New York City (Fodor's, 2012) - Fodor's [54]
Continue to 8th Avenue, where you’re just as likely to stand amid the moss and birch trees of the New York Times Building lobby as to dodge intrepid coach buses in the Port Authority melee outside.
Midtown Manhattan’s juxtapositions aren’t only in stone and glass. Here buttoned-down, world-class musical theater performances elicit encores at street level while unbuttoned, top-notch crooners, musicians, and break-dancers entertain in the subway stations below. Restaurants fit for power lunches and marriage proposals meet street-corner stands bearing some of the city’s freshest fruit.
The digital screen LEDs of Times Square neighbor the gas lamps and wrought-iron railings of Restaurant Row (46th Street between 8th and 9th avenues). And the excuse-me-coming-through briskness of 100,000 commuting suits gives way to the heartwarming narrative holiday window displays of Saks Fifth Avenue (611 5th Avenue), Bloomingdale’s (1000 Third Avenue at 59th Street), Lord and Taylor (39th Street at 5th Avenue), and other department stores each year. All this—plus very late hours—combines to create an energy that is uniquely, quintessentially “New York.”
THE WHOLE SONG AND DANCE
Whether you want to see a Broadway show, visit a museum, or tour a television studio, Midtown is the place to be. Score good seats to some of the hottest Broadway and Off Broadway shows for half the going rate at the TKTS booth in Duffy Square at 47th Street and Broadway.
Although people think of Broadway as the heart of the theater scene, few theaters actually line the thoroughfare. For some of the grandes dames, head west on 45th Street. There are several Broadway beauties here, including the Booth, the Schoenfeld, the Jacobs, the Music Box, and the Imperial. On the southern side of 45th Street there’s the pedestrians-only Shubert Alley, distinguished by colorful posters advertising the latest hit plays and musicals, and the Shubert Theatre, one of Broadway’s most lustrous gems.
Head west along 44th Street to see its neighbors, the Helen Hayes, the Broadhurst, the Majestic, and the St. James. Tucked among them, at No. 243, is Sardi’s, the legendary Broadway watering hole, and nearby is the former speakeasy ‘21’ Club, with its row of jockeys out front, once the ultimate retreat for New York high society.
Music lovers can also get their fix. In the West 40s–50s area are the jazz venues Birdland and Iridium. Continue farther north to 57th Street to Carnegie Hall, the world-famous performance venue for classical music and other showstoppers.
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TOP ATTRACTIONS
Fodor’s Choice | Bryant Park.
This is one of Manhattan’s most popular parks—and for good reason, as it’s a lovely green space nestled among landmarks and skyscrapers. Lining the perimeter of the sunny central lawn, tall London plane trees cast welcome shade over stone terraces, formal flower beds, gravel pathways, and a smattering of kiosks selling everything from sandwiches to egg creams (in season).
In the afternoon the garden tables scattered about fill with lunching office workers and folk enjoying the park’s free Wi-Fi (signs show you how to log on). In good weather, arrive before happy hour for a chance at snagging a couch swing at the Southwest Porch, with its cozy seating and bar serving seasonal brews.
In summer you can check out free live jazz and “Broadway in Bryant Park” musical theater performances, and author readings. Most popular of all is the Summer Film Festival: locals leave work early to snag a spot on the lawn for its outdoor screenings each Monday at dusk.
At the east side of the park, near a squatting bronze cast of Gertrude Stein, is the stylish Bryant Park Grill, which has a rooftop garden, and the adjacent open-air Bryant Park Café, open seasonally. On the south side of the park is an old-fashioned carousel ($2) where kids can ride