Explore Manhattan in the Big Apple
"The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sports writer for the New York Morning Telegraph. Its popularity since the 1970s is due in part to a promotional campaign by the New York tourist authorities. Manhattan is the most densely populated of New York City’s 5 boroughs. It's mostly made up of Manhattan Island, bounded by the Hudson, East and Harlem rivers. Among the world’s major commercial, financial and cultural centers, it’s the heart of “the Big Apple.”
DISCOVER THE FOLLOWING 23 TERRIFIC EXPERIECS IN MANHATTAN (Click on the links for more details):
1. 5TH AVENUE
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan and stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is considered one of the most expensive streets in the world.
Located at the World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial Museum tells the story of 9/11 through media, narratives, and a collection of monumental and authentic artifacts, presenting visitors with personal stories of loss, recovery, and hope.
3.AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
The American Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 interconnected buildings housing 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. The museum collections contain over 34 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts, as well as specialized collections for frozen tissue and genomic and astrophysical data, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time.
Broadway theatre, also simply known as Broadway, refers to the theatrical performances which are presented in the 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theatre District and the Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theatre in the English-speaking world.
5. BROOKLYN & MANHATTAN BRIDGE
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It was also the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its opening, with a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m) and a deck 127 ft (38.7 m) above mean high water. The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Bridge in 1915.
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is 1,480 ft long, with the suspension cables being 3,224 ft long. The bridge's total length is 6,855 ft.
Central Park is an urban park located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city by area, covering 843 acres (341 ha). It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 million visitors annually as of 2016, and is the most filmed location in the world. Main attractions include landscapes such as the Ramble and Lake, Hallett Nature Sanctuary, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, and Sheep Meadow; amusement attractions such as Wollman Rink, Central Park Carousel, and the Central Park Zoo; formal spaces such as the Central Park Mall and Bethesda Terrace; and the Delacorte Theatre.
Iconic culinary destination Chelsea Market has become an internationally-renowned brand and is considered one of the greatest indoor food and retail marketplaces in the world today. Located in the heart of New York City’s Meatpacking District, the market’s collection of distinctive and diverse merchants adds up to more than just your average food hall, rather a lively marketplace where one can shop the region’s finest fishmonger, take home prime cuts of meat from one of the area’s best whole-animal butchers, load up on artisanal cheeses, fresh produce, and imported Italian dry goods. It’s the savoury meals enjoyed at Chelsea Market, just as much as the fresh ingredients purchased there that make it a beloved destination for locals and travellers alike.
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in the Turtle Bay neighborhood on the East Side of Manhattan, at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue near Midtown Manhattan. At 1,046 feet (319 m), it is the tallest brick building in the world with a steel framework, and was the world's tallest building for 11 months after its completion in 1930.
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. It was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m) and stands a total of 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building stood as the world's tallest building until the construction of the World Trade Center in 1970; following the latter's collapse in 2001, the Empire State Building was again the city's tallest skyscraper until 2012.
10. FLATIRON BUILDING
The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a triangular 22-story, 285-foot-tall (86.9 m) steel-framed landmarked building located at 175 Fifth Avenue in the eponymous Flatiron District neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan. Designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Dinkelberg, it was one of the tallest buildings in the city upon its 1902 completion, at 20 floors high. As with numerous other wedge-shaped buildings, the name "Flatiron" derives from its resemblance to a cast-iron clothes iron.
Opened to the public on February 2, 1913, Grand Central is a world-famous landmark and transportation hub in Midtown Manhattan. Its rich history is a story of immense wealth and great engineering, but also of survival and rebirth. Today, the beaux-arts landmark is a retail and dining destination as well as the home of the MTA Metro-North Railroad and a subway station serving the 4, 5, 6, 7, and S subway lines. One of Grand Central’s main attractions, the four-faced opal clock, sits in the center of the Main Concourse above the Information Booth and is often the meeting place for visitors and locals alike. You know you’re a New Yorker when you’ve told a friend to “meet me at the clock”!
12. GREENWICH VILLAGE
The epicenter of the city's 1960s counterculture movement, the tree-lined streets of Greenwich Village are now a hub of popular cafes, bars and restaurants. Jazz clubs and Off-Broadway Theatres can also be found amid the brownstones and New York University buildings. At its heart is Washington Square Park, where people mingle around the central plaza.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum located at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. It is the permanent home of a continuously expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions throughout the year. The museum was established by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in 1939 as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, under the guidance of its first director, Hilla von Rebay. It adopted its current name in 1952, three years after the death of its founder Solomon R. Guggenheim. In 1959, the museum moved from rented space to its current building, a landmark work of 20th-century architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
14. THE HIGH LINE
The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan. The High Line's design is a collaboration between James Corner Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf. The abandoned spur has been redesigned as a "living system" drawing from multiple disciplines which include landscape architecture, urban design, and ecology. Since opening in June 2009, the High Line has become an icon of contemporary landscape architecture.
Macy's Herald Square (originally named the R. H. Macy and Company Store) is the flagship of Macy's department store, as well as the Macy's, Inc. corporate headquarters, on Herald Square in Manhattan. The building's 2.5 million square feet (230,000 m2),which includes 1.25 million square feet (116,000 m2) of retail space, makes it the largest department store in the United States and among the largest in the world. The Macy's building was completed in 1902 after the store had occupied several previous locations in New York City. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was made a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the United States. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 Fifth Avenue, along the Museum Mile on the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan's Upper East Side, is by area one of the world's largest art galleries. The museum's permanent collection consists of works of art from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt, paintings, and sculptures from nearly all the European masters, and an extensive collection of American and modern art. The Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, and Islamic art.
17.NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It presents exhibitions, public programs, and research that explore the history of New York and the nation. The New-York Historical Society holds an extensive collection of historical artifacts, works of American art, and other materials documenting the history of New York and the United States. It presents well-researched exhibitions on a variety of topics and periods in American history.
One World Observatory is at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The Observatory is located on the 100th, 101st, and 102nd floors of One World Trade Center, offering views of New York City's iconic sights, surrounding waters, and skyline. The guest experience goes beyond the amazing views. The Observatory boasts three levels filled with innovation and inspiration, including a film presentation in the SEE FOREVER™; Theater and interactive features such as City Pulse and Sky Portal.
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbour. The copper statue, a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue is a figure of Libertas, a robed Roman liberty goddess. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776 in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. A broken shackle and chain lie at her feet as she walks forward, commemorating the recent national abolition of slavery. After its dedication, the statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea.
Soaring 70 floors above New York City, Top of the Rock’s three levels of indoor and outdoor observation decks deliver spectacular, unobstructed 360-degree spring views of the city skyline. No trip to NYC is complete without a visit to the ultimate observation deck.
21. TIME SQUARE
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment center, and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Brightly lit by numerous billboards and advertisements, it stretches from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. One of the world's busiest pedestrian areas, it is also the hub of the Broadway Theater District and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. Times Square is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Approximately 330,000 people pass through Times Square daily, many of them tourists, while over 460,000 pedestrians walk through Times Square on its busiest days. Formerly known as Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the then newly erected Times Building, now One Times Square. It is the site of the annual New Year's Eve ball drop, which began on December 31, 1907, and continues to attract over a million visitors to Times Square every year.
22. WALL STREET
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, the American financial services industry, New York–based financial interests, or the Financial District itself. Wall Street was originally known in Dutch as "de Waalstraat" when it was part of New Amsterdam in the 17th century, though the origins of the name vary. An actual wall existed on the street from 1685 to 1699. Wall Street is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.
23.WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), a wealthy and prominent American socialite and art patron after whom it is named. The Whitney focuses on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Its permanent collection, spanning the late-19th century to the present, comprises more than 25,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, films, videos, and artifacts of new media by more than 3,500 artists.
WHEN TO GO: The best time to visit New York City is from April to June and September to early November when the weather is warm and pleasant but the tourist crowds are not overwhelming.
HOW TO GET AROUND: The easiest and quickest way to travel around NYC is by the subway.
EAT AT A DELI (READ ABOUT THE BEST DELIS IN NEW YORK)
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PLAY AT BROOKLYN GIRO BICYCLE TOURS
Brooklyn Giro Bicycle Tours will take you distances and places that no other tours offer! They have the best routes, covering more than any other tour operator in NYC. Take in NYC's most iconic places, while meeting really cool people, and make new friends. Local guides who love exploring NYC and beyond will guide you with expert knowledge of the "city" - history, art, culture...
PLAY AT CENTRAL PARK ENVIRONS WALKING TOUR
Michael Hunt of Central Park Environs Walking Tour is not only Central Park's number one guide, but also an ardent student and lover of these 843 acres. From its history, wildlife, trees and plants, statues and structures, he has immersed himself in all that makes the park a living work of art. Michael has led over 600 tours. He is constantly researching and studying to make each individual and family's two-hour tour the most memorable takeaway from their trip to this great city.
PLAY AT CITY UNSCRIPTED NEW YORK
Discover the heart of New York just like you would if you were visiting a friend who lives there on a tour 100% tailored to you. Once you’ve ticked-off Times Square and the Empire State, you’ll want to unlock the real New York. From quirky cafes in Brooklyn to sexy speakeasies on the Lower East Side to a secret museum hidden in an elevator, you’ll have an ever-growing list of things to do in New York City.
PLAY AT EATWITH NEW YORK
Explore immersive food experiences in New York. Choose an event, select the number of guests in your party, and experience the magic of Eatwith. Whatever your party size, every experience is privatized so it's just you and your loved ones.
PLAY AT NEW YORK CITY PHOTO SAFARI
New York City Photo Safari was founded and run by professional photographers who love their craft and NYC. Let them show you their New York City through a different lens. Small group & Private photo tours insure social distancing along with customized and hands on instruction; great for beginner to advanced photographers.
PLAY AT SIDEWALK FOOD TOURS OF NEW YORK
New York City is a food lover’s dream! If you want to taste the flavors of NYC, Sidewalk Food Tours has a full menu of culinary experiences to help you get to know the city like a local. Their New York food tours include delicious favorites, like pizza, beer, falafel, and more. Choose an experience from their website. Your NYC food tour is waiting!
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