Long weekend in New York
Our 1st day, we had time to wander to Times Square and absorb the buzz, as the evening neon lights came on and lit the sky. Up next morning and we headed for the Intrepid Air and Space Museum, which is on board an old aircraft carrier. We walked west from 7th Street/34th Street to the shoreline, and got there early enough to avoid the school trips and hoards of tourists. This enabled my aircraft-fanatic husband to get people-free pictures of the aircraft lined up on the deck. We were able to see a Space Shuttle and the exterior of a Concorde too, plus we clambered all over the aircraft carrier, good fun, even if you aren't an aircraft enthusiast. After this we walked a few hundreds yards along to another pier to board a boat which took us south along the Hudson River giving us coastal views of the New York skyline, a close up of the Statue of Liberty, and the around the bottom of Manhattan and up the East River, returning the same way after going under Brooklyn Bridge. This gave my husband, a first time visitor, a good overview of Manhattan from the water.
We purchased a multi-day hop on hop off bus ticket which covered a double loop to cover the whole of Manhattan. We found that we could also use this as our means of getting around, whilst having a guide explaining everything. The next day we headed south for our timed entry to the 911 Museum and Peace Garden. The museum is to be recommended, and it is beautifully laid out and takes you on a journey of that fateful day. It really made you think about the enormity of what had happened. Very poignant. We also had timed tickets to go to the Observation Deck in the World Trade Towers, but the view was blocked by low cloud, so we took a rain check for the following day. Whilst in the vicinity we headed to Battery Point and took a ferry across to Liberty and Ellis Islands. On reflection the statue of Liberty was just as visible without going ashore, so we could have gone on the free Staten Island ferry and still had a very good view. However, I think Ellis Island was worth a stop, as the Immigration History is conveyed in a very interesting way.
We walked from Battery Point around to Pier 17, past Wall St, and it is there that you can get discounted Theatre tickets for that evening, without having to queue. It isn't the easiest place to find, but it is tucked away across the road from the Pier, next to a children's park. Otherwise the same TKTS booth can be found at Times Square, but it is sometimes very busy there. We bought tickets to see a show on Broadway for that evening, and excellent stall seats we had too.
The next day, which was a Saturday, we explored the area to the north of Times Square. Our hop on hop off bus took us up around Central Park, and down Park Avenue, past the Metropolitan and Guggenheim Museums. We then had a lovely walk in Central Park, watching the numerous families out at play. There were ball games, picnics, street dancers, roller skaters, people in rowing boats, riding bikes and a few bridal groups having their photo opportunities. It was all very pleasant. We found Strawberry Fields, and Alice in Wonderland sculpture too. After that we headed to the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Centre and this gave us a great view of the Chrysler Building in one direction, and Central Park in the other. From there too, you get the best view of the Empire State Building. We watched the sun set, and Manhattan light up for the evening.
Our last day started off extremely wet, so we decided to keep to indoor activities. First stop was Madame Tussauds, sitting at the President's desk, and seeing numerous famous American faces. Next stop was a tour of Radio City Music Hall. This beautiful Art Deco building has bags of history and our guide was very informative. The weather eased so our last stop was a view from the Empire State Building, which gave us distant views of the Statue of Liberty, and the East River. I'm glad we saw Manhattan from every view point.
It was time then to head back to our hotel to meet our pre-booked taxi. Unfortunately, I think the hotel desk must have called Uber, as a lady arrived to take us back to JFK and used her mobile as a Sat Nav. She clearly didn't have a clue where she was driving, and we ended up having a detour around Queens, which was surprisingly nice! Our hour long trip took us nearer 2 hours so we had to dash to check in, fortunately making it in time. So a word from the wise, don't use Uber!
All in all, I think we covered a huge amount. We weren't interested in shopping, and proved that there is still enough to do without browsing the shops.