Things to do / Travel Guide
The City that Never Sleeps, the Fun City, the Big Apple - we're talking about none other than New York City (NYC). The city's nicknames tell its story very well. It's the Financial Capital of the World, the Empire City, Gotham, the World's Metropolis. Israel Zangwill lauded it with the name “the Melting Pot,” praising its uncanny ability to take immigrants from all over the world and transform them into hard-working and freedom-loving Americans. Thomas Jefferson called it the sewer of the depravities of human nature. Not surprisingly it's also been called the City of Surprising Contrasts.
New York's skyscrapers awe; her wealth ravishes; you can either love or hate her residents; her Broadway shows entertain and captivate; her parks enchant; she loves to stubbornly withhold her manifold secrets from the tourist who patiently seeks them out.
New York City has been immortalized in songs by the likes of Frank Sinatra, with his world-famous serenade “New York, New York,” as well as by such greats as Leadbelly and Cole Porter. More recently, modern artists like the Last Poets, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, Grandmaster Flash, the Beastie Boys, Seal, and Blues Traveler have also sung their praises to New York City.
Some of the most popular and successful films of all time have been tributes to New York City. There's been “West Side Story,” the New York adaptation of Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet” about rival gangs, “Coming to America,” Eddie Murphy's hilarious romp of an African prince searching for a wife in Queens, Woody Allen's “Bullets Over Broadway,” Jim Henson's unforgettable “Muppets Take Manhattan,” Marlon Brando's breakthrough film “On the Waterfront,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” the animated feature “Madagascar,” and many other well-known films.
While channel surfing, between “Seinfeld,” “Friends,” “NYPD Blue,” and “Sex and the City,” you can easily get the impression that EVERY popular TV show is based in New York City.
One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, over 40 million people visit New York City each year. The majority of tourists are domestic, while a sizable percentage are from England, Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico, France, Italy, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands and many others.
What's special about New York is that it is so full of life - the wellsprings of human creativity were tapped there centuries ago and the city hasn't stopped blossoming since. In this regard, NYC is one of the world hubs of bests, tallests, greatests, and mosts. It boasts one of the world's leading financial districts and the largest mass of gold bullion (one quarter of the world's gold bullion rests safely underneath Wall Street!). People from all over the world come to New York City to witness this greatness, as it is something of a monument to human creativity and ingenuity, and will likely remain so well into the future.
The agreed-upon best time to visit New York is in autumn, from mid-September to mid-October. You get the excitement of the big city along with the visual magnificence of the change in seasons. The parks, like Central Park and Prospect Park, are set alight with bright reds and oranges until the dying embers of the approaching winter and holiday season. The spring months are also undoubtedly good, and obviously a good time to go to the many arboretums and botanical gardens. Conversely, hotels fill up at these times of year proportionate to their popularity, with the prices rising as well.
Otherwise, if you want to dodge the crowds and save on hotels, you can visit the city in the winter months and summer months. There is much to see in these seasons as well. However, be warned that winter, from November to about April, brings freezing rain and snow, and the summer season is often hot and muggy. Of course in both seasons bear in mind that there are often inimitably pleasant days that are quintessential to the whole New York experience as well.
Time Zone
The New York City (NYC) region is on Eastern Time, three hours ahead of Pacific Time.
Playing It Safe In New York City
Since the early 1990s, New York City has seen crime gone down immeasurably. Now the least-affected-by-crime of the 25 largest cities in the U.S., NYC has never been safer. Despite some persistent negative stereotypes to the contrary, most New Yorkers spend their entire lives in NYC without ever being robbed or mugged. Generally, there's safety in numbers. As there are always crowds on the streets, even at night, stay with the crowd and you'll be fine.
As pickpockets sometimes frequent the streets, refrain from carrying large amounts of cash on your person. Regarding beggars, you can firmly decline to give charity if you don't feel like it without having to feel bad, as they're probably trying to con you. Unless you feel like being separated from your money in a hurry, its best to avoid a sidewalk card game or shell game.
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