Day 2: New York: Hearst Tower, Columbus Circle, Central Park, Museum of Natural History in New York, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center
It's 5:00 in the morning when we wake up in the best way we could have imagined on this trip to New York during Holy Week. Open your eyes and see from the bed the Empire State Building in front of us and as the sky begins to clear little by little, it is one of the magnificent things that await us the next few days in the Big Apple.
Today the day was initially rainy but we consulted on the internet and we have seen that it seems that in the end, despite the forecast of a gray day, it will rain so we start when it is just over 5:30 in the Tomorrow, reviewing the planning we have for today, which includes the Natural History Museum in New York in case of rain. Enjoying these first hours of the day, in front of extraordinary views, we began to get rid, little by little of the jetlag and the fatigue that we accumulated yesterday, after watching the NBA game in New York.
Views from our room in New York
It is at 7:30 in the morning when we leave the Holiday Inn Times Square making way for the first thing to have breakfast and it is that in our hotel, if there is something wrong, it is that breakfast costs $ 20 per person, a price that we found quite Stop, so we decided that it is best to go out and start the day having a strong breakfast to take energy to spend this second day of the trip to New York.
In this area of New York we cannot say that there is no place where you have breakfast, if not quite the opposite. So although it is hard for us to decide for one, we finally stop at a Starbucks, right in front of our hotel, where we order a couple of coffees and a couple of pastries for $ 11.75 that give us the energy to start our first full day, in which probably apart from enjoying several points that we have in planning about what to see in New York by neighborhoods, hoping that it rains in the afternoon, we will approach the Natural History Museum, the best museum in New York according to many.
The idea was to start today in Times Square and Brodway, and then go up slowly to the Tourist Office, halfway between Times Square and Central Park, where we have to pick up the CityPASS to enjoy the New York's best tourist attractions, saving more than 42%, but seeing that the day is cloudy and there are better days as the week progresses in which we can enjoy Times Square with better weather, we decided to skip the first part, approaching directly to the Office of Tourism.
Save money in New York
There are several cards that allow you to enjoy discounts and save time by skipping the lines of the most important attractions in New York.
- Booking the New York Explorer Pass allows you to enter 3, 4, 5, 7 or 10 of the main attractions with great flexibility being able to choose the tickets among the 58 available attractions, until the last minute.
You can find more information in this post about the New York Explorer Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices.
- Booking the CityPass allows you to enter 6 of the most visited attractions in New York at a price 42% cheaper.
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You can find more information in this post about the New York Pass: how it works, what it includes and prices.
New York streets
Without having the forecast that we are in the middle of Holy Week, we find that today because it is Good Friday the office is closed, so when we ask at one of the Times Square ticket offices they tell us that we will have to wait until Monday to be able to pick it up, so we have to make another small change of plans, deciding on the march that we will go to Central Park, to spend there the rest of the morning and in the afternoon we will approach until the Natural History Museum in New York, where it is not essential to pay a ticket with fixed cost, since by law this can not do it, but you can pay directly the will at the box office.
New York details
As soon as we start the city tour, now paying attention to everything around us, we begin to see the typical New York images, the one that most of us have in mind and that we have seen so many times in the movies, which include ambulances, fire and police cars at every step, smoking sewers, yellow cabs that flood the city, people running with their coffees in the hand ... all those scenes that make us find ourselves in a movie set every few steps.
New York Images
We begin to ascend towards Central Park on 8th Av, where at 300 West 57th Street and 959 of the Eighth we find the Hearst Tower, designed by Norman Foster, which stands out among the other buildings that surround it and where it is located the headquarters of Cosmopolitan or Marie Claire, the well-known publications.
Hearst Tower
We continue the walk along Eighth Avenue, which in a few meters takes us to Columbus Circle, in the southwest area of Central Park, between Broadway, Central Park West, Central Park South and Eighth Avenue, where we can find a statue of Christopher Columbus, That dominates the square.
Here, apart from the statue of the discoverer, we also find the Time Warner Center, the Trump International Hotel and Tower and the Merchant's Gate to Central Park.
Columbus Circle
We continue in Midtown Manhattan and from here we enter Central Park, one of the 100 things to see and do in New York, and the most famous park in the world, where, why not say it, we were looking forward to walking and getting lost.
More practical information to prepare your trip to New York
- 10 things to book before traveling to New York
- The 10 best tours and excursions in New York
- 100 things to see and do in New York
- New York guide step by step
- The 10 best museums in New York
- The best travel insurance for New York
- The best viewpoints in New York
- What to see in New York by neighborhood
- The 10 best free things in New York
- 20 essential places to visit in New York
- 10 essential tips for traveling to New York
Being the day as it is, today will not be precisely the day that we dedicate more hours to Central Park, but being here, with the idea of going to spend a few hours in the Natural History Museum, one of the best museums in New York, we can not stop entering, even if only a few minutes in this lung of the city, which is undoubtedly one of the best known and most visited places in the city.
Entering Central Park
As you will have seen if you read the planning we had for this trip to New York, we are making some changes and, although we have only spent a few hours in the city, we have already realized that one of the most important things in a city like New York is not carrying a closed itinerary or not having a plan B for days when it rains or bad weather. That is why we can only recommend that although we are the first to have a more or less planned itinerary and advise doing so, we believe that New York is this type of city in which we have to make room for improvisation, especially for days, as we mentioned before, when the weather is bad or we simply extend the visit to another point.
Central park
Although today we do not want to go too far into Central Park, it is inevitable to approach some of its most iconic corners, in which we feel again on the stage of a movie, enjoying every second. From here we approach Strawberry Fields a garden located in the central area of Central Park, dedicated to the memory of John Lennon, who was killed at Dakota Apartments, very close to the park.
Strawberry fields
As we have read, John Lennon used to walk around here, as it was one of his favorite corners of the city, so it was here that this tribute was created the garden "Imagine" inspired by the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever" .
Strawberry fields
As we planned this morning, the idea is to go from here to Natural History Museum in New York, but how are 11:30 in the morning and we still have a little uninhabited body to the new schedule, since we are here, we decided to approach until most famous hotdogs place in New York, the Gray's Papaya, and thus be able to eat something before entering the most important museum in New York, where we will be at least three or four hours.
Central park
In the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West we find the Dakota Building, in which, as we mentioned earlier, they killed John Lennon and where we can not stop a few seconds to take a photo and highlight this place, as another one of the innumerable corners of the city in which events that changed the world have happened, in one way or another.
Dakota Building Entrance
We continue along Columbus Avenue to reach Grays Papaya, where we ask for the offer of two hot dogs, with onion and sauce (these extra are free), plus medium papaya juice, the most famous, and another one of pina colada for $ 5.95 per person.
Gray's Papaya
Yes, yes, you have read well, $ 5.95 per person and we have to say that they are very good, so if you are in the area (and if you should not approach), do not forget to try the New York hot dogs.
The best hotdog in New York
If you want to enjoy the best hot dogs in New York you can not miss a visit to Grey's Papaya in the Upper West Side, very close to Central Park.
We ask for the offer of 2 hot dogs, with onion and sauce plus a natural juice (they have many varieties, including those of papaya and pina colada that are excellent), for only $ 5.95 per person.
We who are not very fond of hot dogs, we have to say that we have loved and are more than we recommend.
With the stomach already ready to follow the New York route and being in this area, we can not stop approaching up to Levain Bakery, where they say they are New York's best cookies And how can it be otherwise, we want to try them and thus have a perfect dessert for this first full day in New York.
And is that another thing to keep in mind in a trip to New York, if you like gastronomy or try those "specialties" of the city, it is to have noted this type of references that allow us to try some of its best kept "secrets" while touring the city.
The best cookies in New York
If you want to enjoy the best cookies in New York you cannot miss a visit to Levain Bakery at 167 West 74th Street, in the Upper West Side, also very close to Central Park.
We ask for an assortment of the four varieties of cookies they have, plus two coffees for $ 22.
And although it seems incredible, as the days go by in New York we will see that this is common, we find a queue of more than thirty people waiting to buy their expected cookies. We consider it a few minutes, assessing whether it is worth it or not to wait, but seeing the opinions and above all knowing that we will not return in the area, we decided that it is worth spending a few minutes to try the best cookies in the world, so we stand in line to wait for our turn.
Cola in Levain Bakery
After almost 30 minutes we finally entered a small bakery, located in a kind of basement, where we ordered a pack of the four varieties of cookies that have more than a couple of coffees with ice for $ 22. It is true that it is not especially cheap, but it must be said that they are huge and just because of the smell, it is already worth the wait ... So you can imagine the taste !!
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And so, with our dessert, we go to Central Park with the idea of enjoying this picnic dessert makeshift. But the idea is short and is that in a matter of 10 minutes it starts to rain and we have to advance the visit to the Natural History Museum in New York, visit with which we will be able to take refuge from the rain and above all to make one of the visits that we most wanted to do in New York.
Natural History Museum in New York
Considered as one of the most important museums in New York and of the world, like one of the most educational, whether adult or child, we believe it is one of the visits you can't miss in New York.
While it is likely that you do not have many hours to go through it, to make a quick visit of the most important rooms you will already need about 3 or 4 hours, we advise you to review its website and identify the areas you want to visit, either by importance or by interest.
In the end we have been around for 4 hours and we can say that we have not seen everything we wanted to see, so if we are clear about something, the day we return will undoubtedly one day be dedicated to touring the Natural History Museum in New York.
We leave you a selection of what have been for us the most interesting areas of the Museum of Natural History:
Central Hall of the Museum of Natural History in New York
Accessing through the main entrance, located on 79th Street west of Central Park (there is another entrance on the side where there are not so many queues), we find one of the best known images of the museum, that of the Barosaurus, exposed in the room Theodore Roosevelt.
Barosaurus
Natural History Museum in New York. 1st floor
On the first floor of the Museum of Natural History in New York we find a multitude of interesting rooms, among which we can highlight:
- North American mammal models
Here we find life-size models of the different mammals, arranged in such a way that they seem to be alive.
First floor of the Natural History Museum
- Living room of the ocean
One of the most striking rooms of the museum is that considering that a real-scale blue whale awaits us on the ceiling of the room, what else can we expect?
First floor of the Natural History Museum
- Salon of minerals
Another of the most striking rooms on this floor of the museum
Mineral room
Natural History Museum in New York. 3rd floor
Here we find several rooms, among which we can highlight the ones dedicated to the Indians of the plains and the forests of the east and also the one dedicated to the peoples of the Pacific, where we find different sizes and explanations that include several anthropological summaries about how they lived.
Natural History Museum in New York
Natural History Museum in New York. 4th floor Dinosaurs
We could say that this is one of the most visited rooms of the Natural History Museum and that we are facing one of the most important collections in the world.
Dinosaurs rooms. Natural History Museum in New York
It may be plastic at first sight, but we have to tell you that most are reproductions and fossils in real size, teaching us and getting a little closer to an impressive and interesting world, which we can see and almost touch on this incredible visit.
Natural History Museum in New York
Special mention must be made to the last acquisition of theNatural History Museum in New York, the titanosaur, whose remains were found in Argentina, being one of the largest skeletons ever found. Building this replica took more than six months and today we can see it "peeking" through one of the rooms on the fourth floor of the Natural History Museum, another reason not to miss this incredible visit.
Titanosaurus Museum of Natural History
When we realize a few minutes past 4:00 in the afternoon, when we decided to finish this visit, when we left, finding ourselves right in front of Central Park, finding a fairly clear, even sunny sky , so we decided to taste the cookies that we had to put in the backpack in a hurry because of the rain, with some soft drinks in the lung of the Big Apple, to rest for a little while and continue with the route we had planned for today .
After this stop and seeing that the sky begins to turn a little gray again we take the opportunity to cross Central Park, traveling through the central area, to then exit through the zoo area and end at 5th Avenue, the place we want to travel this afternoon .
Central park
Central park
Once we are on 5th Avenue, we can finally say that we are stepping on one of the New York's most famous streets, also called Avenida de los Millonarios and is that apart from being one of the most important shopping streets in the city is the street that houses more luxury stores, as well as places and accommodation at practically prohibitive prices.
5 Av
Details of 5th Avenue
We pass through the Frick Collection to continue our walk and pass through the Emanu-El Temple, the first congregation belonging to Judaism in New York, which we hope to visit the next day we return to this area of the city.
Sunset over Central Park
From here and only after walking a few minutes we enter the most commercial and chic area of Fifth Avenue, that area that seems to start with the Plaza Hotel, a luxury hotel of 19 floors with a height of 76 meters, which was made most famous if possible after appearing in 1992 in the film Home alone 2: Lost in New York.
A good option if this is your first time in the city is to book this one-day guided tour in Spanish to see some of the most interesting places in the city such as Fifth Avenue knowing its history and curiosities.
Plaza Hotel
Next to Central Park we find the Apple store, known for its design and for its access and also for offering free internet connection, something that in other circumstances, we would have appreciated for life, although now that Vodafone has facilitated roaming for free In the US and in Europe, the internet connection has already ceased to be a headache, at least in these destinations.
From here we begin to find a succession of fashion brands ranging from Louis Vuitton to Prada, through Chanel or Tiffany's. We have to say that we are not big fans of this type of shopping, they do not even call our attention too much to look at the shop windows, so after making some stops to take photos and be surprised by the contrast of luxury stores with carts of street food at its doors, we follow the path to reach the St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Fifth Avenue
San Patrick is the largest neo-Gothic Catholic cathedral in North America and also an essential symbol and visit of the city. We, how could it be otherwise, we were dumbfounded and it is that there is no more "weird" feeling than to find this type of buildings between skyscrapers and shops of the most chic brands and we can still say that we have just landed in New York and we are not quite used to these contrasts.
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Admission is free and can be visited from 6:30 in the morning until 20:45 in the afternoon, highlighting inside several huge organs and the sculpture of La Piedad, three times larger than the original Michelangelo in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Interior of St. Patrick's Cathedral
Right in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral we have Rockefeller Center, a complex of 19 buildings, located between Fifth and Sixth Avenue, that come together to make them one of the symbols of the city. Here we also find the skyscraper of General Electric, of 70 floors and 266 meters high, which on its highest floor houses the Top of the Rock viewpoint, another of the essential visits in New York, that we will leave for a day that is clearer.
Top of the Rock viewpoint
Being in this area of the city, we can not stop approaching another of the most famous corners of the city, Rockefeller Plaza, where we can still enjoy the iconic skating ista that is installed when the Christmas season arrives.
Rockefeller Plaza
Rockefeller Plaza ice rink
We take advantage of the moment and the environment to sit for a while to rest and above all "see life go by", in a day that has been the most complete and much more after facing a few hours of sleep and a jet lag that although we thought that It was not going to affect us, in the end it is starting to make a dent in us, so we decided that it is best to start approaching the center and looking for something to have dinner, remembering that in Times Square we have a Bubba Gump, that restaurant famous for the movie Forrest Gump, which we already tried on our trip to the West Coast of the United States, and that we are really looking forward to tasting again.
Night falls in Times Square
But we did not remember something we had read and it is that in New York, if a restaurant is famous, there is no way to enter if it is not queuing and it has been. Upon arriving and seeing the people in the queue, they have confirmed that we had an hour and a half wait, the same thing that happens when we ask at the famous Italian restaurant Carmine's.
Times Square
A little desperate, more from fatigue than from hunger and after several times around Times Square, which at this time is completely crowded with people, we decided to enter Junior's, a restaurant that they recommend their cheesecake and where we ordered a couple of sandwich one of tuna and other pastrami with chips and vegetables, which pass without much pain or glory on our table and for which we pay 42 dollars.
It's half past nine at night when we come back through the doors of the Holiday Inn Times Square, falling in bed, although still having a few minutes of lucidity to contemplate some breathtaking views of New York: the Empire State illuminated in front of us.
View from our bed at the Holiday Inn Times Square
Day 3: New York: Contrast and afternoon tour in Brooklyn: Brooklyn Promenade, Empire Fulton Ferry Park - Jane's Carousel, Brooklyn Bridge, Front Street, Jay Street, Manhattan Bridge
