New York City Things to Do Tips by shutterlust Top 5 Page for this destination

International Center of Photography

This is exciting. June 9, 2006, the International Center of Photography is reopening after several months of renovation! I'm sure many of you VTers out there will appreciate this place, full of black and whites and colored photographs of people, places, events, animals, time, etc. It's a fantastic trip in history and I love it. I love photographs, far more than constructed art. It's real, it's there, you take an image of life!

Anyway, the details:
General Admissions $10
Students/Seniors (with ID) $7
Members Free
Children under 12 Free

Note: like many other museums in NYC, this one is closed on Mondays.

Address: 1133 Avenue of the Americas

Directions: 6th Avenue and 43rd Street

Phone: icp.org

A Horse in Central Park Central Park Review

If you're trained in the English saddle and are visiting NY, try horseback riding in Central Park. You can rent a horse for ~$50 an hour, not including gear. The horses are completely used to traversing urban landscapes, so you don't have to worry about them getting nervous in traffic. In fact, they practically know already where exactly to go, which trails, at what speed, how to react to traffic, etc. It's an exciting way to see New York, from high above on a horse, looking down on people who will most likely be looking back at you...and the horse! :-)

I highly suggest this activity if you know English saddle.

Address: 175 W. 89th Street

Directions: Right off Central Park West on 89th Street

Phone: (212) 724-5100

Museum of Television and Radio Museum of Television and Radio Review

According to my younger sister: "It's oodles of fun for a young kid like me, who supposedly, according to her older sister -ahem-, can't pay attention to anything, especially dinosaur bones!"

And it's true. This is a FANTASTIC place to take your kids (my sister was about 6 or 7 when my brother took her there). It's very interactive and educational. It outlines the evolution of content in the radio to the television or how 'shows' on the radio (think FDR's Fireside Chats') evolved into presidential debates (think Kennedy and Nixon). How did the change in broadcast media change the way the content was expressed, changed the way how audiences perceived infomation. How has the movement from an aural culture to a primarily visual culture changed the culture itself?

(p.s. this is my major, the study of media and no it's not as floozy a major as some may think).

As for this museum, it's for children who have grown out of the Children's Museum but still too young to fully appreciate Monet, Degas and Egyptian carvings at the Metropolitan (though, I must say, I've always loved the MET...lol!)

It's also amazingly interesting for adults, who will see old television shows from their own childhoods. It's the old television shows that really get to people. Definitely check it out and plan to spend at least 2 hours here.

Address: 25 West 52nd Street

Directions: Take the E/V to 5th Avenue and 53rd Street
Take the N/R/W to 49th Street and 7th Avenue
Take the 1 to 50th Street and Broadway
Take the B/D/F/V to 47-50 Street/Rockefeller Center

Phone: 212-621-6800/6600

Website: http://mtr.org

FREE - Sony Wonder Technology Lab Sony Wonder Technology Lab Review

For children and adults alike, call the number below to get advanced reservations for FREE TICKETS at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab. This is a great, great, GREAT way to spend an afternoon with your kids, teens, college-aged kids and senior-aged kids. It uses state-of-the-art technolgoy to teach people about the future of technology, what is possible in the field of technology, etc. Definitely better than the NBC studio tour or the Top of the Rock Tour. Spend your time and save your money at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab! You even get a prize just for going! ;-)

I really, really suggest getting advanced reservations if you plan on going, especially with summer coming up, it gets incredibly crowded. During the off-season though, you can just walk in. It's a great way to kill a couple of hours. I know I definitely spend quite some time there.

P.S. If you're tired from all the touring, the lobby of Sony is also a public area, with tables and chairs, indoors, right next to a Starbucks. Great place to meet as its usually the lesser crowded of all the other public areas in Manhattan.

Address: 56th Street and Madison Avenue

Directions: Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5 , M57
Subway, 4/5/6 N/R to 59th Street
E/V to 5th Avenue
F to 57th Street

Walk to 56th Street and Madison Avenue

Phone: (212) 833-5414

Website: http://sonywondertechlab.com

Museum of Sex

Adults (18+): $14.50 + tax
Students and Seniors (with valid ID): $13.50 + tax
Group rates are available.

I would recommend purchasing advanced tickets online for a $5 discount. This is an interesting museum, much unlike the Metropolitan or the Natural History Museum. Definitely an interesting twist on the whole museum experience, the Museum of Sex is definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon (at least for the open-minded).

There are close examinations of male and female genitalia, the study of the female orgasm, theories of homosexuality versus bisexuality, the structure of the ***, the art of reproduction, etc. It's an interesting, both philosophical, theoretical and scientific in approach. And fun. All at the same time.

Note: Please bring mature children only. Fits of laughters from preteens is frowned upon. This is a museum, not a peep show (though for some, it's hard to distinguish)

The best part, of course, is the gift shop. Definitely some interesting gift ideas in there! :-)

Address: 233 Fifth Avenue

Directions: 5th Avenue and 27th Street. Take the M1, M2, M3, M4 M5 to 27th Street. East side of 5th Avenue

Phone: (212) 689-6337

Website: http://museumofsex.com

Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Review

Brooklyn Brewery is famous for its *FREE* Saturday tour, tasting and rides! If you're a beer connoisseur like my daddy, then definitely check out the Brooklyn Brewery. It's one of the oldest in New York. And their happy hours are amazing! It's one of the few times I venture off the island...

Address: 79 North 11th Street, Brooklyn

Directions: In Brooklyn.

Phone: 718-486-7422

Website: http://brooklynbrewery.com

Spamalot! On a budget. Broadway Shows and Theatre District Review

Everyone knows Monty Python and the quest for the Holy Grail...but to see it live on stage?! Spamalot is an excellent NY experience, but an even more authentic New York experience can be had with last-minute tickets! Head over to the Shubert Theatre, 6-7ish in the morning and get on line for $20 standing room tickets. It's more fun if you go with a large group of people, taking turns on bathroom breaks and running for coffee at the Starbucks underneath the Marriot Marquis. And trust me, waking up that early is WORTH IT. Spamalot is amazing. Don't worry about the fact that it's standing room. The show is relatively short and there's a break where you can go downstairs to sit.

Important: if you plan on going, bringing newspapers or something to sit on when you're waiting on line. Also, they can only sell 20 standing room tickets so if there are 20 people in front of you on line, don't bother waiting. Each person is allowed to buy only 2 tickets each, so you can buy them for someone else. Once you're in, the taller you are, the better, so you can lean on the barrister / the back seat of the back row. I'm 5'3 and I *just* was tall enough to comfortably lean on the barrister. I wouldn't recommend standing room for people under 5'2, you won't be able to see very well.

This tip is actually applicable to other shows, not just Spamalot, but I used Spamalot as the example because it's simply AMAZING. I was lucky enough to catch the last show with TIM CURRY, DAVID HYDE PIERCE, and HANK AZARIA! :sigh: I <3 <3 <3 Tim Curry and David Hyde Pierce.

Address: 255 W. 44th Street

Directions: Shubert Theatre, around the corner from the Marriot Marquis and across the street from the New York Times building. On 44th Street between Broadway and 8th Street.

Website: http://montypythonsspamalot.com