How to see New York City on Limited Time & Money

For traditional tourists: Go to top of World Trade Center (tallest building in Manhattan with views of Manhattan, the outerbouroughs, & NJ). Statue of Liberty, Rockafeller Center, Central Park, Times Square, Union Square, etc. For nighlife seekers: Go to www.clubnyc.com, Classifieds of TimeOut magazine, ask people. If your are looking for a specific place email me and I will lead you in the right direction. NYC has places for EVERY type of person, I'm not joking.

Quick Tips:

Stay below 95th St.in Manhattan unless in Central Park which extends up to 125th St. There is nothing up there except residential buildings and some areas are not too good. Get a subway map first. You can find it on the internet by searching NYC & MTA & Subway. Get a Hotel in NJ (1 mile across a river from NYC) and take a bus across into Manhattan. This will stay you a lot of money. The bus ride costs and takes 5-10 minutes to get into Manhattan.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best and only way to see NYC is by public transportation. Buy an all-day pass MetroCard for unlimited rides on subway & buses. Subways & buses cover every inch of Manhattan and the outerboroughs. There are passes for day, week, or even month. I think the day pass costs . The reason I say public transportation is the only way to see NYC, is because you don't want to and can't see every block. You need to plan in advance what to see and use the map to plan a route. Subway maps are free in every booth subway station which is almost all of them.

Do not go to the Statue of Liberty unless it has significant importance to you. You will spend at least 3 hours seeing a statue that you can pay $1 to see atop the World Trade Center. You must ferry(boat)to the Statue because it is on Ellis Island. After you are next to a huge statue that you can go into. If you want a nice picture of yourself next to the statue, go to the top of the World Trade Center on a CLEAR day and go to the outdoor rooftop and stand at the south end of the building. You will get the whole statue & the island in the background. By going to the Top of the World Trade Center ($13.50) you get to see do both at once. Pay the $1 for the telescope and you can see every detail of the statue.

Trust me. Stay in a hotel/motel in NJ. Much cleaner, much cheaper, much less noise so you can sleep, much safer, plus you can see a little of NJ. NJ is separated by Manhattan by the Hudson River which is about 1 mile long. There are 3 entry points from NJ into Manhattan(and 1 into Staten Island). The George Washington bridge connecting Fort Lee, NJ to 178th St. Manhattan (top of Manhattan called Washinton Heights) The Linclon Tunnel connecting Hoboken/Weehawken, NJ to 34th St. Manhattan (downtown Manhattan; area called Chelsea) The Holland Tunnel connecting Jersey City, NJ to Canal St. Manhattan (lower Manhattan; called Chinatown)

I would personally recommend the Hilton hotel on Route 4 in Fort Lee. You can actually the GW bridge from the top floors and the bus stop is close by. The bus to cross the bridge into the Port Authority (Subway station that also has a bus station & provides service into NJ) costs about $1.55. Bus number 178 or any other that says 'Port Authority 178th St.' or 'New York City'. After getting into the subway station, take the A train (the only train that services 178th St. station) DOWNTOWN (approximately 15 minuites). Try to take the express that takes you directly to 59th St. Columbus Circle. From Columbus Circle you can link to any almost any subway. Remember: Get a free subway map at the token booth in the subway station! Also Remember: There is nothing to see north of 95th St and it can be dangerous at night. There is not much to see north of 59th St (except Central Park which spans 59th St. to 125th St.).

No matter what you have heard, Central Park is safe and beautiful. If you are a small woman do not go there at night and venture into secluded areas by yourself.