So much to see, so much to do. Jane Wilson visits New York with no time to spare.
I looked up following the elongated lines of building blocks heading to the sky. Statuesque, they appeared like oversized pieces of Lego, blocking out the sunlight, save for a few rays peeping through. Lights dazzled instead from the oversized billboards, like Netflix on overdrive. I felt like a matchstick man in a Lowry city painting. Around me, yellow taxis weaved between cars, dodging delivery cycles with horns blaring to clear the route ahead. This is New York, the city that rushes through life. It’s big, it’s brash. Steam rises from grids, there’s overpriced coffee on tap, and at avenue corners the iconic street carts are laden with corn dogs and pretzels. It’s a city bursting with bagels, burgers and cheesesteaks, and everything from traditional diners to fine dining, jazz haunts and Irish pubs.
Rest assured, there’s plenty to do, see and experience at whatever pace you choose. And for sightseeing, its worth investing in a Go City and CityPASS which both help with itinerary planning and are kind to your credit card.
Did you know that the subway here is the oldest and largest in the world with 472 stops? Or that the Empire State Building was built on the site of the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Fifth Avenue and became the world’s first 100+ storey building? These were just a few of the facts I picked up on a must-do sightseeing bus tour. The tour passed the bohemian neighbourhood of Greenwich Village, home of The Friends apartment building, Soho and Little Italy where tourists chose to disembark for that famed slice of pizza (well, it was lunchtime). Tribeca, once an industrial area is now trendy and attracts celebs like Taylor Swift. I also learned that Chelsea, the meat packing district, is the origin of the Oreo cookie and Brookland Bridge was the first steel wire suspension bridge, tested for strength by elephants crossing it. We passed St. Paul’s which is Manhattan’s oldest surviving church building, built in 1766. In fact, it’s older than the US itself. The Grand Central Terminal of 1913 looks a little cathedralesque but famed for its meeting place under the clock.
As I made my way south, we saw the giant bronze stature of the Charging Bull, sometimes called the Wall Street Bull, which is symbolic of the Financial District and a major tourist hotspot for instagramers in the hope it will make them rich. I spotted the Statue of Liberty in the distance, the emblem for freedom and democracy and New York City Hall, the oldest in the US. Later we passed the Hudson River with Pier54 which, in 1912, offered safety for the Titanic survivors. Opposite is the trendy Hudson Yards area packed with restaurants and over 100 shopping options. It’s home to the Vessel, New York’s newest landmark, a climbable, interactive public monument.
For magnificent views of the city, The SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, is a new take on an observation deck. Here there are five multi-sensory installations occupying the top three floors of Midtown Manhattan’s tallest skyscraper topped off with transparent ledges jutting out 1000 feet above Madison Avenue.
I popped into the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) which was exhibiting the cultural icon – Barbie® which charts the 65-year history of the doll’s global impact on fashion and popular culture through a display of more than 250 vintage dolls and even a pink life-size corvette.
One of the hardest sightseeing stops on my trip was a visit to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. This is a place for remembrance and contemplation. The heart rendering tour included personal accounts from guides on the actual day. Photographs covered the walls of all those who lost their lives. It’s a memorial exhibition which is solemn, quiet and tastefully designed. The 9/11 Memorial Pools outside provide time to reflect on the area where the towers once stood.
On Sunday, early morning, I travelled to Harlem for a neighbourhood tour of the cultural capital of Black America to experience the history and foundations of gospel music (courtesy of my GoCityPass). During the 1920s and 1930s, Harlem was an area devoted to the African American literary and artistic movement and now known as the ‘Harlem Renaissance’. During my Harlem Gospel Sunday Tour, we walked with a guide through the northern Manhattan neighbourhood and its landmarks such as the Apollo Theatre and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, and corner store churches. Joyous and uplifting, we joined a Baptist congregation for a Sunday service featuring the inspiring vocals and soul-stirring rhythms of a gospel choir. Forget Sister Act and Whoopi Goldberg. I left, humming Sing Low and Amazing Grace to myself.
Fifth Avenue divides Manhattan and runs to the tranquillity of the manmade landscaped Central Park, an area larger than Monaco, where you pass joggers with bobble hats, a carousel, zoo and theatre, manmade ponds, 9,000 benches, 50 fountains, 36 bridges and the clipperty-clop of horse drawn carriages. It contains Strawberry Fields, a dedicated area of Central Park that pays tribute to the late Beatle, John Lennon.
No visit to the city is complete without taking in a show. New York hosts the hottest shows on both Broadway and Off-Broadway (plus opera and ballet), which prove popular with visitors from all over the world. Did you know that there are only four theatres which sit on this landmark avenue, the others radiate from Times Square. The longest running show is the Phantom of the Opera while the Lion King rakes in the most dollars.
It’s lights, camera and action 24 hours a day in this colourful adrenaline-led city that never sleeps.
Next steps
To plan and book a city break to New York, including all the sights and top attractions, call Silver Travel Advisor on 0800 421 5678.
