New York | Viator Travel Blog

Viva la Summer: New York City

29. July 2009

Haven’t heard of Viva la Summer? Here’s the deal - as part of Viator’s celebration of summer 2009, we’re pointing a spotlight at top summer destinations around the world. This week’s featured destination is New York City (see below for some of our favorite things to do in New York). Our first order of business: we’re pleased to honor our Viva la Summer traveler of the week. This week it’s Jim F. from the USA.

New York’s 9/11 Ground Zero Museum Workshop

26. June 2009

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New York’s 9/11 Ground Zero Museum Workshop

While few people chose to travel in pursuit of tragedies, occasionally a tragedy helps put a destination into meaningful context. No where is that more true than New York City. The attacks of September 11, 2001 are easy to overlook nowadays; New York is healing, moving on, looking forward not back. And yet 9/11 was (and remains) a defining moment of modern New York. You cannot appreciate the city and everything it has endured, without confronting the gruesome reality of the attacks, the death and destruction, the heroism of Ground Zero's rescue workers, the courage and resilience of everyday New Yorkers.

Travel for the Love of Film, Music, Books

20. April 2009

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Travel for the Love of Film, Music, Books

There are some films that make you just want to be there, even though you know rationally that it was only a movie, not real life (and even if it was real life, by the time the film comes out the original event is long-gone). There is something exciting about standing on a street corner that you have visited in film-inspired dreams. Films immortalise locations even as they mess with local geography; they give us a glimpse into an incredible range of places and possibilities.

New York City by Land, Sea and Sky

25. March 2009

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Where do you go to get the best views of New York? Me, I’ve always spent most of my time on the Manhattan sidewalks, gazing upwards with my mouth open. I did wind up on the receiving end of some "Watch where you’re going!" comments, and I did get a sore neck, but I didn't really grasp the scale of the city. So this time I resolved to do something a bit different. I would take in as many different views as possible and finally, if possible, come home with a real sense of perspective.

Public Art from NYC to Australia

11. March 2009

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One of the joys of travel is finding the unexpected. And that’s why I keep an eye open for strange objects in unfamiliar places, otherwise known as public art. Some is good, some bad, some ugly, some inspiring. And it can pop up anywhere, turning an unremarkable place into somewhere special. Sometimes public art and sculpture [...]

133rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

25. February 2009

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My Mum turned 60 and wanted to go to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for her birthday, the trickiest part is getting tickets and everything else is easy. On the tickets front, just mail in your form early (I think I mailed it in October), download it at the Westminster Kennel Club website. Beautiful tickets will be mailed back to you (seriously they are really pretty tickets) and you are set for two days of non-stop dog show action at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

New York City Waterfalls

28. August 2008

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I think for most of my life I have been suffering from some horrible prejudice induced by seedy waterfront film noir movies because, until my last trip there (trip #10ish), I didn't think of New York City as a great place to get out on the water. The East River is for people wearing cement shoes, and the Hudson has who knows what lurking beneath its murky surface. That's why there's so many nice bridges in New York City, so you can get over the polluted, kraken infested water that is lapping dangerously near Manhattan's shores. And the poor Statue of Liberty, stuck out there, she must be lonely.

This Summer, Cooler Ways to See More of New York

22. May 2008

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This Summer, Cooler Ways to See More of New York

I had dinner in New York with a mate of mine last week. He told me he'd been to New York lots of times, but it turned out he'd never been below 34th Street or thereabouts. Frankly, I'd be happy enough if I never went above 34th Street; in any event, it made me realise how big the city is, and how little of it most visitors see; even people who've visited a few times. With that in mind, here's a couple of tour suggestions that focus on downtown and Brooklyn, each from a different angle, and each well worth the effort.

Interview & Contest: NYC Rock ‘n’ Roll Walking Tour

2. March 2008

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Interview & Contest: NYC Rock ‘n’ Roll Walking Tour

Once upon a time rock 'n' roll was king. Rock's lethal instrument was the electric guitar. Its warriors wore long hair (if you were into Led Zeppelin) or short hair (if you were a punk). It was sweaty, smelled like cheap beer and urine, and it was loud. One constant in the ever-changing world of rock is New York City. Which is where Ron Colinear (a.k.a. Bobby Pinn) comes in. He's the chief guide and founder of Rock Junket, a company on a mission to celebrate, preserve and expose New York’s great (and too often neglected) music and pop culture history. Bobby Pinn covers New York City's music-related landmarks and lore on his acclaimed Rock Junket: New York City Rock 'n' Roll Walking Tour.

NYC: A Wannabe Hipster’s Guide to the Lower East Side

5. February 2008

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NYC: A Wannabe Hipster’s Guide to the Lower East Side

When I first visited New York City’s Lower East Side a decade ago, there was a gigantic graffitoed painting of recently murdered Mexican diva, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, on the side wall of a building on the corner of East Houston Street. It separated the neighbourhood from its more genteel neighbour, the East Village. Lower East Side street [...]