City Tours/CityPass, New York City

Favorite thing: IF ANYONE IN THE WORLD WANTS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A FREE WALKING TOUR OF ANY BOROUGH( MANHATTAN, BRONX, BROOKLYN, QUEENS, STATEN ISLAND), ANYTIME, THEN PLEASE VISIT WWW.BIGAPPLEGREETER.ORG AND SIGN UP ONLINE. IF AVAILABLE, A GREETER ( LIKE MYSELF) WILL MEET YOU ( AND YOUR PARTY) AND SHOW YOU THE SITES . IT IS A FREE SERVICE , NO TIPS, AND YOU'LL DISCOVER THE ESSENCE OF THIS GREAT CITY FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF NATIVE NEW YORKERS.

Fondest memory: I MISS THE PULSE AND BEAT OF NYC WHEN I'M AWAY FROM IT..IT'S ALMOST ADDICTIVE, TO SAY THE LEAST.. HOWEVER, IT IS GOOD TO GET OUT OF THE CITY ( DON'T GET ME WRONG) AND EXPERIENCES OTHER VENUES.. AND CERTAINLY, I DON'T MISS THE SUBWAYS OR BUSSES ALBEIT THEY ARE THE BEST AND CHEAPEST WAY OF GETTING AROUND TOWN.
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PLACE IN NYC IS THE CLOISTERS LOCATED IN FT TRYON PARK IN UPPER MANHATTAN..TAKE THE A TRAIN TO 190TH ST , UP THE STEPS TO THE ELEVATOR WHICH WILL TAKE YOU TO FT. WASHINGTON AVE..PROCEED RIGHT INTO THE PARK, THROUGH THE CHANNEL GARDENS TOWARDS THE CLOISTERS..IT'S A MEDIEVAL MUSEUM, PART OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART SHOWING TAPESTRIES, ART ETC WITH A MEDITATION GARDEN. ADMISSION IS SUGGESTED ( YOU CAN GIVE AS MUCH OR LITTLE AS YOU WANT). TAKE THE #4 BUS OUTSIDE THE ENTRANCE WHEN YOU WANT TO RETURN TO MIDTOWN..THE BUS PASSES THROUGH WASHINGTON HEIGHTS AND WEST HARLEM DOWNTOWN TO THE CITY..A GREAT EXPERIENCE . THERE'S THE NEW LEAF CAFE IN THE PARK IF ONE WANTS TO DINE.

Favorite thing: I think you can increase the quality of your NYC experience, good deals can be had and you can save money by:

- renting an apartment vs a hotel room;
- buying a CityPass

NYC / Manhattan hotels are mostly small and really expensive. Large nice ones (e.g. Grand Hyatt) can be $300-500/night in Manhattan.

Craigslist has apartments in the best neighborhoods (Greenwich Village, East Village, etc) for much less.

That is what I did & it worked out great.

I rented an excellent apartment in an upscale Greenwich Village brownstone with my own private terrace and full amenities for $150-175 a night.

Most of the apartment listings use PayPal for deposit & payment making it totally painless. I will never stay in a hotel again in NYC unless I want to and have bucks to burn.
Tip: Just make sure you screen the owner (if they are legit, they will screen YOU carefully), and don't pay full amount in cash upfront.
Most good Craigslist NYC apartment deals use PayPal or some other method to prevent both of you from getting ripped off.CityPass is available for about $65 and gets you into 6 NYC tourist sites, harbor cruises etc. without waiting in line.
If you know you're going to hit any three of these (imo a "no-brainer")

- Empire State Building Observatory (especially this one)
- Guggenheim Museum
- The Museum of Modern Art
- American Museum of Natural History & Rose Center
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters
- Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises

then CityPass is definitely worth it.
If only one or two, imo pay as you go and skip the pass.

Fondest memory: Aside from all the great food, art, music, nightlife & streetscenes, strolling the neighborhoods and just sitting & relaxing quietly on the deck of a Greenwich Village apartment overlooking the garden with an old friend,
resting up for the next foray into the city.

Hitting Paris and NYC back-2-back in fall of 2005 was for me a really hedonistic & amusing comparison of cultures & style, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Favorite thing: For $65 per person, New York CityPass lets you visit
- Empire State Building Observatory
- Circle Line cruise
- American Museum of Natural History and Rose Center
- MOMA
- MET
- Guggenheim Museum

giving you a savings of US$131. Valid for 9 days

Favorite thing: Take a bus tour of the city. You'll get a great view if you sit top deck and take in most of the sights in relative comfort.
I strongly recommend buying a 'Lonely Planet' guide for every destination though. If you're limited by time you can pick out the places of interest and head straight for them.

Fondest memory: My fondest memory of New York was meeting one of the locals in Bloomingdales. It was a lady promoting a brand of perfume who upon hearing my accent, chatted to me for a good 45 mins! She was interested in England and asked for my point of view on various topics.
I found the people to be friendly and open and for me, it's the people that make a place.

Favorite thing: Last time I was in NYC, I looked up walking tours (always a good way to get to know a piece of the city better). Since my travel was in November, most of the sites that popped up on google were not offering tours (they operate in the summer, basically). I did find, however, www.walknyc.com.
WalkNYC is run by a young couple and they have a very large array of walking tours to choose from. You can email them or call them, let them know when you'll be in town, how many people you are, and voila - your walking tour is set in motion!
James was our guide and the tour we did of the Upper West Side was very informative, fun, funny and enlightening.
Highly recommend it to anyone. Check out their web site for more info.

Fondest memory: My fondest memory of the walking tour of the Upper West Side was James's theory on why the accoustics are so good at Avery Fisher Hall (it has to do with selling more CD's and the occupation of the designer).

Favorite thing: Purchase a City Pass. For $48 you can get tickets for the American Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim Museum, the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, the Empire State Building Observatory, and a Circle Line Harbor Cruise. www.citypass.net

Fondest memory: Hopping the subway around town, over-paying for a cup of coffee, people-watching in Central Park.

Favorite thing: All of the numbered avenues reach Houston Street, with the exception of Fifth Avenue, which runs into Washington Square Park. The avenues with even numbers run one way, north to south. The avenues with odd numbers run one way, south to north. However, the East side numbered avenues run the opposite way.

Fondest memory: There is so much to see even waiting in line at tkts (Times Square) to get my half price ticket to a show in Broadway was interesting.

Favorite thing: CityPass is simple. The New York CityPass gets you into six famous New York City attractions. You have nine days to visit each attraction (once) beginning the day you first use your CityPass. You can purchase CityPass at any of the New York City attractions, or you can buy online here. Once you have your CityPass, simply present your booklet on your way into each attraction. The agent will remove that attraction's ticket, and you're in. (Tickets are void if removed from the CityPass booklet). For detailed information about each attraction, including hours, location and an Insider's Tip, please click on the attraction links located on the left hand part of this page.

MoMA has moved to Queens while MoMA Manhattan undergoes a 3-year renovation. CityPass includes admission to MoMA in Queens.

Fondest memory: The price for an adult ticket is $45.00, a $46.00 savings from the $91.00 it would cost without the pass.

Youth pass for ages 6-17 is $39.00, which is a $38.50 savings from the $77.50 cost without the pass.

Usually, just visiting a couple of these attractions make the pass worth the purchase. You can purchase them at any of the attractions or online at the following site.

http://citypass.net/cgi-bin/citypass/city_fly?mv_arg=ny&rand=6747
http://citypass.net/cgi-bin/citypass/city_fly?mv_arg=ny&rand=6747