Grand Central Terminal, New York City

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New York's Grand Central Station (a.k.a. Grand Central Terminal or GCT) is the terminus for the Metro North Railway's Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven commuter rail lines. Used primarily by commuters, these rail lines can also get tourists to outlying cities such as Yonkers and White Plains. Conversely, thrifty travelers can stay outside of the city and commute in using the Metro North Railway. Once at GCT, travelers can transfer to the Subway easily, as the station is served by lines 4,5,6,7, and S. Amtrak trains do not go to GCT; they stop at Penn Station, located about 12 blocks away. There is currently no direct connection between GCT and Penn Station (though there is one under construction scheduled to open in 2016). To get from GCT to Penn Station, take the S train (or 7 train late nights) to 42nd Street/Times Square, then transfer to the 1,2, or 3 train to 34th Street/Penn Station.

The station itself is quite a tourist attraction, with grand halls, eateries, and shops. Gaping tour groups mix with commuters milling about the Grand Concourse. Especially on a rainy day, this is not a bad place to grab a coffee and pastry from a booth, relax, and people-watch.

While you can purchase Metro North Railway tickets on the train, you will pay a substantial surcharge. The easiest way to buy tickets is to use an MNR touch-screen machine at the station. Machines are multi-lingual and accept credit cards. While you can save a bit of money ordering advance tickets by mail or Internet, these are usually not practical options for tourists.

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We didn’t really go there to take any train (bus was the winner, read my previous tip), we went just because we’ve read that it’s an architectural masterpiece that was built in the beginning of 20th century (1913).

It’s a huge station that was reburbished in 1999, actually it is one of the greandest railway stations in the world but I think most of the people use Penn station (Amtrak train stop at Penn only) to take trains but from Grand Central you can catch the Metro North(for Hudson, Harlem, New Haven etc) or some subway lines (S,4,5,6,7).

We spend some time in the station, checking the gorgeous ceiling but I forgot to take a picture of it!! So, the other pics I have are from what we did after inside there and that was to visit the market of Central Terminal (pic 2) where we bought tasy fresh bread some great cheeses.

If you plan to use Metro North Railway use the MNR machines at the station because on the train you will pay more.

Address:89 East 42nd at Park Av, New York, NY 10017

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The United States is not exactly noted for its mass transit system which is not surprising considering the part it played in popularizing the automobile. While the latter development has brought about great individual freedom it has resulted in the ruination of what was once at least a plausible train network crossing the busiest parts of the admitted large land mass that is the US. Don't get me wrong, I love a road trip as much as anyone and I have done many in the most remote areas of the United States, but when it comes to traversing the densely populated East Coast, it would be nice to have more reasonably priced options. New York City not only has one of the best intercity mass transit systems, but is also about as well-connected by train as any city in the US. Amtrak runs from all the big cities of the east coast to New York City with the short 90 minute trip to Philadelphia making it a possible commute. Another negative of the deterioration of the train network in the US is the loss of some of the great old train stations. Thankfully, the cities that still have trains are sprucing up their grand old stations which was much needed and deserved. This are historical buildings and the truth is train travel in the US in not cheap and those using it should be catered to a bit. New York's Grand Central Station is a prime example of such restoration and the 1998 endeavor unveiled a gorgeous astronomical ceiling that had been covered for numerous years.

I have come into the City by train on past trips but our resent visit was from Florida and we flew into Philadelphia. The train would have been an option but a friend that we were going to the City with was driving up from Baltimore anyway so we got a ride with him. That said, Grand Central Station is one of those free attractions that New York is full of and we went over one morning and enjoyed walking around the historical old station which was quite photographic.

89 East 42nd Street at Park Avenue,
New York City, NY 10017

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At Grand Central, Metro North is the way to get to points north of NYC. It's a great way to visit interesting cities on the Hudson as well as cities in Connecticut not to mention the ease of traveling long distances in a shorter time frame without the added headache of driving.

I use to commute daily on the Metro North when I lived in Riverdale, these days I use Metro North to visit my daughter in White Plains when I just don't want to drive.

Check out their website for interesting day trips out of NYC.

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Grand Central Station isn't just a train station. It is an architectural masterpiece. You can catch the Metro North to parts of Upstate New York and Connecticut( Harlem, Hudson, New Haven line) . Also you can catch the subways as well (4,5,6,7).

Please show up at the station with enough time to buy your tickets and get on the train. The trains do leave on time.

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Penn Station is the hubub or central station in New York City. Once you are there, you can travel anywhere inside or outside of the state as long as it is connected to a metro line or train line. Odds are if you go to New York City and use some type of public transportation, you will find yourself in Penn Station.
A good example of a great way to get to New Jersey is to go downstairs in Penn Station and find the NJ transit station and buy your ticket where you want to go. It cost me 8 bucks to go to Madison New Jersey from Penn Station. Nice.
There is also an Aamtrack station here that will take you to various places on the east coast. If you get caught up at JFK or La Guardia Airports due to weather conditions, and are going somewhere on the east coast, try Penn Station. Those trains will run in even a fierce blizzard.
There is also a link to the metro in New York City there.
This is the central location for cheap, efficient travel in and out of New York City.

Well, the metro north train on the red line usually charges 6.50$ to get to Grand Central from the last station in New York State. What i suggest is to pay a ride until Fordham train station (2 stations before Grand Central). It will cost you 3.50$ and there's a subway 3 blocks west from there. Could be the D line or the 4 line. Now, sometimes before getting in Fordham station the ticket trains are wiped out from the seats, so if you have a ticket to Fordham already paid and there's no ticket on your seat, you can actually keep going until Grand Central Station. Don't try to do that if the tickets are still on your seat because you will have to pay the difference, that means $3.
If you're short of money, which happens sometimes, this would help you. Now, if you're planning to come back to upstate after getting around Manhattan, i suggest to buy a round trip ticket instead of a one way, because sometimes the machines in Fordham are out of service.

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Grand Central now is nothing from what it used to be. Originally a shared depot on 42nd street it quickly became Grand Central Station. According to the official web site considered one of the three top engineering marvels of the 19th century for the glass and steel train shed.

The current version came about due to the ban of steam powered trains below 42nd street and also the horrid tunnel conditions from using steam power. So with electrification came the burial of the trains. Thus only needing the Terminal building at the end of the line. The new Grand Central Terminal opened in 1913.

In recent years it has undergone a major cleaning and refurbishing. You can still see what the ceiling used to look like if you look in the north west corner of the main floor. This may be viewed as a mistake but really there is only one mistake in the ceiling.

If you look closely, you will notice that the entire ceiling painting of the zodiac is backwards. Seems the artist that painted it had the picture sitting on top of his ladder so he would paint what he looked down on instead of holding it above and painting it correctly.