It has been nearly 2 months since my last post and after a very long and relaxing winter break, I am back with more places on my bucket list! This week, I wanted to do a little something different and actually talk about a place I visited during break: New York City.
I know, I know this is pretty much a stereotypical place to visit with many making multiple trips in their lifetime if they live in a nearby state. However, shockingly, I only went once when I was in elementary school to see the Statue of Liberty and Empire State building. This time, I was definitely looking forward to the attractions and sites that make the Big Apple so great!
If you travel by train to Penn Station like I did, you will instantly be hit with a waft of doughy cheese and garlic. If you keep following it, you will end up in front of Joe’s Pizza in TImes Square, which is probably the home of some of the best cheese pizza I have ever tasted. First founded in a Greenwich village pizzeria in 1975, the restaurant quickly opened other locations in NYC and around the world. Although their pizza has a crunchy crust and mouth-watering toppings that secured their place on every “Best Pizza in NYC” list, Joe’s Pizza became even more popular due to its appearance in movies. It was first featured in the 2004 film Spider-Man 2 where Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) worked as a delivery boy and was fired for insubordination.
The next stop on my trip: the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met, as it is more commonly known as, is located in the Upper East Side and is a quick subway ride away from Times Square. But, going into the museum is everything but a quick tourist stop.
Spanning nearly 2.2 million square feet with more than 2 million works in 17 different cultural departments, this famous art museum is one of the largest in the Americas and can take nearly 10 hours to see everything it offers! Although I didn’t get that much time, I was very impressed by how comprehensive the works were; I saw European paintings, costumes, and even armor.
If you are short on time like me, here’s a list of pieces you MUST see (I covered about 90% of them!!). I will definitely have to make another trip and I certainly would not mind, especially with the nice student discount to enter 🙂
Of course, coming to NYC means that you must take in the skyline to get the whole Big Apple experience. Sadly, we had to catch the train back home, so I never got to go to any observation decks. But luckily, I had enough time to see Highline Park located in Western Manhattan. Taking inspiration from a similar 1993 project in Paris, Highline Park was actually once part of an abandoned NY Central Railroad that was converted into an elevated lush public park.
Not only can you walk the 1.45 mile trail, but you can also see the cityscape across the Hudson River. Definitely a beautiful way to end you time in the big city!
NYC is a city I have visited before, but still remains on my bucket list due to the massive amounts of opportunities and attractions yet to be seen.
I distinctly remember traveling to New York City myself, two years ago, and I hit almost every spot you talked about. When I was reading through, I thought that Joe’s Pizza looked familiar and I was right! It was the spot from one of my favorite movies, Spider-Man 2. I love how your links aren’t just there to provide new information but can be very helpful on a tourist trip. It can be overwhelming to go to an art museum without a plan so your list of pieces to see was helpful. If you had found time to explore the skyline more, the Empire State Building is a must, especially at night. I’m afraid of heights but even I was fascinated by it. Keep up the good work on your blogs!
s someone who loves travelling, New York City is one of my favorite places to visit. However, I have never done a deep dive, if you will, into the city and explored much besides the Statue of Liberty and Empire State of Building. I have always wanted to go to Joe’s Pizza specifically because of Spider-Man 2 (I love visiting places featured in movies!), but never had the time to. The Met is absolutely gorgeous, and I love going there to see the artwork. In fact, my favorite section is the one with armor due to how interesting middle-ages weaponry is. Finally, the skyline is beautiful, and I always go there with my friends and take artsy pictures. I will definitely check out Joe’s Pizza and the other places you recommended to go to in New York!
As*
I love visiting New York every few years. It is such a vastly different area than where I am used to living, filled with a constant stream of people and noise, and there is so much to explore. Even though I’ve been there numerous times, I’ve never visited the Met or Highline Park, which just shows me how much there still is to see there. I’d love to go back soon for a few days to discover more things.
For the past four years (minus 2020 due to covid) I have consistently traveled to NYC over Thanksgiving break to attend an annual event hosted there. This consistent visiting has given me a fondness of NYC that I never thought I would have in my life. However, while there I was mainly focused on the event and only used my relatively small free time after it to explore the city itself, and so I have definitely not experienced much of what the city has to offer. I really appreciate the list of things that I should visit when there that’s adapted to a busy schedule, and when I visit NYC this year I will definitely make use of that very list.
I live in northern New Jersey about 30 minutes away from the city, so I’ve definitely been quite a few times! My boyfriend also goes to NYU, so I’ve made a lot of trips out there over the past two semesters and have gotten used to the Greenwich Village area. I’m not really a huge pizza fan, but Joe’s is definitely a staple. The high line is great for a walk and some cute pictures too. If you were at the high line around winter break, that probably means you saw the Vessel too, but I think it’s been shut down for a while now. I was actually able to go in the Vessel twice while it was open, and it offered cool views, but nothing too crazy, so you didn’t miss much. If you’re in the Greenwich Village area and love fun arthouse movie theaters, the Angelika is right there and one of my favorite ice cream shops, Van Leeuwen, has a location in the village too. One thing I love about the city is that even if you walk around aimlessly, not hitting the main attractions, you’re bound to find some fun. One place I still want to go is Central Park. For all the times I’ve been to the city, I’ve never been there.