The Big Apple – New York In Manhattan

New York, The City That Never Stops

New York City is the world's most diverse and intriguing city! Experience the incredible architecture, including some of the world's best-known buildings such as the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. See the Statue of Liberty; enjoy a harbor cruise; tour Harlem and enjoy a Gospel service and lunch; take the very popular Showbiz Insiders Tour!

NY Tours can show you all the sights -- by double-decker bus, luxury motorcoach, cruise ship, or helicopter.

Double-decker buses are a great way to see New York, as you can hop-on and hop-off, and spend as much times as you want at any location so you can see what's most important to you. You'll experience all the excitement and fun of the city by day or night. You'll marvel at all the lights and sounds of the "City that never sleeps!"

Getting Around New York City

For a city with a lot of people, NYC accommodates their transportation needs quite efficiently. Visitors can choose to travel by way of subway, bus, ferry or taxi cab. Sometimes walking isn’t such a bad idea when you want to take in the scenes and avoid the occasional delayed subways and irritating traffic jams. The trick is to avoid traveling crosstown on a bus or in a cab in Midtown during the midday rush.



New York Nightlife

New York City’s nightlife calls out your name, begging for you to take advantage of the possibilities. A simple evening stroll could turn into a night of flirty conversation or hot and heavy dance floor moves. The city is abuzz almost 24-7 with opportunities for tourists to take a slice out of life. NYC has a variety of comedy club venues, night clubs, live entertainment and DJ’ed party events. Lines grow long as the night lingers so try to avoid the late, excited rush of thick crowds. Sometimes only V.I.P. slip through the cracks of a popular hot spot. But don’t fear - there are plenty of choices to choose from.

NEW YORK THEATRE

As for the theater scene, no better boasts a larger following than the theaters of New York City. There are so many possibilities for this type of entertainment, it could make your head swirl. Of course, everyone, once in their lifetime has heard of Broadway- the subject of many songs, movies and childhood dreams. Productions are often referred to as Broadway, Off-Broadway and even Off-Off-Broadway. Theaters are referred as such depending on their prices, pay scales and star power.

Statue of Liberty

Visitors experience a special insider's view of the engineering marvel that is the Statue of Liberty. Time passes are needed to enter the monument. A limited number of time passes are available at the ferry ticket offices for walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis or reserved in advance by calling the ferry company at: 1-866-STATUE4(1-866-782-8834)U.S. calls only.

To better understand this monumental work of art, visitors will be able to view inside the Statue through a glass ceiling, guided by a park ranger and an enhanced lighting and new video system. In addition, visitors can walk out onto the Statue’s observation deck to see the panoramic views of New York City and the Harbor, and witness the Statue up close from her promenade and Ft. Wood. The Statue's crown is not accessible and the torch has been officially closed since July 1916.

Located on 12-acre Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of political freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886 and was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was extensively restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.

Visitors will now have a choice of two options in experiencing the monument:

1. PROMENADE TOUR - This options takes visitors through the monument lobby, past the original torch to the Statue of Liberty Exhibit for a 20-30 minute Ranger-guided tour. Visitors will then proceed outdoors on the lower promenade and Fort Wood for a brief talk with great views of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor.

2. OBSERVATORY TOUR - This option incorporates the promenade tour plus a visit to the pedestal observation platform for an interesting new experience allowing visitors to view the Statue's interior framework through a new glass ceiling portal and taking part in a ranger-guided program learning about the Statue's design.

The Statue's crown and torch are not open.

Outdoor tours are also given by National Park Service rangers, staffing levels permitting.

Ellis Island

There is no entrance fee to Ellis Island. Ellis Island was incorporated as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument on May 11, 1965. Between 1892 and 1954, approximately 12 million steerage and third class steamship passengers, who entered the United States through the port of New York, were legally and medically inspected at Ellis Island. Reopened on September 10, 1990 after a massive restoration, the Main Building on Ellis Island is now a museum dedicated to the history of immigration and the important role this island claimed during the mass migration of humanity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Ellis Island is Federal property within the shared territorial jurisdiction of the States of New York and New Jersey. Currently the Main Building is the only building open for public viewing and is one of nearly three dozen structures on the island.

World trade Centre

The World Trade Centre used to be one of the tallest building in New York before the 911 attack and its sight was just magnificent. Below is an excerpt of what had happened from New York Times.

Nation Mourns Victims of 9/11 Attacks As Families of Deceased Gather at World Trade Center Site

NEW YORK Sep 11, 2005 — America mourned the victims of Sept. 11 on Sunday as the siblings of the deceased read their loved ones' names to a weeping crowd at the site where the World Trade Center once stood.

One by one, the names of the dead echoed across the site where the twin towers collapsed four years ago in a nightmarish cloud of dust and debris. The ceremony drew to a close after four hours, the time it took to read the 2,749 names.

Relatives in the crowd bowed their heads and sobbed as speakers uttered brief, personal messages to the brothers and sisters they lost, many voices breaking in sorrow.

"Mom and Dad ache for you every minute," Linda Giammona-Julian said to her brother, Vincent Giammona, one of 343 firefighters killed. "We love you and we miss you; til we meet again."

"My big sister, my better half, life will never be the same without you," Rolando Moreno said to Yvette Moreno, who worked for a brokerage in the north tower.

As the names were read, weeping mourners filed down a ramp to a reflecting memorial pool at the floor of the site, which remains virtually empty four years after the attack killed 2,749 people and tore a hole in the New York skyline. Families filled the water with red, orange and yellow roses, some shaking as they inscribed dedications on the wooden edge of the pool.

Empire State Building

"Standing in lonely dignity in the midriff of Manhattan, a sentinel by land, a reassuring landmark by air, the Empire State Building is the quadri-faced pharos of the city. And until outstripped by the twin towers of the World Trade Center (1975), its 102 floors were the highest in New York. Though designed at the end of the so-called Art Deco period in the 1920s, when zigzagged appliques were prominent, its exterior shows little of the frippery characteristic of that 'decorated' period. It is, moreover, one of the very few skyscrapers with four facades, not just one facing the avenue.

"Zoning required several setbacks, but these were given a skillful buildup of scale at the lower levels, while the tower itself rises unflinchingly. Indented setbacks in the center of each of the long sides help lateral scale. An observation platform and a pylon topped by a television transmission antenna crown all."

"The architectural, commercial, and popular success of the Empire State Building depended on a highly rationalized process, and equally efficient advertising and construction campaigns. Skillful designers of Manhattan office buildings, architects Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon were familiar with the imperatives of design and construction efficiency that maximized investors' returns by filling the building with tenants as soon as possible. ...

"The Empire State Building, like most art deco skyscrapers, was modernistic, not modernist. It was deliberately less pure, more flamboyant and populist than European theory allowed. It appeared to be a sculpted or modeled mass, giving to business imagery a substantial character..."

Central Park

Take a walk through Manhattan’s backyard. Manhattan isn't only about tall buildings, food, shopping, theatre, music and art. Manhattan is the home of America's first planned public park space: Central Park. This tour starts with a subway ride from midtown to an Upper West Side entrance to New York's most famous green place. On this walking tour you will go beyond the sound bites. You will see movie sites and learn about the history, vision, and design that make Central Park a national landmark.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York. is an example of the decorated and geometric style of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture which prevailed in Europe from 1275 to 1400, and of which the Cathedrals of Rheims, Amiens, and Cologne in Europe and the naves of York Minister, Exeter, and Westminster, are among the most advanced examples.

Walking into Saint Patrick's Cathedral and the medieval cathedrals of Europe, one would find a similar atmosphere of beauty and peace. The awesome calm of cathedral today is in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the encircling cities outside. However, the cathedrals of the Middle Ages were the focal points in the lives of the people rather than retreats from life. Cathedrals were the hub of the action in the lives of the nobility as well as in the lives of the townspeople. Victory celebrations, excommunications, festivals, funerals, public meetings, and feast days were some of the numerous reasons for the people of the Middle Ages to flock to the cathedral. The bells of the cathedral were the town criers that announced the hours of the business day, called university students to their studies, and proclaimed great public events, a victory in battle, the death of a famous person, the birth of a prince or princess. Colorful processions would march noisily along its aisles and then through its portals into the streets of the city.

Times Square

Times Square is home to 27,000 residents and receives an estimated 26 million annual visitors each year. Times Square is thriving and retains the unique mix of creativity and commerce, energy and edge that have made it a unique representation of diversity of New York and an international icon.

I can only describe New York as a very fast and exciting city that you will appreciate especially the modern tall skyscrapers with lots things to do which will fill you with lots of excitements regardless it is shopping, sight seeing, musical, food….. You will love the Big Apple. Enjoy the Apple!

By Sean Toh

Looking for Information on Sight Seeing in New York, click the link below :
http://www.coachusa.com/newyorksightseeing/