New Yorkers in the know take advantage of many great free cultural offerings around town when they want a low cost night of fun. Budget conscious travelers may want to check out what these great cultural institutions have to offer as well.
Every Thursday of the year you can find free performances at the Lincoln Center. Target® Free Thursdays at the Lincoln Center’s new David Rubenstein Atrium will feature national and international tourist artists as well as local featured artists from groups like The Juilliard School. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Check out the calendar of free performances.
In the summer there is often a free performance in Central Park no matter what day you’re in town. SummerStage and the city parks foundation website will shortly have their summer schedules up.
Groups with young children, or the young at heart, may enjoy the The Forbes Galleries located in the heart of Greenwich Village. The Galleries feature unique collections of toys and trophies. The exhibits includes a rare look at the evolution of the Monopoly board game. Open free to the public 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays. Please note that Thursdays are reserved for group tours and advance reservations are required.
Last Minute Travel has just refreshed its list of New York hotels and has lowered its prices on 15 of our best value properties. That makes now the perfect time to make plans for your vacation to the Big Apple.
2009 saw many hotel companies open new properties or relaunch remodeled ones. With more than 100 hotels from major brands scheduled to open across the United States, 2010 looks to be an even stronger year for openings. For the traveler this is good news as a surplus of room inventory will keep prices down. That’s not such a good thing for the hotels. So why would they want to open so many hotels right now?
The answer, according to Mark Lomanno, president of Smith Travel Research, is that “hotel building cycles rarely mesh just right with economic cycles.” Planning a new hotel can take two to four years, and construction an additional one to four years. Most of the hotels getting ready to open were on the drawing boards several years ago, when the economy was healthy, demand for rooms was strong and room rates were rising quickly.
Of course, the opposite will also be true. Not a lot of hotels are being planned during the recession. So everything should start to balance out in three to four years. But in the meantime, now is your chance to get out there and experience some amazing savings as these new hotels fight for market share.
Where to go? The article in the NY Times says that the largest portion of the hotels, nearly half, will be opening in the New York area with another 30 opening in Houston. Other cities with large expansion include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington DC. Popular family destination Orlando experienced large growth in 2009, so don’t forget them either.
As travel to New York continues and we see an increasing influx of travelers from my native home of Ireland, I am always asked the same questions, where should I stay?, where should I shop? and what should I do? Here are a few tips to share with everyone:
Where should I stay? It really depends on when you come and your budget, but the most important thing to remember is that there is life outside of Times Square!! There are some great deals on the East Side and Upper East, like the Marmara Hotel, a luxury suite property on the East Side with great views, service and value for the suite that you get. Because the subway is such an easy mode of transport, I encourage people to look outside the center to get better value for money and see more of the city.
(Marmara Hotel)
Where should I shop? Well those in the know go to Macy’s, and it’s not just for the selection. When you go to Macy’s bring a passport, or your hotel key and you will get a discount coupon for 11% off everything in the store – yes that includes electronics!. This is only for International Travelers. Most sales have some exclusions, but this coupon does not. Additionally, open a Macy’s account and you can get another 15-25% on top of that for the next 48 hours. That’s a lot of savings. For the braver bargain hunter willing to fight for their deal, go to Century21 downtown. It gives you the opportunity to see Wall Street and Ground Zero at the same time.
What Should I do? Well, if you are interested in museums they are donation admission (free but some with a donation suggested) on Friday and some Saturday evenings. By now, most know about the discount Broadway tickets available at the TKTS booth, but just be aware that the location has a temporary location at the Marriott Marquis hotel. Finally, for those beguiled by the long lines for the Empire State Building, my personal opinion and preference is to go for Top of the Rock. The views are spectacular and you have the Empire State Building in your skyline to admire. To show I am serious – that’s where I got engaged!! Have fun on your visit and I will let you know where to eat next time.
I just got back from New York lately and thought it might be good idea to share some of my experience. Probably the most important thing is to understand that no matter if you have been there once twice or more, this is a never ending city. I was in NYC many times before and I am willing to take a flight again right now…
Obviously , I could write a book on NYC but this is just a post so I have decided to limit myself to 3 tips only.
Broadways Shows – this is a “Must Do” in every trip to New York. Personally I saw this time Mama Mia which was awesome. A very professional show, great actors and singers. If you like ABBA, this show is really for you. We (me and my wife) could just see it again, prices on the web are between $90 – $200+ but here is the tip, go to the TKTS booth near Times SQ and you can buy it for much less. We paid for example $62 per ticket. For people who know the booth from the past it moved to the Marriott Marquis Hotel (West 46th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue). The line there is really misleading, it looks like long but it goes really fast. If you wish there is a much less crowded booth, there is another one at the corner of Front and John Streets.
Museum - I am not going to recommend the Metropolitan or MOMA or Googenheim. They all really great and worth spending time (and money). I want to share with you a much less famous museum, it is called the Frick Collection. This is considerably small museum that was originally built at the beginning of the 20th century by Mr Henry Frick for his residence. All the art master pieces (mainly painting but not only) belong to Mr. Frick personal art collection. I consider this place more as a gate to a different era in New York History since any walk in the museum galleries simply let you feel how a rich man lived his life in NYa hundred years ago. Don’t take me wrong, the art pieces are very impressive too but this isn’t what I personally took from this place. All information (opening hours ,shop, prices etc) about the museum can easily found in the museum website. Few practical tips: take the audio guide ,it give a very nice explanation about what you see. Also, if your budget is limited and you cant afford the $15 admission, come on Sundays when you pay how much you want. The Frick is located at at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 70th Street.
Shopping - no way to cover NYC shopping in this post. Still few places you should not miss.
B&H Photo – an AMAZING store for photography, audio and video equipment lovers. If you are one of those , you are going to thank me…you can visit their website but the experience in the store is something you will never feel on the web. Their rates are really competitive.
34 St -simply go from 34 St & Fifth Ave. along the street and you will find all the brands…
SYMS – this store doesn’t look fancy but it is kind of an outlet for shoes and apparel (Men, Women and Kids). Extremely attractive prices. Highly recommended. Store is located at Park Ave and 54 St.
Toys R’Us, Time Square – The store in Times Square is phenomenal. if you go with kids limit them to one or 2 presents otherwise you will end up with bankruptcy. What is so unique in this particular store is its size and the fact that they place a big wheel inside the store (yes inside). If you don’t believe here is a proof…
