27 Things to See and Do in New York City

It’s probably an hour before sundown. The streets were filled with yellow cabs waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Men dressed in suits and ties and some in tennis shoes, women in clothes of mostly black rushed through the pedestrian crossings. All seemed to be lost in their own world.Looking up from the sidewalk on 5th Avenue, the brown building reached the sky. What a massive city this is…with rows and rows of buildings pointing skyward…showing the possibilities of our American dream…what a beautiful sight. “I love New York” tee shirts found in almost all street corners in midtown. Three tee shirts for $10, sold by vendors who could pack their wares in lightning speed when the police turned around the corner. They found every way to make ‘one more buck’.

Remembering September 11 brought back memories of New York City, a city we once called home. New York City attracts millions of visitors from all over the world each year. Nobody comes to this city to sleep…it’s a city that never sleeps!

Here are 27 of our favorite things to see and do in New York City:

1. Statue of Liberty-symbol of freedom, Lady Liberty with her golden torch stands 305 feet tall and dominates the sky in New York harbor.
2. Ellis Island- you may be able to trace your roots in this island (not me) with nearly 12 million people passing through in the 1800s and early 1900s.
3. South Street Seaport- one of our favorite places to hang out with stores and restaurants, cobblestone streets and ‘great street performances’.
4. Staten Island Ferry- no time to visit Statue of Liberty? Take this ferry and have a ‘close-up’ look of the Statue and the harbor for free.
5. New York Stock Exchange- see how the “bear” and “bull” works here.
6. Trinity Church- located on Wall Street showing Gothic Revival architecture.
7. Wall Street- the very heart of New York Financial District. Walk over to Broadway (cross street) and check out the McDonalds with a piano.
8. Battery Park-cannons, statues and monuments are found in this park. The World Trade Center Plaza’s Sphere is now located in here.
9. Brooklyn Bridge- take a walk across this suspension bridge.
10. Chinatown- lots of great cheap Chinese foods, fresh fruits and vegetables.
11. Little Italy- great place for Italian dessert.
12. Washington Square-New York has an arch too!
13. Bryant Park- yearly fashion show in spring and fall are held here.
14. New York Public Library- other than the hundreds of thousands of books, the main door in this building is worth checking out. Also the two stone lions named Patience and Fortitude.
15. Times Square- located at the heart of the theater district where neon lights and billboards illuminate in the night.
16. Rockefeller Center-great place to hang out. NBC is here and The Top of the Rock has a great 360 degrees view of the city. Radio City Music Hall is just around the corner.
17. St. Patrick’s Cathedral- walk through the 20,000 lb. doors into one of the most magnificent Catholic church in the country.
18. Central Park- nobody should miss New York City’s backyard.
19. Empire State Building- get the best bird’s eye view of New York City.
20. United Nations Building- you don’t have to go around the world to meet the people of all the nations. They are all here!
21. Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum- great place for young and old.
22. American Museum of Natural History- love this place especially the huge dinosaur skeletons.
23. Grand Central Terminal-check out the two Grand Staircases and the Main Concourse.
24. Metropolitan Museum of Art- one of the best in the United States.
25. The Museum of Modern Art- over 150,000 works of art, from abstracts to sculptures.
26. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum-modern and contemporary art and a beautiful New York landmark.
27. Full island cruise – take a three-hour full island cruise or a two-hour harbor lights cruise of Manhattan.

The above are listed with no particular order. Let us know your favorite places in New York City.