New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [11]
ART, LIT, AND ARCHITECTURE
Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. If you’ll believe it, the $20 entry fee is really a suggested donation. You can pay as much, or as little, as you wish. Smaller donations may get some eye-rolling from the cashier, but it’s a small price to pay for access to world-famous works. | 1000 5th Ave. at 80th St. | www.metmuseum.org | Station: 6 to 86th St.
Browse through the galleries scattered throughout the city. Chelsea’s full of expensive galleries with superstar artists, though things get edgier the closer you get to the West Side Highway; you’ll also find a trendy art scene in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Marvel at Grand Central Terminal’s spectacular main concourse. The ceiling painted with the constellations of the zodiac is one of the city’s treasures. | Station: 4, 5, 6 to Grand Central/42nd St.
Attend a reading at one of the city’s hundreds of bookstores. Night owls shouldn’t feel left out—they can attend readings of their own at bars like the Half King in Chelsea or Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn.
Explore the new MoMA on Friday between 4 and 8 pm, when the $20 entry fee is waived during Target Free Friday Nights. Tickets are not available in advance, so plan to wait in line. | 11 W. 53rd St., between 5th and 6th Aves. | www.moma.org | Station: E, M to 5th Ave./53rd St.; B, D, F to 47–50th St./Rockefeller Center.
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Midtown is the heart of the city during the workday. From every direction, people pour into the city to give it a jolt of energy. That vibrancy is intense, but is also an unmissable aspect of city life worth exploring for the average visitor. Midtown is home to many beautiful architectural sights, so don’t be embarrassed to look at them.
THE EAST SIDE: FROM THE UNITED NATIONS TO GRAND CENTRAL
Start near the river, at New York City’s first glass-curtain skyscraper, the UN Building (760 United Nations Plaza), completed in 1949 and designed by Le Corbusier. (Technically, it’s not on New York’s land, but we still count it.) The iconic structure is a monument to diplomacy, though being the city’s first skyscraper isn’t all glory: the air-conditioning is famously persnickety in the summer months. Continuing west, you’ll pass the murals of the Daily News Building (220 E. 42nd) on the south side of the street. The lobby is home to a giant globe (from the era when the News had international correspondents) and murals are in the WPA-style, as the Art Deco building was finished in 1929. Also a can’t-miss: the Chrysler Building (405 Lexington Ave.), which out–Art Decos any other structure in New York. (Dig the wheels with wings in place of gargoyles on the exterior.) Continue walking and you’ll see Grand Central Terminal (1 E. 42nd St.), the largest train station in the world. This Beaux-Arts structure was saved from the wrecking ball by concerned citizens in the ’70s, a fate that similarly styled Penn Station didn’t escape. Peek inside for a look at the constellations painted on the soaring ceiling, for a nibble at the Grand Central Oyster Bar, or a cocktail at the swanky Campbell Apartment.
MIDTOWN: BRYANT PARK AND THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
By the time you hit 5th Avenue, you’ll be staring at the lions that guard the New York Public Library (455 5th Ave.). Built in 1911, the structure is a hub of learning and hosts many lecture series throughout the year. It’s abutted by Bryant Park, which offers free Wi-Fi, ice skating in the winter, and films in the summer. It, too, was brought back from the dead during New York’s darkest days. There’s also the renovated Nat Sherman store (12 E. 42nd St.), which even has a room for smokers to sample their wares.
THE WEST SIDE: THE HEART OF TIMES SQUARE
Keep walking west and you’ll hit the razzle and dazzle of Times Square. It’s better