7. Walk along the High Line.
Manhattan’s dense concrete jungle has several oases – but only one shaped more like an unfurled whip than a pond. Opened in three stages between 2009 and 2014, the High Line is a narrow public park, 1.45 miles (two kilometers) long, that sits on the old rail bed of the elevated West Side freight line of the New York Central Railroad. Running from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street, it is a garden, an arts space, a destination for dates and a place to sit and dream. Pick a quiet moment to contemplate the wild flowers, the rusted rails in the northern section and the views of the Hudson River, perhaps as the sun goes down.
8. Listen to live music every night of the week.
There are music gigs in New York every day of the year, many of them performed by some of the most famous artists from around the world. Sellout acts play the stadiums Madison Square Garden and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, though venues like Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theater, Irving Plaza, the Hammerstein Ballroom, Webster Hall, Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Steel and Kings Theater in Flatbush also attract big names. Cool acts sometimes play smaller venues like the Bowery Ballroom or Williamsburg’s Baby’s All Right, while dozens of bars host up-and-comers (and has-beens). Birdland, Blue Note, Village Vanguard, Iridium and Cornelia Street Café are among the city’s top jazz clubs.
9. Bask in the glow of Times Square
Though most locals abhor Times Square, nobody will ever forget their first time walking through the hectic plaza. The unbridled energy, the costumed characters and the incessant flashing of neon lights make for an out-of-body experience a bit like that of being a sardine in a tin can.
10. Go green in Central Park and Prospect Park
Central Park, smack dab in the middle of Manhattan, is one of the city’s most photogenic places. Wander through its vast space to discover a favorite spot – whether Strawberry Fields, where John Lennon is commemorated; the bronze sculpture of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland; or the Bethesda Fountain and Terrace at the heart of the park. Opened in 1858, the park was designed by Frederick Law Omstead and Calvert Vaux, who followed it with Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in 1867. Both parks have zoos, lakes, tens of thousands o
f trees and glorious meadows. You can sk
a
te and play hockey at Central Park’s Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink (a swimming pool in summer) and at Prospect Park’s LeFrak Center.
11. Revel in the city after dark
For those who wake up when the sun goes down, NYC provides an eclectic array of nightclubs and both conventional and alternative cabarets. Dance floor devotees in Manhattan gravitate to Chelsea (1 Oak, Marquee) and the Meatpacking District (Le Bain). Brooklyn is also rife with clubs such as Williamsburg’s Schimanski and Black Flamingo, Bushwick’s House of Yes and Bed-Stuy’s C’mon Everybody. Top comedy clubs include Carolines on Broadway, Comedy Cellar and UCB Theatre.
12. Cross the Brooklyn Bridge
Of NYC’s 789 bridges, the most iconic is the Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883. Spanning the East River between Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan, it is a cable-stayed suspension bridge most recognizable by its high limestone and granite Gothic towers. Give yourself 30 minutes to walk its 1.13 miles (1.82 kilometers) in the Brooklyn to Manhattan direction, which will give you spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, especially at sunrise and sunset.
13. Experience history firsthand
NYC played its part in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, and was the birthplace of the Wall Street Crash. The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center elicited the extraordinary bravery of first responders and the resilience, generosity and unity of New York’s citizens. But it’s not just big events that make up a city’s history. Sit on a bench in Washington Square Park, where Mark Twain once chatted with Robert Louis Stevenson, or take a peek at Twain’s old townhouse at 14 West 10th Street. Drop by 17 West 16th Street, where feminist activist Margaret Sanger’s clinic pioneered birth control in the 1930s. Visit President Ulysses S Grant’s massive tomb at Riverside Park, or walk along the Bowery and remember the time when it was Manhattan’s skid row.
14. Mingle with New Yorkers
You can’t generalize about the people of a city that is made up of so many different nationalities, ethnicities, religions and classes. Still, an image remains of New Yorkers as abrasive, fast-talking, sharp-minded and always in a hurry. It’s not rudeness – it’s the pace of NYC life. On the whole, you’ll find that New Yorkers welcome you to their town and will happily give you directions or help you if you’re in trouble. It’s true – they’re the salt of the earth.
15. Feel the city’s unmatched energy.
Brash and electrifying, NYC marches to its own propulsive beat. Yellow and green cabs stream down Fifth Avenue, showtime performers pull off astonishing acrobatics on subway car poles, steam pours from gratings in the street, horse-drawn carriages clatter round Central Park and sirens wail every few minutes. Once you’ve experienced NYC’s energy, everywhere else seems slow – a ‘New York minute’ really does fly by. Are you ready to wake up in a city that never sleeps?
To read my part 1 here the link
https://mynewroots508.wordpress.com/2019/05/14/15-reasons-to-visit-newyork-once-in-a-lifetime/
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