Carpe Diem - New York Attractions

Photo: LB

Recently I was asked to recommend places of interest in New York City that are worth showing to out-of-town guests. I started thinking about all those numerous NYC attractions that over the years have given joy to me and my friends and guests. The list was long, and I decided that I was wise to visit these places when I had a chance. Carpe diem seems to be the motto in this case. Here are my places of joy in New York.

Immigration Museum on Ellis Island (reopened after hurricane Sandy, with some exceptions). Inexplicably, all my guests loved it. Excellent free audio tours. 

Museum of Modern Art. Get in for free on Friday after 5 pm, start at the top floor and proceed toward the ground floor. 

Metropolitan Museum of Art. One can live there. My favorite sections are medieval armor, medieval art and Egypt. "Suggested admission", i.e., pay what you wish at all times. 

Guggenheim Museum. Worth visiting for the building alone. Pay what you wish Saturday 5:45-7:45 pm.

The Cloisters. Medieval department of the Met Museum. Irresistible in good weather, can be strangely peaceful. Long subway ride, but rewarding. "Recommended admission", i.e., pay what you wish.

Frick Collection. A small, but very pleasant fine arts museum. My favorites there are Bellini’s St. Francis of Assisi in the Desert, two portraits by Hans Holbein Jr., one of Thomas More, the other of Cromwell, and a charming clock by Lepaut with a terracotta sculpture by Clodion. Pay what you wish Sunday 11 am to 1 pm.

Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Excellent tours: it is one of those places that are more interesting to explore with a guide than on your own.

Riverside Church. Interesting history and structure, excellent music programs, very decent choir (sings every Sunday morning service), organ, and carillon, a gift from JD Rockefeller. Also visit Columbia University campus nearby and Grant's Memorial across the street.

American Museum of Natural History. Fascinating exhibitions, Planetarium, and IMAX theater. "Suggested admission", i.e., pay what you wish at all times.

Greenwich Village and the recently gentrified SoHo. Clubs (e.g., Blue Note), restaurants and cafes (La Lanterna has music nights). Walk in the Washington Square Park. Try jazz at Village Vanguard. Take Free Tours by Foot (pay what you wish). Eat borscht at the Olive Tree (117 MacDougal St.) watching Chaplin movies and drawing with chalk on table tops. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center. 

Lincoln Center: Metropolitan Opera, Avery Fisher Hall (Philharmonic), Alice Tully Hall (chamber music), Julliard School, etc. A heaven for a lover of classical music, opera, and ballet. Rush tickets are now sold for $25 online beginning at noon on the day of the performance. Take a backstage tour of the Met during opera season. Hurry before this place goes bankrupt like the City Opera.

Carnegie Hall, Zankel Hall, Weill Hall. Another must-visit place for a classical music fan. Excellent acoustics for chamber music at Zankel Hall.

New York Public Library. Splendid interior at the Schwarzman Building with the lions on 42nd St and 5th Avenue. Free tours at 11 am and 2 pm (only 2 pm on Sunday). Good exhibitions.

Morgan Library and Museum. JP Morgan's private collection and a small museum, interesting interior, good collection of Near-Eastern seals and cuneiform tablets, fascinating history. Free admission on Fridays 7 pm to 9 pm ought to be taken advantage of. See my story about Morgan Library.

Trinity Church at World Trade Center. Excellent music programs at Trinity and at St Paul's Chapel nearby.

Joe's Pub and Public Theater. Joe’s Pub is a cabaret with an excellent music program. Book seats online. The best seats are the ones close to the stage or at the festooned "bar" between pillars on the slightly elevated second level.

The View Lounge, a huge revolving space at the top of the Mariott Marquis Hotel on Times Sq. Enjoy the elevator ride up there! Order drinks in the lounge, sit at the window and enjoy (also see Kosta's comment below on how to avoid waiting in line). A full revolution takes a little over one hour and the view from the top is exceptional, especially in fair weather.

High Line Park. This place was built around an old elevated rail track remaining from the olden days. Very pleasant way to spend an hour or two in good weather. 

Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, boat rides in a circle around Manhattan (2.5 h long) or along a horseshoe around the southern half of the island (1.5 h), very enjoyable in good weather. Leaves from Pier 83 (42nd St., next to the Intrepid). On the Semicircle Cruise outbound loop, park yourself outside on the left side of the boat and snap great pics. Alternatively, take the Staten Island Ferry (free, 25 min trip), East River Ferry ($4-12), or water taxi ($5-30). 

Pearl Theatre. A small theater with offbeat repertoire.

The Noguchi Museum. Museum and sculpture garden of Isamu Noguchi in Queens. Pleasant way to spend a couple of hours when not in a hurry to do anything else (open Wed-Sun, closes early). 

tkts booths for discount tickets to Broadway shows. The one on Times Square is worth visiting for the cool red steps above it, a great place to take photos. I am allergic to musical theater, but some people consider it to be quintessential NYC form of entertainment.

Rubin Museum of Art, Art of the Himalayas and South Asia, interesting building, a small collection that cannot compete with the Met Museum, but focused and therefore educational; music programs on Wednesdays 5-7 pm. Free on Friday 6-10 pm.

Neue Gallerie. German and Austrian XX c. art in a small mansion on 5th Ave and 86 St. A nice place to visit in good company when you've seen it all in NYC. Free 6-8 pm first Friday of every month.

Intrepid Museum. Great fun for boys of all ages and sexes.

Brooklyn Academy of Music. BAM offers a diverse program of music, theater, and cinema, but for me it is a place to get a dose of Shakespeare. Easy commute from Manhattan.

Bronx Botanical Garden. Beautiful grounds and excellent exhibitions. Grounds are free all day Wednesday and 9-10 am on Saturday. Exhibitions require tickets.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Free on Tuesday and 10-12 am on Saturday. 

Kyukit (K-EYE-kit), the Rockefeller Estate in Tarrytown. If you go there by train (about 40 min ride from Grand Central, Metro North Hudson Line), on the way there, sit on the left side and enjoy spectacular views of the Hudson River. Also visit the Union Church with Chagall and Matisse stained glass windows. Very good dining on the main street in Tarrytown. See my story about Kyukit.

Bargemusic, a chamber music concert space on an old barge under the Brooklyn Bridge. Easy commute from Manhattan, excellent program. Half-price tickets for students. If you are prone to motion sickness and cannot tolerate occasional noise from the river, stay on terra firma and go to Zankel Hall or Alice Tully Hall instead. Spectacular view of lower Manhattan from near the Barge. It's also a good place to stop before or after walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

Princeton University. The campus (virtual tour) is pleasant to visit, especially in the fall. A little over 1 hr train ride from Penn Station (Northeast Corridor). Catch a free concert at the Chapel. Several ok eateries on the streets just outside the campus.

TimeOut New York, a good source of information about various NYC events, including free ones.

Get this list in PDF with links.

Photo: Empire State Building illuminated in honor of the World AIDS Day (December 1, 2012)