There’s not a lot of things to do in New York that will absolutely blow your mind but still, there’s a lot to do and see and if you’ve never been to the United States, I’d put this at the top of your list of places to visit. New York is one of those cities you can walk around and miss something good just around the corner so take your time and do a bit of home work before you go.
Central Park – Probably the most famous and iconic park in the world, Central park covers almost 850 acres and the city has got to be commended for not selling it off and developing it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the middle of summer or dead of winter, Central Park is beautiful and one of those things that, while not being absolutely spectacular, you just have to visit. It doesn’t make the city but it’s a massive part of it’s heart and soul and a vital part of most locals’ live. Central Park was definitely at the top my list of things to do in New York.
Central Park
Grand Central Station – This is not one of those things to do in New York to do with kids as many, more famous so-called travel advice websites will tell you. I know this because I took Grobbler here at 5:30a.m in the morning when he woke up at 3:30a.m on the first day, He was bored out of his brain. However, if you’re interested in photography, or architecture, this is a sweet place. I probably could have spent an hour here photographing the place if I was by myself. This is one place worth going and one of better things to do in New York.
One World Observatory – Typical over-priced and over-rated “sky tower” that’s on every list things to do in New York. We went up here when it was overcast and the view wasn’t great. You could just see Manhattan. To be fair I can imagine this view being much better on a clear day (obviously). The lift up is crazy fast, there’s no lines or waiting when we went up and you’re presented with a short video montage thing when you arrive before they lift the curtain to the view. That was actually quite a good idea in concept but because the day was a bit shit, it wasn’t so great. They then try and sell you an interactive ipad thing where you can select different places and learn about them but that was $20 or something. If you’ve never been to New York or high up in a building, it’d be a treat and somewhat exciting, but if you live in a big city it’s rather ho-hum.
The Empire State Building – Okay so it’s just another building with a view overlooking the city but not visiting the Empire State Building when you’re in New York is a bit like not eating pizza in Italy. Go between 8-11a.m when there’s much less people. If you can’t do those times you can buy tickets online that allow you skip the lines, but they’re quite often rather long too. Kids under 6 are free. You can also head up there between 12-1a.m and bust a few moves on your date. A bit cliche but people still do it and despite how touristy it is, I guess it’s one of those things to do in New York that you have to do when you’re there.
Times Square – Again, it’s pretty much “just” a street “corner” but not really. This is the street “corner” of all street corners and if you don’t feel the liveliness of the city when you’re here, you better check your heartbeat. Everywhere you look there’s restaurants, shops, people, something happening – a street photographers paradise. You could just stand around for a few hours and people watch. There’s been a few (lots of) touts in recent years that have made their way into the news by hassling the shit out of people and that can get rather annoying but still, it’s got to be on your list of things to do in New York City.
Times Square
Brooklyn – Once your done with the touristy things, take a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and into Brooklyn. Start at Brooklyn Bridge Park where every man and his dog and taking selfies of themselves and the lower Manhattan skyline. Then walk along Brooklyn Heights Promenade where you start to see more of this areas famous brownstones and buildings. Find one of hundreds of trendy hipster cafes and have a rest then head to Williamsburg where you’ll find little boutiques, bookstores and vintage and antique shops. It’s just like you see in the movies only better.
Adidas Store Fifth Avenue – This is one of the best Adidas flagship stores I’ve seen but if you’re a skinny small runt like myself, nothing will fit you as they don’t have XS and S size would fit most of my mates who are average builds. If you like your athletic and running gear, check it out, you’ll probably jizz in your stubbies. Barnes and Noble – Knowing how big it is online, I was expecting more from this. For sure, it blows every bookstore in Hong Kong completely away, with the exception of Eslite, but that’s 75% Chinese books so can’t really compare. For sure it’s got most books most people would want but you need to order online and have them deliver for more rarer and hard to find books.
Bryant Park – Small park located behind the New York Public Library between 42nd and 41st street off Fifth Avenue. There’s a bunch of people hanging out here throughout the day and a nice green grass bit of lawn. This gets closed down at night and it’s worth coming here just to see the battles going on between the security guards and the public who walk on the lawn when it’s closed. Worth as visit if you’re near the area and want to have a break but not worth going here solely for seeing it.
The Guggenheim (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum) – Unfortunately the spiral was closed when we went and because that was pretty much the main attraction for me we just went inside, snapped a photo then left. Not many people there at all and the spiral wasn’t that impressive anyway, I’ve seen bigger and better in other places. For places like the American Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can check those out in Toucan’s New York Tips for kids.
If you’re a golfer, try to get yourself on Sleepy Hollow Country Club or Winged Foot or any one of the (I hate to say it) Trump golf courses. These are the ultimate private golf club experience and where the people with way too much money play. I’m not one for private clubs as most members seem to walk around with their noses so high in the air they can’t smell their own shit, but as a golfer, you can’t help but appreciate the history and soak up the atmosphere of some America’s most exclusive golf clubs.
Other things to do in New York include the 9/11 Memorial – visit that if you’re around One World Trade/Observatory. It’s nothing spectacular but they’ve done it rather well. Make sure to see how the other half live and check out the Upper East side, it’s swanky and full of wanky toffee nose rich people who think they’re way too good for anybody else. It’s beautiful though, and being near Central Park is almost a must.
The Shops at Columbus Circle – Small (for a big city) mall with limited shops. They’ve got New York’s first Amazon Books shop, where you can buy shit without talking or interacting with people, if you want. I did it the normal way. They don’t have a lot of stock, it’s mainly all the highest rated shit. Not really worth going here but if you happen to be around the area it’s worth a squizz and right across the road from the north western corner of Central Park.
Send us any questions or comments you have about things to do in New York via email or ask us on twitter.