All Abroad

New York: Five Things to Try

In New York City, choosing what things not to try is the real challenge facing each visitor, but here’s five hot-tips for those seeking the quintessential Manhattan experience: Take a trip to Staten Island on the ferry service running from the Whitehall Terminal on South Street in Lower Manhattan throughout the day. Free for foot passengers, the 25-minute voyage passes right by the Statue of Liberty.

Visit the Empire State Building, which dominates Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th Street. It may be the one thing almost everyone does in the Big Apple, but the views from the observation deck are spectacular, particularly at night. It’s also a great way to get your bearings and study the city’s geography.

Slap on your spats and take a jaunt back into the days of prohibition at Chumley’s, a bar hidden away on tiny Bedford Street in Greenwich Village. The former speakeasy, which still retains many features from its days as a secluded hangout for gangsters and their molls, is one of the city’s best-kept secrets – despite having operated as a bar for over 100 years.

Take a stroll along the boardwalk on Coney Island, one of the world’s most famous beach resorts and funfairs. It may have rusted a little since its heyday in the early part of the twentieth century, but for many New Yorkers that’s an essential part of this still lively destination’s charm.

Spend a typical Manhattan Sunday by enjoying a breakfast of hot bagels, cream cheese and coffee over a copy of the New York Times at one of the numerous delicatessens in Greenwich Village. The stroll up Fifth Avenue to Central Park and idle away your time by the model boating lake or whiz around the lush acres on a pair of hired roller blades.