NYC

PHOTO DIARY OF NEW YORK CITY

Spring is my favourite season of the year to visit Manhattan, where the colour pops from the in-bloom flower beds and the mild temperatures makes strolling the avenues a breeze. A Summer in the city the heat is hard to escape, not even in the subways. If cities are your thing, this island seems to have everything within footsteps. Three visits and counting, there is still so much to explore and experience in the city that never sleeps.

Midtown is an ideal way to find your feet, where you can buzz about Times Square and revel in the billboards from the red steps at all hours of the day and night. You can satisfy your chocolate cravings at the nearby M&M’s World or Hershey’s stores. It’s also hard to get lost with Midtown being a grid made up of long avenues crossed by streets. If you prefer to see the skyscrapers by foot, starting at Central Park south and Fifth Avenue you can stroll the shops to Broadway that cuts through the city down to the Financial District.

The streets loose their uniformed manner in Lower Manhattan where it takes a local to navigate the small one way streets by car. In Greenwich Village and SoHo (South of Houston Street), New York starts to shine with an arty vibe from the galleries, designer boutiques, famed brownstones, lofts with cast iron facades and fire escapes and hints of Europe with paved streets.

What ever brings you to Manhattan, whether it’s to relax in Central Park, immerse yourself in a museum, dine at Michelin star restaurants or where you can easily find yourself standing in a movie or TV show location, I believe there is something that will captivate everyone.

IN SUMMARY | What you need to know….

– LOCATION – New York, USA

– TO DO – Central Park (Central Park Zoo, The Mall, Bethesda Fountain, Bethesda Terrace, Conservatory Water, Alice In Wonderland Statue, Bow Bridge, Strawberry Fields), Rockefeller Center (NBC Experience Store, LEGO Store, a pastry at Bouchon Bakery, Tri Tip Grill), Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Flatiron Building, Columbus Circle, Radio City Music Hall, Grand Central Terminal, New York Public Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street, Irish Hunger Memorial, 9/11 Memorial, Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Manhattan Bridge, Staten Island Ferry, Statue of Liberty, a summer movie in Bryant Park, Madison Square Park, Washington Square Park, take a break in Herald Square, Greenwich Village (Bleecker Street and enjoy a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery), SoHo (Prada, Marc Jacobs, shop for gourmet products at Dean & DeLuca, a snack at SoHo Park, ONieal’s bar), Ducati Triumph, stroll along Fifth Avenue (Tiffany & Co, Cartier, Harry Winston, FAO Schwarz), 57th Street (CHANEL, Dior) or Madison Avenue (Ladurée), shop at Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel or Bergdorf Goodman with a light lunch at BG Restaurant overlooking Central Park, a cocktail at Salon de Ning, lunch or dinner at Madison Eleven Park or The Loeb Boathouse, a gourmet burger at The Counter, Private Tour of NYC by Jeep, watch a New York Yankees baseball game or a day trip to The Hamptons (Shippys Pumpernickel Restaurant, hire a bicycle from Rotations Bicycle Center)

– STAY – The Westin New York Times Square
270 West 43rd Street, New York City

– Affinia Manhattan
371 7th Avenue, New York City
Across from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station

– Staybridge Suites Times Square
340 West 40th Street, New York City

– FLY – American Airlines, Delta Air Lines or United Airlines
– John F Kennedy International (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA) or Newark Liberty International (EWR) airports

– TRANSFER – Viator – Airport to Manhattan

– TRANSPORT – Subway – MetroCard 7-Day Unlimited

Recommendations from my travels. Photos by Mel McLeod ©