Known as the city that never sleeps; you will need to have at least seven days in New York City if you want a real taste of what it has to offer the visitor. No trip to New York would be complete without a visit to the Empire State Building, and the 86th floor is definitely not to be missed. Although, if it is views you are after then it is the Rockefeller Centre that you want to visit and at just over 820 feet, you will only be disappointed if the weather is bad so you may need to plan for this one. Visitors to New York will often get the best view of the Statue of Liberty from the many tour boats but New York has seen a dramatic rise in the number of tourists since 9/11 and often it is worth disembarking at Ellis Island instead.
An easier option is to take the Staten Island ferry which doesn’t cost anything and can still give a first class view of the Statue of Liberty; dropping off at the terminal is the best place because it is where there are some good street artists. Of course almost everyone who spends seven days in New York City will, at some pint, make their way to the site of where the Twin Towers once stood. Despite the moving nature of this place where over 3,000 people lost their lives, most people do not wish to take a picture of it. World famous stores are plentiful in New York with names like Tiffany’s to the many discount stores along Broadway.
Whereas there are stores like Macy’s who are happy to take your tourist discount card and give you an eleven percent discount to the very exclusive Bloomingdales who probably won’t. The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum will also be worth visiting late next year when it re-opens after a period of refurbishment; if you’re going to be there next year it will be a worthwhile place to see. There is a great deal there with the focus on the USS Intrepid, a Second World War aircraft carrier but Concorde is also there and many other interesting vessels, including a submarine. Although it is actually free to enter, the NY City Police Museum is funded by donations from visitors (five dollars is the recommended amount); it contains a great deal of information about the World famous Police Department and you can buy souvenirs too.
For those who like to see the darker side of a city the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is ideal as it shows the conditions for many immigrants back in 1864. On Central Park is the fascinating Museum of the City of New York with millions of objects for researchers but for tourists, an ever-changing program of exhibitions showing the past, present and future of the Big Apple. Once again, admission to this wonderfully grand building is free but a donation of at least nine dollars is expected. There is a huge amount to see and do in this city and if you are staying anything less than seven days in New York, you will hardly scratch the surface!