York, everyone’s desperate for success, desperate for money and desperate to be accepted, but in London, they’re more laid back about things like that.” – David Bailey.
154. “Cities have sexes: London is a man, Paris a woman, and New York, a well-adjusted transsexual.” – Angela Carter.
155. “I love Milan because it’s my hometown. But Paris is the dream city: even when you’re stressed out in shows, you look around, and everything is so beautiful. Then, in New York, I love the energy of the city.” – Bianca Balti.
156. “If London is a watercolor, New York is an oil painting.” – Peter Shaffer.
157. “New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shanghai doesn’t even sit down, and not just because there is no room.” – Patricia Marx.
158. “If New York is a wise guy, Paris a coquette, Rome a gigolo, and Berlin a wicked uncle, then London is an old lady who mutters and has the second sight. She is slightly deaf and doesn’t suffer fools gladly.” – A. A. Gill.
159. “Manila is like a small New York. Nothing works, and everybody’s out to get the better of you.” – Brigitte Nielsen.
160. “Los Angeles and New York are the big centers of the music industry worldwide, so, of course, it can be hard for newcomers who don’t know what to expect from the music business.” – Ville Valo.
161. “I love New York. I love the multicultural vibe here. Los Angeles doesn’t inspire me in any way. Everyone is in the same industry, yet you feel very isolated.” – Neve Campbell.
162. “I always find it kind of embarrassing, kind of funny, and kind of exciting. In New York, I’m recognized a lot, although nobody says anything. You know, they stare at you just a second too long. But in Paris it’s not as commonplace to be recognized.” – Marc Jacobs.
163. “When it’s three o’clock in New York, it’s still 1938 in London.” – Bette Midler.
164. “In New York, just standing still on the sidewalk is a weird feeling. You have this incessant need to do things. Los Angeles is about kicking back, relaxing, your inner child, peace.” – Esai Morales.
165. “New York City is the city that other cities can only dream of being.”
Inspirational Quotes to Visit New York
166. “I once spent an entire night in a hotel in New York looking across the way into someone’s apartment where nothing was happening but daily life, a phone call, television watching, staring into the fridge. Seeing how those strangers lived over that small distance and in absolute silence moved me deeply.” – Lauren Groff.
167. “I always remember to go on the Staten Island Ferry because it’s the most amazing view of New York. And it’s free! You see Ellis Island, and it conjures up something of that great moment: you know, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. It’s staggering.” – Tim Pigott–Smith.
168. “I love short trips to New York; to me, it is the finest three-day town on earth.” – James Cameron.
Best New York City People Quotes
The following quotes are all about the people of New York – New Yorkers! The city wouldn’t be where it is without New Yorkers, both born and who came to stay in New York.
169. “My favorite thing about New York is the people because I think they’re misunderstood. I don’t think people realize how kind New York people are.” – Bill Murray.
170. “People with brains went to New York, and people with faces came West.” – Eve Babitz.
“New York ladies all look immaculate.” – Zac Posen.
171. “Having Black hair is unique in that Black women change up styles a lot. You can walk down one street block in New York City and see 10 different hairstyles that Black women are wearing: straight curls, short cuts, braids – we really run the gamut.” – Queen Latifah.
172. “Those people in New York are not gonna change me none.” – Elvis Presley.
173. “After the 9/11 apocalypse happened in New York City, people, particularly New Yorkers, who breathed in the ash, or saw the results of that, have a tendency to keep seeing echoes and having flashbacks to it.” – Stephen King.
174. “People are really talkative in New York. Someone always comes up to me and says ‘Hi’ during the day.” – Lana Del Rey.
Best New York Quotes: Final Word
Every quote about New York represents someone’s relationship with this fantastic city. People from different cultures and backgrounds come to New York, and more often than not, they get amazed, charmed, fascinated, inspired, and motivated by its power, beauty, and diversity.
Once you visit New York, it is on your mind. It’s hard to visit this city once and accept that you’ve seen it all. No matter where you go or what you do, you want to see and experience more. So what?! You can come anytime because New York is always a good idea!
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