The upper deck of a British Airways 747 is always a welcoming prospect to me. But rarely do I look forward to taking up my favourite seat of 64K there as much as when the ultimate destination is New York’s JFK airport. BA alone offer up to 12 daily services between the UK and New York and it remains one of the most fiercely contested – not to mention lucrative – longhaul routes in the world. Why do thousands of people every day shuttle back and forth between these two cities? The answer is simple – as well as being a major business draw, New York offers something for everyone, however long your stay.
My first trip to the Big Apple was several years ago, and since then I’ve been fortunate enough to go back many times. I most often find myself in New York for business – but that doesn’t stop me making several leisure trips a year too. With myriad other destinations in the world ripe for my tourist spend, just what is the attraction of New York which keeps me coming back time after time? In one word, the answer is: diversity.
On every trip to date, I’ve experienced something different. Of course, you easily fall in to a comfortable and familiar routine of preferred flights, favourite hotels (high on my personal list are the Crowne Plaza at Times Square and the InterContinental The Barclay) and tried and tested restaurants…but New York is the only city I travel to where I don’t just feel bold enough to try something different each time, I feel compelled to.
Each time I touch down at JFK, I know my hotel is a fixed $49 (plus the obligatory US tip) cab ride away. From then on ‘the city that never sleeps’ awaits exploration. For a first timer, there’s so much advice on what to see and do to suit any taste – advice which really underlines the fact that you need to visit the city more than once to take everything in. However, there are some simple delights everyone should enjoy, whether it’s their first visit or not.
First and foremost, see the Empire State building. And don’t just see it, take some time out and go up it. To get to the observation area at the very top may require a little queuing, but it really is worth it. My advice is to go in daylight for the spectacular view (on a clear day you can see for miles around in every direction) and then go again at night for the even more spectacular view – there’s something about a moonlit Manhattan skyline, the stark outlines of buildings peppered with dots of light, separated by the wondrous symmetry of the simple avenue and block system, that has to be seen to be believed. The distant hum of the city hushed by the howl of the wind; far away car horns hinting at the pulsing metropolis below. In the distance the Statue of Liberty stands proud as the mouth of the Hudson opens up. It is an experience not to be missed.
Go down to the waterfront (not far from the Ground Zero memorial) and you can pick up one of the boat tours to the Statue of Liberty or Ellis Island. Up close, some find the Statue of Liberty rather underwhelming – a result of the tired image being burnt in everyone’s mind as an over-merchandised symbol of the city. But my own skinflint’s top tip is to simply take the Staten Island ferry to get a water view of this towering monument for free. These commuter ferries are large, fairly comfortable and give you a trip going not too far from where the paid tours take you (although obviously you don’t stop) to Staten Island. The journey doesn’t take long and you can then simply return on the next ferry, taking in the views of New York from the water.
Helicopter tours are offered by several companies, as are city bus tours (with various different ‘loops’ and the customary hop-on, hop-off arrangements). Both are worthwhile doing once – your hotel concierge will be able to offer you details of a range of options. Another ‘must do’ is the stereotypical junk food – let’s face it, just to say you have. There are numerous ‘authentic’ pizza outlets offering slices you never knew existed (they are large slices) and frankly you’d be hard pushed to find one that isn’t very good. Likewise on every other street corner will be a vendor with a trolley selling pretzels, hot dogs, kebabs or other delights. Ordering from one should be perfectly safe, and will bring a cheap and easy smile to your face the first time without question.
No praise of New York would be complete without a word on shopping. With the current exchange rate, New York is even more attractive for UK residents. Start with a walk down from Times Square with its various tourist-trap shops towards the world famous Macy’s. Be sure to get the discount card for tourists (just show your passport), which makes them a huge draw for visitors. Even on the way there you’ll see a number of name-brand shops selling everything you could possibly want. From there, another ‘must’ is a walk up the distinctly more up-market Fifth Avenue for its boutiques, higher-end outlets such as Saks and, of course, for Apprentice fans, Trump Tower, where the shops end and Central Park (and expensive residential property) begins. Central Park itself (in any season) is a beautiful, relaxing haven from the chaos of the city and the perfect place while away a quite hour or two.
An afternoon in the Met (simply continue walking North through Central, Park until you hit the famed ‘Museum Mile’) with its ever-changing exhibitions is always time well spent – especially since from there it’s so easy to venture on to The Guggenheim to continue your well-earned escape from the usual back-to-back meeting regime.
Taking in all that the city has to offer and you will see that New Yorkers will continue to not only welcome you, but also surprise and delight you. If you’re ever near the Crowne Plaza at Times Square, pop in and see if Michael is tending bar. He’ll mix you the finest Manhattan I’ve ever tasted (he’ll even tell you his secret recipe if you ask). If you’re lucky you’ll also witness some pure, honest-to-God, no-holds-barred Brooklyn charm – authentic yet endearing Soprano-esque swearing and all – which you’d only ever get to see on those exaggerated TV shows and films otherwise.
My next trip there? Thankfully it was possible to arrange some meetings in Manhattan for this December. Of course, by ‘possible’ I mean ‘extremely easy’ – for a touch of pre-Christmas snow, impeccable evening entertainment and some very economical pre-Christmas shopping, the location was never even up for debate amongst the clients we had to invite – New York remains a firm favourite with everyone I know.
