NYE in NYC 2014

December 2014/January 2015

Stay
Hyatt Union Square
In a great spot and not as small a room as I expected

 

 Eat

Friend of a Farmer

Luke Lobster

City Bakery
Know for the hot chocolate and the pretzel croissants, stick to the hot chocolate

Jazz Standard
Southern BBQ and Jazz

Criff Dogs

Barney Greengrass

Red Rooster Harlem

Coffee Shop

Do
Time Square

Rockefella Plaza

UN Tour

NYE on the Brooklyn Bridge

Coney Island NYD Polar Bear Swim
I was happy to watch people tick this one off their bucket list

Highline

For many more things to do in NYC, check out my older posts here

Central Park, NYC

December 2013

Central Park is 3.41 square km on the Upper West Side of NYC. It originally opened in 1857 and is popular with walkers, runner, and cyclists.

You can easily spend a few hours walking (or running or cycling) through the park.

The maps in the area aren't very good, we spent a significant amount of time finding Cat Hill - or Still Hill (we were only successful because I knew you ran past it and therefore if you find the runners you will find the cat).

I'd love to see it in the spring when everything is green and flowering, but it was still worth the trip in the winter.

Top of the Rock vs the Empire State Building

December 2013/January 2014

Its the question that everyone asks when visiting NYC. Which do I do, Top of the Rock at Rockefella or The Empire State. We visited both, one during the day and one during the night, so they aren't a true comparison, but the experiences of both were very different.

Top of the Rock
We visited the Top of the Rock at 3 pm on a sunny afternoon.

Pros:

• Your ticket is timed - meaning the queue's are non-existent at best and short at worst
• You can see the Crystler building and the Empire State
• You get a great view of Central Park

Cons:

• Your ticket is timed - meaning that no mater the weather if you've pre-purchased your ticket you must go up at that time

The Empire State Building
We visited the Empire State Building at 8 pm on a clear and crisp night.

Pros:

• Its an iconic building, its in movies, its mentioned in music, it seems to signify that you are in NYC
• The building itself is interesting inside due to it being art deco

Cons:

• You cannot see the Empire State from the Empire State
• The queue's are horrendous, even if you have pre-purchased a ticket, unless its VIP, you must wait in line and they are long lines (even at 8 pm at night)

Recommendation: If your short on time, Top of the Rock is my choice. To be honest I'm not sure if I would bother with The Empire State unless there was no queue or you really had your heart set on going.

Two Bridges, NYC

December 2013

I have to say I think this was my favourite thing that we did while in NYC. The two bridges involves walking over the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan (which was packed with tourists), enjoying the Brooklyn Bridge Park (which for a sunny Saturday was packed with locals) and back from Brooklyn along the Manhattan bridge (which had very few people on it). The more time you have the better.

 The view from the Brooklyn Bridge Park is spectacular, and gives you a good perspective of the two bridges and the city.

 

 

The view from the Manhattan Bridge isn't as good, there was a large barrier blocking most of it, but it was an enjoyable walk without the crowds.