When I was young I always wanted to go to New York. Growing up in the 1980s and watching movies and TV series, ignited my appreciation for the place. The wide avenues, the skyscrapers, the street art on the trains – it all looked so different, and cool. And so I always wanted to go there.
Now, I have travelled the world, quite extensively, but inexplicably I didn’t go to New York until I was in my late 30s. I don’t know why I waited so long, but I did, but it was worth the wait.
I was on one of my two American roadtrip/rail trips that I’ve done, and I thought the only way to enter New York is by train. All the breakdancing movies I watched as a kid seemed to be centred around the street art of the trains and so I wanted that New York welcome that had etched itself upon me in my youth.
We stayed in downtown Manhattan, which is ideal as it’s such a big city! We weren’t far from Times Square, which is everything you expect it to be: busy, bright, and fantastic!
Just wandering around soaking it all up, like tourists do, is a must. As well as seeing all the movie famous sights, people watching is a great thing to do there. Whether it’s the buskers, tourists or locals, the characters around Times Square just seem to be different.
Central Park is another must for all visitors. It’s huge and you can easily spend a day there just chilling out, getting away from the hustle and bustle for a bit. There’s the Strawberry Fields area which is a tribute to John Lennon, who was gunned down just around the corner from there in December 1980.
I was there in the summer so the ice skating wasn’t a possibility for me, but it was nice to chill on the grass and soak up the late summer sun in preparation for my next sight.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, or The Met, has one of the best art collections in the world. If you like art, you should go to The Met. It has pieces from all the major historical artists and it’s a great way to spend, well a few days, if you have the time. The problem with New York, however, is there’s so much to see and do, and so a few hours in The Met was all I could spare.
Any trip to New York wouldn’t be the same without going to a Broadway show. There are all the biggest and best shows on and just take your pick, because you won’t be disappointed with all the best ones. I, for some inexplicable reason, chose to go and see The Adams Family. Now, I’ve seen most of the best ones before, so I thought I’d go see something different, but believe me, I wish I had seen one of the bigger more popular shows: Chicago, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera to name a few.
For views of Manhattan a trip up the Empire State Building is a must. The views from the top are amazing and you can see for miles. The only problem with being up the Empire State Building is that you don’t get the view of the Empire State Building, but it’s still an amazing experience up there.
Another way of seeing the Manhattan skyline is to get a boat over to the Statue of Liberty. An epic monument in itself, but also a great way of seeing the downtown skyline. Or, you can go over to Brooklyn and see the city from the other side of the river under Brooklyn Bridge, where the skyline is second to none.
My favourite part of NYC, however, is Harlem. Just wandering the streets and soaking the area up is a great way to experience the real New York. I never felt threatened once, and we walked everywhere. You can visit the famous Apollo Theater or just wander around and soak up the city.
There’s so much to see and do in New York and five days is nowhere near enough, but if you do go, the things I wrote about are highly recommended, notwithstanding The Adams family, of course.
