The third day in New York started with a walk in the financial district of the city. Wall Street is a well-known street for the American financial services industry and the home of the New York Stock Exchange.
Also in this area is the Charging Bull (also called the Bull of Wall Street) – a massive bronze sculpture weighing 3 tons and depicting a bull as a symbol of financial power and prosperity.
We then headed to the 9/11 Museum which chronicles the tragic story of the September 11, 2001 Twin Towers attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombings through artifacts, testimonies, and survivor accounts. Ticket price: $28/person.
The museum’s largest room is 15,000 square feet and has a 60-foot-high ceiling, and houses an original portion of the World Trade Center‘s retaining wall that withstood the attack.
The “Reflecting Absence” reflecting pools outside the museum honor those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and represent, according to architect Michael Arad, “absence made visible: although water flows into the voids, they cannot never be filled”. The memorial was opened on September 11, 2011, 10 years after the attacks on the Twin Towers.
Next to the 9/11 Museum stands out The Oculus – a large white building with steel spikes, shaped like a wing pointing to the sky. The building is a transportation hub and commercial center built after the devastating attacks of September 11, as part of the World Trade Center reconstruction plan to bring business back to the area.
From the World Trade Center we went to the Brooklyn Bridge – the first bridge that connected Brooklyn with Manhattan. Walking the bridge offers some of the most famous and beautiful panoramas of New York. With the New York Pass® you can choose guided tours to learn about the history of the building or rent bikes from Unlimited Biking and explore the city by pedaling.
After walking from one end to the other on the Brooklyn Bridge, we decided to visit China Town and Little Italy. If you love Asian food you should not miss China Town which attracts tourists to its many Chinese and Southeast Asian restaurants.
Nearby is Little Italy, where we stopped and ate at the first pizzeria opened in the United States (1905): Lombardi’s Pizza. Little Italy includes numerous souvenir shops, restaurants, gelaterias and traditional Italian bakeries.
Rockefeller Center is a complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings and known especially for hosting the annual Christmas tree and ice rink.
In close proximity is the 5th Avenue which runs the length of Manhattan from north to south and is said to be the ideal place for shopping around the world.
Rockefeller Center is also home to Top of the Rock which offers breathtaking views from 260 meters above the ground. The observation point offers panoramic views of the city’s most beautiful tourist attractions: Central Park, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the George Washington Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, One World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty. Ticket price: $38/person.
Day four began with another three-hour Circle Line: Best of NYC Cruise, featuring the city’s top attractions: Brooklyn Bridge, Yankee Stadium, Empire State Building, Wall Street, South Street Seaport, and the Statue of Liberty.
*The ferry just slows down at the Statue of Liberty, so if you want to visit Ellis Island, Liberty Island and go up to the statue you have to take the Ellis Island Ferry or The Staten Island Ferry (which is free).*
This time we had a sunny day and could sit outside. Also, being a morning cruise, there were fewer tourists and so I could better hear the history of the city and buildings described by the tour guide. As with the other cruise, you must be 45 minutes early and no food or drinks are allowed on board. One ticket price: $44/person.
After the cruise we went to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.
Washington Square Park is known for the marble arch that honors George Washington, the man the park is named after, and its fountain – a popular meeting place. Surrounded by the buildings of New York University, the park is a lively place full of students and musicians.
Last stop in New York: The Edge – located above at Hudson Yards. Each vantage point we’ve been to offers a different experience and presents a different perspective of the city. Arguably The Edge offers the most thrilling view of New York through its glass paneled floor, sloping glass walls and suspended deck. Unfortunately we only had a few minutes to admire the view, because a storm came and we had to go inside the building. Ticket price: $38/person.
A few other interesting tourist attractions that we wanted to visit, but time or weather did not allow: Coney Island (is a residential neighborhood in Brooklyn known for the Wonder Wheel and Luna Park, an amusement park with the famous Cyclone roller coaster. Coney Island is an hour and a half by public transport from Manhattan and we didn’t have time to get there), Brooklyn Heights Promenade and Brooklyn Bridge Park (offers spectacular views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyscrapers), The Morgan Library & Museum (free admission every Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; reservations required), New York Botanical Garden (the largest botanical garden in the city, spread over 100 hectares), New York City Catacombs (under the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral is home to the only catacombs in Manhattan and one of the few that exist in the U.S. It is by far one of the most historically significant collections of tombs in the country. Unfortunately they were closed).
From New York we went to Washington DC. You can get to Washington by plane, bus or train. We chose Flixbus because we had some old tickets that we needed to use. The journey took 4 and a half hours, the bus was half full and had only one stop. If you buy tickets in advance they cost around $18/person.
(New York – August 2021)
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