520 YYY Travel

A short vacation in New York City is just enough time to taste the best and still have plenty of energy left to play hard in the city that never sleeps. On everyone’s list of places to visit is the Empire State Building and while it may be busy, no trip would be the same without a trip to the 86th floor. There is of course some competition between the Empire State Building and the Rockefeller Center for the best view but it is best left to individual taste. Taking a ferry trip and stopping off at the former immigration center on Ellis Island will allow great views of the Statue of Liberty without the long delays that have been normal since 9/11.

As an alternative why not go to Staten Island via the free ferry and look at the Statue of Liberty from there, the island is also worth a look and the terminal is a favorite spot for street performers, some are of a professional standard. Of course almost everyone who spends a short vacation in New York City will, at some pint, make their way to the site of where the Twin Towers once stood. Despite the moving nature of this place where over 3,000 people lost their lives, most people do not wish to take a picture of it. World famous stores are plentiful in New York with names like Tiffany’s to the many discount stores along Broadway.

Whereas there are stores like Macey’s who are happy to take your tourist discount card and give you an eleven percent discount to the very exclusive Bloomingdales who probably won’t. The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum will also be worth visiting late next year when it re-opens after a period of refurbishment, once the refurbishment is complete it will be worth visiting when it re-opens. The center piece is the World War II aircraft carrier Intrepid, packed with historic aircraft including Concorde, a destroyer and a submarine but be prepared for a size test if you want to enter the sub Growler. The New York City Police Museum is worth an hour if you’re down that way; it’s free to enter but a five dollar donation is recommended to help with its upkeep, because it’s about New York’s finest (and some not so fine), it has some really excellent NYPD souvenirs.

For those who like to see the darker side of a city the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is ideal as it shows the conditions for many immigrants back in 1864. One museum not mentioned a great deal is the City of New York Museum on Central Park that houses images and objects of the past (and present) in an exhibition that is constantly changing. The venue is also free but relies on donations and souvenirs to survive, generally visitors provide a donation of approximately 9 dollars. As I am sure you can imagine if you have been on a trip to any major capital city, there is far more to see and do than a short stay or even a a short vacation trip to New York can accomplish.