Never having been to New York before, I had quite a long list of what I wanted to see and do. Afterall, New York is iconic for so many things including its museums, attractions and of course shopping. Out of sheer excitement and organization, I planned the basics before we left just to make our trip easier and more enjoyable. One way I did this was by purchasing the New York CityPASS, which gave us access to six attractions for one great price (about 40% off what we would have paid for each thing individually!). Honestly, the pass was fantastic as because we already had all of our tickets and more often than not didn't have to wait or que at all. (The New York CityPASS costed $160 Australian dollars - about $125 US dollars.) Below, I’ve provided a bit more of an insight into what we saw and what we did, including a few photos! empire state buildingI have wanted to visit the Empire State Building since before I can remember and this was one of the very first things I added to the itinerary. We ended up going as close as possible to opening (8am) on a Sunday morning, mainly because I figured the earlier we went, the less crowded it would be. Our CityPASS gave us general admission to the 80th and 86th floor observatories as well as the opportunity to come back that same night between 8pm and close. I'm glad we got the opportunity to visit the observation deck twice, but if we only had the one ticket, I would have chosen the morning over night time viewing. Overall, the Empire State Observatory was my favorite observatory by far. It's an icon and I loved reading about how it was built and it's history on the 80th floor. We didn't have to wait at all on either visit. We spent about 1-2 hours here each visit. metropolitan museum of artOur CityPASS gave us ‘skip-the-line’ admission, access to all exhibitions at The Met, and same day admission to The Met Breuer and The Met Cloister. I don't have many regrets at all about New York, it was an absolutely amazing trip, however I am disappointed that we didn't visit The Met Breuer and The Met Cloister as well but I still absolutely loved The Met Museum. It's such a large museum with a great range of exhibitions and we tried to see as much as we could. In particular, I enjoyed the American Wing which featured a collection of stained glass pieces by Louis C. Tiffany. We didn't have to wait with our CityPASS. We spent about 4-5 hours here. american museum of natural historyWe visited the Museum of Natural History on a public holiday so it was mayhem! On top of the chaos, this museum just wasn't what I expected. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed this Museum, but I thought it would be better than the Met as most people said they had spent more time here. Personally though, I could have spent a whole day at the Met, and I wasn't too keen on exploring more of the Natural History Museum after being there for about three hours. I enjoyed the exhibitions on the Mammals of Africa and North America though and the Rose Center for Earth and Space blew my mind. I enjoyed how it showed the scale of the universe. Our CityPASS gave us general admission to the Museum as well as the Rose Center for Earth and Space, plus a Space Show. We waited for about 10 minutes. We spent about 3-4 hours here. top of the rockThis attraction was a choice between Top of the Rock Observation Deck or the Guggenheim Museum. The best thing about The Top of the Rock, and the one thing the Empire State Building is missing, is that from here, you actually have the perfect view of the Empire State Building! Aside from the view though, I felt as if there was nothing else here. We watched a short film before riding up to the observation levels, but other than that, I felt as if there wasn't any information on the history the building. We did have access to the interior and exterior observation decks on the top three floors though so got a great opportunity to view the city. We waited for about 20 minutes. We spent about 1-2 hours here. 9/11 memorialThe 9/11 Museum was an option between the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum or the 9/11 Museum. However, the memorial pools are an open space and require no ticket at all. It truly was humbling to be able to learn about such a devastating event in history, and the impact it has had on not only New York but the world. I'm glad I took the time to walk around each memorial pool, looking over the names of the people that lost their lives. I think it's a nice gesture of the memorial to place a rose in the names of people who would have been celebrating a birthday that day. I also found the room in the Museum with the photos of each victim on the wall to be truly touching. Overall, both the memorial and museum are well worth a visit. museum of modern art (MoMA)As well as the New York CityPASS, I also purchased tickets to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). I am a museum girl and the MoMA is a New York Icon. I went at opening on a Sunday morning and it was surprisingly busy. I loved the MoMA and I didn't at the same time but everyone has different tastes in art - I'm more of a traditionalist. I worked my way down from the top floor where a fashion exhibition was on. This was one of my favourites! I then explored the collection galleries where I found some famous pieces including works from Van Gogh, Monet, and my favourite, Pollock. I also enjoyed an exhibition on the photographer Stephen Shore, who I had never heard of before but to see the development of his work over five decades was incredible. I waited for about 10 minutes. I spent about 2-3 hours here. On top of all of these paid attractions, we also did some of the classic New York ones that are totally free! This included visiting Central Park and the Brooklyn Bridge as well as wandering around little pockets of Manhattan such as Soho. My only one true regret about everything we saw and did during our time in New York was the carriage ride through Central Park. I really think it was a waste of time and money, especially seeing as we had the chance to walk through the park at another point in the week. But even if you're only in New York for a couple of days, and only have a hour to see the park, I would suggest walking through the southern end of the park. At least that way you can enjoy a stroll along some of the classic pathways and you can stop and take as many photos as you want. Hopefully I have my photo diary up soon but in the mean time, to see some more of my photos from my time in New York, take a look at my Instagram @barber_twin_01. I hope you enjoyed this post. A x
Please Note : This post is NOT sponsored in any way.
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