New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [296]
Fodor’s Choice | New York Botanical Garden.
Considered one of the leading botany centers of the world, this 250-acre garden is one of the best reasons to make a trip to the Bronx. Built around the dramatic gorge of the Bronx River, the Garden offers lush indoor and outdoor gardens, and acres of natural forest, as well as classes, concerts, and special exhibits. Be astounded by the captivating fragrance of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden’s 2,700 plants of more than 250 varieties; see intricate orchids that look like the stuff of science fiction; relax in the quiet of the forest or the calm of the Conservatory; or take a jaunt through the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden: a 12-acre, indoor-outdoor museum with a boulder maze, giant animal topiaries, and a plant discovery center.
The Garden’s roses bloom in June and September, but there’s plenty to see year-round. The Victorian-style Enid A. Haupt Conservatory ($20, part of the Combination Ticket) houses re-creations of misty tropical rain forests and arid African and North American deserts as well as exhibitions, such as the annual Holiday Train Show and the Orchid Show. The Combination Ticket ($20) gives you access to the Conservatory, Rock Garden, Native Plant Garden, Tram Tour, Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, and exhibits in the library.
The most direct way to the Garden is via Metro-North Railroad (www.mta.info/mnr) from Grand Central Terminal (Harlem Local Line, Botanical Garden stop). Round-trip tickets are $10.50 to $14, depending on time of day. A cheaper alternative is to take the D or 4 train to Bedford Park Boulevard, then walk east. | 200th St. at Kazimiroff Blvd., Bedford Park | 10458 | 718/817–8700 | www.nybg.org | Grounds only $6, free Sat. 10–noon and all day Wed.; All-Garden Pass $20; parking $12 | Tues.–Sun. 10–6 | Subway: B, D, 4 to Bedford Park Blvd., then walk 8 blocks downhill to the garden; Metro-North to Botanical Garden.
Yankee Stadium.
Fans are still mourning the original, legendary Yankee Stadium, which saw its last season in 2008. Though the team is still breaking it in, the new Yankee Stadium—right next to the House that Ruth Built—has gotten off to a good start, with the Yankees winning the World Series in its inaugural year.
Tickets can be ridiculously expensive, but the experience is like watching baseball in Las Vegas’s Bellagio hotel. It’s incredibly opulent and over-the-top: traditional white frieze adorns the stadium’s top; inside, limestone-and-marble hallways are lined with photos of past Yankee greats; lower-level seats have cushions, cup holders, and a boffo meatery, NYY Steak.
Like the team, all the amenities here don’t come cheap. But the spirit of the original stadium still remains. History buffs and hard-core fans should be sure to visit Monument Park, with plaques of past team members, by Center Field—it survived from the old stadium. Aside from the subway, you can also get here by Metro-North, to the Yankees–153rd Street Station. | River Ave. at 161st St., South Bronx | 10451 | 718/293–6000 | www.yankees.com | Subway: B (weekdays only), D, or 4 to 161st St.–Yankee Stadium.
Arthur Avenue (Belmont).
Manhattan’s Little Italy is sadly overrun with mediocre restaurants aimed at tourists, but Belmont, the Little Italy of the Bronx, is a real, thriving Italian-American community. Unless you have family in the area, the main reason to come here is for the food: eating it, buying it, looking at it fondly through windows. A secondary, but just