Restaurant Week in New York City
Just a reminder from us here at PhotoTrek Tours, restaurant week commences on January 25 and is scheduled to go until February 7. If history is any indicator, the promotion will probably be extended in order to accommodate as many tourist and New Yorkers alike who take advantage of the savings offered during this time.
Price fix lunches usually begin at $24.07 per person with dinners at $35.00 per person. The restaurants run the range in genres and neighborhoods. You can select a Greek place in Hell’s kitchen or a seafood restaurant on The Upper West side.
Whether you are sightseeing, honeymooning or just a local in NYC during restaurant week, you should take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
New York City Jazz Clubs
When visiting New York City, I often encourage my guests to see live music. Often these venues are in Greenwich Village or the Lower East Side on NYC.
While you are walking around New York, you may miss these neighborhoods, so I thought I would list of few of my favorites:
Village Vanguard
178 Seventh Ave. South, 212-255-4037, West Village, Manhattan
Blue Note
131 W. 3rd St., 212-475-8592, West Village, Manhattan
Birdland
315 W. 44th St., 212-581-3080, Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan
Jazz at Lincoln Center
33 W. 60th St., 212-258-9800, Upper West Side, Manhattan
Iridium
1650 Broadway, 212-582-2121, Midtown West, Manhattan
Jazz Standard
116 E. 27th St., 212-576-2232, Gramercy, Manhattan
Smalls
183 W. 10th St., 212-252-5091, West Village, Manhattan
Arthur’s Tavern
57 Grove St., 212-675-6879, West Village, Manhattan
Off the Beaten Path Museums in New York
Couple enjoying off the beaten path walk around SOHO, NYC.
We are all familiar with the MOMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Natural History Museum, so I thought about a few other museums you may overlook when visiting NYC.
One of my favorite things to do in New York is The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum, located at pier 86, 46th Street and 12th Avenue. The vessel was formally an aircraft carrier during WW II and is now a museum.
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum chronicles the plight of immigrants to New York City and displays how many lived in cramped, tenement apartments.
The Frick Collection, located on 70th Street & 5th Avenue, includes some of the best known paintings by the greatest European artists, major works of sculpture (among them one of the finest groups of small bronzes in the world), superb eighteenth-century French furniture and porcelains, Limoges enamels, Oriental rugs, and other works of remarkable quality.
Just a few ideas during your visit to New York. While it is cold outside, you may want to go indoors during your holiday in NYC.
Broadway Discount tickets before visiting New York
Many of you may already know about the three TKTS booths around NYC to secure Broadway tickets at half price. There may often be lines and it may not work with your schedule while you are visiting New York City.
Below are a couple of other options to secure Broadway tickets at discounted prices prior to your visit.
TM Insider is the exclusive discount club that TheaterMania offers. TM Insider has a wide range of tickets available for advance sale at discount prices.
Hit Show Club also offers discounted tickets for members (membership is free).
New York Show Tickets allows members (paying a fee of about $5.00 per month)
If you want to save some money while getting to see Broadway shows when visiting NYC, you may want to consider The Playbill Club, TM Insider, and Hit Show Club.
Top things to do in New York City on a budget
During our walking tours of New York City, many comment at the expense of visiting. True, New York can be expensive, therefore, I will provide you with a few ideas to limit your costs.
The Staten Island Ferry, is a free way of seeing New York from the water. Providing wonderful views of the New York skyline, the S.I. Ferry leaves every half an hour from 1 South Street in lower Manhattan.
Walking in Central Park does not cost money and you can literally spend hours sightseeing. The Park is filled with bridges, statues, lakes, trees and several activities for children.
Grand Central Terminal offers a free tour on both Wednesday & Friday at 12:30pm. Built in 1917, the station is as impressive today as when it first opened its doors. You can browse the shops, have a drink or a meal at one of the several restaurants or simply take in the grandeur of the station.
On select Saturdays, the Village Alliance offers free guided strolls of St. Marks Place/8th Street. You’ll see Jackson Pollock’s former abode and stand on the spot where Abe Lincoln declared, “Right makes might.”
Just a few suggestion when visiting New York City. More to following in coming blogs.
Read more: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/features/75100/free-talks-and-tours-in-nyc#ixzz0aimiofOC
A natives guide to understanding the New York City Subway
During our walking tours of NYC, I often find people are intimidated to use the subway. As a native, I thought I would provide some insights on understanding the subway for tourists.
For one, the subways are safe and for the most part efficient. They run frequently and there are often several ways to get to the same location. Often, people with psyche themselves out of using the New York City subway when simply looking at the map. What tourist have to understand is they actually will save you money and get you to places faster when sightseeing in New York.
Whether you are visiting Central Park or the New York neighborhoods of SoHo & Greenwich Village, subways will get you there from various locations in NYC.
In a nutshell, all your trains go either uptown or downtown. Almost all the NYC subways will stop at 42nd street, which you an use as a transfer point to other trains.
As a native New Yorker, the subway is our lifeline. When there was a strike a few years ago it virtually shut down the city.
You can purchase either a one day, one week pass or simply pay as you go. I usually recommend the one day or week pass to my guests as it is the best way to maximize your money and time while visiting New York.
Places for desserts when visiting New York City
With so many options for wonderful desserts in New York City, perhaps I can suggest a few. One of my favorite things to do in New York City is to find new places to eat and shop.
Rocco’s on Bleeker Street has a wonderful assortment of cookies & cakes.
Jaques Torress has a few locations. They feature great ice cream sandwiches and caramel chocolate popcorn.
Xie Xie on 45th street and 9th Avenue feature the cacaonib cookies with caramel ice cream.
One of my persoanl favorite places for desserts when visiting New York City is the snickerdoodles at Tribeca Treats. A toasty, cinnamon crust with a very tender, airy interior that taste of butter, dough & sugar.
Just a few suggestions for desserts with you are visiting New York City or just a local looking for a new location.
Sightseeing in Brooklyn, New York City
Too often, when people visit NYC they seem to spend the bulk of their time in midtown between 5th & 7th Avenues and 42nd to 59th street. There are so many other places for sightseeing in New York City, including Brooklyn.
The largest of the 5 boroughs, Brooklyn has a population of about 2.5 million. On its own it would rank as the fourth or fifth largest city in America.
I am providing a few suggestions for tourist and New Yorkers alike who may overlook Brooklyn as a sightseeing destination.
Naturally, there is The Brooklyn Bridge, built between 1870 and 1883. The views from the middle of the bridge are breathtaking.
Once over the Bridge if you go towards the right you will head into Brooklyn Heights. One of the features of the area is the Promenade which overlooks the lower Manhattan skyline and there are views of the Statue of Liberty as well.
If you take Henry Street to Atlantic and then turn onto Smith there are several bars and restaurants lining this area of Brooklyn known as Boerum Hill. You will have a wide selection of ethnics foods and various pubs & bars along Smith Street. If you get a little tired of Smith, you can walk a couple of blocks over the Court street, also featuring several venues for food and drinks.
For parks, Prospect Park is 585 acres and borders several Brooklyn neighborhoods including Park Slope. Prospect Park was designed by Olmsted & Vaux, who also designed Central Park.
The aforementioned are only a few suggestions for sightseeing in Brooklyn during your stay here in New York City.
Free Things to do in New York
True, New York can be prohibitively expensive, however, there are several things to do in NYC for free.
If you are looking to take a boat ride, the Staten Island Ferry sails every 30 minutes from lower Manhattan to SI. This will allow you to view the New York City Skyline and see the Statue of Liberty at no cost.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is really free. When you arrive there is a “suggested admission fee” of $20. It is a voluntary admission and you can go in for free.
Other things to do in New York for free include a Grand Central Terminal Tour, offered on Friday’s at 12:30pm. This provides a free 90-minute walking tour of Grand Central Terminal and the surrounding neighborhood. The tour meets in the Sculpture Court of the Whitney Museum at Altria on East 42nd Street across from Grand Central.
These are a few ideas for free things do do in New York while you are visiting.
New York Travel and Tourism Information
During our PhotoTrek walking tours of New York, people will often ask about a variety of topics. I thought it would be useful to list of few places that provide useful tips for the New York tourist.
While in NYC, there are several places providing travel and tourism information. NYC & Co has offices on 53rd Street and 7th avenue with a wonderful, interactive New York City visitor center.
There is a Times Square information Center on 7th Avenue between 46th & 47th Street. Also, Grand Central Terminal has a New York Tourist information booth as well.
For websites, hopstop helps plan your subway commute from one location to another. Additionally, the mta website discusses subway services advisories on a daily basis. This is especially useful on weekends when the NYC subway typically has route changes for repairs.