New York City
What can I say about NYC that hasn’t already been said? I guess the best thing I can do is give my true opinion: It’s FANTASTIC!!!!!! I LOVE NEW YORK CITY !!!!! EVERYTHING about it is GREAT !!!!
I spent a lot of time in New York City when I lived in Philadelphia. It’s only a 2 hour train ride (there is an hourly train (SEPTA’s R7) from 30th Street Station to Trenton, NJ, and then there is a New Jersey Transit train every half hour from Trenton to New York City’s Penn Station). It only cost me $14, and sometimes I would just go up for the day).
Safety
First of all, some people’s major concern with NYC is safety. I found Manhattan to be very safe. There are a lot of police everywhere. At first I was surprised to see so many officers and it made me wonder how bad crime was. However, then I realized that they appeared to be there mainly in presence to deter crime. It works. I never felt threatened or in danger at any time in NYC, including on the subway. I have read that NYC is one of the safest cities in the country nowadays. I believe it.
Subway
The New York Subway is fantastic. It only costs $1.50 per ride with as many transfers as you need (also, you can buy a 1-day card for $4 (I bought mine at Hudson News in the bus and train stations) that lets you travel anywhere in any of the boroughs for one day). It goes all over the boroughs and even as far out as Coney Island. It runs 24 hours a day and is efficient and reliable.
Theater
What can I say? There are so many shows to choose from, and just about any show you see will be excellent. The major thing that dictated what show I would see was price. Some shows are horrendously expensive. However, if you know how to go about it, bargains are to be had. Also, make sure you stop by the Visitors Center on Broadway and 47th. They have brochures and visitor guides that will list all the shows and give descriptions, prices and times. They also sometimes have a listing of how to get bargain tickets.
The easiest way to get bargain tickets is to go to the TCKTS booth in the middle of Time Square (approximately Broadway and 47th Street). It is a booth that offers 25% and 50% discount tickets to same day shows. They are open from 15h – 19h for evening shows. However, be prepared to stand in line for a long time. Or, if you’re not too particular about the show you want to see, you can arrive there around 6pm and take your pick of the shows that are left without a long wait. When I have been there at that time, there still are some good shows left to choose from (some friends and I were able to obtain decent seats for the show "Art" at 6pm for $45). Here’s a few more theater tips and reviews of show I have seen:
BROADWAY, OFF-BROADWAY, AND OFF OFF BROADWAY…The only difference between these shows are the number of seats that the theater has. I have seen some of each and all are good performances.
RENT…..The "rock opera" RENT is one of the BEST shows I have ever seen. Granted, I do know some people who didn’t like it (mainly people over 50 years old), however, I loved it. I was able to obtain a front row ticket for only $20. Here’s how….The creator of the show made it so that the first two rows will always be available by lottery for $20. What you do is show up at the door 2 ½ hours before the show, give them your name, which they put into a hat, and wait for a drawing. If you are drawn, you are able to purchase up to two tickets for the show. I never thought that I would be drawn so had never tried it before. However, I decided to give it a chance when I was in NYC on 31 October, and, on the first try, I was drawn and was able to see the show in the FRONT ROW !!!!
CHICAGO…. A GREAT musical that I highly recommend. The way to get cheap tickets for this show is to arrive at the theater around 8h or 9h. The security officer comes by, puts your name on list and tells you to come back at 11h. At that point in time, if you are one of the first 17 people, you are able to purchase two tickets for front row or obstructed view seats (meaning that you are off to the side in one of the first 10 rows..but you can see the whole show just fine) for $20. I liked this show so much that I saw it twice for that price.
LION KING….I haven’t seen this show yet, but have only heard great things about it. I have heard that there are standing room only tickets for $25.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA….I have seen advertisements that $20 tickets are available in NYC. I saw it in San Francisco for $15 (twice) and the seats were in the very back rows (I also saw it in Phoenix for $40 with a good seat in the first balcony). Bring binoculars, but it is well worth it.
YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN…. Unfortunately, this fantastic show is now closed. I saw it in March of 1999 for $20 (you could get "obstructed view" tickets in advance right from the box office). It was a show about the Peanuts comic strip put to music. The script and the performers were excellent and it was very funny. One of the performers even won a Tony Award for her role as Sally the week before it closed. Everyone I knew that saw it loved it. However, it didn’t draw in a big crowd, as people thought it was mainly a show for kids. They were wrong.
Eating
I can honestly say that I’ve never had a bad meal in NYC. It doesn’t matter where you go, it WILL be good. I guess that that is because New Yorkers are demanding people. If a place didn’t have good food, it would never survive there. Even if it is just a small mom and pop shop offering a breakfast sandwich, chances are it will still be very good.
Here are couple of my favorite places: The Regal (20th St. and 8th Ave.); the shop near the Regal that has a sign saying "Donuts and Sandwiches" offers an excellent inexpensive breakfast; Mars 2112 (49th and Broadway) – a great Mars themed restaurant, but a little pricey.
Sights
Here are some of my favorite sights in NYC: Central Park, The Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art), The Statue of Liberty (if you only want to see it from the outside, take the free Staten Island Ferry, which passes within good viewing distance of it), The top of the Empire State Building (for a GREAT view of the city on a clear day), The Cloisters Museum, Time Square, The Village (Greenwich Village), Hoboken (New Jersey) – a great artsy kind of place just across the Hudson River from NYC – you can take a bus from Port Authority ($1.50) or PATH ($1) from The World Trade Center).
Television Shows
The way most of them work is that you write or email them that you want tickets, and they send you tickets for a certain date (waiting period for tickets for very popular shows can be as long as 12 months). You have to be able to get there on the date that they send you tickets for. You cannot ask for specific dates. Most of them do have standby lines (which means you wait in line in case there are any seats left over after the ticketed people are seated). Most television shows tell you how to do this on their websites. If not, check with the Visitor’s Information Center in Times Square when you arrive.
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