Final Destination-New York City
- Nicole Lowrie
- Apr 30, 2019
- 7 min read
New York is a city in America that is greatly admired and a place I had always wanted to visit. This meant it was the perfect destination to finish my 18th birthday and our family holiday.
It composes of five boroughs located in between the Hudson River and Atlantic Ocean. There are just over 8 million residents living in the city meaning 1 in 38 Americans call New York home. 4 in 10 homes speak a language other than English with 800 different languages being spoken within the city. The cities popular nickname "Big Apple" became popular in 1970 after a promotional campaign by the New York tourist authorities. However, the name first became popular in the 1920's when it was used by John J. Fitz Gerald, a New York Morning Telegraph sports writer. The city is one of the most bustling; fantastic, exhilarating and unforgettable places in the world.
There is so much to see and do in and around New York, where do you start? How many days should you stay to see everything?
If you really want to feel like you are living the New York life and see all the tourist attractions I would plan for four or five days. However, you can easily see most attractions in less but you may feel your visit is rushed and tiresome. New York is a city of early morning rushes and "The City That Never Sleeps" but that doesn't mean your visit has to be quick.
This three day itinerary underlines some of the popular things to see and do in the city plus I hope it helps with organising your trip so you can see all the best sites.
New York City Itinerary: Day 1
Picking the right accommodation
There is so many different types and places of accommodation in New York City to choose from wither it is a hotel you are looking for or self-catering property. However, for my family we stayed at the 3* Wellington Hotel on 7th Ave. This wasn't the most luxurious hotel to stay but it was cheap, did have everything we needed and was situated near plenty of restaurants, bars and shops. While also being on the same avenue as Times Square and only two blocks from central park. Plus lets face it when anyone is staying in a city like New York you are hardly in your hotel it's all about the exploring.
Here is some travel companies that may help you with accommodation before arriving in New York:
Eating, Drinking and Entertainment in the City
New York is a city full of excellent bars, restaurants and places to entertain tourists throughout there stay. The cities nightlife is none-stop and around 10,000 bars can be found within the city alone as well as luxurious cocktail bars and nightclubs. The normal closing time is 4am for nightclubs, however you will find most are open all night. Clubs that are open all night cannot serve alcohol for legal reasons between 4am-8am or after midnight on Sundays.
Eating out is a way of life in the city, from the well known diner breakfasts, street vendor food to some of the high quality restaurant experiences. Visitors should make a dinner reservation well in advance to avoid disappointment and some of the most common restaurants see reservations months in advance. Here are some of the most cheap, moderate and expensive restaurants in New York:
Cheap
Moderate
Expensive
There is so many different places to shop whilst in New York whether you are looking for something Bohemian chic, vintage or elegant, after all the city is known for its fashion week. If you are a tourist looking for a famous department store you can find Macy's on 611 Firth Avenue, Saks on Firth Avenue and Bloomingdale's on 504 Broadway in Soho as well as 59th street at Lexington. There is also the 'Brooklyn flea' containing various markets which are held during the weekends in Fort Greene and Williamsburg. However, if someone is looking for a vintage item the Antiques Garage Flea Market on 112 West 25th Street sells a lot of vintage goods. The city is also full of souvenir shops where you can buy clothing and accessories with "I love NY" engraved on them or New York City logos like NY Yankees and NY Mets can be found.
New York is theatre capital of the world so you can't visit without checking out a Broadway show. You can get discounted tickets for the theatre shows at the TKTS offices around the city (Times Square, downtown Brooklyn and South Street Seaport) on the same day.
Current well known Broadway shows that are taking place are:
The Lion King
Aladdin
Hamilton
Wicked
Chicago
The Phantom of the Opera
King Kong
New York City Itinerary: Day 2
Take a New York City bus tour
There are many great city tour companies which will take tourists around the cities well known landmarks on buses. Tourists will get to experience sights such as Times Square, Central Park, Grand Central Station, Empire State Building, the NYC Post Office, the Flatiron Building, Chrysler Building, Statue of Liberty and lots more. Most of these tours will include a hop on-hop off in their price which makes it an easy way to see and get around New York. The bus companies also include pre-recorded commentary in many languages and some have their own live guide providing information. Depending on which bus tour tourists choose some tickets can be bought with one or more attractions added on to their bus pass price.
Statue of Liberty
The 93 metre Statue of Liberty was built by Gustave Eifffel, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and Richard Morris Hunt as a gift from France to America in 1886. This was to commemorate the alliance between both countries during the America Revolution. However, for every American it also represents independence.
The statue can be found on Liberty Island, Manhattan in New York Harbour and people can buy tickets from either Battery Park or Liberty State Park where a ferry departs to the Island. Tickets ruffly cost $25.50 for an adult, $16 for a child (4-12) and $21 for a senior (62+) with the monument being open between 8.30am-4pm. The ferry has two stops first being Liberty Island and the second being Ellis Island. Once guests arrive on Liberty Island they can tour on their own and see the Statue of Liberty up close, read all the informative plaques, take pictures and visit the gift shop. However, guests can also choose to take a free Ranger Guided Tour of the Island where they can learn all about the history of the Island, although this takes place in areas outside of the Statue.
If you are running out of time in New York or want to simply take a beautiful picture of the Statue of Liberty you can take a free 25 minute ferry from Lower Manhattan. This departs from Whitehall Terminal and sails to St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island. This passes by the Statue of Liberty during its journey.
Times Square
Before I visited New York, like most people I had saw Times Square on TV many times either on my favourite programmes or films. When standing in the pedestrian plaza of Times Square you can see Broadway and people dressed in costumes from famous marvel films or hit musicals posing with tourists and their cameras. However, it is entirely different when you are there in the middle of the Square on 7th Avenue surrounded by the incredible buzz of people and soaring skyscrapers. On the famous steps of the Square tourists are taking pictures of the dazzling lights of towering digital billboards as New Yorkers go about their day to day life. Each night at 11.57pm up until midnight tourists can witness the world's largest digital art exhibition from the phenomenal and synchronised huge billboards.
Times Square however, isn't just about billboards, the most popular thing about Times Square is that each New Year's Eve the New York ball drop takes place. This attracts around one million party-goers to the square on New Year's Eve, more than double the visitors daily. The high level of tourist traffic has brought in billions in yearly retail, entertainment and accommodation sales, with 22 cent of each dollar spent by visitors in NYC being spent within Times Square.
New York City Itinerary Day 3
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a skyscraper with 102 floors and constructed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was completed in 1931, taking only 1 year and 45 days to build while also being the tallest building for nearly 40 years. Today (2019) it is the 28th tallest skyscraper in the world and the 5th tallest completed in America. It is located on Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th street and around four million tourists visit the building each year.
To enter the main deck of the Empire State Building, on the 86th floor, it is $34 for an adult, $27 per child and $31 for a senior. This is open 7 days a week from 8am to 2am. When guests enter they will be able to experience the two story building model, the newly designed lobby with its art deco ceiling and the Dare To Dream Exhibit. They can also use the self-service ticketing booths available in different languages to buy their tickets to save time. Once tourists have their tickets it takes less than one minute to reach the main observation deck in an elevator where guests can experience a picturesque view of New York.
One World Trade Centre & 9/11 Memorial and Museum
One World Trade Centre also known as "Freedom Tower" fully opened in 2015 and provides pull panoramic views of New York. However, it also provides information to visitors about the 9/11 terrorist attacks and at the bottom of the tower is a humbling water memorial remembering the victims of the attacks. The memorial is open daily between the hours of 7.30am and 9pm and is free to visit.
There is a 9/11 museum too which accommodates touching exhibits about the importance of this attack. This is open Sunday to Thursday 9am to 8pm (6pm last entry) and Friday and Saturday 9am to 9pm (7pm last entry). It costs $15 per child (7-12), $20 per young adult (13-17), $26 per adult, $20 per senior (65+) and $18 for U.S Veterans. Guided tours can be added on at an additional price.
Central Park
After all the sightseeing New York has in store for all tourists the perfect way to relax is to leave the frantic crowds behind and visit Central Park to lay on the grass or have lunch. During the summer months tourists can easily buy a hot dog, bagel or pretzel before entering the park and take a walk around the lakes or even visit the zoo. There is also bike lanes, summer concerts and theatre productions, a fun fair, rowing in the lakes or a trip through the park on a horse and carriage.
In the winter Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink in Central Park both open to visitors depending on weather. Wollman Rink is the main rink and starts at 10am Monday to Sunday but closes 2.30pm on Monday & Tuesday, 10pm on Wednesday and Thursday, 11pm on Friday and Saturday and 9pm on Sunday.
Hi everyone, I hope this three day itinerary helps if you are planning a trip to New York and hopefully you have all enjoyed reading this three part blog. X
Part 3 of 3
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