Public Restrooms

If you’re walking around the streets of New York and find yourself needing to use the bathroom, keep these tips in mind. NYC has many things, but it does not have public restrooms. Unlike some other cities, you won’t find free or paid public bathrooms or port-o-potties no matter how many blocks you walk. Because of this, you have to be smart when looking for a nice, clean, available rest room in NYC. Remember to try to use the restroom when you’re at a restaurant, because it will be difficult to find one later, and when you do you may have to wait on a very, very long line. The best places to go to find a bathroom are the lobbies of large hotels or museums, which often have well kept, clean facilities and a lot of foot traffic. You can also go into a Starbucks or McDonalds, although many of these businesses require that you purchase something to use their restroom. Most small stores in NYC do not have public bathrooms at all, so you’ll have better luck at a large department store. Finally, small shops and corner stores tend to have employee restrooms with questionable cleanliness, so we wouldn’t recommend trying these unless its a real emergency.