The metropolis of New York deserves to become a landmark in North America itself due to its rich history and modern culture. Is it any wonder the abundance of worthy places to meet in this amazing and generous industrial and technological center of America. These are art museums that have collected the best exhibits from around the world and parks hovering over transport highways. These are observation platforms that open up a new dimension of the city from a bird's eye view and open-air museums. New impressions are provided not only for those who have visited the city for the first time, but also for those who visit America on their next voyage, as it develops so quickly. Its sights with a century of history and new interesting places in the city are indicated in this article. However, the rule is always relevant that it is better to see one day ... and yet, let's talk about the “wonders of America”.
Roosevelt Island Cable Car
The 940-meter North American air road over the East Iver Strait connects Roosevelt Island with urban areas in New York City. For a long time, this was the only way to get to the island from Manhattan. However, the popularity of the cable car was ensured not by the historical past, but by the cinematic present. The cable car route, with a highest point 76 meters above the strait, offers scenic panoramic views of Midtown and the East Side. The movement of the cabins is 28.8 km / h, each of them can accommodate up to 110 people for transportation.
The air road has become a landmark of New York thanks to its cinematic destiny. It has more than a dozen films, from fantasy genre to popular science stories, in which peak moments are filmed from all kinds of cable car angles.
Therefore, guests should definitely include in their program a panoramic view of the East Iver Strait from the height of the Roosevelt Island cable car. This will give you the opportunity not only to admire the views of the city and the water area, but also to feel in the place of the super-heroes of American cinema.
Museum Mile
This is the name of the section of Fifth Avenue, where the concentration of the city's museums exceeds any average statistic. On a small, just over a mile, street section, more than a dozen museums coexist. This kind of "museum Klondike" starts at 82nd and ends at 105th Street in the Upper East Side. There is also an equally telling name for this area of the city filled with history and events.
The historical mile is called "Millionaire's Mile" and in this case it is not even worth revealing the history of the origin of the urban term. Once on the site of Fifth Avenue, the guest runs the risk of confusion from the abundance of opportunities that has fallen on him. Judge for yourself: the world-renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the TOP 5 most visited museums in the world.
The Museum of Art and Culture of the Jewish People, the Goethe Center, the Academy of Design: they not only honor the memory, heritage of great figures of art and culture, creative national heritage, but also develop applied areas - teaching the language and culture of the great nations of the world. The festival of the same name is held annually in June, and every second Tuesday of the month, any guest can visit museums for free and walk along the pedestrian zone of the Museum Mile, which is closed for transport on that day.
Barnes & Noble Bookstore
Interesting not only for sophisticated "book lovers and book lovers", it is a real cultural center, where you look for an hour and lose the countdown. Why do oases of paper fiction remain in our technological and electronic world? Quite simply, the passionate founder of Barnes & Noble, Mr. Stephen Ridgeau, has created an empire of taste for reading.
Barnes & Noble is more than a bookstore. Here you can read any book you like in a comfortable armchair, like in a free library, and no one will indicate the time and will not control the readers' pastime. Celebrities and just interesting people come here, clubs are organized for the hobbies of store visitors, meetings and exchanges of views in the field of art and culture.
The book empire has its own publishing house, children's literature is printed with excellent illustrations and design. Visitors to this book paradise say that the quality of the covers is so high that books with a surprisingly memorable scent of ink do not feel like letting go. If you don't believe me, go to Barnes & Noble and ... let the whole world wait.
High Line Park
The modern industrial and urban park High Line "hung" at a height of 10 meters from the ground in the southern part of Manhattan. The length of this "hanging" promenade - just over one and a half kilometers, is located on the site of the former railway - the flyover. Therefore, an additional impression, in addition to acquaintance with modern architecture and art exhibitions in the High Line Park, is also made by magnificent views of the city and its architectural sights: for example, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, created by Jean Novel, it is located on at 100 Eleventh Avenue or the picturesque IAC Building, known as the Iceberg.
The Urban Park is interesting for its design solution - its landscape is decorated with more than 200 species of plants, ennobled with small architectural forms: benches, drinking fountains. Walking and stunning views are guaranteed when visiting this atmospheric park.
Lowline Lab Underground Park
Lowline Lab can be called the underground tropics of the metropolitan metropolis. The underground park is set up in a former warehouse, which is illuminated by an elaborate reflector system. They allow you to get enough sunlight to grow rare representatives of the flora planted there. The territory of the underground park is more than 400 meters, but this is only a small part of the project.
It is planned to open the Lowline Park, which will be 10 times larger than the existing underground garden. The essence of the project, the creators of which James Ramsey and Dan Barash, are to unite in one territory representatives of flora from different parts of the world, which in a normal environment do not occur side by side, since they are representatives of different geographic zones and grow in different zones of the planet Earth.
Currently, Lowline Lab delights the eye with about 2 thousand exotic plants, terraces for them are equipped in such a way as to provide plants with convenient watering and create the necessary ecology. In addition to this convenience, a visual effect is provided when tropical plants cascade before the eyes of park visitors.
Prospect Park
Avenue Park in Brooklyn is a huge walking area, the natural terrain and natural resources of which are ennobled by human creativity. It combines the idea of a boardwalk and a landscape environment, and is second only to Central Park in New York in scale. The idea of the park originated in 1859, and at the turn of the century it was actively developed: walking areas, entrances to the Park were improved, sculptural compositions were installed.
Currently, the number of visitors exceeds 10 million people a year. Its natural landscape and resources are used in a very original way. The natural water area of the park zone is framed in the form of cascading waterfalls, and the vast reservoir is like a lake, which has become a venue for festivals for fishing enthusiasts. Here is the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, you can visit the mansion built in the Italian style by the architect A.J. Davis.
Visitors to the park can go horse riding, baseball, or simply walk along the walking and cycling trails, which are more than 60 km long, or visit the zoo or ride on the frozen surface of the frozen lake.
Botanical Garden
It will take more than one or even two days to fully enjoy the opportunities offered by the New York Botanical Garden. The territory of the garden exceeds 100 hectares, and in addition to the rich flora and relic forests, concerts of classical and jazz music are held here, a lot of cultural events are held, there is something to do for guests of any age and status.
First of all, the Botanical Garden is known for its relict forest of the Tain family, as well as the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, a Victorian-style greenhouse, Rocky Garden, and Azalea Garden. A real paradise for connoisseurs of floristry. However, everyone will have their own picture after visiting this oasis of beauty.
To plan your route through this park of miracles, it is better to start your acquaintance with it from the Orangery Gate, there is an information center where you can get answers to any question about the program of events, promotions, bonuses, routes, current news and cultural events of the park.
Apotheke secret bar
Apotheke Bar in Chinatown is an amazingly atmospheric place well known to local clubmen. The street on which the Secret Bar is located received no less eloquent than the name of the bar itself, the name "bloody corner", as a result of events during the Prohibition era. In the era of the heyday of the Chinese mafia, crimes were committed here with constant constancy, and the nook in which it was possible to hide for attacks by murderers and robbers was given this self-explanatory name.
At that time, this place was dangerous, it was bypassed. Later, at the beginning of the twentieth century, during the era of Prohibition, a pharmacy was opened here, which was not limited to the sale of medicines. Today, the Apotheke Secret Bar is a place where signature cocktails are made from herbal and plant infusions. Each of them has its own purpose - to relieve stress, fatigue.
However, not only the recipe of cocktails, but also the bartenders correspond to the image of the bar - they play the role of healers and each visitor will be served only a suitable alcoholic "drug". All doping is created from organics grown in the garden of the bar or from farmers, according to the original recipe. Lovers of exotic will have something to remember after visiting the Secret Apotheke Bar in the “bloody corner”.
Secret Bar Cabinet of Cambell
The building of the Grand Central station is noted in every guidebook, but the secret bar Cabinet of Cambell is rarely noted in them, and all because this place is protected from crowds of tourists by local connoisseurs of bohemian life. The charm of the bar lies in its atmosphere and originality. The idea of the Cabinet of Cambella Ball was laid by the owner of the railway J.V. Campbell, who turned his office in the evenings into a club place for business representatives.
The parties were held in a closed format, only for a select wealthy public. Today the idea has been transformed in a new version, but the essence has been preserved. It serves the best martini in the whole city, according to the patrons. You can get pleasure from the old surroundings of the bar, and even from the pleasure of going up in an elegantly decorated in art-deco style elevator to the second floor of the Grand Central. A bar for those looking for non-touristy options.
Restaurant "MaryVanna"
A Russian slice of New York for the nostalgic can be found at the MariVanna Restaurant in Manhattan. Styled as a retro apartment of the Stalinist era, the restaurant is replete with Russian surroundings. Everything here is equipped with the attributes of the Soviet period: nesting dolls, crystal, and even a library with samizdat folios. But of course, special attention is paid to Russian cuisine in the restaurant.
Traditional cabbage soup, borscht and mashed potatoes with a fragrant and fried cutlet, fatty sour cream in a crinkle, mushrooms, beef stroganoff and other delights of the national cuisine will remove any nostalgic melancholy and add a taste of life. The concept of the restaurant "MaryVanna" is built on the image of that busy grandmother, in whom any guest will plunge into a state of "sated and drunk". A place where people are always waiting, and where you will certainly want to return.
Bar "The IDES"
Where can you enjoy the best skyscraper view of Manhattan while relaxing with friends over a good cocktail? Of course, this view is from Brooklyn, where the IDES bar is located. The bar "The IDES" is located on the roof, where, in addition to the open area, there is a place with a small indoor hall. Getting here freely is quite problematic, especially with a group of friends. Therefore, it is better to book seats in advance.
The bar opens from 16.00, you cannot eat in it, there are practically no tables and chairs. However, this does not prevent the bar from being in special demand, since nowhere else is it possible to enjoy the picturesque sunsets as in the bar “The IDES” with a glass of tart cocktail. And the reason for this is the ability of the owner of the bar to create a unique atmosphere in it.
Cloisters Museum
The Cloisters Museum in Manhattan invites you to immerse yourself in the world of the Middle Ages. The collection of masterpieces of Gothic and Romanesque art was collected at the expense of Rockefeller and housed in a museum that occupies more than 60 hectares of area. The collection of art objects is placed in chronological order in 9 exhibition halls. Five cloisters (covered galleries) from French monasteries of the XII-XIII centuries built into a single architectural ensemble were united.
The Cloisters stores over 5 thousand artifacts from the Middle Ages. Of particular interest are the mystical tapestries "The Hunt for the Unicorn" (early 15th century). The medieval museum also displays masterpieces of sculpture, paintings, manuscripts with illustrations, sarcophagi for relics, decorative ivory items and a host of interesting evidence of that mystical era.
Empire State Building observation deck
The skyscraper of the Empire State Building, taking into account the spire of the TV tower, reaches 443 meters in height, and is rightfully one of the “seven wonders of engineering solutions” in America. Therefore, to climb to a height of 102 floors, where the observation deck is located, is included in the list of must-have items in the program of visiting New York. An important feature of the site, if compared with other observation sites, is that it makes it possible to take impressive selfies against the backdrop of the city at night - the opening hours of the site allow this, visitors are allowed to stay here until 2 am.
The skyscraper office center is the first building in the world to exceed the 100-storey mark, 73 high-speed elevators provide the rise of visitors to the center, office premises occupy up to 83 floors, and art deco-style superstructures are located above, providing entertainment and entertainment events. For example, the spacious three-story hall is decorated with a panel with the wonders of the world presented on it, the eighth of which is the Empire State Building itself.
Therefore, a visit to the center will provide not only spectacular night shots from a height of almost four hundred meters, but also provide an opportunity to contemplate firsthand the technological solutions that ensure the functionality of this splendor.
Rockefeller Center Observation Deck
According to various expert estimates, the Top of the Rock observation deck in Rockefeller Center is recognized as the second most popular, after the Empire State Building. However, tourists themselves prefer to take pictures from this very site, despite the fact that it is 60 meters below the "highest" observation point.
However, it is from it that the most picturesque scenes of New York City open up; this spectacle is truly impressive with a grandiose panorama of the business part of the city, which can be captured from different angles. Open observation decks are located on three floors, from 67 to 70, and convenient glazing does not interfere with taking high-quality pictures.Another clear advantage for visiting the site is the lack of queues.
Observatory observation deck One World Observatory
One World Observatory is a new observation deck with a glass floor, which opened in 2015. Therefore, the overview here is as complete as possible, not only of the city from a bird's eye view, or, more precisely, from the 102nd floor of a high-rise building, but also of what is happening right under your feet. On the hundredth floor, there is a "portal to the sky", which, with the help of cameras, displays everything that happens at the bottom of the skyscraper.
Surprises don't stop here for a minute. They start from the moment you approach the elevator, which can also be reached through the Oculus and Brookfield shopping centers, combining a visit to the site with shopping. The high-speed elevator will reach the 102nd floor in 47 seconds. At the same time, volumetric plasmas reflect the historical footage of the chronicle of New York. At the very top, panoramic views of the iconic sights of the American metropolis open up: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Statue of Liberty.
In addition to the observation deck, it is easy to get additional bonuses from a high-altitude excursion at Freedom Tower, visit a restaurant (with a mandatory reservation), a coffee shop with the most delicate croissants and traditional sandwiches.
Vessel Observation Deck
The free Vessel observation deck gives you a chance to see from different angles the very technological and skyscraper-built Hudson Yards complex, which often serves as a hallmark of New York. And the site itself is also a kind of unique - a labyrinth of 154 flights of stairs, 80 platforms and 2,500 steps connecting all these elements at an altitude of 60 meters above sea level.
The observation deck, often referred to as futuristic, combines, as is typical in America, the functions of a boardwalk and entertainment center. There are many shops and eateries to be found here: a place ideally suited to mankind's eternal demand for "Bread and circuses!" Although you do not need to buy a ticket from Vessel, it is necessary to book a time to visit the site. And the depth of such armor reaches 2 weeks! However, every morning you can try to book a place “before” if you didn’t manage to worry about it in advance.
Whitney Museum of American Art
Located at the corner of Gensvoort and Washington Streets. The building itself, to which the museum moved not so long ago, in 2015, attracts attention with its architectural design, which was embodied by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. The uniqueness of the design is that all 9 floors of the complex are supported by a central steel frame and do not have internal ceilings, which is ingeniously convenient for placing exhibitions here due to the organization of huge glazed areas.
This is a real art center, in which, in addition to expositions of contemporary art, there are cinemas, workshops, lecture halls, cafes, even on the roof of the building, creating magnificent viewing platforms, combined with the opportunity to enjoy the creative atmosphere and get acquainted with the latest in art.
The Whitney Museum has the most complete collection of American masterpieces. Virtually all the stars of the 20th century are represented here: for example, the work of the realist artist Edward Hopper, the abstract expressionists Pollock and Rothko. The Whitney Museum is home to the world-renowned Whitney Biennale, a fashionable meeting place for contemporary artists.
Cooper-Hewitt Governors Design Museum
Located in the mansion of the multimillionaire En. Carnegie, who has expressed his will to place the latest technological advances in it, works today under the motto "Design in Life". The museum is truly unique in its kind and is interesting not only for a narrow circle of connoisseurs. In Cooper Hewitt Governors, there are moving exhibitions, the ideas of which sometimes surprise not only with the design approach, but also with the very theme of the exhibits.
For example, an exhibition of projects for living quarters for dogs. The essence of exhibitions is to capture the imagination of visitors. The best examples in the field of industrial design, painting techniques: drawings and prints, fabrics and wall coverings for interior decoration are constantly presented here. Therefore, the interest in the museum is constantly high, and it is not always possible to get into it without a preliminary order. The elements of everyday life from the life of the patron have also been preserved, who made the design the leitmotif of his life.
His studio-gallery remained in the lobby of the premises, the stained-glass windows of Tiffany in the garden lobby are striking, halls with preserved elements of everyday life, which were seen by the guests who visited the mansion: Mark Twain, Washington. The walls themselves have retained the spirit of that time and continue to amaze visitors with exhibitions of the best design finds today. It is not for nothing that Cooper Hewitt Governors regularly hosts a meeting with the masterpieces of contemporary art as part of the All-American Design Triennial.
