How to Get to Madison Square Garden From Lower Manhattan

The short version: one train, no changes. Walk to Fulton Street station, which is three to four minutes from us on John Street, and get an uptown A or C on the Eighth Avenue line, or an uptown 2 or 3 on the Seventh Avenue line. All four stop at 34 St-Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden is built on top of it. Trains run roughly every five minutes and the ride is about 13 minutes. Pay with OMNY by tapping your phone or contactless card at the turnstile.

Which line to take. It doesn't matter much, take whichever comes first. The 2 and 3 put you out on the Seventh Avenue side, which is the side most arena entrances face. The A and C put you on the Eighth Avenue side, a slightly longer walk through the station complex but usually a less crowded platform. Both are inside the same connected Penn Station complex, so either way you can walk to the arena underground.

Leaving after a game or a show. Everyone floods the station at the same time, and downtown trains from Penn are the same ones you came on. If you'd rather not stand in the crush, walk a couple of avenues east and pick up a different line, or just wait fifteen minutes: the queue at the turnstiles clears fast. Coming back to the Financial District after 11pm the trains are less frequent but they run all night, which is one of the reasons we tell guests not to bother with a car down here.

Going by bike or on foot. It's roughly three and a half miles from John Street up to 34th Street, so walking is an hour or more and not a great walk. Citi Bike works if the weather's good, mostly on the Hudson River Greenway then east across 34th, but the greenway route adds distance. The subway is the sensible option nearly every time.

We're on John Street in the Financial District, so if you've got tickets uptown and want a quiet block to come back to, you've got room to stretch out down here.