New York New York – So good they named it twice!!

As a native New Yorker, I love nothing more than sending clients to my beautiful, exciting city! It is truly a city that never sleeps! Shops in Greenwich Village will be open at 3am and if you are a night owl, you can pick up a freshly baked bagel with a ‘smear’ (that’s cream cheese to the non-New Yorkers!) as the sun rises over the Empire State Building.

There are some must-do’s in this city that I feel should be on everyone’s itinerary. For those that haven’t been before, purchasing a New York Pass will give you the opportunity to see all of the best attractions New York has to offer. They have from 1-10 day passes which must be used consecutively from the first attraction. You receive a 200 page guide book filled with over 80 experiences where your pass is valid. You skip the line once you activate your card. I think the best evenings are when you take this guide book out and rummage through the pages planning the next day’s touring! These must be purchased prior to departing Australia and we can organise these for you at our offices.

Don’t be afraid of taking the subway! It’s the cheapest and most reliable way to get around the city outside of walking. Everyone walks in Manhattan! It’s not unusual to see a very smartly dressed lady with her trainers on walking to work. I always had my heels in my bottom drawer in my office.

Getting back to the subway, single rides are $2.50USD or you can buy a 7-day Metro card for $29USD. Tickets are sold at vending machines at the entrance to the subway stops. If you are staying in Manhattan for a week, then a 7-day card will be the most cost effective. This will give you unlimited rides per 24 hours.

Eating in New York City is cheap! There is a coffee shop on every corner where you can eat like a king or queen for under $10USD, like for example, my favourite breakfast of eggs, bacon or sausage, hash browns, toast and a bottomless mug of coffee! Make sure you sample what NYC is famous for; dirty dogs! These are hot dogs from the vendors on the street. You can ask them to put mustard, ketchup, relish or hot sauerkraut on them or just have plain but either way, it’s heaven! You can also buy the big pretzels which are my favourite as well and in winter, it’s hot chestnuts sold in brown paper bags.

Did you know that Manhattan has 20 Michelin starred restaurants! Now these can range from 3 stars to 5 stars and of course the prices will be match their star rating. You will of course need to make reservations at these establishments, however, there are about 24,000 restaurants in Manhattan so I don’t think you will ever go hungry!

Broadway!! If you are a fan of live theatre or have never been to the theatre, then a ticket to see a show on Broadway is a must. You can queue for tickets to some of Broadway’s iconic shows at TKTS on 42^nd St in Times Square. Sometimes you can wait in the queue for an hour or more, however, if you have limited time in the City, then I would suggest you either talk to the concierge at your hotel directly to see what they can get for you (this wont be the cheapest option) or our office can pre book certain shows with a voucher exchange at the box office.

With a multitude of sightseeing and wonderful experiences, New York will hopefully be on the top of your ‘Best Ever Holidays’ list!