Travel Tips:

10 Great Alternative Activities in New York City

Every famous city has its ‘must see’ sites and ‘must do’ activities. In NYC the ‘must see’ attractions list includes:

The Statue of Liberty – photo by ADTeasdale on Flickr CC

* Statue of Liberty

* Empire State Building

*Rockefeller Center

* Central Park

* Manhattan skyscrapers and skyline

* Times Square (especially on NYE)

* Attending a Broadway Show

* Metropolitan Museum of Art

* Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

* Guggenheim Museum

* Shopping on 5th Ave and Park Ave

* Wall Street

* Greenwich Village

* Soho

* Chinatown

* Little Italy

Considering that NYC is one of the largest, most famous and lively cities in the world, it’s not surprising that beyond these typical tourist attractions the city offers a huge variety of more unusual activities and attractions.

Check out this alternative New York attractions list for more exciting ways to explore The Big Apple. These ideas will appeal to travelers who’ve already seen the ‘must haves’ or who prefer less mainstream activities. Partaking in these alternates may very well give visitors a more authentic and intensive experience of NYC.

1. TV & movie locations tour

NYC is the most-filmed city in the world. Film-makers have been shooting scenes in Manhattan since the early days of Hollywood. There have been so many films shot in NYC that several different tours of movie locations are on offer to curious visitors. Ditto for tours focused on famous TV shows taped in Manhattan.

You can join a tour that identifies a whole range of movie set locations around Manhattan or a tour dedicated solely to Woody Allen films or to Hollywood movie classics. TV fans can join a tour focused entirely one big TV show such as Sex and the City, The Sopranos or Seinfeld.

If you’re a film buff or TV fan, these tours are an exciting way to get to know the city.

2. Ride a helicopter over Manhattan

Perhaps the most exhilarating way to view NYC is by helicopter. Several companies offer 15-20 minute helicopter tours over Manhattan. Start with an exciting lift-off from a helipad in the center of Manhattan then fly around the city’s dazzlingly tall skyscrapers, past famous buildings and out around the Statue of Liberty.

3. Visit Ground Zero

The location of the former Twin Towers Financial Buildings that were demolished during the fatal 9-11 attacks is still commemorated at the 9-11 Memorial, also known as ‘Ground Zero’. A small landscaped park has been built on the site, containing two large reflecting pools and North America’s largest man-made waterfalls.

Visiting Ground Zero allows visitors to pay tribute to the almost 3000 people who lost their lives during the 9-11 attack, including many rescue workers, and to get a sense of one of New York’s grimmest historic moments.

4. Sail through New York Harbour

At least two large sailing ships offer cruises through New York Harbor. They glide past the Empire State Building, the historic Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty while providing spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, views that you could not get from many other vantage points.

5. Attend an improv / stand-up comedy show

New York is also famous for its comedy shows, both live and on TV. Many of America’s best comedians started in small NYC clubs and worked their way up to national tours, TV shows and movies.

Live comedy is so popular in NYC that several venues are dedicated exclusively to comedy. Famous places include Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, The People’s Improv Theater, National Comedy Theater, Comedy Cellar, Comic Strip Live, Caroline’s On Broadway, Gotham Comedy Club, Laughing Devil Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Greenwich Village Comedy Club, Dangerfields.

Brooklyn Bridge – photo by Sarah Ackerman on Flickr CC

6. Walk across Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, was an engineering marvel of its time. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world, used the newly-invented steel-wire cables for the first time and took 14 years to complete. It is now a National Historic Landmark.

Walking across the historic bridge provides a very interesting slice of NYC history as well as stunning views of the Manhattan skyline, the harbor and river traffic far below. Allow plenty of time to walk it’s one mile span over and back.

Yankees – photo by Joe Shlabotnik on Flickr CC

7. Attend a pro ball game

NYC boasts 10 famous professional sports teams in baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer. They play their seasons at five different stadiums in NYC, including a few historic arenas.

Professional baseball teams include The Yankees and the Mets. Pro football teams are the Giants and the Jets. Basketball teams include the Knicks and the Nets. The New York Rangers play pro ice hockey while four pro soccer teams play out their seasons in NYC as well.

With so many pro sports teams, games are in progress throughout the whole year. No matter when you visit NYC, you should be able to catch a game in one sport or the other.

Each team has its own website so you can easily find out game schedules and ticketing details. Be warned that many games are so popular that tickets are sold out months in advance. If you’re hoping to catch a game while visiting NYC, it might be best to sort out a ticket well beforehand.

Rockettes – photo by Ralph Daily on Flickr CC

8. See the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall

If theater / dance performances are more up your alley, consider attending a Rockettes show while you’re in Manhattan.

The Rockettes dancing girls have been performing their famous dance lines of synchronized high leg kicks for 80 years, right in Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall. They’re still at it (though different girls, of course. Lol) so while you’re visiting NYC, you can catch their original show in its original venue.

9. Learn to sail through the air on the flying trapeze

If you’ve ever been enticed to go join the circus or to fly through the air, NYC might be your big chance to try it out. The Trapeze School New York gives lessons in rope techniques, silk cord techniques, trampoline, acrobatics & balancing, static and aerial trapeze for beginners to advanced students.

The school has appeared on HBO, Sex and the City, national and local TV. They have also been covered in The New York Times and Washington Post. They place great importance on safety for their staff and all students.

10. Join a food tour

NYC is famous for many delicious foods including bagels, NY cheesecake, NY style pizza, pastrami sandwiches, knishes and gourmet deli sandwiches. To accommodate all palettes, several different food tours are offered in NYC.

Do you fancy chocolates, wines and desserts on the posh upper West Side? Or perhaps craft beers, cheese and chocolates are more to your liking? Or maybe you’d prefer sampling exotic Chinese cuisines in Chinatown? Or a pizza binge, perhaps?

These are just a few of the many tasty food tours available in Manhattan.

QUESTIONS:

Which of these would you most like to do?

Do you have any other great alternate activities or places to visit in NYC?

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