USA Car Hire in New York

Places to Visit

New York is known as “the city that never sleeps” and is on the bucket list of most travellers whether that is for the shopping, the history or the culture.

We visited New York City for the first time last November for 6 days and we absolutely fell in love with it straight away! At the time we went, it was the middle of the election period and just a week after Hurricane Sandy hit; two events that inevitably impacted our activity whilst we were out there – but in a positive way overall I think!

The Waldorf Astoria

We stayed in this famed mid-Manhattan hotel, situated on Park Avenue. It was a completely luxurious experience and the staff were amazing! Our suite was on the 19th floor and, from the yellow-taxi rank and doormen outside to the nine feet tall antique lobby clock, I felt every ounce like I was living within the magical New York City world of the programme, Gossip Girl. Even if you don’t stay there, it’s such a great hotel that I would say go and have a look around anyway – they do a glorious Sunday brunch in one of the main restaurants and I think that anyone can reserve a table for it.

The Statue of Liberty

We got a subway down to Battery Park and then hopped on the boat that takes you over to The Statue of Liberty. Our NYC passes (purchased months before our trip) were supposed to include a visit to Staten Island on the same day too but due to Hurricane Sandy, we were only able to see the statue as all routes were closed. It was a great experience though – definitely a must-see while you’re out there. Quite an informative trip and, again, they allocate you an adequate amount of time to take your touristy photos. (Warning: People are dressed up as the statue when you exit the boat – seems like a fun idea at the time but they will charge you $5+ after you’ve been photographed with them)

Ground Zero

This was a very emotional and humbling experience but we figured that the events of 9/11 have become a big part of recent American history so knew we 100% had to make our way down there. Due to the hurricane, we weren’t able to see the actual memorial fountains but we visited the 9/11 museum. As I say, it’s an emotional and very poignant experience but it’s nice to go along and pay your respects during your visit. We walked away with a clear impression of the sense of the unity and solidarity between the local citizens and Americans in general.

Empire State Building

We went up to the top of this world famous skyscraper during the daytime and it was just incredible. Despite the dozens of films I’ve seen that feature the New York City skyline, nothing quite does it justice like making your way up there and seeing it for yourself. Great panoramic photo opportunities and plenty of time allocated for you to work your way around and take it all in…(beware: ears WILL pop and you will feel slightly dizzy in the lift on the way up, VERY strange sensation indeed!!)

The Rockerfeller Center

This complex also features an observation deck that boasts breath-taking views of the city. We purchased a pass that allowed us to take a tour of the NBC Television Studios, also located within this building, so we visited that one afternoon then headed up to the viewing point to see the skyline by night. The Rockerfeller Centre was also home to ‘Democracy Plaza’ whilst we were out there. This meant there was always something exciting going on. One morning we headed there for breakfast and ended up having an inadvertent photo-shoot with US flag-covered fancy dress items!!

Microsoft had a heavy presence there throughout the election and were promoting one of their newest tablets which involved taking fun photo-booth themed images and emailing them to visitors in real-time. There was also an identical replica of the White House office desk and chair that tourists could be snapped seating themselves in. The Rockerfeller Center is also home to one of the biggest ice rinks and Christmas trees over the festive period too.

Central Park

We took an early morning walk through Central Park in the snow on our last day, which was lovely. It’s massive, so it’s worthwhile planning exactly where you want to go and which route you’d like to walk before heading there.

Grand Central Station

This was one of the places that we absolutely wanted to visit whilst we were out there and we really enjoyed it too. We paid to have an audio tour of the whole station which was insightful. With individual headsets and a clear, numbered route, we were able to go through it in our own time and go back over anything that one of us missed. We learnt a nice bit of history about the actual architecture of the station on this tour too – it truly is a spectacle on the inside. After the tour, we had a look inside the various shops in there (including a huge Apple store!) and grabbed a bite to eat in one of the restaurants.

Broadway/Times Square

We went to see The Lion King at the theatre on our last evening. It was a brilliant show and we’re glad that we went. We did book the tickets quite a while in advance before our trip though as I know that they sell out quickly and, because we were in an odd party number of 3, we didn’t want to risk trying to purchase them once we were out there. The Minskoff Theatre is actually situated right in the heart of Times Square and as you stand at the top of the escalator to exit, the full glass windows offer you an unforgettable sight of the Square lit up in it’s full night-time glory. “The city that never sleeps” – Times Square really was unlike anywhere I’d ever been before. There wasn’t a dull moment at all and whether we were clothes shopping in Forever 21 or Swatch at 1am, warming up in Starbucks with a coffee or excitedly bouncing around M&M world, we headed there most evenings to make the most of the buzzing atmosphere!

One afternoon we also succumbed to one of the street sellers’ ticket deal for a comedy show that very evening. We got a yellow taxi there as the show was held in nightclub in one of the back-streets we were unfamiliar with and we had an absolute whale of time! All three of us loved the show. We had a few nice cocktails while we were there too. We enjoyed taking the time to do all of these different things in the evenings because we wanted to see as many different parts and experience as many of the various scenes that New York City has to offer.

Shopping

We LOVED the shopping out there. For us, this was the main attraction. We went to all of the big department stores and our favourite was Bloomingdale’s, followed by Sak’s Fifth Avenue. As we visited in November, the stores were full of Christmas stock so it was pretty magical. It reminded us of the original Home Alone movie! Other favourites included the Levi store, Victoria’s Secret, UGG, Converse and Century 21 (great for bags, coats and shoes!) It’s worth knowing that in most of the big department stores they have in-store ‘visitor centres’; if you pop by before you start shopping they’ll give tourists from the UK a discount card that allows them 10% off of purchases. Like London, there’s also lots of independently owned shops throughout every street in Manhattan that stock a range of novelty souvenirs that you might want to take back with you.

Restaurants

The best two meals we had out there were in restaurants called 21 and Sardi’s. I think they’re both quite famous and Sardi’s walls are adorned with caricatures of all of the celebs they’ve had dine in there over the years. Lovely food too (I personally recommend the meatballs!) We also ate in TGI’s on Times Square which was nice, as well as within a couple of the traditional New York delis, where we felt it absolutely necessary to try the classic ‘pastrami on rye’. I think the best one was situated just off of Broadway somewhere! We were also advised before our holiday that we needed to try a slice of pizza from one of the ‘Ray’s Original’ shop fronts – it was delicious,  a definite recommendation!