While the majority of visitors to New York never leave Manhattan, there is more to the city than its most famous borough. Those who venture to Brooklyn, for example, will find a world-class art museum along with parks, gardens, and fascinating ethnic neighborhoods. One of the countryâs great zoos is located in the Bronx, near an equally notable attraction, the New York Botanical Garden. In Queens you will find a top-notch filmmaking museum. Meanwhile, the journey to Staten Island is that boroughâs highlight, a ferry ride right by the Statue of Liberty, and best of all, it is free.
Fall in the West Village
Tagger Yancey IV/NYC & Company
However, Manhattan is the focus of most visitorsâ attentions, with its wealth of sights and activities. Only 13.5 miles (22km) long and 2 miles (3.5km) wide, New Yorkâs most popular borough is what everyone calls âthe city.â Getting your bearings in this metropolis is remarkably easy thanks to the grid system. Apart from Lower Manhattan â where the thoroughfares twist, turn, and usually have names instead of numbers â all roads running from west to east are called âstreetsâ and those running from north to south are called âavenues.â Streets are numbered from south to north and avenues from east to west. Some avenues also have names, such as York Avenue, Lexington Avenue, Park Avenue and Madison Avenue (street signs and addresses list Sixth Avenue as Avenue of the Americas, but New Yorkers rarely call it that). Inclusion of âWestâ (W) or âEastâ (E) in addresses shows whether it lies west or east of Fifth Avenue. There is just one avenue that doesnât conform to this pattern: Broadway cuts across the island diagonally.
Downtown
In Lower Manhattan, at the islandâs southern tip, is the oldest, most historic part of the city; the Financial District corresponds roughly to the area south of Worth Street, which begins just below Chinatown. Here youâll find Wall Street, One World Trade Center, the 9/11 Memorial, South Street Seaport, and ferries to Staten Island and the Statue of Liberty. After years of neglect, clubs and bars have moved in, making the area worth a visit even after 7pm. A good source of information on developments in Lower Manhattan is the Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc. at www.downtownny.com.
Remarkable as it might seem, a huge globe-shaped metal sculpture survived the tons of metal and concrete that crashed down upon it on 9/11. The Sphere by Fritz Koenig had stood for more than 30 years in the World Trade Center Plaza. In March 2002, it was moved to nearby Battery Park, where, on the first anniversary of the attack, an eternal flame was lit in memory of the victims. In 2017 the sculpture was returned to the World Trade Center where it will reside permanently in Liberty Park.
One World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial
For decades, the most visible tourist attraction in Lower Manhattan was the World Trade Center. It was a huge complex of offices, a hotel, shopping malls, subway stations and the twin towers themselves. When the towers were opened in 1970, they were the tallest buildings in the world.
After September 11, 2001 â when the towers became the target of the countryâs worst terrorist attack â the construction site where the complex once stood became a moving memorial. The former Ground Zero now holds as much, if not more meaning for visitors, as when they came to marvel at the buildings themselves. Today, the shimmering One World Trade Center 1 [map] (formerly known as Freedom Tower) rises up at the center of the site, and the surrounding 9/11 Memorial offers a tranquil place to reflect and honor the victims.
Completed in 2014 to a design by David M. Childs, One World Trade Center is the highest building in the Western Hemisphere, standing 1,776ft (541 meter) high. Its observation deck (https://oneworldobservatory.com; daily Jan 4âApril 30 and Sept 5âDec 20 9amâ9pm, MayâSept 4 8amâ9pm, Dec 21âJan 3 8amâ8pm) on the 102nd floor offers unrivalled views over the city. Access is provided thanks to a $4 billion transportation hub connecting subway, train, ferry, and bus lines in a striking structure designed by acclaimed Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Also connected to the transportation hub is the Cortlandt Street subway station which, after suffering severe damage in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, reopened in 2018.
The memorial, which incorporates the footprints of the twin towers into its design, was dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the attack. Visitors to the memorial and its accompanying museum need to reserve a pass, which is free, from www.911memorial.org.
Risen from the ashes: One World Trade Center
iStockphoto
Battery Park City
When the World Trade Center was being built in the late 1960s, some 30 million tons of excavated landfill were dumped on adjoining Hudson River docks to create the site of what became, in the 1980s, Battery Park City, a collection of high- and low-rise apartment and office buildings and parks. A lovely esplanade lined with parks and gardens stretches along the river from Stuyvesant High School on the north end, all the way south to historic Battery Park.
The highlight of the World Financial Center is the fine Winter Garden, a public atrium ringed by shops, restaurants, and bars. Grab take-out from a café and join the stockbrokers on one of the benches, or enjoy a more upscale lunch at one of the sit-down restaurants.
Castle Clinton
Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications
A stroll down the promenade is a pleasant way to spend an hour, and also a great place to view the sunset. At the end of the promenade, near Bowling Green subway station, is the Museum of Jewish Heritage 2 [map] (www.mjhnyc.org; SunâTue 10amâ6pm, WedâThu 10amâ8pm, Fri 10amâ5pm, until 3pm on Fri early Novâmid-Mar, closed Sat and Jewish holidays). Beyond the first floorâs interesting multimedia introductory show are galleries about Jewish life and culture; the second floor is devoted to the Holocaust, while the third floor contains exhibits about Judaism today. By focusing on the complexity of Jewish life in the 20th century, the museum give a less harrowing account than others devoted solely to the Holocaust.
Nearby is Battery Park, a leafy expanse at the tip of Manhattan. Most visitors head for Castle Clinton. Originally the West Battery â a fortification to help protect ships in New York from the English navy â the building dates to 1811. By 1824 its military mission was fulfilled and the fort became a...