I ALWAYS recommend the Central Park Zoo. While not anywhere near as grand as the Bronx Zoo, it is quite nice and, as an added bonus for kids, is the zoo in the movie Madagascar . Lots of tourists are afraid of Central Park (probably from watching too many Odd Couple reruns) and the zoo is a good excuse to visit the park and see how truly lovely it is. If you go, be sure not to miss that cool clock with the animals on it.
New York is filled with lots of little museums you never hear about. I’m not sure how many of the ones I’ve known are still there, but they’re worth seeing, and not terribly expensive
MOMA - Museum Of Modern Art, has free admission Friday nights. Details can be found here (this free admission is very popular and the place is packed. I tried it and left after 30 minutes, wishing I had paid full admission on another day)
Central Park is mostly free and has many “magic” places.
I plan to take my kids up to the park in late June. I want to find the Alice in Wonderland Statue again, go to the Zoo and the Boat Pond and wander the park a bit. Caricci thanks for the tie-in to the movie, I forgot that.
There are several great maps of Central Park on-line. What specific “magic” places were you thinking of? I almost always visit “Strawberry Fields”.
What Exit? since you have the kids, here’s a suggested tour:
Enter the Park at the south-east corner, at Central Park South (59th street) and 5th Avenue. There is perhaps the most “magic” spot of them all: the Pond - the juxtaposition of the beautiful sunken pond and the Manhattan skyscrapers is unforgetable. The Plaza Hotel and the Gapstow bridge are photo ops. Start in the morning before the sun has come over the buildings.
If you’ve spent some time at the zoo, this is probably enough for one day. You can drop a few bucks for lunch at Tavern on the Green (actually, if you choose wisely from the menu, not too expensive)
or, as an option you can keep going north after Balto:
Not to be a parade rainer but a friend who was a DA reported that a “bad element” takes advantage of this and that Wednesdays are a high-water mark for some fairly bad behavior. The Zoo, however, is great. By the way, getting in free is good but you’ll end up paying – the concessions, etc. are very slickly and expensively run.
Yes, and right by the Zoo. To be followed by Italian food on Arthur Avenue right near by – cheaper and some say better than Mulberry St.
Cloisters would be beautiful this time of year.
Hispanic Museum (old Spanish art, little frequented).
Trinity Churchyard (burial place of Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton).
New York Criminal Courts arraignments (runs late at night, the human condition on display, open to all, free).
Some good examples. I think the Cloisters have been mentioned by almost everyone, including my opening post. I guess we can agree this is one of the best little known gems of NYC. K364: I love the walking tour of Central park you sketched out. I think I might actually follow it. Huerta88, I love visiting Trinity Churchyard and also St Patricks is worth a visit.
Is this the Hispanic Museum you meant? Hispanic Society of America Museum; (212) 926-2234; 613 West 155th Street, New York, NY 10032
This is a new one for me.
Cheapest and terrific is the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge. On the Manhattan side you can tour the St. Paul’s and Trinity graveyards, and the Battery (and get on the Staten Island ferry from there.) On the Brooklyn side is the Promenade (with a terrific view of Manhattan) and Brooklyn Heights.
A tour at the United Nations is worth the $12. And you get to leave the country for a bit, since the UN territory is not considered part of the United States.
Correct, sorry for no link, nobody (well, few people) know about it, it is ironically enough (NYT had an article on this) completely unpopular with and unfrequented by the Dominican residents of that neighborhood (it is moving in the near future). Lots and lots of old Spanish Masters.
I do not know if anyone mentioned the Museum of the City of New-York. It is near Natural History on Central Park West and has some neat stuff.
Wave Hill in the Bronx could be fun for the outdoors/landscaping minded.
New York Public Library. The one with the lions out front. It is very grand and beautiful, and fun to look around. They usually have some exhibits going on. It’s not like you’d spend a whole afternoon there, but it’s definitely worth stopping in. For the low low admission price of zero, you might as well. As a bonus, the beautiful Bryant Park is right behind it–a great place for a picnic, or just a break.
The public library is a good stop if you want to do an informal walking tour of midtown. Basically, you could:
Walk through Times Square. Oooh aah!
Stroll east on 42nd st. Cut southeast through Bryant Park to the corner of 5th Ave and 40th st.
Come around the corner and wow! There’s the library! Go in and have a look around.
Come back out and head north on 5th Ave.
Take a look at Rockefeller Center. (no big whoop, IMHO)
Head across the street and go into St. Patrick’s Cathedral. If you’re Catholic, do whatever Catholics do. If not, just enjoy a quiet moment in this beautiful place. (I always throw a buck in the collection box when I go in, but you don’t have to pay.)
Keep heading north on 5th Ave. and window shop all the super-fancy stores. Or really shop, if you want! How often do you get a chance to browse at Cartier?
Stop into F.A.O. Schwarz, especially if you’re with kids.
A block or two later, you’re at Central Park!
All of this in about a mile of walking! Wow. And it’s all free. Unless you actually buy something at Cartier. :eek:
(Any additions or changes to this suggested tour are most welcome.)
And I heartily second (third? fourth?) the Central Park Zoo. It is a perfect little gem of a zoo.
And I forgot to say, you can easily do the walking tour backwards. That might work especially well with kids if you do it the same day as the Central Park Zoo.
You could explore the park, see the zoo, and have a picnic. Then you could mosey down 5th Ave, stopping at the various sites or not depending on the kids’ level of energy and interest. If you make it to Times Square, there are lots of great spots for dinner. My favorite is Ollie’s Noodle House. Scallion Pancakes, yum!
It has been several different prices over the years. But it is now free. In all honesty it probably wasn’t worth collecting 25¢. Last time I rode it, I think it was 50¢.
When I was very little we lived in the North Bronx and we use to go to Arthur Avenue on the weekend for the food. Dominic’s sounds great.
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