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Hi my dreamers, I hope you are doing well.

As promised, in this new article about New York City, I’m going to tell you about my main visits. If you missed my first post about my tips for traveling to New York City, just click here.

“[…] very practical and economical so I recommend it!”

First of all, prior to our visits, we purchased two “New York Explorer Passes” on the website https://gocity.com/fr-us (formerly smartdestinations.com), which allows having reductions on grouped entry tickets. You can choose a pass to do between 2 and 10 attractions among a list of 90 attractions (Empire State Building, Top of The Rock Observatory, Statue of Liberty, Madame Tussauds, 9/11 Memorial & Museum, MOMA, MET…).

By downloading the application, we have the pass directly on our phone with useful information on attractions and itineraries. It is valid for 60 days from its first use and is refundable if not used within 30 days after the purchase. I found it very practical and economical so I recommend it!

“[…] a panoramic view of Manhattan and also the Brooklyn Bridge”

As I said in my previous article, our Airbnb was in Brooklyn and more specifically in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. It’s a famous place but I have to mention it…THE spot to take beautiful photos in Brooklyn is in Dumbo (an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), to take pictures of the Manhattan bridge framed by orange buildings.

If you reach the bridge, you will have a panoramic view of Manhattan and also the Brooklyn Bridge. By the way, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge is a must-do! It takes a little while but you don’t get bored with everything there is to look at around.

“If I had to pick one image of New York City, it would be Times Square!”

New York City is incredibly oversized. There are so many skyscrapers like we don’t see in France, that I spent my days looking up XD But what I wanted to see the most was the iconic Times Square and…I didn’t expect to be as much impressed. In reality, it’s so big, illuminated, with so many screens, lights, people everywhere. It’s like another universe, especially at night and it’s alive all the time. If I had to pick one image of New York City, it would be Times Square!

We made a trip to the must-see Ground Zero where there are now two huge pools with all around the names of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks engraved on plaques. I heard that if you see a white rose on a person’s name, it means it would have been their birthday on that day.

We went to the Top of the Rock (by day) and to the Empire State Building (by night as it closed later at 2:00 am). I have a preference for the Empire State Building because it’s even more impressive from up there and you can be closer to the edge, even if it’s really cool to admire the Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock.

“[…] a different view of New York City from the East River and it was free!”

I knew the Ikea Express Ferry was free on weekends (versus $ 5 for an adult ticket on a weekday) so we took it. Let me explain. It’s a boat we take from Wall Street Pier 11 and takes us on a free ride of about 20 minutes on the East River to the Ikea store in Brooklyn (or vice versa). Although this is an Ikea shuttle and not a tourist boat, it’s not mandatory to buy something at Ikea, I assure you!

Well, the ride wasn’t as great as I imagined it to be but we got a different view of New York City from the East River and it was free! Be careful, there are lots of people and there are only about ten trips a day! More info here: https://nywatertaxi.com/ikea-express-ferry/ (rides are interrupted at the moment due to the Covid).

For another different view of New York City, I advise you to stroll on the High Line. These are old railway tracks, high up, redeveloped into a green promenade, the equivalent of the Parisian “Coulée Verte” but shorter because even if you take your time, it takes less than an hour to cross it all. It’s very nice, you can enjoy the sun when the weather is nice and it makes you visit New York City a little higher up.

“[…] the most impressive and cool I saw were the dinosaurs!”

We visited the American Museum of Natural History located right next to Central Park, which I really liked. The movie “Night at the Museum” with Ben Stiller takes place in this museum. There, we can see plenty of animals that no longer exist in their natural environment, fossils, a large collection of gems and minerals, and an anthropology area. Personally, the most impressive and cool I saw were the dinosaurs!

We also visited the Brooklyn Museum. Among the permanent exhibitions, there is art from ancient Egypt, the Americas, and even Europe. Then we strolled in the beautiful botanical garden, very well flowered at that time (in May), with a pretty Japanese garden. Please note that the entrance to the botanical garden is also chargeable.

Unfortunately, I didn’t visit the Statue of Liberty, shame on me >< It’s like a tourist comes to Paris without visiting the Eiffel Tower, right? But that’s okay, I’ll visit it next time ^^”

And you, what didn’t you visit in New York City but will visit next time?

Stay tuned, in the next article I will recommend places to eat in New York City!

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