Really only seven?
Okay I have to confess I love New York, it is one of my favourite places in the world and this is only MY opinion of what the seven wonders of New York are (and I may have cheated a little by combining a couple but there are still only 7).
1/ The Vibe and Getting Lost.
People either LOVE or HATE New York, I don't think there is any in-between feeling about it and I happen to be one of the people that LOVE this place. There is just something about it, a feeling you get when you wander around the streets and it's a fun place to get lost in. There is never a dull moment in New York and you get caught up in the rush of the place.
2/TImes Square and the Theatre District.
This truly is the city that never sleeps and there's nothing better than going to a show and still being able to find somewhere to eat when you get out.
Formerly called Long Acre Square (don't think it has the same ring to it that TImes Square has) the name was changed in 1904, for the Times newspaper who moved into their new headquarters the following year.(that is the building that has the ball drop every New Years Eve.)
Times Square is the the hub of the the Theatre District, in the area of 7th Avenue, and 46th and 47th Streets. Full of light, sound and colour it is one of the most visited parts of New York,even the police station in TImes Square is glitzy. Everywhere you look there are billboards advertising shows and there are a lot of theatres within walking distance, There are shows for everyone, musicals and plays, old classics brought to life and new risque shows.
This time around I was lucky enough to see Wicked, which was in the wonderful Gershwin Theatre (just one of many great theatres around) You can't help but have that moment when you stand in Times Square and ask yourself are you really here?
3/ Central Park and Museums.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets, the sirens and the horns you can find the sanctuary of Central Park. Even in the middle of winter it was a great place to explore and there were lots of things going on and I only covered half of it (next time around I'm exploring the rest!!!)The park was opened in 1857 with 315 ha and is now 341 ha, situated in the heart of Manhattan. It has had a chequered history with ups and downs when the park was hardly used and crime rates increased, but there has been a big turnaround with a huge drop in the crime rates which had people coming back. The park is home to the Central Park Zoo, walking tracks, ice-skating rinks and pools, there is a theatre which has Shakespeare in the Park in the summer, Belvedere Castle, a historic carousel and a marionette theatre. There is so much to see and do in Central Park that you need more than a day to do it in.
And then outside the park on 5th Avenue is Museum Mile and a myriad of museums to explore (and a few more things to knock off my to-do list, From Mt Sinai Hospital in the north to the tip of the park in the south there are museums and galleries enough to satisfy. The buildings themselves, like the Guggenheim are worthy of inspection and again you need more than a day to do them justice.
4/Staten Island Ferry and views from the water.
On both my visits to New York I have been unlucky about visiting Lady Liberty-once due to the closeness of the 9-11 attacks and this time because of Hurricane Sandy but this time around it was a blessing as it gave me the opportunity to use the Staten Island Ferry ( a free service) which gave both wonderful views of the city and the lady herself. The ferry operates 24hours a day, and the 25 minute journey provides at least 70,000 passengers daily with transport from the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Manhattan to the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island. My only issue is I didn't get off the ferry
for long enough to explore what Staten Island has to offer, and I plan on doing this next time. Another great thing was once we got off back in Manhattan we were entertained by an acrobatic dance troupe which kept us entertained for ages. We were told that every day there is something to watch when you come out of the terminal or while you are waiting for the next ferry. Thankfully they come every 15 minutes during the day, and 30 minutes later on in the day, so if you get carried away watching the show you shouldn't be too late.
5/Observation decks.
I'm a lover of observation decks, and seeing the cities from above and it helps when there are two great ones in New York city which could make my 7 wonders go up to a few more if I added both of them on. The Empire State Building (and the Rockefeller Center both have great viewing platforms to see New York from above (as well as being great buildings in their own right) and both give very different view points.
6/Freedom Tower and the World Trade Centre Memorial.
I might get a bit of stick for this as I wasn't a great lover of the Memorial itself, finding it a bit cold for my liking, but in my opinion it has to be labelled as one of my favourites for what it stands for.
The resilience of people, the strength of a city to come back strong after such a catastrophic event. I hope when I next visit that I will be able to visit the museum and be touched by the things I saw the first time I was at this site, in 2003 when pictures, ribbons and letters were reminders of the people who had died. I think also because it is still a building site takes something away from it and I know my next visit will be long after the Freedom Tower or One World Trade Center has opened it's doors so I hope for a different view of it. One WTC will stand 104 stories tall and will open late 2014 and I hope that within the next few years I will get a chance to see it again, and hopefully have my opinion changed about the memorial.
7/Roosevelt Island Tramway.
I am so glad I did some research on this before we came to New York because I would have missed out on a gem without the research. For the price of a subway ticket you can ride the tramway to Roosevelt Island and explore this little gem-and get some GREAT views of the Manhattan skyline. The entrance to the tramway is at Tram Plaza, 6oth St and 2nd Avenue, and travels above or alongside the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, making 115 trips a day to and from Roosevelt Island. It is a shame that more people don't know about it as it was a great opportunity to see a different part of New York.
I hope to have the chance to explore New York a few more times and my seven favourite things are likely to grow -gee I could have added food because there are so many great places to eat, shopping because there are so many great places to shop-and the list goes on :).