The area around Times Square is edgy, frenetic and lively. You must go at night when the flashing billboards create an overwhelming spectacle and the theatres of Broadway are pulsating with life.

Once this was the entertainment capital of America - full of movie palaces, showgirls and gangsters. In the 1970's it becam a swamp of drugs and peepshows and streets filled with hustlers and lowlifes.

In the 1990's the city invited Disney and a number of other business giants to collaborate in the revitalisation of the area. Today it is a family entertainment and business district with little trace of its seedy past.

The Great White Way's old movie palaces have been restored, Broadway theatre has survived intact and neon to rival Las Vegas sets tourists heads spinning.

As well as taking in the electric atmosphere of the area, we ate in 2 different Times Square restaurants.

Ellens Stardust Diner at 1650 Broadway is a 1950's style diner. It is quite small with a mezzanine area, jukebox and fifties memorabilia. The food is average - very large portions though, but the atmosphere is fantastic. The waiters and waitresses are all wannabe Broadway stars and in between waiting on tables, burst into tune, seranading you with songs from the musicals.

There is also a huge screen on one wall, when we were there they were showing the film Ratatouille. Our son watched engrossed - despite the fact the sound was turned off! All in all this is a fun place to have a meal.

We arrived at around 6:30 and got a table easily, although it was quite busy. By the time we left at 8:00pm, there was a lengthy queue outside waiting to get in.

We also ate in Mars 2112 at 51st and Broadway. It is an underground restaurant, themed to look like a Martian landscape. It looks great and feels like you are eating on a stage set. Costumed aliens wander around and happily pose with you at your table for photographs.

Again the food in here is average, but the experience is great fun and children love it. Our waitress was also excellent.

You can enter the restaurant via a "spaceship" or just walk to your table. We took the spaceship, but wished we hadn't. It was a simulator, really stuffy inside, very bumpy and not fun at all. My husband felt travel sick and our 4 year old hated it.

On the way out they give you tokens which you can use in their amusement arcade. They have lots of old-fashioned games. Again a great touch for children - you have to drag them out.

No place in America celebrates the countdown to a New Year bigger or better than what transpires in Times Square. But with everything involved, don't be surprised if there's not all that much "Happy..." to go with it. For the person that's watched this annual blow-out on television, and toyed with ideas of joining the revelries, what's shown compared to what actually is are two very different things.

The lighted ball which slides down the pole is located atop the back of One Times Square Plaza, which faces 42nd Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue. NYPD sets check-point barricades along 6th & 8th Aves, between 42nd/52nd streets, and begins monitoring foot-traffic early in the day.

Around 5:00pm, the police begin moving barricades closer towards the Square. What most don't realize is that if you're not inside those perimeters by 7:00pm, you don't get in!


That's a minimum 5-hour wait, regardless of potentially wet and/or frigid weather conditions. Businesses along the square are not only closed, windows are often boarded-up like a hurricane was preparing to blow through. Based on the unruly crowds, it's nothing short of organized bedlam and civil unrest squished amid the masses.

Vendors heavily work the crowds selling party favors and noise makers, but don't expect to purchase foods or drinks. This is BYOB for mass consumption, with no restrooms available, either. By 9:00pm, announcers and entertainment begin working the throngs into a frenzy leading upwards to the final 10-seconds of the year.

At the strike of midnight, there's nothing like the inundation of confetti which douses the chaos. If events of the night haven't already blemished clothing beyond future wear, wet confetti can bleed dyes causing permanent stains.

Living a half-block off Times Square, there was never need to endure the snarl. With friends of choice, it was possible to warmly wait inside, and then go to our roof for welcoming in the New Year. Our tradition was to go out and walk around after the fact, with more than enough proof that 'maybe next year...', for joining the celebration never happened; even for a wild and crazy guy like myself. This was just too much!


Events such as this attract amateurs, and bring-out the disorderly worst in people. It was hard not stumbling around on empty containers buried beneath confetti. The streets reeked of urine after that elongated wait. People were frazzled to tears and bickering. And all those police barricades now served as pre-hangover rails for mass-puking.

Happy New Year? If that's your definition, it won't get any better!

-- Depending upon weather and scheduling, there is often a massive fireworks show launched from Central Park after midnight.

-- This is one of those nights where city streets and public transportation stay active until the wee-hours. Police are tolerant, semi-coherent people are jovial, and petty crime usually isn't a problem even under the worst conditions.

Times Square, the center of all the "craziness" in New York. It's where all the energy and life is. And it is best experienced at night. At night, all of the neon of the billboards are in full force. It's exhilarating. Around Times Square, you will find people selling photos, artwork, and jewelry, along with different foods (which all smell GREAT). There are so many other intangibles that go along with Times Square, it just has to be experienced to fully understand it.

Aaaahhhh, Times Square...

I don't think there is another place like it in the world. Just think, not long ago, this crossroads section of New York centralized around Broadway and 7th Avenue was once considered taboo and filled with prostitutes and high crime. Now it is one of the busiest sections of the Big Apple. Filled with some of the world’s largest billboards, scads of bright lights, and plenty of interesting characters, you can stay amused and occupied without traveling a great distance.

You have your pick of places to eat, from Planet Hollywood for casual dining to Limoncello for a more upscale atmosphere to Pig 'n' Whistle for your traditional Irish pub to Carmine's for family-style eating; everyone will be able to pick a favorite from the more than 200 options available.

The Theatre District, also known as the "Great White Way," has approximately 20 landmark theatres to choose from, all within walking distance from the center of Times Square, with the Olympia Theatre founded by famous producer Oscar Hammerstein being one of the first back in 1895. It was eventually demolished in October of 2003.

There are many ways of getting tickets to any of the shows. You can try Ticketmaster, Brooadway.com, or, if you feel lucky and are flexible in availability, the TKTS booth located in Duffy Square at 46th Street and 7th Avenue. Here tickets are posted daily for that day's shows and can be obtained for up to 50% off the original price. Payment is by cash or traveler's check. Go early, as the hottest shows sell out quickly.

Some other places of interest are Toys "R" Us, Virgin Megastore, Madame Tussauds, and, of course, the year's biggest party on New Year's Eve to watch the ball drop. If you are lucky, you may be able to meet the "Naked Cowboy" and have your picture taken.

To get around, walking is easiest and cheapest. Taxis are readily available, and the subway will take you almost anywhere in Manhattan.

UNBELIEVABLE!! Times Square itself is worth a trip to New York. It really is the "Crossroads of the World." It is like going to a 24-hour carnival. We arrived in town at about 1am, by 2am we were walking around Times Square, and while most of the stores were closed, there were people everywhere. Also, we felt extremely safe, as the NYPD were on every corner, and I really mean every corner. There were sometimes two to three officers on the corners or walking the block.

Daytime is something else! The people, the traffic... it is like electricity in the air. Our main means of transportation was walking. I would suggest good, comfortable walking shoes. There really is something for everyone.