How To Do Just About Everything
How To Do Just About Everything
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Congratulations on deciding to visit the Big Apple. Whether you choose to spend time in the Metropolitan Museum of Art or an S&M club in the West Village, or both (we wouldn't be surprised if the Met had an S&M club in its basement), you're in for quite an experience. NYC isn't nearly as crazy or dangerous as movies make it out to be, so relax and enjoy its intrinsic weirdness.
By the way, we're assuming that you want to visit Manhattan. The other boroughs (the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island) all have their own charms, but save those for your second trip; as months of watching "Sex and the City" have taught you, anything worth seeing is in Manhattan.
New York City, being a major metropolis, can be accessed in many ways: by plane, train, bus or car.
* Flying: There are three major airports people usually fly into when traveling to New York. LaGuardia is the closest to Manhattan, and is located in the borough of Queens. JFK International Airport is also in Queens, but a little farther from Manhattan. Newark is in New Jersey and is by far the farthest from the city.
Most airlines fly out of all three airports, although international and American Airlines flights go through JFK, most USAir flights go through Laguardia and most Continental flights go through Newark.
All three airports have plenty of taxis to get you into the city. You can also take advantage of shuttles provided by Gray Line Express Bus (212) 757-7712, Olympia Trails (212) 964-6233, and the New York Airport Service (718) 875-8200. These will cost you less than a cab, but the ride will take longer and will be less pleasant.
* Train: Amtrak trains arrive constantly in Penn Station, which is located at 7th Avenue and 34th Street (if these numbers don't mean anything to you, don't worry; by the end of this, you will be a city guru). Penn Station is conveniently located in the heart of Manhattan and can be accessed via subway and taxis. Metro North, a light-rail system that runs from Connecticut to New York, is another convenient way to get into the city if you happen to be nearby. Those trains come into Grand Central Station, which is located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue.
Taking Amtrak can be quite pricey; in fact, unless you're only a couple hours away from the city, it's often cheaper to just fly in. So unless you have a fear of flying, you should definitely compare air and rail prices.
* Bus: For those of you on a tight budget (or who are just plain cheap but have a lot of time on your hands), the bus is always an option. Buses--run by several companies including Greyhound, Trailways, Peter Pan and New Jersey Transit--are usually much cheaper then trains and planes, and they are just as convenient, arriving at Port Authority, located at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue. Of course, buses take longer and have smellier bathrooms. Hey, life is a tradeoff.
* Driving: If you choose to drive to New York City, your best bet is to find a garage as soon as you arrive (preferably one that doesn't charge an arm and a leg) and park your car for the duration of the trip. Driving and parking in the city are both impossible (mentally, if not physically), and will certainly make your trip miserable. Since New York has excellent public transportation and thousands of taxis, you really don't need your car if you are staying in Manhattan.
Being a major tourist attraction, New York City has numerous hotels in variety of price ranges and in all parts of the city. Major chains such as Marriott, Sheraton and Hilton all have at least one hotel in a convenient location. If money is no object, you might want to stay at The Plaza Hotel or the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Both are city landmarks for their architecture and famous guests; whenever you see a New York Hotel in a movie, it's probably one of those two. If your budget is tight, though, you might want to check out some youth hostels.
If this is your first trip to the city and you are incredibly wealthy, we recommend that you choose a hotel in midtown, since that will be the most centrally located. If you happen to be a student or poor (the two usually go hand in hand), you should definitely consider a hotel outside of midtown. The upper east side and the west side have plenty of more affordable (though still expensive) hotels.
Be prepared to spend a lot. Everything in New York is expensive (including the food, the souvenirs and the entertainment), so you might as well enjoy it and stay in a comfortable place.
So you have arrived and checked in to your suite at the Plaza; now what? First things first: You need to orient yourself. Lucky for you, New York City is mostly set up as a square grid, so if you can count, you won't get lost.
Avenues
The avenues run north-south, and most of them are numbered (with 1st Avenue being the farthest east and 10th Avenue being the farthest west). Fifth Avenue is in the center of the city and divides the East Side from the West Side (so 1st and 2nd Avenues are on the East Side, while 7th and 8th are on the West Side). Of course, the city planners did have to throw in some names too, just to confuse people. So, to make your life a little easier, here are the Avenues in order, from east to west:
* East End
* York
* 1st
* 2nd
* 3rd
* Lexington
* Park
* Madison
* 5th
* 6th (also called Avenue of the Americas)
* 7th
* 8th (also called Central Park West)
* 9th (also called Columbus Avenue)
* 10th (also called Amsterdam Avenue)
* West End Avenue
* Riverside Drive
Streets
Cutting across the avenues horizontally are the streets, which run east-west. The numbers of the streets go up as you go north, so 8th Street is downtown, 35th Street is in midtown and 94th Street is uptown.
Broadway
To make matters a little more complicated, we throw Broadway into the mix. Broadway runs diagonally across the city, from the Lower East Side to the Upper West Side, cutting through our neat grid. The famous Times Square and Herald Square are both located at points where Broadway cuts through a major street (Herald Square is at the intersection of Broadway and 34th Street; Times Square is at the intersection of Broadway and 42nd Street).
Now that you know where you are in the city, how can you get your body to all the best places? As a rule of thumb, driving is out (because of traffic and parking trouble). Most New Yorkers rely on public transportation, taxis or their own two feet to get them around. Be ready to do a lot of walking.
Public transportation
Subways: By far, the easiest and cheapest way to travel is to use NYC's comprehensive subways. Although scary subway stories have become part of the Big Apple's lore, they are actually quite safe. As in every major city, there are some nasty people out there, so it's a bad idea to take the subway late at night by yourself, but if you use common sense, you'll be fine. On the map, you'll notice that there are some black dots and some white dots. The black dots indicate "local stops," and the white dots are "express stops." Express trains are much quicker, so they're great for going from one end of Manhattan to the other. So when you stand on a subway platform, always look for the sign that indicates which side is the express and which side is the local. The signs are all very clear as long as you read them carefully. Uptown trains go north and downtown trains go south.
Buses: Buses also run up and down every avenue, stopping either every two blocks if it is a local or every five to 10 blocks if it is an express. They also run east-west on the following streets: 8th, 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, 50th, 57th, 66th, 72nd, 79th, 86th and 96th.
Buses accept cash (coins only), while both subways and buses accept MetroCards, which you can purchase in any subway station. The big perk of the MetroCard is that it allows you to transfer from a bus to a subway or vice versa at no additional cost (in case you need to take a bus and a subway to get to your location).
Taxis: Yellow taxicabs flood the streets throughout the city 24 hours a day. The only tough times to catch one are right after a Broadway show lets out or during a rainstorm. Otherwise, you should always be able to find one on just about any street. Just stick out your hand, and an empty cab will pick you up. Remember to tip roughly $1 for every $4 to $5 charged.
Walking: Though the subways are clean and taxis are convenient, nothing beats your own two feet. Walking in the city is certainly easy and cost-effective, but is also provides you with a real feel for the city. Because of the nifty grid system, it is actually very easy to calculate the distance of a walk from point A to point B.
The blocks between avenues (from 2nd Avenue to 3rd Avenue for example) are called long blocks. There are four long blocks in a mile. The blocks between streets (from 42nd Street to 43rd Street, for example) are called short blocks. There are 20 short blocks per mile. If you estimate that it will take you one minute to walk a short block and five to walk a long block, you can figure out whether hoofing it will get you to your dinner reservation on time.
There are so many great things to do in New York City that you need to be efficient to cram as many events as possible into a short trip. Of course, you can mix and match activities from various parts of the city, but here are a few things to do in each section:
Downtown
Downtown usually includes the West Village (which is what people usually mean when they say "Greenwich Village"), the East Village and the Financial District.
* The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island--If you want to see a real part of American history, and probably some of your own family history as well, take a trip to these monuments to immigration.
Both the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum can be accessed by ferry from Battery Park. Take the 1 subway to the South Ferry stop (the last stop).
* New York Stock Exchange --You've seen the movie "Wall Street," right? Here's your chance to see it in action! The New York Stock Exchange Interactive Education Center informs and educates the public by allowing them to view the trading floor and look up information on stocks, bonds and options.
The New York Stock Exchange Interactive Education Center is located on the 3rd floor at 20 Broad St.
Midtown
Midtown includes Chelsea, the Theater District and the Garment District.
* Rockefeller Center is the home to 19 commercial buildings, including NBC studios. It is located in midtown Manhattan from 49th to 52nd Streets., 5th to 7th Avenues.
On a visit to Rockefeller Center, you can take the NBC Studio Tour and see tapings of "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," or you can stand outside the window in the hopes of meeting Al Roker or Matt Lauer as they film "The Today Show" each weekday morning (get there at about 5:30 or 6 a.m. to get a good spot).
* The Empire State Building is the most famous skyscraper in the U.S., so why not go to the observation tower on the 102nd floor and get a beautiful view of the city? And you can reminisce about "Sleepless in Seattle" while you're up there.
* The Museum of Modern Art, also called MoMa, houses a rotating exhibit of modern art. It's a fantastic museum. This museum is located at 11 West 53 St., and is near the 5th Avenue/53rd Street stop of the E and F trains.
* Radio City Music Hall is a cultural landmark. If you are in town near Christmas, be sure to check out the legendary Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes. You can also take a tour of Radio City, which will take you backstage to the rehearsal halls and let you see the famous Wurlitzer Organ. You'll even get to meet a Rockette!
Radio City Music Hall is located between 50th and 51st Streets on the Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue).
* Central Park provides the border between midtown and uptown. It's the largest urban park in the world, and its 843 acres literally divide the city into the East Side and West Side. The park spans from 59th Street to 110th Street and from 5th Avenue to Central Park West. To help you figure out the geography, everything below the park is midtown or downtown, everything to the East of the park is the Upper East Side, and everything to the West of the park is the Upper West Side.
Within the park, you will find 20 tennis courts, two ice-skating rinks, numerous lakes, The Delacorte Theater (which shows Shakespeare in the Park in the summertime), riding stables with horse trains and The Central Park Zoo, as well as hundreds of beautiful places to sit and rest those weary feet. You'll also meet colorful, harmless weirdos who will provide you with many fun stories to tell your friends back home.
Upper West Side
* Lincoln Center is home to the New York City Ballet, The Metropolitan Opera, The New York City Opera, the New York Philharmonic and the Julliard school. There is always something going on in one of the many theaters. The Center is located on Columbus Avenue between 62nd and 65th Streets.
* The American Museum of Natural History is famous for its dinosaur exhibit and the Hayden Planetarium. This museum is located at Central Park West and 79th Street.
Upper East Side
* The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses several permanent collections, the most famous being the Egyptian room seen in "When Harry Met Sally," as well as several rooms of Impressionist art.
This huge museum is located on Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street.
* The Guggenheim Museum is full of funky modern art in a building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is located on 5th Avenue at 89th Street.
As long as you are in New York, you really should take advantage of something you can't do anywhere else by seeing a Broadway Show. (No, that revival of "The Sound of Music" you saw at the county fair last year doesn't count.)
Most people think that seeing a show isn't for them, because: 1) they think they will be bored; or 2) they don't want to pay ridiculous prices for decent seats. Fear not, dear reader: We will now give you indispensable tips on how to pick, pay for and enjoy a Broadway show and a cheap price.
1. Picking the right show--There are several shows playing at any given time, so there is sure to be something for everyone. Things to consider while choosing a show are whether you prefer a musical or a play, if you want a comedy or a drama, and whether you will be attending with children. Then you can narrow down the field. The New York Times lists the running shows every day in the Arts and Leisure section, so you can easily see all of your options. To give you a little help though, here are some guidelines:
* Revivals are often good family fare.
* Disney shows ("The Lion King," "The Little Mermaid") are always kid-safe.
* Off-Broadway shows are often more risky (and risqué) than Broadway fare, but they are usually great fun and very unique. Off-Broadway shows are also much cheaper.
* Long-running shows are always safe bets, and usually have tickets available.
* Plays vs. musicals: it completely depends on your own taste, but we suggest that you try at least one of each.
2. Buying tickets to a Broadway show can be a daunting experience, since seats can be very expensive. Still, there are ways to see theater without breaking the bank.
* The most popular way to get a discount is to go to the TKTS booth located in Times Square. You can get half-price tickets to most shows at this booth, although the most popular shows are never available. Prepare to wait in line for at least one hour. At the TKTS booth, you can only buy tickets for a show that day, and you must pay in cash. There are two other TKTS booths at South Street Seaport and in downtown Brooklyn, and you can buy tickets for some shows a day in advance there. Be forewarned, however, that these booths may have less variety and crappier seats.
* Many shows have a "rush seat" policy. This means that if you get to the theater about two hours before the show and enter a drawing, you can get seats in the front row for a drastically reduced rate. It lets poor folks have a chance at kick-ass seats for a great show. Each show works a little differently, so you need to call the theater to get the specifics. Some theaters require a student ID, while others do not.
3. If you followed Steps 1 and 2, you are already well on your way to No. 3: enjoying the show. To really have a great time, you must have a decent seat. This doesn't necessarily mean 5th row center; different types of shows are best seen from different vantage points. Big musicals with huge props, costumes and special effects are actually easier to appreciate from the mezzanine (balcony), while you might want to sit closer for a play. One word of advice: Never settle for "obstructed view seats." These seats are cheaper, but it means you'll have a big pole in front of you. Also, whatever the show, seats in the center are better than seats to the right or left.
When you purchase your tickets, be sure to have a seating chart for that theater on hand, so you can make sure you get seats you're happy with. If you purchase tickets online, the sites will have links to seating charts. If you're calling via telephone, the operator won't be able to help you. Luckily, seating charts for every theater are available online.
And that's everything there is to enjoying NYC. There's tons that we left out (like Gray's Papaya, the Bronx Zoo, Washington Square Park, the amazing restaurants and Chinatown), but our advice should get you started on the right track. So grab a friend and start spreading the news ... you're leaving today.