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This is Day 2 of my friend Athena’s first visit to NYC. Day 1 was spent exploring the West & East Village. Day 2 is all about midtown. And Day 3 did a small tour of Financial District.
Visitors, midtown is the neighborhood of Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, and Macy’s. This is most of the tourist spots. Locals avoid this like the plague.
Some photos are mine. Flickr photos are linked appropriately.
Day 2: Midtown/5th Ave/Central Park/Empire State Building
New York Public Library – Stephen Schwarzman Building
Yes, this is where Ghostbusters was filmed!
Locals, you can’t actually take books out of this library. Sorry!
Athena at NYPL – No ghosts found
Stephen Schwarzman Building – New York Public Library
Reading Room in NYPL
NYPL Lobby
The prettiest library in all of NY
Grand Central Terminal & The Whispering Wall
Grand Central is an active train station for both the NYC subway and it’s suburban rail MetroNorth. It’s also home to a food court and an apple store. Plus, a whispering wall. You gotta figure that one out for yourself.
Grand Central Terminal – MetroNorth & MTA
Grand Central – Always moving
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Currently, St Patrick’s Cathedral is undergoing renovations. It’s still beautiful but a lot of the wonderful architecture is all covered up. It is open to the public but also hold Catholic mass so please be respectful when visiting and taking photos.
St Patrick’s Cathedral (When not under renovations)
Central Park & Strawberry Fields
A tribute to John Lennon in Central Park. This area is directly across the street from the apartment building he lived in, The Dakota. This apartment building was also the film location for Rosemary’s Baby.
Strawberry Fields John Lennon Tribute in Central Park
Times Square at Night
If you are new to nyc, it’s obligatory to visit Times Square. I know as a local it sucks to go here because it’s so crowded but at the same time, it’s pretty amazing. But if you’re going to bother going, do it right and go at night time. During the day it just doesn’t look as exciting. Nighttime has a better affect plus it looks as though it’s daytime anyway.
Times Square at night is a must-see
Athena & Leslie
Athena hanging out in Times Square
Real love for a friend means going with them to Times Square
Empire State Building in the Clouds
We were warned that there was zero visibility at the Empire State Building but we still decided to go up. Even though we missed the view, it was still very enjoyable. Mainly because it was empty. We waited in no lines and didn’t have crowds on the observatory deck.
Even though there was not a view, being inside a cloud is still a very neat feeling. Amazingly, we couldn’t see much of NYC 1,000 feet below but we could hear it! The sound of horns and music traveled all the way up. Very interesting.
Locals, do this! I know it’s touristy but the ESB is such an icon. Make sure you do this at some point! It’s also not super expensive. You buy a ticket and it’s good for any time within a year.
The only negative thing I have to say about this experience, as it was my first time there, the security is way overzealous. They made Athena check a poster at their security check, so she wasn’t allowed to bring it up to the deck with her. That’s fine and we asked them if we would go back through that area on the way back down so we wouldn’t forget to pick it up. They said we would. But in fact, we did not at all. Instead, we actually had to go all the way down to the lobby then back up to the security check. Frustrating for something pointless. I’m all for safety but hate scare tactics. So, just be aware of this if you’re carrying bags and such with you.
Empire State Building in the Clouds
Empire State Building View in Zero Visibility
Looking up from the 86th Floor Observatory Deck
In the clouds at Empire State Building
The post What To See in NYC from a Local: Midtown Spots appeared first on leslie beslie.