A recent Between The Parks B&B guest thanked me for advising her of the requirement to book advance tickets for the new 9/11 Memorial. This got me thinking about creating a page here on my website just to share tips for a smooth and successful New York visit. I’ll start with this blog post and see how many I can think of. Do you have any suggestions to add? Are there things you wished you’d known in advance of your trip? Please comment below!
- 9/11 Memorial. Yes, admission is free but you need to reserve a date and time for your visit in advance. Get your timed visitor’s pass online at http://www.911memorial.org/visit. A limited number of passes are given out at the site as well.
- Empire State Building vs Top Of The Rock. With the queue for the Empire State Building getting longer and longer and more unpredictable, many guests are choosing to get their “bird’s eye view” of New York City from Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. Click the links above for info and ticket sales.
- Museum closings. Most museums in NYC close one day a week. The Metropolitan Museum (Met) closes on Mondays, the Museum of Modern Art closes on Tuesdays, the Guggenheim on Thursdays, The Museum of Natural History is open 7 days a week.
- Most Broadway and off-Broadway theaters are “dark” on Mondays — no performances.
- The interior of the Statue of Liberty is currently under renovation and is closed. Visitors may visit Liberty Island. My suggestion: DON’T MISS the immigration museum at Ellis Island. Buy your tickets in advance at http://www.statuecruises.com. Find out more about searching for your immigrant ancestors at http://www.ellisisland.org/.
- The biggest complaint I hear from guests is the difficulty of figuring out in which direction to travel by subway. In Manhattan, most subways run north-south, so you will usually see one platform with a sign that says “Uptown” and another that says “Downtown.” If you’re in Chinatown and you are headed back to our b&b, take the “Uptown” train. Often, the direction will be given as “Brooklyn,” “Queens,” or “Bronx.” If you are in Manhattan, and are headed uptown to the Upper West Side, you’re headed either toward the Bronx or Queens. Downtown, you’re probably headed toward Brooklyn (or possibly Queens — sorry for the confusion!) I know, it’s not easy. But there are maps on the walls of the stations and subway cars, and lots of friendly New Yorkers to help you find your way. Every guest I’ve hosted in the past two years has mastered the New York City subway system within a day, and anyway, getting lost can lead to great discoveries!
- Tipping: 15-20% for taxis and 15% for restaurants. Here’s how to compute the restaurant tip fast: Just double the sales tax at the bottom of your bill. (That’s our VAT, and it’s around 8.75%) Taxis add surcharges during rush hour and nighttime, which makes the total confusing. Fortunately, all taxis are required to carry the little screens on the back of the seat for credit card payments. Even if yo pay cash, you’ll see the fare calculated on the screen, with all the surcharges and suggested tip.
More suggestions to come. Please add your own advice to visitors below, in the comments box.
