7 Things I enjoyed in New York City

As the train approached New York City, I was glued to the window to catch a glimpse of this grand city. It was dark so the only thing I could see was lights. The first thing that caught my eye was the Empire State Building. Classic I know…The first thing I did after settling in my hotel was to walk to Times Square, which were “merely” 5 blocks away, not your average blocks though! Because of the hype and the popularity of NYC, even walking those blocks meant A LOT to me…needless to say, if I had a “bucket list” (which I don’t, because I don’t like the concept) NYC was just been ticked off!

There are lots of things that I enjoyed in New York City, but the one thing that I truly liked and appreciated (and also made me feel guilty as well) was the politeness of locals towards tourists. I am not the kind of traveller who always asks around, I am pretty independent and have sense of direction, but whenever someone spotted me just holding my guide or my map, they asked me if I wanted help. I was surprised, because back in Greece we rarely do that (here comes the guilt), so I appreciated it more than anything! Thank you New Yorkers!

And now off to the things that I enjoyed most in NYC:

1) Skyscrapers

I’ve heard that urban legend, that in New York, you don’t see the sky because of the tall buildings. Well, that is true for Lower Manhattan and the Times Square area, in other places not so much! Architecture wise, I’m sorry but Chicago fascinated me more, probably because they were pioneers then! In New York I truly loved two skyscrapers: The Chrysler Building and the Woolworth Building. On the other hand though Empire State Building at dusk is fantastic! And that time of the day and from that vantage point, hell I like the skyscrapers!!

2) Meatpacking District/Greenwich Village/SoHo/China Town

I liked almost every part of the city that’s between Midtown and Lower Manhattan (with a preference to the west side of this section). God, I loved those places! Partially for the cobblestone streets and the fact that the buildings aren’t so tall, but mainly for those colorful escape ladders on the front. That kind of architecture is something I haven’t encountered before and the fact that colour was used so much made me jump for joy!

I visited SoHo and Chinatown on my first day in NYC.  I totally loved the colorful buildings and the hustle and bustle of those streets! It probably helped that it was Sunday and sunny!

The first time I heard about Meatpacking District was in Sex and The City, when Samantha had bought that flat in this up and coming neighborhood (to refresh your memory), so I had to visit. If I had to single out one thing that I liked in the Meatpacking District, that would be The Standard Hotel. I took a picture of it and only realized when I got home!!

I found out about Greenwich Village, when searching the Marc by Marc Jacobs boutique in NYC and found out that it resides on Bleecker Street, which has to be my favorite street for a stroll/shopping kind of day!

3) View from the Empire State Building

Related to point No1.: You have to go on top of the Empire State Building! You can go at any time of the day, but two friends of mine suggested that I go at dusk and that was a very good tip! You can remain for enough time on top so as to marvel the lights as well. Enough said, the photos speak for themselves!

4) Upper East Side

The Upper East Side is a must visit, either you are Gossip Girl fan of not! It is an interesting neighborhood to walk around and conveniently situated next to the Central Park and the museums.

5) Central Park

Central Park is the place to be when you want to forget that you are in a big city! If I had time I’d like to walk all the way from the northern to the southern tip, but hey, I had other things to see as well!! The highlights: Belvedere Castle, Bow Bridge and Bethesda Arcade.

6) Museums

New York is THE place to be if you are and art lover, because it has so many Museums!! If your time is limited, you will have to prioritize! I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and The Guggenheim Museum and barely got a glimpse of the Museum of National History.

The MET is huge, and having visited so many museums in my life, I wasn’t dying to see it to be honest! But it is a NYC fixture that simply cannot be ignored. I edited out things I didn’t want to see (Greek/Roman sculptures as I’ve seen so many in my life) and went on with the rest! I loved the Egyptian section, Mesopotamian exhibits, the Tiffany glasswork, the African art and some exhibits of European decorative arts.

As for MoMA I was so happy to visit because I had just finished fashion school were we had a History of Art class where we more or less covered the exhibits at MoMA!! When I visited I was lucky to see the Tim Burton exhibit, but more importantly to see Marina Abramovitch and her performance the Artist in Present. In that performance, Abramovitch was seating on a table and “invited” whoever wanted to sit silently opposite her.

Lastly, I briefly visited The Guggenheim in order to explore and take pictures of the staircase and not so much paying any attention to the exhibits!

7) Statue of Liberty

I’ve come across many blogs saying that if you want to see the statue, hop on the free ferry to Staten Island. Now I beg to differ and I honestly don’t regret the money I paid to get to the Statue of Liberty, visiting the museum (learned a lot about the construction) and getting up to her pedestal. The tour also includes a visit to Ellis Island, which used to be the immigration point to the US.

So…that pretty much sums up my first visit in NYC. In 5 days I covered the “basics” and then some! Hope to see more in the future!!

Have you been to NYC? What did you enjoy doing? Any tips for future visits?