It’s just under 2 months until my bestie and I are heading off to New York for our girly holiday. I am really excited, although I have been to New York before. I was lucky enough to be traveling with hubby twice 4 years ago with work, as we work in the same company and work in New York, but also do a bit of sight seeing when we were off.
If you are planning a holiday in New York or are flying to New York in the next few months, then this post might come in handy for you. I am sharing my top 11 sights to visit in the Big Apple.
1. Empire State Building
The main sight on the list has to be the Empire State Building. It can be a bit of a nightmare queuing for tickets at the building, but just to give you heads up, there are people walking around on the road near the building, selling tickets. It’s cheaper and you don’t have to queue. They are called “Skyride”. It’s a great experience in my opinion.
2. World Trade Center
When we went to see the World Trade Center it was only still being built. In the mean time it has been finished for quite some time and so has the memorial. I will be going back there in March and take photos of the finished building and visit the memorial. Meters away they have also have setup a museum with the story of 9/11.
3. Madam Tussauds
Madam Tussauds is a must to visit. It’s located on Times Square. Generally they are quite big going through the queue of people. You will probably spend up to 2 hours in there. A lot of known faces will appear for you and I am sure they added some new people since 2011. At the end there is a cinema which is 4D. It means they have added some effects around the room where water splashes in your face or your seat moved. It’s pretty cool.
4. Rockefeller Center
A popular place during the winter and summer. In the winter time they have an ice ring around the center and a massive Christmas tree. I haven’t seen it during that time but I think hubby has. Together we’ve been in the summer time. Very busy place but the food is amazing (and expensive). It’s also very sheltered. As some of you may know it gets very hot during the summer time, unbearable most of the time in fact.
5. American Museum of Natural History
If you are into visiting museums, then you definitely have to pass by the famous American museum of Natural History. It’s massive. This is also where “Night in the Museum” was filmed.
6. Central Park
After a visit in the museum you can trot around in Central Park for a bit if the weather allows. The museum is right beside the park which is very handy. There are some vans around the park that sell food. I recommend a hot dog. Maybe you fancy going to the zoo, too.
7. Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island
You can see the Statue of Liberty from near or far. We decided just to see it from far and took a ferry to Staten Island. The ferry is free of charge. In March I’d like to actually go and see the statue from near. I am not sure how much it is but it would be a great experience. As far as I can remember, there was a massive queue for tickets and people started queuing at like 7am in the morning. That was during the summer though, I am hoping this time around will be a bit different.
8. Flushing Meadows
The largest park in Queens, home to cricket, tennis and soccer. I would recommend this during the summer time. The US Open is on every year there. It’s lovely to sit around on the grass, have something to eat and just let the world go by.
9. Times Square
I could spend hours and hours in this place. It looks absolutely stunning at night. You’d think it’s day time. The whole place is full of lights everywhere. Times Square has a lot to offer. As I mentioned above you can go to Madame Tussauds, but you could also go for a bite in the Hard Rock Cafe. A must is to see a Broadway show. To date I’ve seen The Lion King and Spiderman. Both were breathtaking. Pricey enough tickets but there is an outlet called tkts. On the day you want to go you can check them out. An outlet can be found on Times Square.
10. Chinatown
I didn’t manage to go to Chinatown the last time because it is quite some distance with the subway. I would like to add this to my list this time around though and hopefully we get to go there. It’s the closest you can get to China without being in China I guess.
11. Brooklyn Bridge
Again, another attraction I didn’t get to see. The bridge is 1,3 miles long and has a dedicated pedestrian way all the from Manhattan to Brooklyn above all the busy traffic. If you are planning to walk it, you have to count in 1 hour both ways. This might also give you an opportunity to take a photo of the Manhattan Skyline.
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Yeah I didn’t do the Ellis Island tour because it was so expensive. We just took the orange free ferry and seen it from far away. That was enough for us.
I went to New York in 2003 and I visited most of these places, except where the World Trade Centre had been was still just a big hole in the ground. If you’re going to the Statue of Liberty I’d also recommend going to Ellis Island – it’s where all the immigrants used to come into America and I found it really interesting. #Blogtober
Oh I am so jealous! I have never been but know you will have a fab time! Thanks for linking up to #TheList x
We are debating going to New York for Christmas so I will keeping this post safe for my inspiration!
My folks went to NYC in November and had a great time! They saw the majority of what you’ve listed! Have a great time! Xx #TheList x
I’ve never been to America let alone New York before. It looks amazing!!! One day I’ll visit there, your photo’s are incredible 🙂
I absolutely LOVE New York and seeing your pictures makes me want to book another holiday there…now! I enjoy visiting Grand Central Station, The Rock and going on the free Staten Island ferry 🙂 #TheList
Helen x
http://treasureeverymoment01.blogspot.co.uk/
We visited most of these when we visited NY, quite a while ago now. It’s a good list of some of the gems of NY. #TheList
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There is still time 🙂 xx
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Yeah New York is a great place to go on a short trip. Looking forward to it now.
Oh lovely post and great tips. All my memories of my trip have just came flooding in from my own trip there. Thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me blog hop. I hope to see you again this week for another great round. #sharewithme
My dream is to visit new york, although not sure I’d want to come home haha. The ferry to Staten Island sounds great! I’d quite fancy doing that and seeing the statue of liberty from afar. 🙂 I’d also like to visit all those places you’ve mentioned, especially Chinatown, it’s a shame you didn’t get to go there last time, maybe next time though 😉
Great photos and I really enjoyed this post. xx
fab post. i love New York so much, We got married there and it was like something out of a movie. Unforgettable
Great post, I have been to new york twice although never made it to the bridge. I can’t wait for Monkey to be old enough to take. Last time I went for a friends birthday and was lucky enough to go on a helicopter around the statue of liberty! It was amazing x
I love new york, i visited in 2010. I hardly went toanyof the places you suggested. Maybe it’s a sign I need to go back …
Oh you lucky things! I would love to go – my eldest daughter went 4 years ago. Her highlight was Ground Zero – she says she is so glad to have visited and will never forget it. Kaz x
Oddly New York has never been on my list of places I really want to visit at some point in my lifetime, but everyone seems to love it x
When I went last October I only managed Times Square and Central Park and that’s all. Next time I will check all of these out.
The American museum of natural history sounds fascinating! Do you know of any great places to find street art in new york?
This is such a great and informative post. We definitely would love to visit New York in the future. My husband has visited before he met me, but I have never been. Central Park would defintley be my first stop. x
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Yeah, I was there when that Hurricane happened actually but we were staying in an apartments out in Queens so weren’t affected.
I adored Brooklyn Bridge! Shame there was some works going on there. I didn’t get to go to Liberty Island because they were repairing the place after the hurricane they had when we were visiting. Have a great time! x