New York City, also known as "The City That Never Sleeps," is a bustling metropolis and one of the most iconic cities in the world. Known for its towering skyscrapers, world-renowned landmarks, and diverse culture, New York City offers endless opportunities for exploration and entertainment. Visitors can take in the views from the top of the Empire State Building, admire the grandeur of the Statue of Liberty, or stroll through Central Park.
New York City is also known for its rich cultural scene, featuring world-class museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, as well as Broadway shows and the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts. Additionally, the city is home to a diverse range of neighborhoods, each with their own unique culture and flavor. From the trendy neighborhoods of Soho and Tribeca, to the historic neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and Harlem, there's something for everyone to discover.
Beyond its cultural offerings, New York City is also known for its diverse and delicious food scene, featuring a wide variety of international cuisines and local specialties. Visitors can enjoy a classic New York slice of pizza, a hot dog from a street vendor or indulge in a Michelin-starred restaurant. New York City is also a great destination for shopping, with many high-end boutiques, department stores, and markets to explore. Whether you're a culture vulture, foodie, or just looking for a fun time, New York City has something to offer everyone.
120 New York City Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello aren’t just a random assortment of Renaissance artists. They’re also the names of what “heroes in a half shell” who roam the sewers fighting evil in New York City?
Answer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- What is the somewhat coincidental (ironic?) name of the New York city with a population under 10,000 which is home to Mastercard's headquarters?
Answer: Purchase
- The Silver Star is a train route that passes through Tampa, FL twice daily: once southbound to Miami and once northbound to New York City. What quasi-public corporation operates the Silver Star line?
Answer: Amtrak
- Akin to New York City's MetroCard, what is the name of the electronic fare payment system used by the Chicago Transit Authority that launched in 2013?
Answer: Ventra
- In April 2021, it was announced by city officials in what American city that at long last they would run an e-scooter pilot featuring Bird, Lime, and VeoRide? This city was considered the "crown jewel" of micromobility in the U.S. for years.
Answer: NYC
- Forming in St. Louis in 1925, what precision dance company has performed in New York City’s Radio City Music Hall since 1932? Their name sounds like the feminine form of a boulder or genre of music.
Answer: Rockettes
- Mastercard has its headquarters in what hamlet of New York City? It is said to have gotten its name from John Harrison being able to buy as much land as he could ride through in a single day, and it is a word most Mastercard owners are familiar with.
Answer: Purchase, New York
- What NYC building, the home to a real estate empire (among other businesses), is named after its owner and is located at 721 5th Avenue?
Answer: Trump Tower
- Altium is a wealth management company based in what appropriate “P” New York city? Its name is also a word meaning to acquire something through buying it.
Answer: Purchase, New York
- New York City's only aerial tramway connects commuters with what island, part of the borough of Manhattan?
Answer: Roosevelt Island
- One of Broadway's longest-running musicals, what Jonathan Larson show with a four-letter title featured characters singing about how they couldn't afford to pay their New York City landlord?
Answer: Rent
- There are more than five working under Eric Adams, but on "Spin City" Michael J. Fox's character was the only deputy mayor of what major American city?
Answer: New York City
- What American poet was drawn to the young working men he met when he came to New York City in 1841, writing about the "frequent and swift flash of eyes offering me robust, athletic love?"
Answer: Walt Whitman
- Created in the 15th century BC, the oldest object in New York City's Central Park is an obelisk also known as the "needle" of what Ptolemaic Egyptian queen?
Answer: Cleopatra
- According to the International Bartenders Association, 5 cl of Rye Whiskey, 2 cl of sweet red vermouth, and a dash or Angostura bitters are the ingredients in what cocktail, which is named for a New York City borough?
Answer: Manhattan
- What former mayor of New York City, serving from 2002 to 2013, received his MBA from Harvard University in 1966?
Answer: Michael Bloomberg
- On November 12, 2022, New York City's Department of Transportation announced that a pilot program with Lime Scooters would go permanent in which of the city's five boroughs?
Answer: The Bronx
- After being spotted in the Bronx's Claremont Park in 2023, New York City officials confirmed that what animal, species Canis latrans, can be found in all NYC boroughs besides Brooklyn?
Answer: Coyotes
- After the energy drink company that sponsors it, what is the name of New York City's Major League Soccer team?
Answer: Red Bulls
- What classic Leonard Bernstein Broadway musical re-envisioned Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in the world of white and Puerto Rican gangs fighting in New York City?
Answer: West Side Story
- What short-lived New York City-based tech startup launched in 2016 as a musical talent booking app, yet is better remembered for its ill-fated promotional music festival in Great Exuma, Bahamas that led to numerous lawsuits and federal fraud charges against CEO Billy McFarland?
Answer: Fyre
- "Send a salami to your boy in the army" is a famous World War II-era slogan of what classic New York City deli?
Answer: Katz's
- What is the name for Amtrak's high-speed service connecting Boston and Washington DC with major stops in New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore?
Answer: Acela
- What New York City beach neighborhood gave its name to a 1977 hit by the band the Ramones?
Answer: Rockaway Beach
- Popularized by Puerto Ricans living in New York City in the mid-20th century, what type of commercial establishment does the OED define as “a small local shop, usually with long opening hours, where customers can buy a limited range of household goods and groceries; a convenience store?”
Answer: Bodega
- What classic Broadway musical, adapted for film in 1961 and again in 2021, features warring New York City gangs known as the Jets and the Sharks?
Answer: West Side Story
- Featuring a trumpet-like instrument on its cover page, what fictional New York City newspaper frequently reports on the exploits of the Amazing Spider-Man?
Answer: Daily Bugle
- Today, Washington D.C. is the nation’s capital, but it’s far from being the only place to take on the role throughout America’s history. In 1789, the first capital of the United States was actually located in which city?
Answer: New York City
- "Informal cyber security adviser" and personal attorney are two of the latest titles for what famous New Yorker that has been officially registered as a Democrat, Independent, and Republican in his multi-decade political career? This man served as the 107th Mayor of New York City.
Answer: Rudy Giuliani
- Before being relocated by Robert Moses to Coney Island, the New York City aquarium was in a historic fort in what flood-prone Manhattan park?
Answer: Battery
- From east to west, the headquarters of the United Nations, the Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, the New York Public Library Main Branch, Times Square, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal are found on what New York City street that's just eight blocks south of 50th?
Answer: 42nd Street
- "Nothing mixes better than vanilla and chocolate." In an episode of "Seinfeld," Jerry says this in reference to what iconic duotone baked foodstuff found primarily in the bakeries of New York City?
Answer: Black and White cookie
- In the movie Big, a suddenly adult Josh Baskin plays a giant piano with his boss at what legendary New York City toy store?
Answer: F.A.O. Schwarz
- What New York City baseball team did Jackie Robinson play for when he broke the MLB color barrier in 1947?
Answer: Brooklyn Dodgers
- The 106-acre reservoir at the center of Central Park was renamed in 1994 after what former first lady, in honor of her contributions to preservation in New York City?
Answer: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- Which international daily newspaper based in New York City, published in broadsheet and online, is associated with the use of hedcuts, hand-drawn illustrations that resemble engravings?
Answer: Wall Street Journal
- Chinese pianist Yuja Wang performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra on October 7, 2021, for the post-COVID reopening of what legendary New York City music venue?
Answer: Carnegie Hall
- Phase One of New York City's first scooter sharing program in 2021 stretched from Woodlawn to Pelham Gardens in the east of which borough?
Answer: The Bronx
- "Son of Sam" and ".44 Caliber Killer" were aliases of an American serial killer who pleaded guilty to eight separate shooting attacks in what U.S. city?
Answer: New York City
- On June 12, 2023, what New York City mayor signed an executive order preventing the use of city resources to deter any individual from providing or receiving gender-affirming healthcare?
Answer: Eric Adams
- Bethenny Frankel, founder of lifestyle brand Skinnygirl and former daytime talk show host, is one of the main cast members of what series in the Real Housewives reality TV franchise?
Answer: The Real Housewives of New York City
- Fortitude and Patience are the two stone lions guarding the entrance to the Bryant Park location of what New York City institution?
Answer: New York Public Library
- Located on East 42nd Street, what New York City skyscraper was designated an official historic landmark in 1978 because it is a "stunning statement in the Art Deco style?"
Answer: Chrysler Building
- What 26th president, who was born in Manhattan, assumed office after William McKinley was assassinated?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- Founded in New York City by Frank Reig and Paul Suhey, what is the name of the moped-sharing startup that by 2020 expanded to Washington and Austin and purchases its mopeds from Chinese manufacturer NIU?
Answer: Revel
- At around 2.5 million people, which of the five boroughs of New York City has the highest population?
Answer: Brooklyn
- What real estate group founded in New York City in 1999 shares its name with a TV detective played by Tom Selleck in the 1980s?
Answer: Magnum Real Estate Group
- Following Sully Sullenberger's "Miracle on the Hudson" plane landing, New York City bars began honoring him with a special cocktail. The drink calls for a splash of water and two shots of what brand of vodka, referencing what caused the need for the emergency landing?
Answer: Grey Goose
- City Island is an island in New York City with a population of ~4,000 residents and is known for its many seafood restaurants and New England-esque atmosphere of boating and fishing. City Island is technically part of which borough?
Answer: The Bronx
- The serial killer David Berkowitz called himself the "Son of Sam" and claimed a demon spoke to him through a neighbor's dog. Before being caught and convicted in 1977, he killed six people and wounded seven others in what American city?
Answer: New York City
- Preceding Jerry Sheindlin and succeeding Joseph Wapner, former New York City mayor Ed Koch presided as a judge on what syndicated small claims court television series from 1997 to 1999?
Answer: The People’s Court
- Runners cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the first mile of the namesake marathon in what major U.S. city?
Answer: New York / New York City
- An estimated 6.7 million gallons of water flowed into New York City's sewers on February 28, 1983, as an estimated one million New Yorkers used the bathroom at the same time after the series finale of what TV show?
Answer: MASH
- The Amtrak service that connects New York City with Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA is named for what small tree that also appears on the South Carolina flag?
Answer: Palmetto
- Freshkills Park is a public park being built atop a landfill reclamation project in New York City. Once fully developed, the area will be the largest park developed in NYC since the 19th century. In which borough can you find this park?
Answer: Staten Island
- What mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989 was famous for greeting his constituents on street corners with the folksy phrase "How'm I doing?"
Answer: Ed Koch
- Charles Fort died rather suddenly of leukemia in the most northern borough of New York City at the age of 57. What borough was the site of Fort's death?
Answer: The Bronx
- In 1931, hiring pilot Andy Stinis to display the message "DRINK PEPSI-COLA" above New York City, Pepsi became the first product ever to use what method of advertising?
Answer: Skywriting
- St. Louis native Taylor Momsen played Jenny Humphrey on what CW teen drama series set in New York City?
Answer: Gossip Girl
- The Deetz family moves from New York City to Winter River, Connecticut, and haunted-house hijinks ensue, in what 1988 film?
Answer: Beetlejuice
- What is the only New York City borough that is not technically on an island, with all four other boroughs being islands or part of islands?
Answer: Bronx, The Bronx
- Better known as "Three Bears," the statue "Group of Bears" was installed in 1990 around 79th Street on the east side of what New York City park?
Answer: Central Park
- With a name that references a neighborhood in New York City, what drag queen is the head judge of "Canada's Drag Race," the Canadian adaptation of "RuPaul's Drag Race?"
Answer: Brooke Lynn Hytes
- What conservative tabloid in New York City also owns PageSix and Decider? The last word of their name is same as the cereal manufacturer of Raisin Brain and Fruity Pebbles.
Answer: New York Post
- The New York City Newsboys’ Strike of 1899 served as the inspiration for what musical film released by Disney in 1992?
Answer: Newsies
- What “N” daily newspaper, founded in 1940, serves primarily Nassau and Suffolk counties in Long Island, New York City? Its compound-word name implies that it covers noteworthy events that happened recently.
Answer: Newsday
- The largest LGBT event in history, WorldPride 2019, was organized in part to commemorate the passing of 50 years since the Stonewall riots. Fittingly, the event was held in which city?
Answer: New York City
- Which independent oil and gas company based in New York City was started by a 19-year-old entrepreneur in New Jersey who bought a second-hand truck to deliver oil in 1933?
Answer: Hess
- Orange County, New York City, Beverly Hills, Salt Lake City, and Potomac are all installments of what reality television franchise?
Answer: The Real Housewives
- The children of which coffee-loving American president opened the Double R Coffee House in New York City, its success bolstered by the onset of Prohibition two months after opening day?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- Located in Southwest Pennsylvania, Fallingwater is one of the more well-known homes designed by what famous architect who’s also responsible for designing The Guggenheim Museum in New York City?
Answer: Frank Lloyd Wright
- What landmark 1990 documentary by Jennie Livingston documents the "ballroom culture" of New York City's gay and transgender communities?
Answer: Paris is Burning
- What New York City neighborhood does the Netflix Original Series "Daredevil" primarily take place in?
Answer: Hell's Kitchen
- What U.S. President is buried with his wife, Julia, in a domed mausoleum on 122nd Street and Riverside Drive in New York City's Upper West Side?
Answer: Grant
- Opened in 1967 in New York City’s West Village, what bar was the site of the June 28, 1969 uprising that is the reason that Pride Parades are typically held on the last weekend in June?
Answer: Stonewall Inn
- What iconic event in New York City cost participants only $1 upon its 1970 introduction? The event is the largest of its kind in the world and has been canceled twice since 2000.
Answer: New York Marathon
- According to economic folklore, the price of a slice of pizza in New York City has closely matched the price of what other common item? For decades, a price increase in pizza seems to mirror the increase in this other item. This "Pizza Principle" was first formulated by patent attorney Eric Bram in the New York Times
Answer: Subway ticket
- Adapted into a 1993 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, what "guiltless" 1920 Edith Wharton novel explores life in 1870s Gilded Age New York City?
Answer: The Age of Innocence
- A young woman from the Boston suburbs gets a glamorous internship in New York City in what 1963 novel, the only one Sylvia Plath completed?
Answer: The Bell Jar
- What is the name of the department store in the movie "Elf" that is modeled after the real-life Macy's in New York City?
Answer: Gimbels
- Which New York City-born actress made her film debut when she was just 6 years old in 2002’s alien sci-fi film “Signs,” then became a household name (and Oscar nominee) a few years later when she starred in 2006’s “Little Miss Sunshine?”
Answer: Abigail Breslin
- What beverage, which originated in New York City, is made of milk, carbonated water, and flavored syrup, and does not include either of the ingredients in its name?
Answer: Egg Cream
- What is the name of the original southern terminal station of the first line of the New York City Subway? It opened in 1904 and served the southern base of Manhattan near Brooklyn Bridge. The station is no longer in use since it was built on a curve and cannot accommodate longer trains but the 6 train still uses it as a turning loop.
Answer: City Hall
- In which borough can you visit the non-profit City Reliquary Museum to see an array of artifacts from NYC’s history, including the rope that held the mourning drape on New York City Hall after 9/11?
Answer: Brooklyn
- What American university established a new engineering campus in New York City in 2012 as the result of an economic development initiative of Michael Bloomberg's to build on Roosevelt Island?
Answer: Cornell
- Opened in Fall 2018, Nike's self-titled "flagship" store is located in what New York City neighborhood?
Answer: SoHo
- What Kentucky city was named after a New York City site where colonists dismantled and melted down a statue of King George III to make bullets for the Revolutionary War?
Answer: Bowling Green
- Founded by Charles Feeney to look after his philanthropies in 1980, what growth capital company has a headquarters at Park Avenue Plaza in New York City?
Answer: General Atlantic
- The Sacramento Kings are the oldest franchise in the NBA. In what New York city did they get their start in 1923 as the Seagrams?
Answer: Rochester
- What polarizing clothing brand opened its first store in New York City in 1994 while lifting design cues from Barbara Kruger's red-and-white propaganda art and prominently featuring the Futura Heavy Oblique font?
Answer: Supreme
- Initially founded by Curtis Sliwa in the 1970s to stem the widespread violence on the New York City subway system, what is the religiously inspired name of the volunteer youth patrol and non-profit famous for wearing red berets?
Answer: Guardian Angels
- What hurricane, which hit New York City in 2011, was featured in the episode, "Disaster Averted," of the TV series, "How I Met Your Mother?"
Answer: Hurricane Irene
- Dating back to 1665, there have been 110 different mayors of New York City, including the current one (Eric Adams). All were men, and all but two of were white. Who was the only minority candidate to win the mayoral election in New York City before Eric Adams?
Answer: David Dinkins
- The antics of sailors who have 24 hours of shore leave in New York City are the premise for what classic 1940s Broadway musical with music by Leonard Bernstein?
Answer: On the Town
- Headquartered in New York City's iconic Rockefeller Center, what real estate company's holdings include the historic Paris Bourse and Shanghai's Crystal Plaza?
Answer: Tishman Speyer
- What eponymous phenomenon, coined as a term by New York-native Neil deGrasse Tyson, refers to the setting sun aligning perfectly with the east-west streets of the main street grid in one of New York City’s boroughs?
Answer: Manhattanhenge
- What NYC museum started in Gracie Mansion and later moved to 5th Ave between 103rd and 104th St?
Answer: Museum of the City of New York
- Rob, who is a puppet, angrily denies that he is gay by singing the song "My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada" in what Broadway musical named after a thoroughfare in New York City's Brooklyn borough?
Answer: Avenue Q
- What American playwright won the triple-crown of theatrical artistry in 1949? This includes The New York City Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and a Tony.
Answer: Arthur Miller
- "Give me such shows — give me the streets of Manhattan!" is a quote from what famous American poet who, despite his association with nature, was a New York City resident and the editor of the Brooklyn Eagle for a few years in the mid 19th century?
Answer: Walt Whitman
- What apparel company was founded in 1818 in New York City and is considered by many to be the oldest U.S. retail company still in existence today?
Answer: Brooks Brothers
- Performed by Huey Lewis, "Once Upon a Time in New York City" is the opening song of what 1988 Disney animated film that's based on a Charles Dickens novel?
Answer: Oliver & Company
- In the first of The Avengers movies, Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Iron Man and what other member of the group defend New York City against the Chitauri while evacuating civilians?
Answer: Hawkeye
- What office in New York City is first in line to succeed the mayor? The post is currently held by Jumaane Williams. Former-mayor Bill de Blasio held the post before his 2013 mayoral election.
Answer: Public Advocate
- What eponymous cosmetics brand was founded by a woman born in Chicago who graduated from college with a self-directed degree in theatrical makeup? In 1991 this woman and her husband partnered with another couple to launch a brand that debuted at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City.
Answer: Bobbi Brown
- What Broadway musical with an exclamation point in its title is about the man who was mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945?
Answer: Fiorello!
- As of a 2011 American Community Survey, what Manhattan neighborhood is home to the most immigrants of any neighborhood in all of New York City with over 80,000?
Answer: Washington Heights
- Considered one of the innovators of creative nonfiction via New Journalism, what American author's best-known work "The Executioner's Song" won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for fiction? This "postal" author also ran in the Democratic primary for NYC's mayoral race of 1969 with a platform including the secession of New York City as the 51st US state.
Answer: Norman Mailer
- Which of New York City's annual parades is typically the largest, with over 80,000 people marching and 3 million people lining the streets? This particular parade marches down Fifth Avenue from 44th to 86th street.
Answer: Puerto Rican Day Parade
- Fernando Ferrer, Adolfo Carrión Jr., and Ruben Diaz Jr. have all held what political position in New York City?
Answer: Bronx Borough President
- The world's first road made specifically for cars was paved in which of New York City's five boroughs?
Answer: Queens
- Bel Kaufman fictionalized the life of a first-year teacher in New York City in a best-selling 1964 novel called "Up the Down" WHAT?
Answer: Staircase
- Although it is set in Harlem, New York City, what 1974 novel by James Baldwin has a title that refers to a thoroughfare in Memphis, Tennessee?
Answer: If Beale Street Could Talk
- A portion of New York City's Hudson Street is named for what Latina activist for trans rights, who was closely associated with fellow trans activist Marsha P. Johnson?
Answer: Sylvia Rivera
- Who was the King of England when the Dutch surrendered New York City to English forces in 1664?
Answer: Charles II
- Philadelphia was the most populous city in the U.S. at the time the young nation declared its independence. In what decade did nearby New York City pass Philadelphia as the nation's most populous city?
Answer: 1790s
- What beachy slang term refers to the miners and construction workers who have built a large portion of New York City's infrastructure?
Answer: Sandhogs
- An outcrop of Manhattan schist protruding from Central Park bedrock also doubles as the largest exposed boulder in New York City. The rock is known as either Rat Rock, due to the frequent swarming of the titular creatures, or what other name which references the nearby ballfields?
Answer: Umpire Park
- The 2019 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship will be held in July in what American city?
Answer: NYC
- How many lines are there in New York City’s subway system?
Answer: 36
Play New York City Trivia with Water Cooler Trivia
Water Cooler Trivia is well-equipped to provide you with exciting and engaging trivia quizzes.
So, how does it work?
Each week, our team will deliver original trivia quizzes straight to your inbox.
All you have to do is pick the categories.
You can leave the rest of the heavy lifting to us.
Take Water Cooler Trivia for a test run with our four-week free trial.
About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
.png){kind=logo}
.png)