Looking for that perfect Instagram caption for your New York City photos? New York is one of the best cities in the world to visit. And thanks to its numerous attractions and iconic skyline, you’ll probably find yourself taking more than a few photos on your trip. But finding the perfect caption to capture your time there can be tricky. These New York Instagram captions have got you covered!
Whether you’re posing on Brooklyn Bridge, at Grand Central Station, in Central Park, or at the top of the Empire State Building, you’ll find the perfect Instagram caption here.
Thanks to its magnetic energy, the city has been the topic of countless movies, tv shows, songs, and books. So you’ll find plenty of New York quotes and pop culture references on this list, including song lyrics and lines from the city’s best loved fictional characters.
This list has been helpfully split up into sections so you can find the perfect New York Instagram caption for you. Keep things simple with a short New York Instagram caption, lighten the mood with some New York puns, or try an inspiring New York quote.
Looking for something quick so you can just get that photo posted to Instagram asap? I’ve got you. Checkout the best of the bunch below. You can just grab and go.
Best New York Instagram Captions
- Empire state of mind
- New York is always a good idea
- Bright lights, big city
- Enjoying every New York minute
- Keep calm and go to New York
- Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
- Left my heart in New York
- New York, New Me
More Travel Instagram Caption Inspiration:
New York Puns for Instagram
When it comes to Instagram captions, you can’t beat a good pun. They’re a great way to keep things light-hearted and there’s plenty that are just perfect for any New York photo you want to post.
Enjoying every New York minute
Taking a bite out of the Big Apple
Living the High Line
This little piggy went to Chelsea Market
Central Park-ing myself here for the rest of the day
I’m so glad we MET!
Brooklyn is a bridge too far
Slice, slice baby
Queens for a day
Spilling the Liber-tea
I’m no DUMBO!
More like the Empire Great Building!
I couldn’t have had a NYCer trip
New York is Yankee-ing on my heart strings
I plead the Fifth Avenue
Short New York Captions
Sometimes it’s best to keep things short but sweet. These short New York captions are perfect for when the writer’s block hits. Just copy, paste, post!
New York, New Me
The city that never sleeps
New York is always a good idea
Meet me in New York
A bad day in New York is better than a good day anywhere else
I left my heart in New York
Sleepless nights and city lights
Meanwhile, in New York…
Either you love New York or you are wrong
Welcome to the concrete jungle
Lights so bright, I need shades
I think I was made to live in New York
Hustle like a New Yorker
You can leave New York but it will never leave you
This is the city I love the most
More Short New York Instagram Captions
Keep calm and go to New York
Taking a big bit out of the Big Apple
Once upon a time in New York
Happiness is tickets to New York
Good morning New York City!
‘New York to me means the world’ – Donna Karen
‘This isn’t a fairytale. It’s New York City’ – Alex Flinn
Pop Culture New York Captions
New York City is a cultural icon in and of itself. Numerous writers and singers have taken inspiration from this magical place over the years, which means theres plenty of pop culture references. Referencing a famous line from a TV show or film is such an easy and fun way to think of a New York Instagram caption. Here’s a few you might know!
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of – Alicia Keys
Fairytale of New York – The Pogues
XOXO Gossip Girl
Anything is possible. This is New York. – Sex And The City
Don’t you love New York in the fall? – You’ve Got Mail
You got New York in your bones – 25th Hour
One thing about New York City. You are here or you are nowhere. – A Rainy Day in New York
Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s Elite – Gossip Girl
To me, the difference between New York and London is that things are boring and staid in London – Theo James
New York is not as big a city as it pretends to be – Pretend It’s a City
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.’
When I first moved to New York, I bought Vogue instead of dinner. I just felt it fed me more. – Carrie Bradshaw
If Louis is right, and you only get one great love, New York may just be mine – Carrie Bradshaw
The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world – The Great Gatsby
‘New York City, the land of opportunity’ – Home Alone 2
And I always head people in New York never get to know their neighbours – Breakfast at Tiffany’s
New York Song Lyrics
New York city hasn’t only been the inspiration for films and TV shows, it’s also a hot topic for songs. Each of these song lyrics references the city (and also makes for the perfect New York Instagram Caption!).
I’m in a New York state of mind – Billy Joel
I want to be a part of it, New York, New York – Frank Sinatra
Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you – Taylor Swift
We just happen to be in the greatest city in the world – Hamilton Cast
New York City’s the place where they said, ‘Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side’ – Lou Reed
All the critics love you in New York – Prince
I’ve been praying ever since New York – Harry Styles
New York isn’t New York without you, love – St Vincent
To be young and in love in New York City – Lauv
New York City is my favourite place – Nina Hagen
I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps – Frank Sinatra
Times Square can’t shine as bright as you – Plain White T’s
These streets will make you feel brand new. These lights will inspire you – Alicia Keys
New York Quotes
Expressing your love for the city in your own words can be tough…so why not use someone else’s! These New York quotes explain the magic of being in New York City perfectly. And whether you’re looking for something short and sweet, or something a little more descriptive, you’ll find it here.
‘New York is not a city – it’s a world’ – Iman
‘There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless’ – Simone de Beauvoir
‘A hundred times I have thought: New York is a catastrophe, and fifty times: it is a beautiful catastrophe’ – Le Corbusier
‘New York is a city of superlatives, a place where the best, the brightest, the biggest is the norm’ – Marilyn J. Appleberg
‘London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful’ – Dorothy Parker
‘If London is a watercolour, New York is an oil painting’ – Peter Shaffer
‘New York had all the iridescence of the beginning of the world’ – F. Scott Fitzgerald
‘I love New York on summer afternoons when everyone’s away’ – F. Scott Fitzgerald
‘I don’t like cities. But I like New York.’ – Madonna
‘New York city is itself a detective story’ – Agatha Christie
‘Skyscraper National Park’ – Kurt Vonnegut
‘There is more sophistication and less sense in New York than anywhere else on the globe’ – Elbert Hubbard
More New York Quotes for Instagram
‘You haven’t lived until you’ve died in New York’ – Alexander Woolcott
‘New York is a diamond iceberg floating in river water’ – Truman Capote
‘One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt’ – Georgia O’Keefe
‘I was in love with New York… I was in love with the city, the way you love the first person who ever touches you and you never love anyone quite like that way again’ – Joan Didion
‘One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years’ – Tom Wolfe
‘If you want to become a real New Yorker, there’s only one rule: You have to believe New York is, has been, and always will be the greatest city on earth. The centre of the universe’ – Ellen R. Shapiro
‘I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York’s skyline’ – Ayn Rand
‘There’s something so romantic about being broke in New York’ – Amy Poehler
‘I love New York, even though it isn’t mine’ – Truman Capote
‘When you leave New York, you ain’t going anywhere’ – Jimmy Breslin
‘Practically everybody in New York has half a mind to write a book – and does’ – Groucho Marx
‘There’s an inherent energy in New York City that it’s famous for. It makes you want to get up and do a million things all day and stay up all night’
”People never forget two things: their first love and their first day in New York City’ – Unknown
More Quotes for New York Instagram Captions
‘New York is not a city – it’s a world’ – Iman
‘There’s something in the New York air that makes sleep useless – Simone De Beauvoir
‘This isn’t a fairytale. It’s New York City’ – Alex Flinn
‘As for New York City, it is a place apart. There is not its match in any other country in the world’ – Pearl S. Buck
‘Give me the streets of Manhattan’ – Walt Whitman
‘New York is a city of superlatives, a place where the best, the brightest, the biggest is the norm’ – Marilyn J. Appleberg
‘It is a beautiful catastrophe’- Le Corbusier
‘There is more sophistication and less sense in New York than anywhere else on the globe’ – Elbert Hubbard
‘This city is the place to be’ – Pam Nelson
‘Once you have live in New York and made it your home, no place is good enough’ – John Steinbeck
‘New Yorkers are born all over the country, and then they come to New York City and it hits them: Oh, that’s who I am’ – Delia Ephron
‘People go to LA to find themselves, they come to New York to be someone new’ – Lindsey Kelk
‘It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story’ – Agatha Christie
New York Jokes for Instagram Captions
If you want to add a bit of humour to your Instagram post, try using one of these jokes about New York. Beware: Dad jokes incoming…
What’s a dog’s favourite state? New Yorkie!
New York looks terrible in the mornings. But I guess it’s the city that never sleeps!
Where do eggs go on vacation? New Yolk!
What made Eve leave the garden of Eden for New York? The big apple!
Empire State Building Instagram Captions
Chances are you’ll get a photo or two of the iconic Empire State Building whilst visiting New York. So here are ideas for the perfect Empire State Building Instagram caption.
Meet me at the Empire State Building
Don’t look back unless it’s a good view
‘The Empire State Building is the closest thing to heaven in this city’ – Deborah Kerr
‘From the ruins, lonely and inexplicable as the sphinx rose the Empire State Building’ – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Swapped out stars for skylines
Working on that Empire State of mind
Negative New York Quotes
Surprisingly, not everyone loves New York! In fact, some people have a pretty low opinion of the place. If New York didn’t live up to your expectations, maybe one of these quotes could be a good fit for your New York Instagram caption…
‘New York is a sucked orange’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson
‘Manhattan is an accumulation of possible disasters that never happen’ – Ed Kock
‘New York is appalling, fantastically charmless and elaborately dire’ – Henry James
‘New York is nearly a grave. The Empire State Building is its gravestone’ – Walter Tevis
New York Food Instagram Captions
New Yorkers love their food! Here are a few foodie captions for when you’ve captured that perfect slice on camera!
New York stole a pizza my heart
Slice, Slice Baby!
You cannoli do so much in Little Italy
Final Thoughts: New York Instagram Captions
Hopefully this post has helped you to find that perfect New York Instagram caption. And if you’ve got any other fun New York puns, quotes or jokes, let me know in the comments!
Don’t forget to check out these other Instagram Caption posts for more inspiration: