Alicia Keys and Jay Z weren’t wrong when they sang “These big lights will inspire you” in ‘Empire State of Mind’ because there is no other feeling like standing in the middle of Times Square with your senses working overtime trying to take in the hundreds of surrounding billboards. Everywhere you go in Manhattan you’re reminded on song lyrics and films – everything is recognisable from pop culture.
Whether you have a week or a month to stay in New York City (NYC) – you’ll have no problem filling your time in what is one of the biggest cities in the world. Both times I’ve visited this city it’s been in winter and there are many advantages to a winter holiday. There are a lot less tourists so you’ll have a much greater chance of getting to see things, tickets to Broadway shows are super cheap, it’s much easier to get into the audience for the Dave Letterman show and there’s snow everywhere!
One of the best NYC experiences is totally free. Take a walk through Central Park. It can easily fill up a whole day. Visit Strawberry Fields – the memorial to John Lennon, make Snowmen in the middle of the Sheep Meadow and take a long walk around the Jackie Kennedy Onasis Resevoir, and while you wander around imagine what it would be like to live in one of those Upper Westside apartments.
NYC has some of the best gay clubs in the world, long established Splash is a spot where Madonna has been known to drop by to look for new backing dancers. Every night at Splash is a little different; the focus might be on show tunes, ghetto R&B or College Tuesdays. It’s worth multiple trips and the podium dancers are unforgettable. The new club in town is XL and it’s gigantic, with a massive dance floor and theatre style drag shows. If your looking for something with a little more soul, head own to the Lower East Side to Cock – a small club with graffiti covered walls and a DJ perched on the end of the bar.
There heaps of different types of food to try out aswell, for some traditional southern style food head to the Georgia BBQ Grill where you can sample dishes like pulled pork, cornbread, pickled beats and grits. Just around the corner is the legendary Katz’s, which featured in the film ‘When Harry Met Sally’, grab a huge corned beef sandwich or try out some food from South America at Rice and Beans in Hell’s Kitchen.
A recent edition to NYC’s hotel choices in The Ace Hotel on West 29th Street, this place is hipster central. Every room is a little different, decked out in retro furnishings it feels very homely. The whole building has free wifi and the lobby is filled with people with laptops, plus local musicians dropping by to DJ each night and no matter what time of day the lobby will be packed with people. In your room you may find a guitar, or a record player or some interesting books.
Getting around NYC is easy too, grab a seven day pass to the subway – its reputation is far worse than the reality, taxi’s are cheap too but best off all just walking the street of Manhattan is incredibly rewarding as you quickly traverse distinctly different neighbourhoods. From restaurant filled Hell’s Kitchen, to the Garmant Distrcit – you’ll recognise so many places from Project Runway – check out rainbow filled Chelsea, Chinatown, galley filled Soho, and the bohemian Lower East Side.
Graeme Watson
