New York City is the heart and soul of so many movies because nowhere else feels quite like it. Big yellow taxis and every world culture blend to create something unique that also somehow feels completely familiar because you’re sure you saw that street in a movie once, and one of your favourite television shows takes place in that building over there. New York City can be a spectacular trip for individuals, couples, families, or groups of friends, but how do you decide what to do with so many options?
The following will explore some of what you might want to keep in mind when planning a trip to New York City. It is worth noting that you need to look up the weather for your travel dates and dress accordingly in addition to the below. New York City can be shockingly cold and shockingly hot depending on the time of year, and no matter how spectacular your plans are, if you’re not going to enjoy yourself if you’re constantly shivering or drenched in sweat.
Book Things In Advance
If you’re not used to life in a massive city, you might have the: we’ll just show up kind of attitude. There’s no problem with this in some places, but when travelling in cities the size of New York City, you might want to get some of your events or activities booked up ahead of time. This can save you hours of waiting in lines throughout your trip and ensure that you don’t miss out because something is fully booked before you get there. Some shows and events even become fully booked months in advance. This is especially important for concerts, sports games, comedy shows, and plays.
Don’t Plan Every Hour
New York City is massive and full of wonderful detours and nifty little shops and teeny restaurants you stumble upon once and then can never find again. Because of this, when making your plans for the trip, you want to leave yourself lots of space. It would help if you had time to wander around and get distracted by what you discover, like that street performer who fills your soul with energy as you listen.
When every moment is planned, you don’t have room for serendipity (something New York City is famous for), and you also run the risk of ruining everything if you get behind. Let’s say it takes a bit longer to get service at the restaurant, and now you’re behind half an hour and suddenly every moment is spent rushing trying to make up for a lost time, and you’re not enjoying anything?
Wear Comfortable Shoes
Yes, in the movies, New Yorkers are always dressed to the nines with the snazziest footwear possible (all those tilting shots showing designer heels climbing out of big yellow taxis are in part to blame for this trend), but this is a city where you’re going to want to move around. You’re going to want to walk, potentially for hours. Wear shoes you could walk around in all day without growing miserable.
Understand How Big The City Is
You might have it in mind that you’re just going to pop into Brooklyn for a coffee and then mosey on over to Central Park for a walk and then stop by Coney Island and see a show in the evening. When planning, you need to have a map application open and check the travel time between destinations. New York is huge, and sometimes it doesn’t make sense to neighbourhood hop all day. Almost always, you’re going to want to group activities by location because even with the subway, it can take a while to get around, given how big the city is. Things are not quite as close together as the movies would have you believe.
Be Wary Of People Selling Tickets On The Street
One of the common scams in New York City is to find folks who look like tourists and sell them tickets for a super famous show with a well-known comedian or performer, which is a show you’ve never heard of with anyone you know in it. You might not realize this until you’re sitting in the audience. Buy your tickets from established vendors only. This also goes for Metro passes for the subway system.
These tips should get you started in your trip planning. It is critical that you listen strongly to your instincts whenever you’re somewhere you don’t know too well. If something feels off or unsafe, listen to your gut and choose another route or change your plan for the night.
