City tours
Helicopter tours
Gray Line New York Tours offers 24 different tours with different means of transportation. The 10-minute helicopter tour of A Bird’s Eye View gives a bird’s eye view of the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and Central Park.
Tel: (212) 397 26 20 (Gray Line New York Tours)
Website: http://www.graylinenewyork.com
Boat tours
Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises is the only company to offer a cruise around the Isle of Manhattan, the 3-hour, commented Full Island Cruise (departing from Pier 83 on 42nd Street on the Hudson River). Alternatives are the 2-hour semi-circle cruise or the 2-hour harbor lights cruise in the evening. At Pier 83 and 16 on South Street Seaport, adventure seekers can take a 30-minute lap on the Beast.
Tel: (212) 563 32 00 (Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises)
Website: http://www.circleline42.com
Bus tours
Gray Line New York Tours offers tours in open or closed double-decker buses and stops at numerous sights during the 2 or 3-hour journey.
The Essential New York Tour offers a tour of Manhattan where you can hop on and off at 50 locations. Gray Line also offers tours of Harlem and Brooklyn.
City Sights NY offers hop-on, hop-off tours in New York City, where you can hop on and off every 20 minutes at 25 stops between Central Park and Downtown Manhattan. City Sights NY also offers “Uptown Treasures & Harlem” tours, as well as an “All Around Town Ticket” that includes a night tour of Manhattan and a 75-minute Circle-Line cruise on the water. The multilingual city sightseeing tours in the German-speaking market are represented by the Cologne agency Get It Across Marketing.
Coach USA offers a one-hour city tour in the footsteps of Henry Hudson in an amphibious vehicle. The AquaBus runs daily through Times Square to the Hudson River from where it continues to water.
Scene on TV Tours offer bus trips to the locations of well-known American television series such as Friends, Seinfeld and Law & Order. On the 2 1/2-hour Sex and the City tour you visit 40 locations of the television series. Departure is in front of the Pulitzer Foundation on Fifth Avenue, Sat 2.30pm. Booking required.
Phone: (212) 397 26 20 (Gray Line New York Tours); (877) 527 46 91 (Coach USA); (212) 410 98 30 (Scene on TV Tours)
website: http://www.graylinenewyork.com
Tours
New York’s streets are perfect for exploring on foot – the best way to really get to know the city. There are numerous providers of guided tours, e.g. Big Onion Walking Tours , which provide an entertaining and informative overview of New York’s historic and ethnic districts. Tours last about 2 hours.
New is the Patriot Trail , which connects the city’s most important historical buildings. The tour lasts approx. 1 hour and can either be done as part of a free tour or independently. His 19 stations include Trinity Church, the Federal Hall National Memorial and the birthplace of President Theodore Roosevelt. The Patriot Trail begins one block east of Ground Zero on Broadway and Vesey Street.
Phone: (212) 439 10 90 (Big Onion Walking Tours)
website: http://www.bigonion.com
Historical tours
Sightseeing specialist Gray Line offers the NYC Official Heritage Tour. The 90-minute ride in the old trolley bus takes you past many historic sites such as the Federal Hall National Memorial, the Ladies Mile and the Tenderloin District. The tour guides wear period costumes and revive famous scenes – like George Washington’s farewell to his troops in the War of Independence in December 1783. Visitors who want to take more time can get off at ten stops and later get on the next bus. The tour is offered daily between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Website: http://www.coachusa.com/newyorksightseeing
Trips
Staten Island
The short boat ride on the Staten Island Ferry across Hudson Bay offers a wonderful view of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. Staten Island is a posh residential area and weekend destination for the wealthier New Yorkers and offers a variety of attractions, such as the Staten Island Zoo (tel: (718) 442 31 01), the Staten Island Children’s Museum (tel: (718) 271 20 60) and the Snug Harbor Cultural Center (tel: (718) 448 25 00). Richmond’s historic settlement immerses you deep into the 18th century of the city of New York.
Ferries to Staten Island are free, run 24/7 and drop off at Battery Park in Manhattan. For more information, contact the Staten Island Tourism Council , One Edgewater Plaza, Whitehall Street and South Street.
Tel: (800) 573 74 69 (Staten Island Tourism Council)
Website: http://www.statenislandzoo.org
Coney Island
Just a short subway ride (line B, D, F, or N to Stillwell Avenue) from Manhattan, Coney Island in South Brooklyn, with its beautiful beaches and entertainment parks, is a popular weekend destination for New Yorkers and tourists alike. The main attractions are the New York Aquarium for Wildlife Conservation , Surf Avenue, corner of West Eighth Street (Tel: (718) 265 34 00), which is halfway to Brighton Beach (open Mon-Fri 10 am-5pm, Sat, Sun and holidays until 5:30 p.m.). There is also an ‘aqua theater’ with dolphins and sea lions, the Sea Cliffs Exhibition , where you can admire walruses, penguins and giant octopuses, and the Discovery Cove, an interactive entertainment complex for children.
Coney Islands entertainment area consists of several amusement parks , where you can admire The Wonder Wheel , the largest ferris wheel in the world and the Cyclone roller coaster.
Long Island
East of New York, Long Island stretches over 190 km into the Atlantic. This popular weekend excursion destination for New Yorkers has meanwhile developed into a major tourist attraction, which is mainly due to the beautiful white sandy beaches such as the Fire Island National Seashore. The north and south beaches are very different: in the north you can find a varied landscape with cliffs on which luxury villas and country houses are located, while in the south you will find infinite sand dunes and holiday resorts such as Jones Beach or the gay center Fire Island.
The fastest way to get to Long Island from Pennsylvania Station is via the reliable, if somewhat shabbyLong Island Railroad , but there are also numerous buses. Only locals can get a parking permit for the beaches, the best way is to walk to the sea. Further information is available from the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau , 330 Vanderbill Motor Parkway.
Phone: (631) 951 34 40 and (516) 951 34 40 and (800) 386 66 54
website: http://licvb.com
