A guide by Orielh
Get a City pass and bypass some of the queues. Also go about half an hour before the sun sets. See the city in the daylight and then watch it magically come alight as darkness falls. No need to go up twice!
Fifth Ave
A minibus service with a desk in the airport to and from central points in Manhattan and also right to your hotel as long as it is reasonably central. You pay a very reasonable fixed price and share your transport with others of course - also an interesting way of getting a little tour of the city as you drop off fellow passengers. As a lone female unaccustomed to independant travel in the US and worried about dealing with a yellow cab driver, this was a godsend for me! Ideal for individuals, but obviously not for anybody who is in a hurry!
JFK Airport Arrivals
Enjoy feeling part of the New York scene, especially early evening on a weekday, overlooking the beautifully elegant concourse of Grand Central Station and watching the world go by. Ideal for people watchers!
Grand Central Station - on the balcony. Not sure of the name - Metrazour??
The orgasm scene from "When Harry Met Sally" put this place on the map, but a feature spot in a movie with one of the best punch lines in years is not a prerequisite to this deli's fame. Katz's Deli has the goods! An army of staff slice cold cuts - the sandwiches are best described as "filling with a little bread", so jam-packed are they with one's chosen meat. The cheesecake is justifiably renowned. Once refreshments have been taken, the walls beckon. Photos of Clinton, Depp, Ed Harris, Stephanopoulos, to mention but a few, hang as proof of famous clientele, the proprietor in every one like a real-life Wally from "Where's Wally?" fame. If you want to sit where Meg Ryan ahhh'ed and table-slapped her way through her famous fake "buzz", it's marked with an arrow! (Francesca, Crete)
205 E Houston Street, (at Ludlow Street), New York City, NY 10002-1017
Ignore the statue of liberty with massive queues in summer and go straight to ellis island. Wait for the free guided tour by uniformed park rangers. Apart from the moving stories of poor emigrants from all over the world, it provides a fascinating insight into 19th century immigration practices in USA.
If you want to do something totally free and absolutely amazing, take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. You walk on a special walkway above the traffic, which is speeding by underneath you, you have brilliant views of New York and it's all for free.
Head to the Metropolitan Museum of Art just before it closes and go straight up to the rooftop; when we went there was a bar on the rooftop and we had a glass of wine and watched the sun go down over the city - the views are amazing.
Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park
Late night French diner that must have been around for years. Once upon a time it would have been holding out on its own, but now it's inadvertently slap bang in the middle of the super-trendy Meat Packing District. Generally the food is good and certainly reasonably priced. If you're craving Steak Frites and/or Snails in Garlic Sauce in the early hours, it's definitely worth waiting for a table here. An excellent spot for people watching and making friends at 5 o'clock in the morning.
69 Gansevoort St
Rather than pay expensive taxi or bus fares from the airport, simply get the free shuttle bus from outside the terminal to Howard Beach JKF Airport station on the 'A' line subway train. Then take the subway straight to Manhattan. Cost? $2.
Shared rides are a great way of avoiding public transport when you have baggage, and are relatively inexpensive (US $ 15-19 one way) when compared to taxis. There will usually be a wait of between 15-30 minutes and the ride time into the city is influenced by how many people are sharing the ride. The transport is provided by a six-seater van with space in the back for luggage. Payment up front (before departure) in cash is required, and tipping is optional, though encouraged. You will be dropped at the exact address specified, be it a hotel or residence.
Ask at the transport desk (located in the luggage retrieval area at Newark & Laguardia, not certain about JFK) or book on-line through www.supershuttle.com/.
You get a virtually free trip past Central Park and up the East side riverside park. Get off at Grants Tomb then walk West for a good selection of restaurants. Back on the subway or on to the Cloisters.
Central Park South is a good place to board.
Empire/ Fulton ferry state park - The most dramatic views in the city, situated on the waterfront underneath the coming together of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges in DUMBO, Brooklyn - surrounded by old industrial buildings - The drama is heightened by the subways rolling over the Manhattan bridge - used in numerous films eg The French connection
York St subway station on the F line
Bright & revamped. Watch the world go by while having a drink or a meal in one of the many bars around the main hall. Idling away the hours you inevitably end up chatting to those passing through - celebrate their new jobs, commiserate that they've missed their train - and enjoy sharing their lives.
Posh hotels for less. I've used this website on several occasions to book hotels in New York and San Francisco (booking service available for hotels across the US). It generally beats the competition on price - unless you're looking for a flight/hotel deal.
To get a great experience of NY, jump on the Staten Island Ferry. It gives you a great view of the downtown skyline, Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty. Also, it's free, runs every few minutes, and real New Yorkers will be alongside you. Once you get to Staten Island, get right back on a return ferry and enjoy the fab experience again.
To get a similar view, you could take the Statue of Liberty Ferry, which is not cheap and usually has a long queue. Only take that if you want to tour the Statue of Liberty, which is usually full of kids and queues.
Battery Park, which is very downtown; the end of Manhattan. The park and ferry terminal are very well sign posted.
Lasted three hours, costs about the same as the Statue of Liberty trip. We had the same views of the statue plus toured the rest of Manhattan. No x-ray/search as per Statue of Liberty and Empire State so much more enjoyable and relaxed.
It leaves from pier 83, which is right next to the air and space display and concorde so all in all great value plus you don't get the disappointment of finding out after the security etc to get to the Statue of Liberty that you can now only go up the base not the actual statue.
New obsesrvatory deck (opened November 1 2005) on the top of the Rockefeller Center. Amazing views of the park, bridges and, of course, the Empire State building! Well worth it and wait times to get in are currently considerably shorter than the Empire State as it's new and still being publicised.
Rockerfeller Center (nearest station is 47-50 Rockefeller Center)
This is one of the most important 'must do's' every time I'm in New York.
A spectacular selection of paper, stationery and journals. Unique designs and excellent quality.
Kate's now has several shops in Manhattan. Check their website:
www.katespaperie.com
These hop-on, hop-off tours are a fantastic way to start your sightseeing. Running out of Times Square, Gray Line do tours of Downtown, Uptown, Brooklyn and a night tour. You can buy tickets from the many sellers in Times Square and your best buy is the All Tour pass, which is valid for two days for all the tours at about $46.
Each bus is open top and comes with a tour guide, who is usually true New Yorker and has plenty of information on the places you pass through, as well as plenty of recommendations for restaurants, shops, cafes etc.
The night tour is not to be missed as you go across to Brooklyn shore and get a beautiful view of Lower Manhattan. Be warned that it gets very chilly sitting up top at night, no matter how hot it has been during the day, so take a sweater.
The buses stop at all the major points of interest and run from 8am until 6pm, with the night tour starting around the same time until about 9pm.
Main point:Times Square or any stop
This is brilliant, only $59 and it gets you into loads and loads of attractions, costing you less than if you bought the tickets individually. The pass also allows you to skip the queue in most places.
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