Knocked out in New York
Where are you?
You're listening to the sound of car horns bouncing off buildings, or absorbing the jazz at the Village Vanguard. You're wandering through Washington Square Park, and devouring knishes on Orchard Beach. Welcome to the brightest of big cities. On weekend breaks in New York, prepare to be dazzled.
Don't arrive in New York looking to catch up on sleep. Part of the city's allure springs from its brashness and bustle. Every language under the sun fills the streets, spoken (or shouted) with big-city attitude. Pancakes, soul food, sushi, burritos - all available at 4am every day of the week.
A break from the torrent of traffic and gastronomic indulgence comes high up on the Rockefeller viewing platform. New York spreads out below in an elegant, muted mesh of lights and buildings. At sunset, the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty roll past from the deck of the breezy Staten Island ferry.
Sipping a cocktail at Employees Only in the West Village - it's the one with the fortune-teller in the window - the city feels like it's crackling with potential. The bric-a-brac shoppers in Greenwich Village, the romantics outside the Met and the lunatic rollerbladers in Central Park are all drinking from New York's extra strong brew.
Will you be tired in the morning? Probably. Disappointed? Not here.
Indulge
in the cheesecake at Junior's, either at the Brooklyn restaurant or the concession in Grand Central station. It's advertised as "New York's best cheesecake". In 1981, when a fire broke out in the restaurant, customers lined the sidewalk shouting: "Save the cheesecake!".
Practise
the art of queuing at the 102-storey Empire State Building. There's a queue outside, a queue for the elevator ticket and a queue for the elevator itself. The wait and the view are well worth it, particularly considering there are 1860 steps to the top.
Relax
Weekend breaks in New York can be a blur of activity. Grab a sandwich (say, pastrami on rye) and head behind the McGraw-Hill building on the Avenue of the Americas. The patio here has hanging plants and a waterfall, and is a quiet place to catch your breath amid the madness of midtown Manhattan.
Austin, manager, LondonWalked down Mott Street in Chinatown - live fish jumping onto the pavement from the fishmongers, people wearing eye patches, smoking cigarettes in long holders - and went for cheap, delicious dim sum, with dumplings twice the size of what you get in London. We ate everything in sight!
Quick search
Weekend breaks in New York
Hotels in New York
New York life
Staten Island ferry
free
Bicycle hire in Central Park
$10
Slice of pizza
$2
Tourist visas to USA
No - Nationals of UK, most EU (exceptions below), Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland. Machine readable passports required
Yes - Nationals of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak Republic, South Africa
Guide only - always check with embassies before travel
Travel to New York
Direct flights
| from | duration |
|---|---|
| London | 7h40 |
| Manchester | 7h45 |
| Edinburgh | 7h35 |
Airports
John F Kennedy International (JFK)
13km to midtown Manhattan
La Guardia (LGA)
19km to midtown Manhattan
New York Newark Liberty International (EWR)
26km to midtown Manhattan
All figures approximate
Average daily highs °C