New York for Beginners

New York is one of those cities that everyone knows from movies and TV, all of the main sites are iconic in a way that few cities can compare to. Even without having visited people seem to have a strong visceral reaction to the Big Apple, and this makes it a fantastic place to visit – as long as you can manage your expectations. There is nothing worse than being disappointed by somewhere that you have built up in your mind, a little like my first trip to Paris, but New York doesn’t have to disappoint. Sometimes cities do live up to the hype.

When I came back, and was thinking about what to write about in relation to my trip, I was tempted by the “hidden New York” angle; but the reality is that I don’t know the hidden New York. The first time in any city should be spent doing all those things that are iconic and first spring to mind (plus a couple extra things), so this is my guide to a first time in New York. All the must see and do things for your first trip.
Because everybody has a first time.

Metropolitan Museum of Art – I’m all about the culture so a lot of my favourite things in New York were the museums and galleries, but even for the most hesitant culturist the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or just the Met) is an absolute must. We only had a couple hours before the doors closed but you could spend days exploring in there. I think that it really is the best collection I have ever seen, the Egyptian stuff is amazing and put aside some time for the 20th Century artwork too.

Top of the Rock – The best views in New York in my opinion, do the Empire State building if you have time, but don’t miss Top of the Rock. It’s very touristy but not so busy that you can’t get good photos or some space. You just can't beat the views over Central Park to one side and the Empire State building to the other. The Empire State Building is one of the most iconic buildings, so you're going to want it in the photo rather than standing at the top of it.

The Guggenheim – New York's premier modern art museum with some really cool exhibitions, when I was there it was all about political art from China. Not everyones cup of tea but I loved it.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island – This was probably the most surprising thing we did for me. I didn’t think it was going to be that good because of all the people, but it was actually really interesting! America doesn’t have that much history but they’ve done a really good job of putting together the immigrant history in an engaging way. We went in November and the ferry ride over to the islands was really really cold, no matter what time of year factor in that it's going to be colder on the water.

Maddison Square Garden for a Basketball Game – I am not a sports fan, at all, but this was one of the most fun things we did. My friend sorted the tickets on Ticketmaster, he played chicken and waited until a couple hours before the game (match?) to buy and apparently that is the best way to get good prices, but you can also buy ahead of time if you want the security and don't mind paying a little bit more. The game itself was the such a good evening, even though I knew nothing about basketball. The atmosphere was great at and it turns out basketball is so simple and fast paced that it can even keep me engaged! We went to the NBA store in Times Square before the game to get merch, worth it for the whole experience in my opinion.
Oh, and no American sport experience is complete without a beer and hot dog during the game!

Brooklyn Bridge – Really pretty at sun set time, it will be busy but brave the crowds. Go from the Manhattan side to the Brooklyn side and reward yourself with Pizza at Juliana’s afterwards.

The High Line – A city garden on the old high train lines. A really nice place to walk with some cool art work and sculptures along the way. Combine with the Chelsea Market to grab a picnic from the food stalls and find a pretty spot to eat on the High Line.

Broadway show – Broadway is an iconic New York experience, it’s not cheap but it is so much fun. Go to the TKTS booth in Times Square (there are a couple others booths around the city too: Brooklyn, South Street Seaport, and Lincoln Centre) for discount same day and next day Broadway tickets. Go with an open mind and see what’s available. There will be a queue but it moves pretty quickly, use the queuing time to look at the board with the shows that are available. When you get to the window ask about a couple shows and see which has decent seats and then just do it! The staff aren’t the friendliest and there is a very rushed atmosphere, not a lot of time to think and consider options! We saw Chicago, which was great.

Are all the tourist “passes” worth it?
When I was in New York I had the New York CityPass (£96) and the New York Explorer Pass (between $83 - $119), and full disclosure they were both something I got free through work.
Both get you into certain attractions free of charge and are pretty good, but I’m not sure I would have been so happy with the passes if I had paid for them.
Being brutally honest, I never actually managed to use the Explorer Pass, everything needs to be pre-booked and, each time I tried to use it, it became too much hassle. If I had paid for it, I would have been annoyed. They promise big savings, but I’d forget about it.
The CityPass is a lot more user friendly and simple to use. You get to see six top attractions free of charge, and there are some choices involved – for example, choose between visiting the Top of the Rock Observation Deck or the Guggenheim (by far the hardest choice). Even though it was a great thing to have, sometimes it was more hassle than it was worth. Case in point: at the Natural History Museum when my friends used the ticket machines and breezed through while I was stuck in the queue specifically for people who had New York passes for half an hour.