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New York Maps & Attractions Guide
New York maps & Attractions - Things to do
in New York
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New York
Attractions - Things to do
1. The Statue of Liberty
Liberty Island, New York Harbor
www.nps.gov/stli |
What is it? The universal symbol of freedom and
democracy, the Statue of Liberty was the first sight to be seen by
the 12 million immigrants who passed through the Ellis Island
Immigration Centre. Sculpted by Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi and
modelled on the Colossus of Rhodes, the statue was donated by the
people of France in 1886 to commemorate the alliance between the
two countries during the American Revolution. Visitors can climb
the 354 steps to the statue's crown for a view over New York
Harbour - the equivalent of a 22-storey building. Access to the
monument is via ranger-guided tour only and a time pass is required
for visiting the inside of the Monument; advanced reservations are
possible by calling (866) 782 8834 or online at www.statuereservations.com.
The ferry calls at both Liberty and Ellis
Islands.
Hours of Operation: Daily 9.30am to 5pm (except Christmas Day). The park
service occasionally closes the line to the crown as early as
2pm
Phone:(212) 363 3200; (212) 269 5755 (ferry
information) |
2. World Trade Center - Ground Zero
Lower Manhattan, viewing area at Liberty Street and
Broadway
www.buildthememorial.org |
What is it? The six-hectare (16-acre) work site that has
emerged from the rubble of the twin towers has come to symbolise
the dreadful events of September 11, 2001 when almost 3,000 people
lost their lives. The 1,350ft (411m) World Trade Centre towers were
the tallest buildings in New York and symbols of the city's
skyline. Millions now come to pay tribute at the site and witness
the devastation from one of the viewing sites. In April 2003, the
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation launched a worldwide
competition to design a memorial at the World Trade Center site to
honour the victims of September 11. The LMDC received 5,201
memorial design submissions from 63 nations and 49 states making
this the largest design competition in history. In January 2004
Reflecting Absence by Michael Arad and Peter
Walker was unveiled as the design for the World Trade Center
Memorial, and will feature a landscaped civic plaza with two
massive voids aligned with the footprints where the twin towers
once stood. Currently the perimeter of Ground Zero is accessible to
the public. The Tribute Center, across from Ground Zero, offers
tours around the perimeter, and provides visitors with an accurate
account of what the community endured during the attacks (www.tributenyc.org). The
Memorial itself is scheduled to open 11 September
2009.
Hours of Operation: Tours of the perimeter: Monday to Friday 1pm and 3pm,
Saturday and Sunday 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm starting from 120
Liberty Street
Phone:(212) 732 7678 (ticket information) |
3. Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue, between 33rd and 34th Streets,
Manhattan
www.esbnyc.com |
What is it? One of the enduring symbols of New York, and
once again the city's tallest structure, the Empire State Building
stands 436ft (145m) high. Completed in 1931, this Art Deco behemoth
remains one of the most impressive engineering feats of all time;
it was built in just 410 days and remains the fastest rising major
skyscraper ever built. The building has been immortalised in many
films - most famously the classic King Kong. The observation decks
on the 86th and 102nd floors offer magnificent views of the
city.
Hours of Operation: Observatory: daily 8am to midnight. The last elevator
goes up at 11.15pm
Phone:(212) 736 3100 |
4. Central Park
www.centralparknyc.org |
What is it? With great foresight, the founders of New
York set aside 340 hectares (840 acres) of central Manhattan as a
public space. Central Park was officially opened in 1873 and today
provides an essential 'green lung' within the concrete jungle that
is New York. Originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and
Calvert Vaux, the park contains themed gardens, tennis courts,
lakes and even a small zoo. Much of the park is infused by the
city's bustle and on nice days swarms with joggers, skaters,
buskers and tourists, but there are areas beyond the range of
baseballs and frisbees where tranquillity can be found in this
beautifully landscaped park. During winter, two ice-skating rinks
open up in Central Park, the Wollman Rink (mid-Park at 62nd St) is
one of the most picturesque in the world, set among the trees and
rolling hills and against the backdrop of Manhattan's
skyscrapers.
Hours of Operation:
Phone: |
5. Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street, Manhattan
www.moma.org |
What is it? The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), founded in
1929, owns the most important collection of modern art in the USA
including works by Monet, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Max Beckman,
Ansel Adams, and Kiki Smith. What started as a gift of eight prints
and one drawing has developed to a vast and varied collection of
150 000 paintings, prints, sculptures, photographs and other media,
and the Musuem's Library and Archives boast an impressive
collection of books, historical documents and photographs. Priding
itself as an educational institution, the Musuem of Modern Art
offers various activities and programs for the general public, as
well as special segments thereof, in order to broaden the
community's knowledge of, and approach to, the exciting and
puzzling world of modern art.
Hours of Operation: Daily 10.30am to 5.30pm (until 8pm on Friday); closed
Tuesdays
Phone:(212) 708 9400 |
6. The Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street
www.guggenheim.org |
What is it? The Solomon R Guggenheim Museum was designed
by US architect Frank Lloyd Wright and was completed shortly after
his death in 1959. It is well worth a visit just to see this icon
of Modernist architecture, which was designed specifically to
showcase the modern art within. Inside, it features a highly
commended collection of late 19th- and 20th-century art works, as
well as touring exhibitions. From beneath the huge glass dome, a
quarter-of-a-mile-long ramp spirals down the inside of the
building, past the collection of art, including works by Camille
Pissarro, Vasily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso,
Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne, Robert Mapplethorpe and Robert
Gober.
Hours of Operation: Daily 10am to 5.45pm (until 8pm on Fridays); closed
Thursdays and Christmas Day
Phone:(212) 423 3500 |
7. Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue, at 82nd Street
www.metmuseum.org |
What is it? The Metropolitan Museum possesses one of the
greatest, and largest, collections of art in the world; it is a
cherished New York institution and a must see for any visitor.
Banners above the Met's Fifth Avenue entrance herald the current
attractions - there are always a few exhibitions on-the-go
displaying masterpieces from around the world alongside the
Metropolitan's own collection. The highlights of the permanent
collection are numerous - American collectors having had the
foresight, and cash, to buy up a large number of Impressionist and
Post-Impressionist masterpieces from Europeans at the end of the
19th century. The Metropolitan Museum's collection now contains
more than two million works of art from all points of the compass,
from ancient through modern times, including great works by Van
Gogh, Renoir, Monet and Cézanne to rival any gallery in the
world.
Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 9.30am to 5.30pm,
Friday and Saturday 9.30am to 9pm. Closed Mondays, New Year's Day,
Thanksgiving and Christmas
Phone:(212) 535 7710 |
8. American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West, at West 79th Street
www.amnh.org |
What is it? Possibly with the exception of its
counterpart in London, the American Museum of Natural History is
the largest and most important museum of its kind in the world.
More than 30 million artefacts are packed into 42 exhibition halls
- quite enough to keep anyone busy over a rainy afternoon. The most
popular exhibit is a 50ft tall skeleton of a barosaurus in the
Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda. There are three more spectacular
dinosaur halls on the fourth floor. Other halls include the Hall of
Biodiversity, the Hall of Ocean Life, the Hall of Human Biology and
Evolution and the fabulous Hayden Planetarium - a 90-ft wide
aluminium sphere that seems to float inside a massive glass cube,
which in turn is home to the Rose Center for Earth and Space. Those
tired of walking can check out the Museum of Television and
Radio.
Hours of Operation: Daily 10am to 5.45pm, except Christmas Day and
Thanksgiving
Phone:(212) 769 5100; 769 5200 (tickets and
programs) |
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