Visiting New York City

I recently had the opportunity to visit New York City, and from The Bronx to Brooklyn, what a wonderful experience it was.

We booked the Gray Line Tours hop-on/hop-off bus pass. What a fantastic way to see New York City.

They have four different bus routes that allow you to see Uptown, Downtown, Bronx & Brooklyn. It’s so convenient and one of the easiest ways to coverm the city. The bus routes take you to all the main attractions such as Central Park, Battery Park, Ground Zero (9/11 memorial), Yankee Stadium, Harlem, Empire State building, Soho, 5th Avenue, Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Little Italy and Union Square.

I would recommend taking the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. The ferry is free and offers plenty of opportunity for pictures of the statue. Another great way to see it is the “New York Water Taxi,” with stops at Pier 17-Street Seaport, Pier 1-Brooklyn Bridge, Battery Park & Pier 84 Time Square. To avoid dealing with New York traffic & taxis, cruise along New York’s waterways.

We stayed two nights at the Intercontinental Times Square Hotel, which is a magnificent central location in the Theater district, within walking distance to many shops, restaurants, bars and, of course, Broadway’s theaters. Rooms were spacious, with large flat screen TV’s and IPod docking stations, as well as beautiful walk-in rain showers.

Right around the corner from the hotel were two amazing restaurants we were able to experience, the “Guy Fieri” (Food Network) restaurant called American Bar & Grill, and an incredible New York Pizza at John’s Pizzeria. The food was excellent and prices reasonable.

We spent the last two nights at the Marriott Marquis, an average hotel, clean, with upgraded amenities such as flat screen TV’s and IPod docking stations. I would say the number one reason to book this hotel is location. You can walk out of the hotel and you are standing right in Times Square.

I left New York City with the hopes to visit again soon and be able to add Coney Island to my visit.