Sightseeing Articles
NYC Secrets: 6 Off-the-Beaten-Path Street Photo Locations From a Pro Photographer
As a lifelong New Yorker, street photographer, and certified tour and workshop guide, I've walked and explored a lot of the city over the years (and yet I still have so much more to see). New York is the type of city where you can capture a once-in-a-lifetime photograph anywhere you go, yet I find myself continually going back to these six locations because of how fun, vibrant, and interesting they are to experience and capture. Read on for my picks for the best off-the-beaten-path places to photograph in NYC.
Madame Tussauds in Times Square Welcomes a Life-Sized King Kong
King Kong has made his way back to New York, the city he once terrorized (at least in the movie!), but this time, it's in wax form. The famed Madame Tussauds New York in Times Square welcomes a wax replica of King Kong’s head to its collection, providing visitors not only with a perfect photo op with the notorious gorilla, but an entire KONG: Skull Island experience. If you’re a fan of the new film, then you’re definitely going to be a fan of Madame Tussauds. Start planning your visit today!
How the World Works: Touring the United Nations Headquarters in NYC
New York is not just a world capital—it’s also arguably the capital of the world. On the east side of midtown Manhattan you’ll find the headquarters of the United Nations, celebrating its 71st birthday and open again for public touring.
Abracadabra! Explore NYC's Houdini Museum
If you or someone you know—aged 6 to 86—is interested in magic, take a look inside the Houdini Museum. Located on the 3rd floor of an unprepossessing building at 421 Seventh Avenue (the entrance is around the corner on West 33rd Street just east of the avenue), the museum, inside the headquarters of Fantasma Magic, is a shrine to the late (?) great magician Harry Houdini.
The 5 Best Attractions to See in the Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost borough of New York City, and it’s most certainly worth the trek up to explore the roundup of attractions below. From a real “Little Italy” to the famed Yankee Stadium, the Bronx has some of the city’s best attractions. Don’t let Manhattan take all your time during your visit—be sure to see everything NYC has to offer.
The Best Ways to Spend a Day at Rockefeller Center
Midtown is packed with skyscrapers, restaurants, museums, and just about every other attraction that one could possibly think up, but nothing quite compares to Rockefeller Center. This enormous collection of buildings, concourses, and retail stores is one that can easily fill your day and nights with adventure. Rounded up below is our advice for what to check out next time you’re in the area. It’s easy to spend a day at Rockefeller Center…what’s difficult is only spending a day at Rockefeller.
7 Places to Photograph the NYC Skyline
New York City’s skyline is iconic, and while you can spend days exploring the streets of Manhattan, it really takes a sky-high observation deck, helicopter ride, river cruise, or step back into Brooklyn to capture the towering high-rises in all their glory. Rounded up below are seven spots around the city that provide the ideal opportunity for those wanting to get that perfect NYC skyline photograph, because you can’t leave the city without it.
The Best Things to Do in New York in Spring
Spring is a great season to be in New York. The city thaws out and the sidewalks fill with the latest in spring fashions. We've got a rundown of the city's must-see spots for nature, history, art, culture, and entertainment. Read on for the best things to do in New York City in spring 2017.
Gulliver’s Gate: New York’s Magical Miniature World
At a time when the planet seems ever more divided, it’s amazing to visit a place like Gulliver’s Gate and be reminded that we all share one world. Gulliver’s Gate is one of the most ambitious attractions to ever land in New York City, a $40 million extravaganza that allows visitors to travel the globe without leaving Times Square.
THE RIDE's Downtown Experience: NYC History in Virtual Reality
THE RIDE has been taking over the New York City tour bus scene, presenting riders with an entirely new take on the city that never sleeps. THE DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE powered by THE RIDE is the latest attraction the innovative company has to offer, and it’s one that will excite the young and old alike thanks to some incredible virtual reality technology.
Pro Soccer for Brooklyn: Coney Island Welcomes the Cosmos
Brooklyn will be welcoming the New York Cosmos in 2017 as the latest sports team to call the borough home. This legendary professional soccer team has most recently been situated in Long Island; their move to Brooklyn represents an exciting new beginning for the franchise, which was recently sold to the club’s new Chairman, Rocco Commisso. Check out the full lineup of details below to learn more about this exciting new era of soccer for the New York Cosmos—and Brooklyn.
New York Tourist: 6 Fun Things to Do in Times Square
Times Square can be a little overwhelming if you arrive without a game plan. To give you some direction, we’ve rounded up six fun activities for you to enjoy at "The Crossroads of the World." From getting discount tickets for a Broadway show to checking out the world-famous memorabilia at Planet Hollywood or the Hard Rock, you’ll have plenty to see, eat, shop, and explore near the intersection of Broadway and 42nd Street.
One World Observatory: 5 Specials You Didn't Know About
Want to see the world’s most iconic city from 1250 feet above ground level? If so, One World Observatory’s 102nd floor should be your next destination. Along with providing one-of-a-kind views of New York City, One World Observatory also hosts a slew of events and offers quite a few special ticket packages for those wanting to go above and beyond your average visit. Rounded up below are five of OWO’s best specials that you probably didn’t know about!
Experience an NYC New Year's Eve Every Day of the Year
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Times Square is one of New York City’s most beloved attractions and it just got even better. To celebrate the eclectic museum’s 10-year anniversary, Ripley’s is welcoming its newest oddity: an interactive exhibit that features an authentic New York New Year’s Eve Centennial Countdown Ball.
The Best-Kept Secrets of the NYC Subway
Nearly 55 percent of New Yorkers use the subway to commute, and considering that the city’s population topples over eight million, that’s quite a bit of daily foot traffic! However, despite the many bustling bodies that take over the metro day and night, the MTA still manages to have some secrets on lockdown. Rounded up below are seven things you probably didn’t know about the NYC subway system.
NYC's 5 Best Winter Date Spots
Just because the temperatures drop and the puffy winter coats come out during this time of the year doesn’t mean that the dating world comes to a halt. While making use of the outdoors can be pretty impossible (or at the very least, miserable) in February and March, New York City has a plethora of indoor date spots to help fill the void. Take a look at our top five picks below!
7 Secrets of the Main Branch of the New York Public Library
The main branch of the New York Public Library is one of the city’s most iconic buildings. It represents a space of learning, research, and education in Manhattan’s ever-adapting landscape. Visitors come from all over the world to take photos with its famed marble lion sculptures and to lay their eyes on the grandiose and picturesque Rose Room ceilings, but the NYPL actually has quite a few secrets that you may not have known about.
Hop Aboard THE RIDE and See NYC Like Never Before
Tour buses have been traversing the streets of NYC for years, but none have ever come close to providing the entertainment experience promised by The Ride. Transporting patrons in a one-of-a-kind, multi-million-dollar motor coach that offers idealistic views out of the vehicle’s sides, The Ride (and The Tour powered by The Ride) provides stadium-style seating, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and 40 LCD TV screens. Really, there is no bad view while aboard this unique bus.
The Best Trump Sights to See in NYC
Now that Donald Trump has officially been sworn in as America’s 45th President, it’s time to take a look back at his roots. President Trump has always called New York City home, and from his childhood home to his current gilded digs in the Trump Tower, there's plenty for a tourist to see. Read on for our picks for the best of Trump tourism in NYC.
Don't Miss NYC's Taylor Swift Experience
Taylor Swift isn’t just a household name, she’s a 10-time Grammy award winning artist who has been one of few to cross the world of musical genres from country to become one of the world’s best selling pop artists. Now for a limited time, fans in New York City can see an exhibit of Taylor Swift’s costumes, hand-written song lyrics, and more. The Grammy Museum opened The Taylor Swift Experience on November 18, 2016, and the exhibit has been going strong ever since. On display in New York’s Seaport District through February 19, 2017, if you haven’t yet checked it out, make plans soon.
NYC's Most Famous Skyscrapers
When you think about New York City, you probably can’t help but to visualize its famed skyline. There’s no city on the planet quite like NYC, and Manhattan’s skyscrapers have a lot to do with that. Rounded up below are the city’s most famous skyscrapers, each of which should be added to your NYC bucket list. It’s one thing to admire a building from afar, and it’s an entirely other thing to step foot within its mesmerizing architecture.
Try Your Hand at Spells in Brooklyn’s “Hall of Magic”
Fans of Syfy’s The Magicians will be thrilled to learn that they can now head to The William Vale Hotel in Brooklyn to engage in a fantastical world of mind control, levitation, and spell casting—all inspired by their favorite TV show and book. The best thing about it? This self-guided experience is completely free. Simply reserve tickets online via the “Hall of Magic” website (or if you want to risk it, walk-ins are also allowed to enter, space permitting). If you’ve ever wished that you lived in a magical world, now’s your chance to experience one.
7 Secrets You Didn't Know About the Empire State Building
With the Empire State Building turning 85 years old this year, we thought it appropriate to divulge some of the iconic skyscraper’s secrets. Don’t worry, you won’t have to be sworn to secrecy over these strangely interesting facts—but you might be surprised by them! From the time it took to build the Empire State Building to the nap pods that once took over an entire floor, these seven secrets are inspiring, intriguing, and in some cases, downright bizarre!
5 Indoor Activities for the NYC Winter
Nobody wants to spend the day standing around outside when temperatures start dropping down into the 30s, 20s, and even teens, but on that same note, nobody wants to spend an entire trip to New York City stuck inside their hotel. Fortunately, there’s a perfect cure-all. These 5 indoor activities below provide hours of entertainment and excitement for locals and visitors alike, and they also keep you from getting frostbite.
Warm Up with Winter Fun in NYC
Don’t let the cold and snow throw you: January is a great time to be in New York. The city’s wealth of indoor attractions makes it easy to entertain and educate the whole family, with the added bonus of not having to deal with the crowds of warmer seasons.