A visit to New York City is both exciting and intimidating. NYC offers everything: famous attractions, world-class museums and galleries, premier entertainment, diverse food, the subway, and living, breathing sets of some of your most beloved TV shows.
Travelling there as a tourist therefore means days jampacked with seeing as much as possible, and it can quickly become expensive if you’re not on a tour, where most things are included.
For those travelling on a shoestring budget there is hope however, as there are many free or almost-free activities that allow you to experience the city just as much as those with unlimited credit cards – tried and tested by yours truly.
- 1. The High Line
The High Line is a stretch of public park on a disused railway line, running for 2.33 kilometres from the Meatpacking District through Chelsea to Manhattan’s Lower West Side. The last trains ran along the track in the 1980s, and repurposing of the park began in 2006. The park features a tree-lined walkway and vegetation inspired by the plants that made it their home in the period of disuse – but the main attraction is the view.
On one side lies the Hudson River, only occasionally obstructed by a building, and on the other pedestrians enjoy a unique perspective of the city from the High Line’s height of 20 to 30 feet above street level. The park is open every day, with operating hours dependent on the season, and entry is free.
2. Carrie’s steps and the iconic Friends building
Many famous TV series were or are filmed – at least in part – in New York. While much of Friends was filmed in a Los Angeles studio, the exterior of their apartment building is a real-life NYC building located at 90 Bedford Street.
Other spots recognisable from the screen include Carrie Bradshaw’s front steps on 66 Perry Street (just be sure to respect the owner’s privacy and ‘do not walk on the stairs’ sign); Central Park, where scenes from too many movies and TV shows to name were filmed; the site of When Harry Met Sally’s famous ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ scene at Katz’s Delicatessen; and the top of the Empire State Building as featured in An Affair to Remember and Sleepless in Seattle, to name just a couple.
3. Explore Brooklyn
New York City is so much more than Manhattan alone. Particularly during recent years, Brooklyn has become a destination in its own right as a hub of entrepreneurs, start-ups, art and design popular with hipsters – making it a fun place to explore, eat, and shop. You will find plenty of unique cafes, delis, restaurants and bars, vintage and boutique stores, and parks, all amid a picturesque setting of brownstone building-lined, leafy streets.
The neighbourhoods of Park Slope and Green Point are two areas worth your time. Sweet tooths should make it a priority to visit the Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop in Green Point for a taste of their very popular goods.
4. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
Plan your meander through Brooklyn to end near the Brooklyn Bridge and make your way from there across to Manhattan, enjoying superb views along the way. The Brooklyn Bridge features a pedestrian walkway above the road, which makes it quite a pleasant stroll – though if you go in winter be sure to bring extra layers!
The Manhattan end of the Brooklyn Bridge lands you near City Hall, and views are best enjoyed walking from Brooklyn toward Manhattan rather than the other direction.
5. Central Park
No visit to New York is complete without a stroll in Central Park. No matter what time of year you visit, the park is alive with activity – ice skating in winter, incredible fall foliage in the autumn, concerts and festivals in summer, and the clear evidence that life is returning to the park in spring
6. The Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island itself may not offer enough that entices you to visit, but the ferry ride from Whitehall Terminal across Upper Bay offers spectacular views of Manhattan’s iconic skyline. At night in particular, the twinkling skyscrapers make for an incredible vista.
7. The 9/11 Memorial
Regarded by many as “the day that changed everything”, the horrific events of September 11, 2001 are physically immortalised by the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. The memorial is situated precisely where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre stood, and features two square pools surrounded by trees. Along the edge of the pools are the names of all 2,977 victims of the September 11 attacks.
The memorial was opened 10 years after the attacks, with the official anniversary marked on September 11, 2011 before the opening on the 12th. The museum was then opened in May 2014. Entry to the museum requires a ticket, but the 9/11 Memorial itself is free to visit.
Many tours will take you through the Big Apple, check them out here!
Courtney Gahan is a serial expat, traveller and freelance writer who has bartered with Moroccan marketeers, seen the sun rise at Angkor Wat and elbowed her way through crowds on NYE in NYC
