Benchmarked strictly across TripTiming's 5 empirical pillars: Crowds, Weather, Vibes, Prices, and Safety.
London emerges as the optimal May destination with an overall TripTiming Index of 61/100 vs 55/100 for New York City (+6 point advantage). London experiences substantially lower visitor footfall and shorter landmark queues (heavy visitor congestion vs peak seasonal crowding in New York City). Urban navigability is also slightly smoother and more predictable. Travelers also benefit from lower accommodation costs (~$342/night vs ~$401/night in New York City, saving ~$413 over a week).