http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31348 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31348 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31346 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31346 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31267 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31267 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31095 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31095 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31058 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31058 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31056 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31056 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23089 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23089 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21185 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21185 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19827 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19827 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19825 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/19825 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18990 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18990 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17847
1. Lay out a blanket in Central Park (picnic optional) and soak up the atmosphere. The huge expanse of grass at the Great Lawn is a favourite spot and great for games too.

2. Visit Belvedere Castle in the middle of Central Park at 79th Street. It is the highest point of the park with great views, a visitor centre, walking tours and free educational programs.

3. Attend Saturday morning story time for children of all ages in Central Park at the Hans Christian Anderson Memorial (mid-park from East 73rd entrance. Check for times at www.centralparknyc.org).

4. Visit one of the spectacular toy shops: Toys-R-Us in Times Square or FAO Schwartz (the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South) which has a giant electronic keyboard built into the floor upstairs that children can play with their feet. You can easily spend an hour or more exploring and trying out the display toys without buying a thing.

5. Take the Staten Island ferry. Day or night this is one of the best free (or paid for) boat rides in the world. It takes about half an hour each way. You can get straight off and back on again or spend time on the dockside at Staten Island looking at the distant Manhattan skyline. The ride gives spectacular views of the downtown skyline and the Statue of Liberty, all lit-up to magical effect at night.

6. If it’s a quiet stroll you’re after and you find yourself in Brooklyn, take a walk along the Brooklyn Seafront for a great view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. (And if you do want to spend a few dollars there is a great ice-cream parlour there too.)

7. Stand in the middle of Times Square for ten minutes and don’t forget to look up.

8. Stand just about anywhere and play how many yellow cabs can you count in a minute?
And if it’s summer…

9. Summerstage (held at Rumsey Playfield near 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue) and Shakespeare in the Park (at the open-air Delacorte Theater near the W81st Street entrance to the park) are two of the most popular summertime programs and both are free. Top-shelf acts and great performances.

10. Fancy a dip? There are 14 miles of public beaches in four of NY’s boroughs: Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. Contact General Parks and Recreation Department Information at www.nycparks.completeinet.net for more info.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17847 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17037 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17037 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16969
No worries about muggers - forget those scenes from Death Wish - you'll always have the company of other runners, even in the snow.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/16969 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13328
Take binoculars and a camera, and try to find a stream as this is where the birds feed and bathe.

Only starlings and sparrows will be familiar to Europeans.

Bird books are available from Borders etc., otherwise you won't know what you're seeing. We enjoyed it for three hours and never made it to the Met that day!

More info from the park Conservancy office in the Belvedere.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/13328 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12507 We hired 'cruiser' bikes from the boathouse for $9 per hr and proceeded to cruise around the car free one way road that takes you on a tour around the whole park.

It was just glorious. Not too energetic or time consuming. It took about 40 minutes at a gentle pace. It was on a sunny Saturday so we got to see every sort of New Yorker and tourist doing what they wanted to do - playing baseball, 'football', chilling out, frisbee, juggling, dancing, shouting, singing, getting married, sailing, people watching and on and on.
It was the highlight of our trip.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/12507 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4301
They died on the Royal Navy's prison ships between 1775 and 1783 - an atrocity of astounding proportions considering the American population at the time. The hill is topped by the world's tallest doric column with a lantern atop that once had an eternal flame, and an incredible stone staircase leads up to it from Myrtle Avenue. All designed by legendary architect Stanford White.

For a great tour take the B,D,M,R, or Q to Dekalb Avenue in Brooklyn. Have lunch at Juniors on the corner of Flatbush Avenue. Check out (if open) the auditorium/arena of Long Island University (across Flatbush Ave from Juniors), once the Brooklyn Paramount of early Rock 'n Roll fame. Then go up the Dekalb Avenue hill to Fort Greene Park (many of the blocks to your right are historic landmarks for the 1840s brownstones).

Fort Greene Park, designed by Frederick Olmstead (Central Park, Prospect Park) will be on your left. It was the site of a Revolutionary War fort (part of The Battle of Long Island), walk up to the monument. The view of Manhattan from here is spectacular. You'll be confused about direction because here the East River will be directly north of you, and the city skyline will seem like its wrapping around you.

Tourists will want to avoid the housing project directly below, but when you're done, go back down Dekalb Avenue, have Cheesecake at Juniors, and maybe walk through downtown Brooklyn and over to Brooklyn Heights and watch the sunset from The Promenade.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4301 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1363 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1363 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1305 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1305 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1267 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1267