- New York
- (422)
-
United States
This building is quite imposing both inside and outside. Worth popping in to see the impressive interior. Free tours at 11am and 2pm daily
455 Fith Avenue at 42nd street
www.nypl.org
New York's oldest building that is still in continuous use dating from 1766. Amazing when you think it is right in middle of the financial district, surrounded by skyscrapers.
Since it was only across the road from the Twin Towers, this chapel was used by the rescue workers as a place of respite. A lot of displays relate to the 9/11 period and are moving reminders of what happened that day. This was the church on whose railings people pinned photos of loved ones missing in the days following the terroist attack.
209 Broadway between Fulton & Vesey streets
www.saintpaulschapel.org/
Open 10am - 6pm Mon - Sat
9am - 4pm Sun
While Grand Central station is a must see in itself there is a quite quirky feature that people should experience.
The archway outside the Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant creates a neat trick with sound. Simply stand in one corner of arch and whisper something into the wall. A friend who is standing diagonally across from you in the other corner will hear you as if you were standing next to them.
Grand Central Station
Between 42nd & 44th streets between Vanderbilt & Lexington Avenues
grandcentralterminal.com/info/walkingtour.cfm
Largest Catholic church in the US.
Perfect to get away from the hustle and bustle of 5th Avenue. Seen famous funerals in past such as Robert Kennedy's.
Fifth Avenue, between 50th and 51st streets.
Open 7am - 8.30pm daily.
460 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022-6863, United States
(212) 753-2261
www.saintpatrickscathedral.org
Google map: tinyurl.com/ybrywcv
We travelled from Newark airport to midtown Manhatten by taxi and it cost us $72 + tip, bringing the total cost to $82. However on the way back we got the coach for $15 each one way.
Coach USA runs between Manhatten and Newark, stopping outside Grand Central Station (between Park and Lexington Avenues on 41st street), Bryant Park (5th avenue) and Port Authority Bus Terminal. Fare is $15 one way or $25 return. Buses run every 15 /30 mins.
Hotel right in middle of Manhatten, just a stone's throw from Grand Central Station.
Would class it as a three/three-star plus hotel and maybe a little tired around edges. However at £70 a night, this was great value for NY.
Look around at the various accommodation websites and you'll see a big difference in price for this hotel from £140 to £70 per night.
We used Expedia as it was the cheapest.
45 East 45th St. At Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017
www.theroosevelthotel.com/
Great pizzeria in the Greenwich Village area of Manhatten. A pizzeria since 1924 but still as popular as ever judging from the queues that can form here. Simple but superb.
Additionally there are some good pubs in this area, such as the Red Lion down the road at 151 Bleeker street.
278 Bleeker Street
(Between 6th & 7th Avenues)
Greenwich Village
New York, NY 10014
www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com/about.html
We walked from the north side of Central Park up Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem to the Lenox Lounge. It's a famous Harlem jazz bar and club where the likes of Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and John Coltrane plied their trade.
Malcolm X worked here before he found religion.
More recently this place has featured in movies such as Malcolm X (obviously) and American Gangster.
288 Malcolm X Boulevard (between 124th and 125th streets)
Harlem
New York, NY 10027-4921, United States
www.lenoxlounge.com
On production of your foreign passport (or copy of it) you will get a 10% discount off purchases at Macy's & Bloomingdales (excluding electronics & perfumes).
Ask any member of staff & they will tell you how to get the card.
In the respective stores you go to customer services to obtain the discount card which you present when making purchases.
This is not very openly advertised in store but every day 100s of people (if not thousands) obtain the discount card.
Bloomingdale's
1000 Third Avenue New York (at 59th street), NY 10022
www1.bloomingdales.com/index.ognc
Macys
151 West 34th street between Broadway & 7th avenue
www1.macys.com/
Steve Madden seems to be a shoe designer that you see everywhere in NY... However we found a Steve Madden shoe store that sold the shoes for a discount price - as low as $50 for two pairs.
100 Rivington St (on corner of Ludlow & Rivington street)
Lower East Side
New York, NY 10002
Round corner from Katz Deli.
www.stevemadden.com/contentDisplay.aspx?pageID=1450
Small family owned sweetshop on Lower East Side packed with every sweet you could imagine - and as the name suggests it's not that expensive.
Sells chocolate, candies, nuts, dried fruits including halvah as well as sugar free candy.
Still there since 1937.
108 Rivington Street (around corner of Ludlow street & Rivington Street)
New York, NY 10002
Lower East Side
Open Sun-Fri 9-6, Sat 10-5
A few minutes around corner from Katz Deli.
www.economycandy.com/
Bicycle - this is one of the best ways to see NYC. There are a lot of bike friendly areas, like Central Park, Hudson River Park bicycle path, Brooklyn Bridge. These company offers nice bicycles for hire. We chose a bike tour in NYC. These guys showed us best places in New York and it was a lot of fun. So for those who like cycling - i strongly recommend this company, they located just one block from Central Park.
I tried public tours and while they are cheaper, a private tour is much more personalised and inclusive. The group size is small and limited to friends (or family). Their New York City walking tours are pretty comprehensive yet leisurely.
It's in an excellent location not far from Union Square with trendy cafes within 100 meters. Rooms are ensuite and a lot more effort put in to the overall quality of the hostel than you will generally find in all of NYC hostels.
27 East 7th St
New York City
(212) 228-0828 Phone
reservations@villageinnhostel.com
www.villageinnhostel.com
Google map: tinyurl.com/yb87vtj
NYC vacation rental market is swamped with blatant scams. It is safer to stick to airbnb.com or roomorama.com when looking for an apartment for short-term stay. Craigslist might still have the best bargains though, if you've got the time and patience to hunt for them. In order to weed out the scams, stick to two simple rules: after you've made contact with the person offering a place for rent, ask the magic question: "With all the scammers out there, could I please send a local friend over to take a look at the place before booking?" (doesn't matter if you really have anyone there who could go over, no reply = scammer). Second, do not pay anyone anything in advance unless there is a way to reverse the transaction (read: PayPal only). Anyone requesting full stay's rent plus a huge deposit in advance via bank transfer or money order is a scammer, and they're most likely using photos and descriptions stolen from legit real estate ads.
A two week intensive in drawing, painting or sculpture led by artists of renown. The Drawing Marathon transformed my studio practice and brought art back to the center of my life. I went deeper and farther in two weeks than I had in years.
New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture
8 West 8th Street
New York, New York 10011
t: 212 673 6466
www.nyss.org
Google map: tinyurl.com/yc9ff6q
This is a gem. My daughter and I have spent many delightful Saturday afternoons in this brilliant little theatre. Originally built by by Oscar Hammerstein it's an enchanting space off of Time Square, on 42nd. The shows are eclectic, funny, informative, and cultural courtesy of traveling companies from all over the world, including the UK. A must see for anyone visiting with children!
The exterior was used as the HQ of the Ghostbusters in both films. As fans it was only right to go and find it. The firehouse isn't mentioned in the movie tours around NYC, so we set off to find it walking from lower Manhattan and going straight up Broadway and then turning left onto White St, West Broadway and then North Moore St. It was just sitting there waiting to have its picture taken!
Nearest station would be the Franklin Street subway.
14 N. Moore Street
Google map: tinyurl.com/ybw52mj
Cocktail bar in Lower East Side. AMAZING cocktails, including ones made with house-infused vodkas in various flavours. Has a nice zinc top bar for that classic NY cocktail bar experience. The bartender was really friendly, and we even got some lovely aperitifs on the house to go with our drinks.
Make sure you don't miss it though - we initially thought it was shut, as there is just a small sign and you have to go downstairs to get to it! Incidentally we also ate at one of it's sister restaurants, Schillers, which was also lovely.
www.pravdany.com
281 Lafayette St
Bar on Houston St in New York. A really nice little bar with a great atmosphere. Make sure you go up the stairs and not to the bar below, which is a completely different place! We went in happy hour (around 6pm-8pm I think), which was cheap cocktails and 2-4-1 on draught beers (and good ones at that - try the Brooklyn white or pilsner). The best thing was that here Happy Hour stipulates that you MUST have two drinks each to benefit - brilliant, more beer! Also it's just down the road from Katz's deli so perfect for pre/post sandwich drinking. They also had cheap tacos on that night, which also looked pretty good, and they seemed to have various different food and drinks offers on each night of the week.
www.nolitahouse.com/
47 E Houston St
Is this your business?Search Been there
