The City of New York (New York, NYC) is the largest city in the United States. It is located in New York State. It was founded in 1625 as a trading post for the Netherlands and was then called New Amsterdam. Later it passed to the British. In addition to history, New York (or Manhattan, the part of the city where most people go) is a vibrant city. There is always life on the street. We explored this city (spring 2009) and described the highlights. It’s not a long flight to New York. We left Amsterdam at 3 p.m., flew via London and checked into the hotel at about 5 a.m. (Dutch time – NYC: 10 p.m.).
Metro New York
For a small amount you can buy a metro card that allows you to travel on the metro for different periods. We bought these at the travel agency and were able to travel by metro for a week. Although the subway is always depicted as scary and dark in films, that is not true at all. Light in abundance. People who are in a hurry and just want to move on.
The metro network is also well signposted. You can get maps of Manhattan where the routes are indicated in colors and the station is indicated. This makes it easy to move around the city and we have made frequent use of this.
Top of the Rock – Rockefeller Center
As with many sightseeing attractions, you have to go through the scanner here just like you have to go through customs. Then you take the elevator up (an experience in itself!) and you end up on the roof of the building. Here you can see all of Manhattan. Central Park, Empire State Building, The Hudson River and all the hustle and bustle below you.
A cruise around Manhattan
We took a cruise around Manhattan with Circle Line Sightseeing. After a while we sail past the buildings where you can look into the streets of Manhattan. Then you will pass the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. At that time you could not climb the Statue of Liberty, so we chose not to go onto the island either. Later we see several bridges (including Brooklyn Bridge) that have beautiful constructions and we sail along New Jersey.
Ripley’s Believe it or not
Ripleys is a Museum with all kinds of weird things. We have seen a painting made of stamps, the longest fingernails, snakes with two heads, a calf with six legs, a collection of fire lighters and the list goes on. A very nice museum, especially if you have children!
M&M shop
The M&M shop is a store with all kinds of M&M things! A nice and cozy store of which only a few exist in the world! Here we bought a bag of M&Ms that you can put together yourself from the huge tubes with dozens of types of M&Ms. You can also have your picture taken with a life-size Red, Yellow or Green.
Central Station
Central Station is huge! It is busy, but there are at least 200 stops. We only stayed here for a few minutes, but it left a lasting impression. It is grand, wide and immense. There are many gates leading to the different stops. You must have stood here for a moment.
Central Park
Central Park, located in the middle of Manhattan, exudes tranquility in the hustle and bustle of the city. When you walk there, you hear (almost) no car sounds anymore. Many people picnic, jog, cycle or walk here. You will also see many squirrels darting by. We walked around Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. This ensures that you always get a different background picture and we thought that was very special.
Broadway
We went to the show The Lion King. We ordered the tickets in the Netherlands and picked them up in New York before the show. Even though we were sitting on the balcony, everything was clearly visible and the English was easy to follow. It was a wonderful show and I would definitely see a musical again if I ever visit New York again!
Tips
Are you also going to New York? Some brochures contain discount coupons for attractions. This varies up to $2 to $5 dollars. At Macy’s you can get a 10% discount on your purchases as a tourist.