New York City Things to Do Tips by PetraG

Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island Review

Located on 12-acre Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was extensively restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.
You can buy tickets for the ferry transfere only (which includes Ellis Island) , but there are also tickets to go inside the Statue of Liberty and climb up to the observatory platform. But I have to warn you: these tickets have to be bought at least one week in advance.

Directions: South Ferry at Battery Park - Take the #5 train to Bowling Green or #1 to South Ferry

Columbus Circle Central Park - Columbus Circle Review

Columbus Circle is a major landmark and point of attraction. It is located at the intersection of Broadway, Central Park West, Central Park South (59th Street), and Eighth Avenue, on the southwest corner of Central Park in Manhattan. The traffic circle was designed by William P. Eno, a businessman who pioneered many early innovations in road safety and traffic control, as part of Frederick Law Olmsted's vision for the park, which included a circle at its Eighth Avenue entrance.

Named for Christopher Columbus, it encircles a monument erected as part of New York's 1892 commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage to the Americas. Constructed with funds raised by Il Progresso, an Italian-language newspaper, the monument consists of a marble statue of Columbus atop a 70-foot granite column decorated with bronze reliefs representing Columbus' ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Mar?a. Its pedestal features an angel holding a globe.

Time Warner Center, the world headquarters of the Time Warner corporation, is located on the west side of Columbus Circle on the site of the old New York Coliseum. The complex also hosts the Shops at Columbus Circle, Jazz at Lincoln Center and the New York City studio headquarters of CNN. On the north side of Columbus Circle is the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

On the northeast lies the Merchant's Gate to Central Park, dominated by the Maine Monument. An imposing Beaux-Arts edifice of marble and gilded bronze, it was built in 1913 as a memorial to sailors killed aboard the battleship USS Maine, whose mysterious 1898 explosion in Havana harbor precipitated the Spanish-American War.
The neighborhood around Columbus Circle is vibrant and eclectic. Within one mile are Lincoln Center, the American Museum of Natural History, the Plaza Hotel near Grand Army Plaza, and Times Square. The Hell's Kitchen and Midtown neighborhoods lie to the south and the Upper West Side to the north.

Plaza Hotel

The Plaza Hotel in New York City is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South in Manhattan.
Its main entrance faces the southern portion of Grand Army Plaza? commemorating the Army of the Union in the Civil War. Grand Army Plaza is in two sections, bisected by Central Park South. The section in front of the Plaza Hotel is centered by the Pulitzer Fountain, of Abundance by Karl Bitter, funded by the will of the newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer: the statue in the fountain is actually Pomona, Roman goddess of fruits and nuts. The north side of Grand Army Plaza, a cutout from Central Park, has the glorious Augustus Saint-Gaudens part-gilded bronze equestrian statue of General Sherman. Grand Army Plaza provided the original main entrance to the carriage drives of Central Park.
The Plaza was accorded landmark status by New York City's Landmark Commission in 1969 and is the only New York City hotel to be designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Directions: on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South

Trinity Church Churches Review

Trinity Church is a historic Anglican church in Manhattan at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway.

On July 9, 1976, the church was visited by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and she was presented with a symbolic "back rent" of 279 peppercorns.

The parish has a large number of realty holdings, including 26 commercial buildings in Lower Manhattan and 470 acres (1.9 km²) of land in Connecticut.

Ever since 1993, Trinity church has played the main place the High School Of Economics and finance holds their senior graduation ceremonies. The school is appropiately located on Trinity Place (a few blocks away from the church).

The 2004 movie National Treasure gave more populairity and more attention to this church as it was the site of scene where they found the "Treasure".

Address: Broadway at Wall Street

Phone: 212-602-0800

Website: http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue Review

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. It runs through the heart of Midtown and along the eastern side of Central Park, and because of the expensive park-view real estate and historical mansions along its course, it is a symbol of wealthy New York. It is the dividing line for the east-west streets in Manhattan and the Bronx, as well as the zero-numbering point for street addresses (numbers increase in both directions as one moves away from Fifth, with 1 East 59th Street on the corner at Fifth Avenue, and 300 East 59th Street located several blocks to the East). Fifth Avenue is a one-way street and carries southbound ("downtown") traffic.
Some people refer to Fifth Avenue colloquially as "Fashion Ave", because it's home of many famous fashion designers, but many refrain from it to avoid confusion with the real Fashion Ave, also known as Seventh Avenue.

Many landmarks and famous buildings are situated along Fifth Avenue in Midtown and the Upper East Side. In Midtown are the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The stretch of Fifth Avenue from the 80s through the 90s (i.e., from 82nd Street to 105th Street) has enough museums to have acquired the nickname Museum Mile and includes such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. That area was known in the early 20th century as Millionaire's Row after the many mansions built there as the richest New Yorkers moved their residences north to face Central Park.

Directions: Fifth Avenue extends from the north side of Washington Square Park through Greenwich Village, Midtown, the Upper East Side, Spanish Harlem, Harlem, and into the Bronx.

42nd Street

42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district (and, at times, the red-light district) near that intersection.
It's also a great place for shopping!! And don't miss 42nd Street at night - it's an amazing sight!

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall Review

Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Known as the Showplace of the Nation, the Music Hall opened to the public on December 27, 1932, and now is home to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, a New York Christmas tradition since 1933, and to the women's precision dance team known as The Rockettes. The theater is also used for a variety of concerts and special events.

Address: 1260 Avenue of the Americas

Phone: 212 307-7171

Website: http://www.radiocity.com

Ground Zero Ground Zero - World Trade Center Review

The twin towers of the World Trade Center dominated the skyline of Manhattan Island from the time they were completed in 1973 until that fateful day of September 11, 2001 when two passenger aircraft under the control of terrorist hijackers crashed into the towers. As the world watched, the towers were engulfed in flame until they each collapsed into mountains of rubble and took the lives of nearly 3000 people including 350 brave rescue workers.
Today, there is a gap in the skyline of lower Manhattan like a missing tooth in the otherwise gleaming smile of the city. The rubble has been removed and the debris cleared from the site which is now known as Ground Zero. Plans have been finalized for a new complex of buildings, public spaces and a memorial to fill this gap. For now, it is just a big open construction site in the otherwise cramped metropolis of New York City.

I recommend that you visit St. Paul's Chapel on Broadway and Fulton Streets near Ground Zero. People, including friends and families of victims as well as international visitors, began leaving mementos on the fence in front of the chapel. The St. Paul's staff quickly erected a temporary wall on their front and side fences for all of the items. This "wall of memories" grew into an amazing impromptu memorial. People attached thousands of posters, flags, signs, mementos and personal belongings of the loved ones that were lost in the disaster. Unfortunately, the church has removed the wall and placed the mementos in storage. The church does offer an exhibit commemorating the many rescue workers that sought respite and and solace in the chapel during the long cleanup operation

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park Review

Washington Square Park is a public park located within the Manhattan borough of New York City. One of more than 1,700 parks in New York City, Washington Square is, along with Central Park, arguably one of the most well-known parks in New York City.

Because it is surrounded by New York University—indeed, the park doubles as the university's "campus green"—and is a part of Greenwich Village, the park is typically inhabited by a variety of bohemian, intellectual, and non-traditional people. Perhaps because of this bohemianism, the park has developed a reputation for being a drug dealing hotspot, a fact often remarked upon in contemporary fictional accounts.

The two main attractions in the square are the fountain and the Washington arch.

Washington Arch:
For the Centennial of Washington's inauguration as President of the United States a wooden Memorial Arch was constructed on the Washington Square. The arch, designed by Stanford White was so successful at the celebrations, that a marble version was commissioned.

Directions: The Washington Square park is bounded by Waverly Place, 4th street, University Place and MacDougal Street. The Washington Arch is located at 5th Avenue and Waverly place.

Wall Street Wall Street Review

The Wall Street is a very little Street in Manhattan, but world famous for the New York Stock Exchange. The narrow street is alway crowded of tourists and offers spectacular views for architecture lovers. The building 60 Wall Street is one of the most photographed ones in the world as well as the statue of the Wall Street Bull.

Website: http://www.nyse.com