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Your hotel location shapes every match day of your trip. Penn Station is the hub for NJ Transit service to MetLife Stadium, so distance from it matters more than anything else when you’re picking a neighborhood. Here’s how Manhattan breaks down.

  • Midtown West and the Penn Station area. This is the most practical choice for anyone going to multiple matches. Penn Station sits at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, and staying within a 10-minute walk means you can leave 90 minutes before kickoff and still have time to spare. It also puts you close to Times Square, the High Line, Hudson Yards, and Chelsea Market. Expect $400 to $600 a night during match weeks, jumping to $600 to $1,200-plus for Final weekend. Properties near Penn Station sell out first, so book early. Worth a look: Fairfield Inn and Suites Midtown/Penn Station, directly across from the station; EVEN Hotel Times Square South, two blocks away; and Pod Times Square, which is smaller but priced more reasonably than most of Midtown.
  • Midtown East, near Grand Central. Grand Central is one of the three shuttle bus pickup points, which makes this side of town a solid second option. It’s quieter than Times Square, often a bit cheaper, and close to Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, and Fifth Avenue. Expect $350 to $550 a night during match weeks.
  • Chelsea and the West 20s. South of Penn Station, Chelsea tends to price lower than Midtown while staying within a 10 to 15 minute walk or short subway ride. It also puts you near some of Manhattan’s best restaurants, the High Line, Chelsea Market, and the Hudson River waterfront, including Pier 57 and Little Island. Expect $300 to $500 a night — a good pick if you want to explore the waterfront between matches.
  • Upper West Side and Upper East Side. If the World Cup is part of a bigger New York trip, these neighborhoods put you near Central Park and the major museums, with a short subway ride to Penn Station. Expect $250 to $450 a night. Less convenient on match days but a calmer base the rest of the time.
  • Beyond Manhattan. Long Island City in Queens is one of the best values in the region — $120 to $180 a night, with the E train reaching Penn Station in about 15 minutes, and many hotels offering Manhattan skyline views. Jersey City is the other sleeper pick: directly across the Hudson, a five-minute PATH ride to Midtown, $120 to $250 a night, with a strong waterfront dining scene and a direct NJ Transit connection to Secaucus Junction. Brooklyn — Williamsburg and DUMBO especially — runs $150 to $350 a night with a 20 to 30 minute subway ride to Penn Station, plus East River Ferry access into Lower Manhattan.

Booking Tips

A refundable rate on Booking.com lets you lock in availability now and adjust later as your schedule firms up. Final weekend rates are already showing non-refundable options at steep prices — think carefully before committing. And if you’re attending more than one match, staying in a single location for the whole trip is far easier than trying to relocate around match-day transit disruptions.

Would you like to read our full guide for the 2026 World Cup? Click here!