Continuing New York adventures… Travel to New York City (2)

When I started my post about adventures in the USA, I thought, well, it’s going to be a few posts. One for New York and a couple for the West Coast. And here I am in my already second post about travel to New York City, and I’m afraid it might be not the last.

You can read my part one of adventures in New York, which includes museums and important attractions. In this post, I’ll share my journey through the most important landmarks in New York City.

New York City from above

Manhattan is enormous! When arrived I immediately understood why one of the most popular sight-seeing means is helicopters. New York City from above looks like nothing else. But you don’t need to spend much money for the flying experience, New York is full of skyscrapers reaching the skies. Here are a few of the most popular observation decks.

Rockefeller Center. As I always say – things you see at the very beginning of each travel leave you the biggest impression. Everything else is rated by comparing it to it. So Rockefeller square, center, and observation deck have this destiny for this trip. Why is Top of the rock the best observation point in NYC? The same reason why in Paris the best is not the Eiffel Tower, but Arc de Triumph. Because the Tower is visible from it at its best. So what you can see from Top of the Rock? The beautiful Empire State building, of course! And all the beauty of middle Manhattan is revealed from that place.

For the perfect evening and sunset views, there is no better place than the One World Trade Center observatory. It is located on the 102nd floor and guarantees the feeling of all Manhattan and beyond below your feet. The elevator ride lasts almost a minute and it’s full of projections of how the city transformed from the first inhabitants to the metropolis it is today. An unbelievable experience, but… Why this is not the best NY observatory for me? Because this is the tallest building and from that point of view all other magnificent buildings and structures look tiny. Undeservedly diminished. And you don’t feel the greatness of the city anymore. Fun fact: The new One World Trade Center building is 1776 feet high to symbolize the year that the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Special areas in New York and experience of American kitchen

New York and Chinatown seem like inseparable words. The territory of this district is really big and varied. The touristy part, which is full of Chinese restaurants adapts to American needs, and prices also. Where the Chinese speak perfectly English. And there’s another part where you won’t see any tourists (except those who are wanderers like me). There will be no English labels, no menu’s and no one speaks other than Chinese. Even the scent is different – you can smell soy in every corner. This is the best part, where you can see true China (I think). Here’s where we went for lunch: tea eggs, dumplings, fried squid, and bubble tea. The taste was as 5 stars and the prices reasonable and the size of the portions – American.

What was the most exciting finding in Chinatown – parks. It seems like the life of the typical Chinese of New York is rotating around the park. They gather there for all possible purposes: playing cards and other games, singing, dancing, expressing their martial arts, eating, and observing others. Parks are like community centers for them. And for me, it was a corner of peace from all that New York hustle.

Little Italy one more area that is a must-see close to Chinatown. And what amazed me – just after entering the district, you are welcomed by street salespeople offering you to buy (definitely fake) Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and similar bags, belts, glasses, etc. Seemed like China likes to sell fake goods, but no – we can find it in the Little Italy district. One mistake made in Little Italy – I was eager to taste true Italian pizza in the first-ever Italian restaurant in the US – Lombardi’s pizza. And I did, and it was true Italian pizza, which I also tasted in Italy, in my hometown, and in various other Italian pizzerias across Europe.

When you are in the US, don’t follow Italian (or any other origin) pizzas, look for American pizza. So, I fixed the mistake in Bleecker street Pizza. The best American pizza I’ve tasted so far. Totally different from Italian, but they’re incomparable, they’re just totally different pizzas.

History in the modern city

New York Public Library is probably not on the top list for exploring Manhattan, but it’s definitely worth a visit. The entrance is free and the building gives you a feeling of coming back to the 1900s. It is an example of how a true library should look with its halls one prettier than the other.

As a person from the financial area, I also cannot peacefully pass by the New York Stock Exchange. Hidden in between narrow streets, this is a heavily protected building. We went to the security guards to ask whether there is any chance to get inside. And they answered with a laugh. So, I think not.

On the same street, there’s another building which is important for America’s history – Federal hall. Among other important purposes, this was also the place where George Washington was sworn in as the nation’s first president.

Grand Central Terminal. A great means of transport to travel to New York City is the train. Even if you don’t need to take the train anywhere, just visit it along the way as it is located in the center of Manhattan. The building will be recognizable to you from movies like “Hugo”, “The girl on the train” and many others. Not only the interior is reflecting on how the perfect train station should look like. But also below the ground floor, there is a food court with lots of different cafes and options.

New York’s important landmarks

Is it worth visiting Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty? Well, I skipped it. First of all, you should plan the visit way in advance if you want to explore it to the fullest. And by that, I mean getting up to the crown. You need to buy special boat tours to visit it or wait in the long line near the harbor. The choice I took didn’t cost me anything (just time) and it was a well worth experience.

The Staten Island ferry is free and it passes by Liberty Island. Not too close but it’s possible to take some cool pictures of the Statue. And of course, the view from the ferry to Manhattan is priceless.

When you are in Manhattan’s Financial District, you cannot miss the Bull of Wall Street. It is the symbol of aggressive financial optimism and prosperity. There’s always a crowd of people around it, but it’s possible to take a picture from every angle…

Sometimes in Manhattan, you can find yourself craving for a tree or green space, as it really is a jungle of glass and concrete. Besides a few parks, there is one quite popular place – the old train line, which was raised to the new life – High line park. It is a long path above the city which guarantees you original views of Manhattan. At the end of the high line, the new place opened to the public in 2019 – Hudson Yards Vessel. New observation deck. For me, it’s not the views that it offers that are breathtaking, but the structure itself. A beehive in the middle of that mentioned concrete jungle.

Close to Chinatown, there is a must-see attraction – the famous Brooklyn Bridge. What could be so impressive about a bridge? Well, this is a totally different experience. Not only that the bridge is really beautiful, but its construction is also exceptional where pedestrians walk on a wooden path in the middle of driving lanes and above them. The bridge ensures the best experience and views from it. Sadly but I didn’t manage to go through all bridges to the Brooklyn area. Since it was already close to 30 km on foot spent that day. And I cannot look at my pictures taken on the Bridge – such a tired face.

New York Times Square is such a strange place. For the first time, I didn’t even realize where the “square” is, because it’s mostly the street. But definitely – it’s everywhere in that area, it covers even several blocks. And the flow of people passing by is enormous. And yes – Times square is full of everything – billboards, cafes, attractions, street artists, even it’s a place for peaceful protests or other gatherings, and events. There’s always something happening.

And the last but not the least – Hudson Yards vessel. I haven’t been up, as it was not planned, and the line was too long in plain sunshine. But as much as I have read, the view from the vessel isn’t as astonishing as the vessel itself. And I believe this.

Who said, “few days are enough to see full New York”? Boy, what a mistake. To see and feel the full vibe of New York even a week is not enough. So many things I’s still like to say, but then the post becomes a book. Maybe next time, after my second trip to New York. Which will definitely happen. When, you ask? For sure in winter – there are so many places to explore and feel in New York in winter. Now I even wonder, how come it took me 30 years to visit this city?

Lookig for a place to stay in New York City? Check out these places:

Booking.com