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New York Botanical Garden
The star-studded Public Theater free Shakespeare in the Park production of TWELFTH NIGHT which will run through Sunday, September 14, is the ideal choice among the Bard’s canon to reopen this New Y…
The famous Christmas tree is alight at Rockefeller Center. Saks Fifth Avenue has its sound-and-light show and decorated windows. Macy’s anchors the Miracle on 34th Street, and Bergdorf Goodman once…
We Visit One of NYC's Hidden Gems The Sneaker Room
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Gov Ball Tickets
Lock in your Gov Ball tickets at the lower price tier before it increases on Friday!
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Top Things to Do to Celebrate the Holidays in New York City
Top Things to Do to Celebrate the Holidays in New York City
Rockefeller Center, NYC © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com Santa has arrived on his sleigh to close out the 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The tree is alight at Rockefeller Center. Saks has its sound-and-light show and decorated windows. Macy’s and Bergdorf Goodman have their windows decorated. People flock into…
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NYC- Free Things to Do
There are a billion free things to do on any given day in NYC. You can check out a bunch of websites but my favorite is Time Out which gives you a nice variety of options for the day. Just note that anything free in the city of millions of people and even more tourists means it will be packed.
Since our first day in NYC was a Friday we started first with the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens which is free Fridays before noon. There were lots of people and school groups but you didn’t feel over crowded.
Even though it was only early April there were still plenty of things in bloom.
The peach trees had blossoms, the daffodils were out in force
Even some of the cherry trees had blossoms!
It was beautiful to walk around and enjoy nature in the middle of the city.
Heading back towards midtown from Brooklyn we found our way to Times Square. If you’ve never been to New York City before then you absolutely have to visit Times Square. It is a sight.
Bright and bustling with dozens of screens flashing adverts at you and monster stores with more product than you really ever need- like the M&M store.
It’s something that should be experienced at least once in your life and then avoided if at all possible.
But a leisurely walk up from Time Square will bring you past Rockefeller Center and to the beginning of Central Park.
There is a brilliant app called Atlantis Audio Tours which allows you to download audio tours of various areas in major cities on a self-guided walking tour. To give more depth and importance to the places you pass.
Especially in Central Park where there is a huge amount of history but no plaques to tell you that the giant Sheeps Meadow actually had sheep until the Great Depression when everyone was concerned that the newly poor community would eat them.
Central Park is another place that is busy but so much fun to be in all the greenery in the middle of the city. Having a lovely sandwich lunch on one of the big rocks, listening to the street performers in the acoustically brilliant arcade.
Or just enjoying a sunny spot by the lake. You could spend days in Central Park.
But we had to go and get ready for the last free thing on our list: MOMA
On Friday’s between 4-8pm the MOMA is free. The crowds are staggering but if you’re visiting NYC on a budget it’s worth skipping the 25$ fee.
Going to the MOMA with someone with an art degree who has spent the last five years studying and selling art is a treat. Alex was super excited to visit the top floor which is full of classics
From Rothko- who is so much more impressive in person
To Picasso – he had an entire room dedicated to him
To the largest Monet I’ve ever seen.
There was also Van Gogh’s arguably most famous painting- Starry Starry Night. It was pretty exciting to see it in person- even if it had a crowd to rival the Mona Lisa. Alex and I did get a bit of a closer view but opted for pictures of the crowd.
They also had a Seurat which made me happy as he is one of my favorites.
The lower levels of the MOMA are less famous- less classic- artists but still worth a visit. They had a whole section of interesting innovations
And the smallest car I’ve seen.
The sculpture garden was closed but we got a glimpse of it from the large windows on the second level.
All in all, if you can battle the people, it was worth the trip.
NYC- Being a proper tourist- Statue of Liberty
There are lots of things a person should do on their first visit to NYC. I had done none of them but with Alex by my side we were determined to hit all the highlights. Top of the list? The statue of Liberty of course.
Yes, you can take the Staten Island Ferry and get great views of the statue from the water. Probably as good as views as the tour.
BUT it was really nice to have the time to take in the statue from Liberty Island. Ground and Pedestal tickets are 18.50$ ea. Crown Tickets are only 3$ more but you have to book them about 4 months in advance! Since we didn’t think that far ahead we went with the Pedestal.
First for the tour you must wait through an excruciatingly long line to get through security. If you purchase the tickets online your wait is a quite a bit shorter.
It was definitely worth it. On the ground you can see the hoards of people jostling for a look. But from the pedestal (which you must purchase online) you not only get to climb the 170 stairs to her feet (or take the elevator)
But you also get great views of the city
And you get to see the rivets and the way the “fabric” is crafted.
The lower part of the pedestal- the star- is so much less crowded than the ground. To the point of there being practically no crowd.
And you still get great views of the statue as a whole.
She is huge, she is beautiful and she is well worth the visit.
Especially considering this is what you see on land:
