Finally back from my trip stateside and have four great guides to bring you about the American east coast cities of New York, Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Lets start with the big apple. This was my first trip to New York though the city is familiar to everyone from film, television and photographs. It's Christmas time so lets plan for a great time in New York, the January Sales and the Valentines period.
New York- the QT
New York, the world's most famous city, doesn't need much introduction. The home of US big business, high fashion, the best in new music, theatre and shopping New York is the first city in the world richest country. New York has gone through a massive transition in the past 20 years. What used to be a filthy, crime ridden and dangerous city; New York has cleaned up its act. Today New York is a living city, families with babies continue to stay in the city, it's sanitized, safe and suburban. This is great for people visiting New York to see the sights, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Rockerfeller Center but there are those who miss the old New York. The New York that didn't have a Starbucks on every corner, where graffiti artists shook their cans creating a colourful and exuberant city. New York has lost its graffiti and its edge but is still the worlds most exiting city.
Who flies to New York?
- Silverjet low priced luxury flights from London's Luton to Newark Airport.
- Delta, US Airways, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Continental and American Airlines all from the London Airports to New York Airports.
- Delta, Aer Lingus, Continental and Delta fly from Manchester to New York Airports.
- Continental and Aer Lingus fly from Glasgow to New York Airports.
- Continental fly from Birmingham to New York Airports.
- Air France, United Airlines, Continental, American Airlines fly from Paris to New York Airports.
- Continental, Alitalia and Delta fly from Rome to New York Airports.
- Continental, Delta, Air Berlin, Lufthansa, fly from Berlin to New York Airports.
What hotel deals can you offer me?
Hotels in New York are notoriously expensive. The weak dollar means it is the best time to go to New York and stay in some kind of luxury. Any hotel with 3 stars+ should be very comfortable although New York's accommodation is famous for being a little hit and miss. Here are our recommendations based on price, location and our customers own reviews. Prices are based on two sharing a double or a twin room for 4 nights from the 8th of February 2008 taxes included.
- 3* GERSHWIN- Central Manhattan- £348.00
- 4* RADISSON LEXINGTON - East side Manhattan - £456.00
- 5* PALACE - in MidTown East- £724.00
Click to see all NEW YORK HOTELS
What can I see and do in New York?
The City is actually 5 boroughs, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. Most visitors to New York spend the entire trip in Manhattan and only enter the other boroughs (or even New Jersey) when they catch their flight home. Manhattan is New York to many people but you should not discount Brooklyn and Queens if you are staying in New York for a longer visit. Brooklyn would be the USA's 5th most populous city were it not part of New York and offers many charming parks and river walks. Prices for accommodation, food and shopping are all cheaper outside of Manhattan. Many of the sports events also take place in Queens, the US tennis Open at Flushing Meadow, Queens and the baseball team the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
Manhattan - the cultural, financial and fashion centre of the world, Manhattan is the world in miniature. The world's rich and poor live here, nationalities from every country of the world can be counted among the 1.5 million Manhattanites currently on the Island. Manhattan is anything you want it to be and has a niche for everyone, no matter what your flavour you will find it has a home in Manhattan. Filled with trips, tours, museums, shops, galleries, events, theatres, restaurants, it's a tourist paradise, whatever you are in Manhattan you are not bored.
The Museums and Galleries of New York are wonderfully thorough and perfectly maintained, interesting and appreciated. The most famous museums and galleries, the Natural History Museum, Moving Image Museum, Ellis Island Museum, Frick Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Television and Radio and the Museum of Modern Art are all world class museums that you can not possibly visit all in one trip.
Sports in New York get about as passionate as you can get. The cities major teams, The Mets, The Yankees, The Giants, The Jets, The Knicks, The Rangers all have a loyal and vocal following and attending a sports match is really the quintessential New York experience. Depending on the time of year there will almost certainly be a game on during your stay, Football, Hockey, Baseball or Basketball.
If you can we recommend a Baseball game at either the Yankee's up in the Bronx or the Mets in Queens to get you out of Manhattan and into real living and breathing New York and New Yorkers.
Shopping - Two dollars to the Pound and one fifty to the Euro means that your greenbacks are really stretching nicely in the States. Even in New York you're going to find yourself chuckling merrily at the prices in comparison to London.
If electricals and laptops are more your thing, try going into the East Village and Soho where there are some great low cost stockists.
In Chinatown you can pick up many a cheap fake item head into China town via Broadway and you'll be amazed at the amount of street vendors asking "Gucci, Fendi, Prada, you buy?"
Where can I eat in New York?
Certainly New York is the USA's number 1 city for dining. People from every culture came together to create New York an nowhere does this strike you as more obvious than when making a restaurant reservation. The possibilities are endless, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Hungarian, Polish, Jewish, English, Irish, Korean, Japanese, Argentinian, Cuban and even... American!
Here are some recommendations (£ - Inexpensive - under £10 for a main course - ££ - Reasonable £10-£15 for a main course - £££ - Pricey £15-£24 for a main course- ££££ - Expensive £25-£35 for a main course - £££££ - Daylight Robbery - £35+ for a main course)
- Babbo - Greenwich Village Italian food mecca, Exceptional - ££££
- Katz Deli - famous Pastrami sandwiches in this Jewish cafe. East Village - £
- Momo Fuku - Greenwich village multi cultural, Chinese meets Mexican meets ??? - ££
- Union Square Cafe - Top chef, great service and expansive wine list, class - ££££
- Sushi Yasuda - finest Sushi restaurant in New York - ££££
No one can ever wrap up New York in a few words. These are our personal recommendations for great things to do in New York. Don't forget to write to us and let us know about your own experiences in the world's favourite city.
Ciao for now HotelClickers!
