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New York City: Traveler Reviews


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Centre of the world - truly.

New York City

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5 of 5 stars
Ryguy7   139 contributions
Calgary, Canada
Oct 31, 2009

This city has it all. It truly is the centre of the universe.

I have been to all major Alpha cities in the world (London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong) and none have quite compared to New York.

One of the things I think this city really has going for it is it's compact size. Because Manhattan is literally an island you never really feel like anything is far away. Most points of interest in New York are either down at the south end of the island, or in the middle so everything is in relative walking distance to each other.

Shopping is better here than almost anywhere else. There are few things you can't find in New York. Major shopping areas are 5th Avenue, 34th Street and Broadway between Houston and Canal Streets. There is everything from chain stores, one-of-a-kind shops, fake knock-offs and boutiques.

New York also contains the largest amount of theatre anywhere in the world, which is obvious from not only the amount of Broadway shows that run at any given time but also everything right down to Off-Off-Off Broadway. Theatre in the city can also be affordable if you know where to find discount coupons or tickets.

It has been told that you can eat at every restaurant only once in New York, and still not have eaten at all the places in the city in your lifetime. I believe this is possible from the number of openings/closings that happen in the city. You can find pretty much any type of food imaginable, with a greater number of Italian, Asian and American joints.

For such a large city, New York has a surprising amount of green space to it. Central Park, often underrated by travellers, is enormous and should not be ignored. Spend a good part of the day wandering this gem, and discovering hidden treasures. Similarily, walking along the streets will showcase smaller neighbourhood parks, all with their own charms.

If you like walking, this is the city to do it in. Jay walking is abundant, which allows you to get where you are going quickly. Sidewalks are large in the areas that matter (like midtown) which is especially helpful for the crowds.

Tourist attractions are plentiful - Statue Of Liberty, Empire State Building, etc - just make sure you leave lots of time to see the popular one. I've seen lines snaking for hours just to go to the Statue.

Public Transit is easy and incredibly convinient - especially the subways. New York is also the only city in the world with a 24 hour subway system, although that doesn't necessarily mean trains are frequent at 3am.

But most of all - New York is SAFE. Safer than it's ever been. It has one of the lowest crime rates of any major city in America, police are everywhere and New Yorkers are friendly people.

Come visit - you'll want to come back again and again and again and...

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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The big Apple

New York City

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4 of 5 stars
Topkoppite   212 contributions
Solihull, UK
Oct 31, 2009

We travelled across the USA on a tour organised by Great Rail Journeys of York between the 7th and 27th October 2009. Our Tour operator arranged a tour and the guide took us into the American Express Building foyer where there was a superb, poignant tribute to staff who died in the World Trade Centre. This, if you can get to see it, expresses perfectly the sense of loss that occurred that day.
We had 3 nights in New York. Our base for three nights was the Holiday Inn Midtown, within walking distance of Central Park, Broadway and Times Square.
We took in the ‘Lion King’ at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway which was superb with really good seats with a great view and a free programme! Beautiful Theatre.
We went up the Empire State Building, which gave us a great view of the City – the audio show prior to the ascent which costs extra is a bit clichéd but good fun.
We took a Gray Line ‘Hop On – Hop Off’ open top Uptown bus tour which took us around stops including Central Park, Lincoln Centre, Theatre district, Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Fifth Avenue, American Museum of Natural History, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Apollo Theatre and Harlem neighbourhoods, Metropolitan Museum of Art & the Guggenheim. This tour's length is approximately 2 hours long & operates from 8:30am to 5:00pm. The tour departs every 30 minutes April through December & every 45 minutes January through March. The tour was interesting but unfortunately suffered from a poor commentary which only gave us limited information. Overall it was good value.
We breakfasted in a variety of Diners near our hotel – Morning Star was ok but the best as ‘Route 66’ (9th Avenue near 57th) and ate in several different restaurants - all were good.
We did the usual tourist things of visiting Macy’s and walking through Times Square and Central Park, but didn’t enjoy a trip on the Subway - up to the Yankees stadium (from Grand Central – well worth a visit even if you don’t catch a train or a subway) it was fine but after then we felt vulnerable and were glad to get off.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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New York City Pass a great deal

New York City

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5 of 5 stars
NMHart   1 contribution
Phoenix, Arizona
Oct 29, 2009

My husband and I just spent a week in Manhattan. We purchased the City Pass for $79 which gets you into 6 major attractions spread over nine days including the top four museums, the Stataue of Liberty/Ellis Island and the Empire State Building. It was a good deal financially and a gread deal in terms of skipping some long entry lines. We hit all 6 attractions, plus attending two Broadway plays.

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Best place

New York City

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5 of 5 stars
laurentian12   1 contribution
ny
Oct 28, 2009

NYC is filled with sights to see, restaurants to explore and a culture unlike any in the world. I'd suggest Empire State Building, Hard Rock Cafe, and walking through the village.

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NYC

New York City

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5 of 5 stars
nic130   1 contribution
Irvine
Oct 22, 2009

I live in Orange County near LA. I've always chosen LA over NY until I visited NYC. I love it there! Now I understand why so many people live in NYC. I would too! I love how there is so much culture there. Just down one street, there were all types of ethnic restaurants. I don't need to ever live that street! I love how you can get practically anywhere in the city by subway. In LA, a car is a must. I love the fast paced lifestyle. I wish I could live there but it's just too expensive!

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