- Gallery openings on Thursday nights in Chelsea
If you happen to be visiting NYC on a Thursday, it is very worthwhile to use your Thursday evening checking out gallery openings in New Yorks most established art district – Chelsea. Art Galleries are abundant on most streets in the area and Thursday is the night to nibble on cheese and sip wine while checking out the coolest contemporary art and art events this area of NYC has to offer.
- Columbia University
Most Ivy League universities such as Princeton, Yale and Harvard are within a short train ride from New York City anyway, if seeing/ attending elite colleges is of interest to you. However, NYC and Manhattan itself has it’s own prestigious offering on the Upper West side, Columbia University. It is only a twenty minute train ride from Times Square, and it is so beautiful and easy to pass an entire afternoon on the college grounds, watching a world of students saunter to class.
- Chinatown in Brooklyn
If you fancy escaping Manhattan, and would like to see another borough, Brooklyn is a fine choice as it pulls off being an ideal residential spot with huge cultural diversity and activity. Rather than hit the touristic Chinatown in Manhattan, ride the N train to 8th Avenue and you will arrive in Brooklyn’s adored Chinatown, with the main buzz between 50th Street and 62nd Street along 8th Avenue. Enjoy traditional Chinese food with friendly Chinese immigrants.
- Sunset Park, Brooklyn
Perhaps you’ve already walked the acres of Central Park, and are looking for a park a bit more peaceful with less tourists and selfie sticks clogging the paths! Sunset Park in Brooklyn (get the R train to 53rd Street) is one of the cities finest secrets, offering a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline amidst deciduous trees and plenty of benches for seating yourself and simply staring.
- Check out exciting new theatre in the East Village
Many people frequent New York simply to see a Broadway show…or two…or three, and obviously the musical extravaganzas can be incredibly enjoyable entertainment but it can also empty the pocket fast. Also, many of the shows and songs can’t help but feeling slightly stale if you’ve watched your local secondary school do an amateur version a year previous. Instead, wander to the East Village where many of the cities most exciting theatre companies (e.g. New York Theatre Workshop) have a base and check out their theatre work that is pushing boundaries, and dealing with topics not yet touched by the larger houses.
Author: Áine Ryan.