New York is a city unlike any other. You come across every kind of person there and around every corner is a different type of neighbourhood. What I found oddly surprising was the huge sense of community you would come across accidentally while taking a stroll near the local park beside your Air BnB. If you’re looking for tips and tricks I did pick up a few of them during my two week stay last summer.
Staying in Brooklyn instead of Manhattan is far cheaper
Although most people want to stay in Manhattan because it contains the classic scenes you’d expect to find when visiting New York, it is insanely expensive. If you move out to one of the other burrows you’re far more likely to find cheap accommodation. As well as that, Brooklyn is incredibly hip and there is a huge amount of hidden gems you’d miss if you spent your whole time in New York in Manhattan.
If you want to visit the Top of the Rock, go to Bar 65 instead
As long as you’re over 21, this is an alternative to seeing the same view one level below. You pay 20 dollars for a cocktail which seems expensive until you realise that an adult ticket to the Top of the Rock costs 36 dollars and an additional 10 dollars if you want to visit during sunset. So why not enjoy the view with a cocktail instead. If you go for this option be sure to be dressed respectably as they do have a dress code!
If you want to save money do the Staten Island Ferry instead of visiting Liberty Island
Visiting Lady Liberty is one of the staple tourist things to do in New York. However, the Staten Island Ferry is completely free, goes every 15 minutes and you get a view of Lady liberty without having to pay to go to Liberty island or give your neck a workout by having to look up the entire time to see the woman herself. You also get lovely views of Manhattan and Brooklyn as an added bonus!
There’s a secret cocktail bar above a Five Guys in the West Village
I actually didn’t get the chance to visit this spot but my friends who arrived a few days before me told me about it! They just stumbled across the Five Guys and were very confused at all the very dressed up people walking through the fast food joint. They wandered in and had fun having a few cocktails after burgers and didn’t mind in the slightest being the worst dressed people there.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is free entry every Friday from 4-8pm
Admission is free for all visitors during every Friday evening from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. It’s generally pretty packed though and so to avoid long lines, try to arrive after 4pm. Also, during our visit, two kind strangers donated us their day passes (as we arrived before the free admission hours) after they were finished their visit and so if you do pay maybe pass on the favour and make someone’s day!
Thanks to Sophie and Tom for providing me with most of these tips in the first place. Thanks to the lads for heading to the big Apple with myself for fun times and to everyone I ran into while over there, you’re only great!