Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A Money & Time-Saving Tip
CityPass
may be New York's best sightseeing deal. Pay one
price ($65, or $49 for kids 12-17) for admission to six major
attractions: The American Museum of Natural History (admis-
sion only; does not include Space Show), the Guggenheim
Museum, the Empire State Building, the Museum of Modern
Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cloisters, and a
2-hour Circle Line harbor cruise. Individual tickets would cost
more than twice as much (though I should point out that the
Met is a “suggested” admission fee).
More important, CityPass is not a coupon book. It contains
actual tickets, so you can bypass lengthy lines. This can save
you hours, as sights such as the Empire State Building often
have ticket lines of an hour or more.
CityPass is good for 9 days from the first time you use it. It's
sold at all participating attractions and online at
http://city
pass.com
. To avoid online service and shipping fees, you may
wish to buy the pass at your first attraction (start at an attrac-
tion that's likely to have the shortest admission line, such as
the Guggenheim). However, if you begin your sightseeing on
a weekend or during holidays, when lines are longest, online
purchase may be worthwhile.
For more information, call CityPass at
&
888/330-5008
(note, however, that CityPass is not sold over the phone).
Value
Walking the bridge:
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge is one of my
all-time favorite New York activities, although there's no doubt that
the Lower Manhattan views from the bridge now have a painful reso-
nance as well as a joyous spirit. A wide wood-plank pedestrian walk-
way is elevated above the traffic, making it a relatively peaceful, and
popular, walk. There's a sidewalk entrance on Park Row, just across
from City Hall Park (take the 4, 5, or 6 train to Brooklyn
Bridge/City Hall). But why do this walk
away
from Manhattan,
toward the less impressive Brooklyn skyline? For Manhattan skyline
views, take an A or C train to High Street, one stop into Brooklyn.
Come out above ground, and then walk through the little park to
Cadman Plaza East and head downslope (left) to the stairwell that
will take you up to the footpath. (Following Prospect Place under the
bridge, turning right onto Cadman Plaza East, will also take you
directly to the stairwell.) It's a 20- to 40-minute stroll over the bridge
to Manhattan, depending on your pace, the amount of foot traffic,
