Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
350 Fifth Ave. (at 34th St.).
&
212/736-3100.
www.esbnyc.com. Observatory
admission $19 adults, $17 seniors and children 12-17, $13 children 6-11, free for
children under 6. Daily open 8am-2am, last elevator at 1:15am. Subway: B, D, F, N,
R, Q, V, W to 34th St.; 6 to 33rd St.
Grand Central Terminal
Even if you're not catching one of
the subway lines or Metro-North commuter trains that rumble
through Grand Central Terminal, come for a visit; it's one of the
most magnificent public places in the country. And even if you arrive
and leave by subway, be sure to exit the station, walking a couple of
blocks south, to about 40th Street, before you turn around to admire
Jules-Alexis Coutan's neoclassical sculpture
Transportation
hovering
over the south entrance, with a majestic Mercury, the Roman god of
commerce and travel, as its central figure.
The greatest visual impact comes when you enter the vast majes-
tic
main concourse.
The high windows allow sunlight to penetrate
the space, glinting off the half-acre Tennessee-marble floor. The brass
clock over the central kiosk gleams, as do the gold- and nickel-plated
chandeliers piercing the side archways. The masterful
sky ceiling,
a
brilliant greenish blue, depicts the constellations of the winter sky
above New York. They're lit with 59 stars, surrounded by dazzling
24-carat gold and emitting light fed through fiber-optic cables, their
intensities roughly replicating the magnitude of the actual stars as
seen from Earth. Look carefully and you'll see a patch near one cor-
ner left unrestored as a reminder of the neglect once visited on this
splendid overhead masterpiece. On the east end of the main con-
course is a grand
marble staircase.
This Beaux Arts splendor serves as a hub of social activity as well.
Excellent-quality shops and restaurants have taken over the mezza-
nine and lower levels. Off the main concourse at street level, there's
a mix of specialty shops and national retailers, as well as the
Grand
Central Market
for gourmet foods. The
New York Transit
Museum Store,
in the shuttle passage, houses transit-related exhibits
and a gift shop that's worth a look. The
lower dining concourse
houses a food court and the famous
Oyster Bar & Restaurant.
42nd St. at Park Ave.
&
212/340-2210
(events hot line). www.grandcentral
terminal.com. Subway: S, 4, 5, 6, or 7 to 42nd St./Grand Central.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Home of blockbuster
after blockbuster exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
attracts some five million people a year, more than any other spot in
New York City. At 1.6 million square feet, this is the largest museum
in the Western Hemisphere. Nearly all the world's cultures are on
