World City Guide

Key Attractions

The Statue of Liberty
The ultimate symbol of the American Dream, Lady Liberty, standing majestically over New York Harbour, is probably the most famous landmark in America. The people of France donated the statue to the United States in 1886, to commemorate the alliance of the two countries during the American Revolution. It was the first sight of the New World to be seen by the 12 million immigrants who passed through Ellis Island, the country’s principal immigration centre in the early and mid 20th century. The site has just reopened after an extensive renovation and the crown and torch are no longer accessible to visitors. Instead there are ranger-guided Promenade Tours through the lobby and around the outside and guided Observatory Tours which includes the first tour and a visit to the pedestrian observation platform.

Liberty Island, New York Harbour
Tel: (866) STATUE4 or (866) 782 8834.
E-mail: stli_info@nps.gov
Website: www.nps.gov/stli
Transport: Circle Line Statue of Liberty Ferry (tel: (212) 269 5755) from South Ferry at Battery Park to Liberty and Ellis islands; free 24-hour Staten Island Ferry (tel: (718) 815 2628) from Battery Park.
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0930-1700, Sat and Sun 0900-1730.
Admission: Free but there are only a limited number of tickets. They are available at ferry ticket offices, by calling ahead or booking online at www.statuereservations.com.

Ellis Island Immigration Museum
The relatives of over 40% of families living in the United States of America passed through this historical immigration station, which operated from 1892 to 1954. Now a national monument and museum, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum has over 30 galleries related to the American immigrant experience. Tours educate visitors about how ‘undesirables’ were weeded out and separated from their families in the Registry Room, after month-long ordeals on often over-crowded boats. For a US$5 fee, visitors can search the Ellis Island archives by computer in the popular American Family Immigration Center for information on their ancestors.

Ellis Island, New York Harbor
Tel: (212) 363 3206.
E-mail: moreinfo@ellisisland.com
Website: www.ellisisland.com
Transport: Circle Line Statue of Liberty Ferry (tel: (212) 269 5755) from South Ferry at Battery Park to Liberty and Ellis islands (costing US$10 for a round trip).
Opening hours: Daily 0830-1850.
Admission: Free.

World Trade Center – Ground Zero
In early 2003, the city selected Memory Foundations as an architectural design, by Studio Daniel Libeskind, to replace the 110-storey towers and surrounding buildings at the site of the former World Trade Center. The new structure will integrate portions of a remaining slurry wall (strong enough to hold back the Hudson River). A slightly recessed public space, known as the bathtub, will provide the setting for a memorial and a museum. North of this area, a 541-metre (1,776ft) spire, the ‘Gardens of the World’, will grace the skyline. Although the complex’s very existence will memorialise the tragedy that occurred here in 2001, each year on 11 September, the sun will shine without a shadow on the Wedge of Light piazza. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation – LMDC (see below) can provide more information on the decision and design.

The viewing platforms that once allowed visitors to pay tribute at the former World Trade at Liberty Street, Center site, dubbed Ground Zero, are no longer in place. Right now the fenced viewing area at Liberty Street and Broadway highlights a pictorial history of the site and allows observation during ongoing work.

Lower Manhattan (on the west side)
Tel: (212) 962 2300. Fax: (212) 962 2431/33 (LMDC).
Website: www.renewnyc.com
Transport: Subway 1 or 9 to Chambers Street or subway E to WTC/Chambers.
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Admission: Free.

Brooklyn Bridge
Dubbed the eighth wonder of the world when it was completed after 30-years of construction in 1883, John Augustus Roebling’s design remains a masterful feat of engineering. One of the world’s first steel wire suspension bridges (and at one time one of the world’s longest) links Manhattan to Brooklyn, over the East River. The bridge’s mile-long wooden promenade is open to pedestrians and cyclists and offers stunning views of the city.

Park Row
Transport: Subway 4, 5 or 6 to Brooklyn Bridge or City Hall.
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours.
Admission: Free.

Empire State Building
Immortalised by Hollywood cinema (from King Kong and Fay Wray to Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) this stunning skyscraper is now once again the city’s tallest building. Completed in 1931, the 102-storey Empire State Building is a wonderful example of Art Deco period architecture and the observatories on the 86th and 102nd floors offer magical and spectacular views of the city; the 86th floor deck is open air. Each night, the top 31 storeys are illuminated with a colour that reflects the season or holiday. The New York Skyride, on the second floor, features a video and a motion-simulator ride around and above NYC’s attractions.

350 Fifth Avenue at East 34th Street
Tel: (212) 736 3100. Fax: (212) 947 1360.
Website: www.esbnyc.com; Skyride: www.skyride.com
Transport: Subway B, D, F, N, R, Q or W to 34th Street.
Opening hours: Daily 0930-2400, last elevator ascends at 2315. For security reasons, all visitors must use the main entrance on Fifth Avenue between 33rd & 34th Streets.
Admission: US$12, New York Skyride and Observatory combo US$24, (concessions available).

Rockefeller Center
Built in 1932-40, the Rockefeller Center is a masterpiece of urban design. The best approach is from the Channel Gardens, opposite Saks on Fifth Avenue (a popular lunchtime haunt flanked with shops and services) to arrive at the focal point of the complex, the sunken plaza, used as an ice-skating rink in winter and an open-air restaurant in summer. Behind this, the sumptuous GE building dominates the scene with its Art Deco ambience both inside and out. The Rockefeller Center is home to NBC, Radio City Music Hall and Christie's Auction House. NBC tours, lasting one-and-a-half-hour, are available and points of interest include the Today Show studio, the skating rink, the Prometheus and Atlas statues and the Channel Gardens.

Fifth Avenue, 47th Street to 52nd Street
Tel: (212) 332 6868 or 632 3975.
Website: www.rockefellercenter.com
Transport: Subway B, D, F, N, Q, R, 1 and 9 to Rockefeller Center.
Admission: Tour US$10, combo NBC US$21 .

Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), 11 West 53rd Street, between Fifth Street and Sixth Street, houses the most important modern art collection in the USA, covering a variety of media from the late 19th and 20th centuries, with impressive touring exhibitions. The museum, which has been undergoing a massive regeneration project to add much needed extra exhibition space (now 125,000 sq feet), has just reopened. Some of the most prominent features of architect Taniguchi’s redesign include a lobby that connects 53rd and 54th streets; an atrium that soars 110 feet above street level; and innovative glass curtain walls that provide views of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden and the vibrant midtown surroundings. The new MoMA also features a new gallery devoted to contemporary art and another for new media. Building materials such as glass, granite and aluminum add to the building’s elegance, and natural light plays a greater role than ever before in the visitor’s experience.

33rd Street at Queens Boulevard, Long Island City
Tel: (212) 708 9400.
E-mail: info@moma.org
Website: www.moma.org
Transport: Subway 7 to 33rd Street, Queens.
Opening hours: Sat-Mon and Thurs 1000-1700, Fri 1000-1745 (extended during some shows).
Admission: US$20 (concessions available), free Friday evenings (1600-2000).

Solomon R Guggenheim Museum
The Guggenheim Museum, a seven-storey conical building designed by US master architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is worth visiting if only for the building alone. Opened in 1959, its design represented a new way to view art and was a radical departure from other institutions of its kind. Visitors ascend to the top floor via escalator and descend at their own pace on a continuous, circular ramp. The open rotunda makes it possible to see many levels and exhibits simultaneously. The Guggenheim’s acclaimed collection consists of late 19th- and 20th-century art works, many of which came from the private collection of Solomon’s niece, Peggy Guggenheim.

1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street
Tel: (212) 423 3500.
E-mail: visitorinfo@guggenheim.org
Website: www.guggenheim.org
Transport: Subway 4, 5 or 6 to 86th Street.
Opening hours: Sat-Wed 1000-1745, Fri and 1000-2000.
Admission: US$15; concessions available; patrons may pay what they wish Fri 1600–1800.

Metropolitan Museum of Art
‘The Met,’ a most cherished New York institution, is home to more than two million works of art. It opened in 1870 with a modest collection of 174 European paintings and has grown to be the largest art museum in the western hemisphere. Now its collected works span 5,000 years of culture and the museum is home to some 2,500 of the finest paintings which include Vermeers, Rembrandts, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists as well as Renaissance, African, Asian, and Islamic art. It is believed that its 36,000 pieces of Egyptian art is the greatest outside of Cairo. It is impossible to see everything in the museum in one visit, and because of its popularity, the Met can get extremely crowded on weekends.

1000 Fifth Avenue, at 82nd Street
Tel: (212) 535 7710.
Website: www.metmuseum.org
Transport: Subway 4, 5 or 6 to 86th Street.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1730, Fri and Sat 0930-2100.
Admission: US$12 is suggested.

Central Park
New York’s famous green lung, Central Park, is a magnificent city sanctuary situated in the centre of Manhattan. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it opened in 1876 and now offers numerous recreational and cultural outlets. The Belvedere Castle (a stone castle built on Vista Rock in the middle of the park at the 79th Street Transverse) offers excellent views from its lookout, while the Shakespeare Garden, just west of the castle, contains flowers and herbs mentioned in the Bard’s plays. The Central Park Conservancy offers various free walking tours of the park. There is also a theatre and sports facilities, including tennis courts, ice rinks and lakes, in addition to the celebrated Central Park Wildlife Center. Considered to be one of the world’s most appealing small zoos, the latter has exhibits for each of the world’s major environments and houses smaller animals, such as monkeys and penguins. The Tisch Children’s Zoo, across East 65th Street, is a hands-on animal garden where petting domestic animals, such as goats and pigs, is permitted. The beautifully landscaped Central Garden and Sea Lion Pool is flanked on three sides by a glass-roofed colonnade, making it accessible even in wet weather. It is considered unwise to visit Central Park after dark, except for events such as ice skating, carriage rides or Summerstage (see Special Events).

From 59th Street to 110th Street
Tel: (212) 310 6600 or 360 2726 (walking tours hot line).
E-mail: contact@centralparknyc.org or tours@centralparknyc.org
Website: www.centralparknyc.org
Transport: Subway N or R to Fifth Avenue; or bus 4, 5 or 6 to 59th Street.
Opening hours: Daily 24 hours (park); daily 1000-1630 (visitor centre).
Admission: Free.

Belvedere Castle
Mid-Park at 79th Street.
Tel: (212) 772 0210.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0900-1700 (Apr-Oct); 1000-1600 (Nov-Mar).
Admission: Free.

Central Park Wildlife Centre
830 Fifth Avenue and East 64th Street
Tel: (212) 439 6500.
Website: www.wcs.org/zoos
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1000-1700, Sat, Sun and holidays 1000-1730 (5 Apr-26 Oct); daily 1000-1630 (27 Oct-4 Apr).
Admission: US$6 (concessions available).