"New York, New York" a New York City Travel Page by Hopkid

We love New York City! There is no place like it in the U.S., in the whole world for that matter. Everything from riding the subway and flagging down a cab to seeing a Broadway or Off-Broadway show and eating any kind of cuisine you can think of...those are some of the things that make NYC one of our favorite places to visit.

My first trip to NYC was in the summer of 1981 when I made a quick east coast trip to visit some friends I had made at a summer program between my junior and senior years in high school. It was a short day trip from where my friend lived in New Jersey, but we managed to go to the Statue of Liberty and climb up into the crown, see Times Square, eat sushi, and see the United Nations.

Since then I have been back several times and we try to see the city in a different light and try to take in different sites and sounds. We've gone strolling in wonderful neighborhoods from the Upper West Side to Soho. We've seen great art at the Met, the Guggenheim, and the MOMA. We've had magnificent food, and some not so magnificent, at some pricey and some very affordable restaurants. We've shopped in hoity-toity antique stores in the Village and at the outdoor antiques markets along Sixth Avenue. We've been in Tiffany, Macy's, Bloomingdales, Barney's, Bergdorf-Goodman, and most of the NY department stores. We've seen the NY marathon and strolled through Central Park. We've seen plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway. We've been to both a Mets game and a Yankee and also attended a portion of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. I've even driven my car in Manhattan and loved every minute of it (obviously I didn't get stuck in traffic).

Simply THE great American city which shouldn't be missed!

In 1992 or 1993, I kidnapped my wife and took her to NYC from LA for Christmas. We spent a long weekend shopping, went skating in Rockefeller Center, saw a wonderful Matisse retrospective at MOMA, saw a production of "The Secret Garden" on Broadway, had dinner at the Russian Tea Room (sadly since closed), saw the New York City Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker," and stayed at the Mayflower Hotel on Central Park West with a room overlooking the park. We marveled at the Christmas decorations and had roasted chestnuts as we walked past the department store holiday window displays.

In 2005 we decided to revisit the City during the holiday period. My initial NY page development and tips were based on this trip.

I'll add things from more recent visits as we make them and will also add tips from past visits if (1) I can remember them and (2) if they are still valid today. So keep coming back to check out our impressions of this wonderful city!