Manhattan, New York — 50 Landmarks in One Cinematic Flight

50 landmarks, one cinematic flight with a live on-screen compass — from the Statue of Liberty at sunrise to Manhattanhenge at sunset, this is Manhattan seen whole. Most aerial tour channels jump between dozens of separate clips, teleporting from one side of a city to the other. This one doesn't. Every landmark in this video is connected by a single virtual flight, seamlessly guided by real 3D aerial footage. You start at New York Harbor at dawn and end fourteen minutes later on 42nd Street at golden hour, watching the sun align perfectly with Manhattan's street grid for Manhattanhenge, one of the city's rarest visual phenomena. Along the way you'll fly past the full sweep of Manhattan: the harbor islands and Ground Zero, the Financial District and its bridges, Chinatown and Little Italy, Greenwich Village and the High Line, the full Midtown skyline from the Empire State Building to Times Square, Fifth Avenue's cathedrals and museums, Central Park in its entirety, and the Upper West Side up to the medieval Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park. Fifty stops, one flight. This entire flyover was built inside Google Earth Studio using real 3D satellite and aerial imagery — no drone was used to film this video. 📍 Full list of every landmark and timestamp below. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 Intro – Aerial Approach to Manhattan 0:11 New York Harbor (Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Governors Island) 1:16 Ground Zero & the Financial District 3:05 The Brooklyn Bridge & the East River Crossings 4:33 Chinatown & Little Italy 5:12 Greenwich Village & Union Square 6:15 Chelsea & the High Line 6:58 Empire State Building & Herald Square 8:06 Times Square & the Theater District 8:35 Bryant Park & Grand Central 9:25 Fifth Avenue & St. Patrick's Cathedral 10:15 Rockefeller Center & Park Avenue 11:27 Central Park 13:04 Upper West Side & Harlem 13:34 The Cloisters & Manhattanhenge (Closing Shot) 📍 Full landmark list Statue of Liberty · Ellis Island · Governors Island · Battery Park & Castle Clinton · One World Trade Center · 9/11 Memorial · Oculus · Wall Street & NYSE · Federal Hall · Charging Bull · Trinity Church · Brooklyn Bridge · Brooklyn Heights Promenade · South Street Seaport · Manhattan Bridge · Williamsburg Bridge · Chinatown · Little Italy · Washington Square Arch · Union Square · Flatiron Building · Madison Square Park · Chelsea Piers · The High Line · Hudson Yards · Empire State Building · Macy's Herald Square · Times Square · Broadway Theater District · Bryant Park · New York Public Library · Grand Central Terminal · Chrysler Building · United Nations Headquarters · Fifth Avenue · St. Patrick's Cathedral · Rockefeller Center · Radio City Music Hall · Park Avenue · The Plaza Hotel · MoMA · Columbus Circle · Central Park · Bethesda Fountain · Strawberry Fields · American Museum of Natural History · Lincoln Center · Roosevelt Island Tramway · Apollo Theater (Harlem) · The Cloisters · Manhattanhenge (Closing Shot) 🌇 About Manhattanhenge (the closing shot) Manhattan's street grid is rotated 29° off true east-west, so the setting sun only lines up perfectly with the cross streets twice a year — late May and mid-July. When it happens, the sun appears to sit directly between the buildings on wide, unobstructed avenues like 42nd Street, where this flight ends. The name was coined by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, after Stonehenge. 🖼 Imagery: Google Earth 🎵 Music: Google Flow Music (Lyria) This is Alta Vista — uninterrupted cinematic flights over the world's most iconic cities, made entirely with real 3D satellite imagery. More cities coming soon. Subscribe to follow along. #Manhattan #NewYorkCity #AerialTour #GoogleEarthStudio #Manhattanhenge #NYC #CityFlyover