"Everything's big + TAX :)" a New York City Travel Page by mindcrime

Before my arrival to any city I do a small research, I read one or two tourist guides, some historical books, I try to find a literature book about it or watch a film that takes place there. I did the same this time but with NY it was very funny because I could have been there without doing anything! In fact the last 30 years I have seen so many movies taking place in NY that I already knew many of the city corners. I’ll be back for sure!

I know that many visitors try to do everything in 3 or 4 days but I prefer to give more time to the city I visit. Having that in mind I think 9 days were better for us to visit the basic attractions (monuments and museums) but also to give us time to do some other things also like relax in a park and spend some time with locals.

Day 1:
The first day started at Times Square to feel the vibe of the heart of NY. The neon lights are impressive but the masses of tourists were too much for me so I walked to Bryant Park where I relaxed for a while. I saw the lions of the library next to the park and then we walked down to the Empire State Building. It was sunset when we got up to 86th floor and the lights of the skyscrapers started to lit the city. Amazing view…
Day 2:
I wanted to have a tour all over the city but I don’t like the touristic buses so much so I preferred the Circle Line Crouse. For 3 hours we did a tour around Manhattan looking all the basic buildings/districts/bridges from there. Then we went to Central Park where we walked for several hours at this amazing park that gives oxygen to the huge NY. We rent a boat at the lake to top it all…
Day 3:
We visited the Metropolitan museum and the we went up to upper Manhattan at Fort Tryon Park, where we visited the Cloisters, the medieval museum
Day 4:
We walked the center, visited many churches like St Patrick, Bartholomeu church, St Thomas etc and then the amazing MOMA, my favorite museum in NY. We drunk a coffee at a small park and we visited Gugenheim museum, impressing building boring collection. We did some more walking around that area and then late in the night we watched BRAZZOKA at Café Wah at Greenwich village.
Day 5:
We went down to Ground Zero, we visited St Paul chapel and then after a small break for food at Liberty Plaza we visited Trinity church that overlooks Wall street and generally we saw the financial district. Then we went up to Chinatown where I got shocked with so many Chinese people, the stinky seafood markets and the Buddhist temples!! Later in the afternoon we went to Madison Square Garden to see BON JOVI with other 20.000 crazy fans!
Day 6:
We walked to Greenwich village, Soho and Little Italy areas where we stopped for lunch. Then we head back to the city hall and during sunset we walked on Brooklyn Bridge
Day 7
We took the ferry to Staten Island and then a bus to the historic Richmond town. Late at night we went to Terra Blues to watch a blues concert, MAGIC SLIM and the TEARDROPS.
Day 8
Down to the centre again, we visited the Museum of Natural History and then we did some shopping for hours. In the afternoon we watch FRANK MARINO at BB King blues bar.
Day 9
Just relaxing at Morningside district before heading back to Greece. One last coffee, recharging the battery of the laptop and we spent the last dollars for some small souvenirs for our beloved ones back home…

-If you stay more that 5 days buy a weekly metro card. You’ll need it and it costs only $25.

-Don’t miss the great nightlife of NY, so don’t forget an issue of TIME OUT, a magazine that has everything inside, gigs, theatres, exhibitions ect

-Walk comfortable shoes, you have to walk a lot!

-NY isn’t so expensive as it was but you will need some extra dollars to enjoy it more. And don’t forget that when you buy something that you think it costs X dollars because it says X on a sign you’ll always have to pay X+tax :) It’s the same almost everywhere, in restaurants, in hotels etc

-the City Pass gives you access to 6 famous attractions. It costs $74 but it’s really worth it because you avoid the big lines and above all you’ll need about $150 for these 6 attractions with individual tickets so it’s a bargain. It last 9 days so we had plenty of time for all of them and I didn’t have to push myself too much.