Insight Guides Explore New York (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Pocket-sized travel guides featuring the very best routes and itineraries.

Discover the best of New York with this indispensably practical Insight Explore Guide. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see attractions like Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, Central Park and Statue of Liberty, to discovering hidden gems, including Greenwich Village, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking routes will save you time, help you plan and enhance your visit to New York.

Practical, pocket-sized and packed with inspirational insider information, this is the ideal on-the-move companion to your trip to New York.

- Over 18 walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat along the way
- Local highlights: discover what makes the area special, its top attractions and unique sights, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Insider recommendations: where to stay and what to do, from active pursuits to themed trips
- Hand-picked places: find your way to great hotels, restaurants and nightlife using the comprehensive listings
- Practical maps: get around with ease and follow the walks and tours using the detailed maps 
- Informative tips: plan your visit with an A to Z of advice on everything from transport to tipping
- Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
- Covers: Fifth Avenue, Times Square to Herald Square, Museum of Modern Art, United Nations and Midtown East, Central Park, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side Museums, Upper West Side, Harlem, The Cloisters, Flat Iron, SoFi, Union Square and Chelsea, Greenwich Village, Soho and Tribeca, East Village and Lower East Side, Lower Manhattan, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Brooklyn and The Bronx

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Jul 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839051005

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With ­top-­quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the world’s most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destination’s many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also ex­cursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments – options are shown in the ‘Food and Drink’ box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised A–Z of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafés and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Art enthusiasts

Foodies

Movie buffs’ New York

Nightlife

The performing arts

Shoppers

Skyscraper spotting

Spectacular views

Explore New York

The boroughs

New Yorkers

Population and melting pot

The classic New Yorker

Climate

Waterways

A walkers’ city

Staying safe

Subways, buses, and taxis

An exceptional city

Food and Drink

Fashions in food

Special diets

Food shops

Trends by area

Midtown

Meatpacking District, Chelsea, Soho, and Tribeca

East Village and Lower East Side

Upper West Side

Upper East Side

Brunch

Shopping

Department stores

What to buy

Fashion

Art and antiques

Books

Electronics

Entertainment

Theater

Dance

Music

Movies

Nightlife

History: Key Dates

New Amsterdam

Independence to Civil War

Late 19th century

20th century

21st century

Fifth Avenue

Empire State Building

Ticket options

New York Public Library

Reading Room

Rockefeller Center

Public art

Television tour

Top of the Rock

St Patrick’s Cathedral

The Paley Center for Media

Shopping stops

53rd to 56th streets

57th Street

Grand Army Plaza

Times Square To Herald Square

Times Square

42nd Street

Theater district

Sixth Avenue

Bryant Park

Landmark architecture

Herald Square

Macy’s

Museum of Modern Art

The collection

Museum layout

Fifth floor

Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Claude Monet

Beyond Realism

Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth

Fourth floor

Abstract Expressionism

Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns

Pop Art

Third floor

Second floor

Refreshment stops

United Nations and Midtown East

UN Headquarters

Architecture

Guided tours

Japan Society

East 42nd Street

Ford Foundation Building

Superman

Cambodian lunch

Chrysler Building

Grand Central Terminal

Main concourse

Lower level and balcony

Madison Avenue

Villard Houses

Park Avenue

The Citigroup Center

550 Madison Avenue

Central Park

Around the Dairy

Around the lake

The Ramble and north

Metropolitan Museum of Art

First floor

Ancient Egypt

American Wing

European art

Modern art

Greek and Roman art

Second floor

Upper East Side Museums

Museum Mile

The Africa Center

El Museo del Barrio

Museum of the City of New York

Jewish Museum

Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

National Academy Museum

The Guggenheim

Neue Galerie

The Metropolitan Museum

Beyond Museum Mile

Frick Collection

Roosevelt Island

Upper West Side

American Museum of Natural History

Background

Fourth-floor Orientation Center

Hall of Vertebrate Origins

Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs

Hall of Ornithiscian Dinosaurs

Early mammals

Rose Center for Earth and Space

Other highlights

Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Theater

Columbus Avenue

Lincoln Center

Music and dance

Columbus Circle

Harlem

Strivers’ Row

Art and music

Shabazz Mosque and Market

The Cloisters

Upper Level

Romanesque Hall

Pontaut Chapter House

Boppard and Campin Rooms

Lower Level

Gothic Chapel

Flatiron, SoFi, Union Square, and Chelsea

SoFi

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

Union Square

Chelsea

Chelsea Historic District

Gallery district

Chelsea Piers

IAC Building

Chelsea Hotel

Greenwich Village

Washington Square

Washington Mews

West Village

Greenwich Avenue

Christopher Street

Bedford Street

Hudson Street

Bleecker Street

Meatpacking District

The High Line

Soho and Tribeca

West Broadway

Prince Street

Greene Street

Soho Historic Cast Iron District

Broadway

Bloomingdale’s and around

Tribeca

Leonard Street

Hudson and Harrison

East Village and Lower East Side

East Village

Cooper Square

St Mark’s Place

Public Theater

Nolita and Little Italy

Lower East Side

The Bowery

Tenement Museum

Orchard Street to Houston

Lower Manhattan

Wall Street

Trinity Church

9/11 Tribute Museum and World Trade Center Site

World Financial Center

Hudson River Esplanade

Battery Park

Bowling Green

South Street Seaport

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Statue of Liberty

Ellis Island

Immigration Museum

Staten Island Ferry

Brooklyn

Prospect Park

Botanic Garden

Brooklyn Museum

The Bronx

Botanical Garden

Bronx Zoo

Little Italy

Accommodations

Midtown

Chelsea to Gramercy Park

Upper West Side

Upper East Side

Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District

Soho and Tribeca

Lower East Side

Lower Manhattan

Restaurants

Midtown

Upper West Side

Harlem

Upper East Side

Chelsea to Gramercy Park

Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District

East Village, Little Italy, and Lower East Side

Soho

Tribeca

Lower Manhattan

Brooklyn

The Bronx

Nightlife

Theater

Live music

Jazz venues

Nightclubs

Comedy and cabaret

A-Z

A

Airports and arrivals

C

Children

Climate and clothes

Crime and safety

Customs regulations

D

Disabled travelers

Driving in New York

Dogs

Drinking age

E

Electricity

Embassies and consulates

Emergency numbers

Entry regulations

Etiquette

H

Health and medical care

Emergency medical treatment

Hours and holidays

Business hours

Public holidays

I

Internet

L

LGBTQ+ travelers

Useful resources

Newspapers and magazines

Lost property

M

Maps

Media

Print

Radio

Television

Money

Credit cards and ATMs

Currency exchange

Refunds

P

Postal services

R

Religion

Rest stops

S

Security

Smoking

Street grid

T

Taxis

Water taxis

Telephone and faxes

Cell phones

Useful numbers

Non-emergency services

Time zone

Tipping

Tourist information

Transportation

Subways and buses

PATH trains

Rail and bus stations

W

Websites

Weights and measures

Books and Film

Books

History

Contemporary non-fiction

Fiction

Films

Recommended Routes For...

Art enthusiasts

There’s more art than can be seen in a lifetime: from the big five – the Met (route 6), MoMA (route 3), Whitney (route 12), Guggenheim, and Frick (route 7) – to Chelsea’s gallery scene (route 11).

Dreamstime

Foodies

For fresh produce try Union Square Greenmarket, Eataly, or Chelsea Market (route 11), while Dean & Deluca (route 13) and Katz’s Delicatessen (route 14) are packed with gourmet goodies.

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Movie buffs’ New York

King Kong clambered up the Empire State Building (route 1); Holly Golightly breakfasted at Tiffany’s (route 1); Travis Bickle wandered Times Square (route 2); and the Corleones caused big trouble in Little Italy (route 14).

Getty Images

Nightlife

Check out the alt-rock scene on the Lower East Side (route 14); catch a set at a Greenwich Village jazz club (route 12) or Harlem’s Apollo (route 9); or dance all night at a Meatpacking District hotspot (route 12).

Dreamstime

The performing arts

Take in a Broadway show on the Great White Way (route 2); the ballet at Lincoln Center (route 8); an off-Broadway romp in the East Village (route 14); or free Shakespeare in Central Park (route 5).

Paul Kolnik/New York City Ballet

Shoppers

Go on a shopping spree at Fifth Avenue department stores (route 1); visit boutiques in Soho (route 13) and the Meatpacking District (route 12); or browse 18 miles of books at the Strand Book Store (route 12).

iStockphoto

Skyscraper spotting

Explore the vertical city, including the Flatiron (route 11), the Art Deco-era Chrysler (route 4), and Empire State (route 1) buildings, along with high-rise Lower Manhattan (route 15).

iStockphoto

Spectacular views

Take in glorious views from the Empire State Building (route 1), Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center (route 1), Brooklyn Bridge (route 17), Statue of Liberty (route 16), or Staten Island Ferry (route 16).

iStockphoto

Explore New York

The 62 million-plus visitors who come each year arrive with skyscraper-high expectations, but with jaw-dropping architecture, world-class cultural sights, and fabulous shops and restaurants, the Big Apple does not disappoint.

In his writings on the city, Here is New York, the children’s author, critic, and Pulitzer Prize-winner E.B. White wrote, ‘New York is nothing like Paris; it is nothing like London; and it is not Spokane multiplied by sixty, or Detroit multiplied by four. It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the Depression.’

Since its purchase by the Dutch in 1626, through its growth as a maritime hub, to its contemporary position as the cultural and financial center of the United States, New York his risen to become a crossroads of the world and a place where the air tingles with the promise that everything is possible.

Fifth Avenue at night

iStockphoto

Statistics

The statistics are quite something: 6,400 miles (10,300km) of streets, 578 miles (930km) of waterfront, 26,000 restaurants, around 13,000 yellow taxis, almost 6,000 city buses, 150 museums, and 400 art galleries, more than 240 theaters, and 30,000 acres (11,736 hectares) of parks and beaches. Whatever you’re after, from world-class museums on the Upper East Side to cutting-edge couture in the Meatpacking District, you’ll find it here. If you stay in a sky-high hotel far above the teeming streets, or stroll in Central Park, or walk out onto the terrace overlooking the Hudson River at the Cloisters, you may even be able to find that city-center rarity: peace and quiet.

Statue of Liberty

iStockphoto

The boroughs

New York City covers a surface area of 302 sq miles (782 sq km), and is divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Manhattan, the smallest borough, has a surface area of almost 23 sq miles (59 sq km), but is the most densely populated part of the city.

It remains open to debate how New York got its ‘Big Apple’ tag. Some say that the nickname came from a 1920s newspaper column about horse racing called ‘Around the Big Apple.’ Others say it was used by jazz players to indicate getting to the top of their profession, or reaching ‘the Big Apple.’

New Yorkers

Population and melting pot

According to the US Census Bureau, New York City has a population of 8.6 million. Of that figure, approximately 1.7 million people reside in Manhattan, 2.65 million in Brooklyn, 2.4 million in Queens, 1.5 million in the Bronx, and around 480,000 in Staten Island.

Although there are other cities in the United States with a high percentage of foreign-born residents, none can match the range or diversity of the ethnic communities of New York. Here, around 32 percent of inhabitants are of European descent, 24 percent are African-American or African-Caribbean, 29 percent are Hispanic, and 14 percent are Asian. A former mayor, David Dinkins, once described the city as a ‘gorgeous mosaic.’

Posing for pictures on the Brooklyn Bridge

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Downtown Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge

Dreamstime

The classic New Yorker

New Yorkers are stereotypically portrayed as being as relentlessly energetic as their hometown is fast-paced. Frenetic or not, this energy is perhaps what gives New Yorkers their edge and makes them so sure that Manhattan is the center of the universe. Increasing numbers are choosing to retire in the city, lured by the ease of getting around and the many attractions.

Resilience is also a key attribute. The reaction of most city inhabitants to the attacks of September 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed two hijacked jets into the towering World Trade Center, or more recently when Hurricane Sandy caused havoc in Lower Manhattan, was to respond with characteristic resolve to recover and rebuild.

Greenwich’s White Horse Tavern

Nowitz Photography/Apa Publications

Climate

New York is blessed with sunshine year-round, but it has four distinct seasons. Summers can be steamy, with temperatures as high as 96°F (36°C), and