About Family Travel

A Quick Guide to Visiting Manhattan, NY

A common complaint when visiting new cities is the lack of time to see all the most interesting places so you will need to plan for seven days in New York if you intend to see what she has to offer. Most people will agree that a trip here would not be complete without seeing the world famous empire State Building especially from the top. Although, if it is views you are after then it is the Rockefeller Centrt that you want to visit and at just over 820 feet, you will want to make alternate plans if the weather is bad so you may need to choose a few days to visit it.

The Statue of Liberty is best seen from a tour boat although these can be extremely busy and since 9/11, the delays can be long so it is best to go ashore at Ellis Island; which is the former immigration center also filled with historical significance.

The Staten Island ferry can still be traveled on without cost and can offer excellent photo opportunities of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty; this is also a great place to spend some time enjoying the talents of local (almost professional) street entertainers. However, no seven day trip to New York would be complete now without a visit to where the World Trade Center Towers once stood not that long ago. Whilst there is a strange eeriness about the place that is larger than you expect at the same time it does not feel as if it needs to be photographed. For those who love to shop there is of course the famous Tiffany’s and Broadway plus some fantastic old discount warehouses worth a look down on the Lower East Side.

Of course you must not miss out Macy’s where there is always a sale on or the very expensive Bloomingdales. An excellent tourist location is the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum which is likely to be closed until the end of 2008; once the refurbishment is complete it will be worth visiting when it re-opens. For those that are interested in large vessels like planes and aircraft carriers for example, then this is the place to visit with the aircraft carrier - Intrepid; submarines and even a Concorde to name but a few of the craft they have there. The real New York City Police Museum is open for visitors and whilst admission is free; donations are expected of around five dollars to help with running it; many TV viewers have grown up with the cop shows set in New York and a large amount of memorabilia is housed here.

The migrant period of New York is highlighted in an excellent exhibition at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum where scenes of what made America a great place to be are alongside of scenes America would like to forget.

There is more history in the City of New York Museum on Central Park which holds exhibitions of the past, present and future. Once again, admission to this wonderfully grand building is free but a donation of at least nine dollars is expected. For such a large vibrant city, seven days in New York should be viewed as minimum if most of the major attractions are to be seen comfortably and not as part of a ‘whistle stop’ tour.

If you want to have the ultimate New York experience, be sure to get a slice of pizza and try to visit Cozy’s Burger.  This small, but world-renown diner serves the freshest, meatiest, most wonderful tasting burgers and egg shake malts in the world.   Just sit back, and don’t be disturbed by hustle and bustle of the servers.  On any given day, you’re likely to see a famous actor sitting across the diner from you enjoying their own milkshake.

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