To visit New York is necessarily to experience at least one strange moment during your stay. A meeting, a discussion, a scene that you see in the street; something that we suggest, something that we try to sell you, a sandwich man warning you that the end of the world is imminent, a young student walking parrots in cages like we walk her dog... These little moments, all of which last only a few seconds; these ephemeral, bizarre, intense, intense encounters, certainly "what the fuck?! the legend of New York. A city where the atmosphere and life is unique in the world. Where the local "typical" rhymes with: bizarre, strange, delirious, fascinating.
The purpose of this article is not to replace a travel guide - indispensable, in New York City - but rather to share with you my experience, heartfelt feelings and disappointments, without a tongue of wood.
Why I loved visiting New York and why I could never live there
In New York, you can hear all the world's languages all the time. Chinese, English, French, Korean, Japanese, Japanese, Urdu, Russian, Spanish, mix constantly with the noise of the city, sirens, the noise of the footsteps of passers-by, the hubbub of billions of small conversations that intertwine with tens of hundreds of contradictory smells - coffee, sewers, perfumes, noodles, hot dogs, petrol.
It turns the head, enchanting all those who do not tire of having a different show at each street corner with some invariants: people walking around with coffee or tea in their hands - believing that ALL New Yorkers are born with a mug in their hands; trees, lots of trees; the view of the skyscrapers wherever you turn your head, tempered by these immense avenues where the gaze is reaching the horizon without ever being interrupted.
Anyway, anyway. New York's a mess, it's crawling all over the place. But... Do you remember your last Easter egg hunt? In your apartment, in your parents' backyard, in a forest? Visiting New York City is more or less the same feeling, but at the scale of a huge city. With unbelievable addresses, recipes to test, good plans, marvelous treats, as chocolate eggs.
There are a thousand and one ways to find these places: by randomly walking down the street, following the specialized blogs in New York, searching on TripAdvisor, FourSquare or SumWhere, simply asking New Yorkers in cafes, bars, restaurants, or simply asking the waiters, always ready to help you (with a smile) in exchange for a tip?
Here is a (very small) selection of the nuggets we stumbled upon by chance:
Crossroads: The temple of the fripe ("Thrift stores"). Very nice cheap clothes, often of quality, that the trendy inhabitants of Brooklyn come to resell by tens of kilos before going on with a new shopping session. You can find everything there, and the selection of clothing on offer is done drastically at the counter. I'm not really the kind of guy who spends hours shopping for new clothes, but this place is really great.
Back Room: one of the last two "underground bars" that existed at the time of Prohibition. We go there for the decor and the ambiance, for the easy game that consists in looking for the appetizer, for the pleasure of drinking a glass of alcohol while imagining all the New Yorkers of the 20s and 30s coming discreetly to slip away from Whisky. But it's expensive. Very expensive. Like 15 bucks a shot of Bourbon Wild Turkey.
Fort Gansevoort BBQ: open in summer only. A wonderful outdoor rotisserie that offers suckling pigs for only ten dollars. It's tender, delicious, perfectly seasoned - you eat with your fingers (they don't offer cutlery) and you lick your lips just by thinking about it.
Dozens and dozens of themed bars and cafés, all comfy and fun with a different way of preparing your espresso. To be found by yourself.
Strand Bookstore: I hear it's an institution. Anyway, it was definitely the coolest bookstore we've ever been to in NYC. A mix between Gibert Jeune (for used books) and any Parisian independent bookstore (for decoration, selections, shop windows, gondola heads always of quality). The icing on the cake: cheaper prices than elsewhere, in a country where books are relatively expensive (in any case more expensive than in France).
Vanessa's Dumplings: a chain specialized in dumplings, better known in France under their Japanese name (Gyozas). It's good, it's not very expensive, and there are a lot of them all over the city!
New York, capital of the WTF
New York is a lot of good addresses, but also a lot, a lot of times when you say "What the Fuck?". Those who are unfamiliar with this expression may try to translate it literally ("What is this mating?") or say, in a more accurate way, "What is this weird thing? “.
A city where there is no rest
But all these fascinating aspects make New York City an exhausting city. Even in places created to relax, people keep getting active. Discuss, debate, invent. In cafés, brunchs, parks, you always find photographers, people doing sports or yoga, writers writing, bloggers blogging, friends talking about movies they've seen, talking about movies they could make, short films they could make.
That's the main reason I could never live in New York City. Too many people, too much activity, too much energy; and even if nature is never really far away, it is psychologically at the other end of the world. Just like silences, loneliness, animals and simplicity.
Another observation we made, with great astonishment, was that the nicest people we met lived in the most destitute states. The "average American", the "Redneck", the "hillbilly", the one we love to caricature, has often been the nicest, most curious and adorable person, while the New Yorker has often been cold, distant, haughty. It's only a very personal experience, representative of nothing, but I wanted to write it somewhere in this article.
Those tourist attractions I would have done without
There are a lot of places,"must do", unavoidable places that I did not visit during my stay in New York. One week, it's still short - and I prefer wide open spaces, small rural towns, human-sized places. Megacities are not my strong suit, far from it.
However, there are two places - well known - that are really worth it: the Brooklyn Bridge (in fact, all New York City pedestrian bridges in general) and the High Line. I mention this in this article in a little more detail.
On the other hand, here are the visits I would have done without:
Times Square is absolute horror. Too many people. Too many shoppers and solicitors of all kinds. Too many shops, lights, noise, traffic, tourists... The place is so black that even "go to see" isn't really worth it - it's nicer in pictures and movies. And shops are inflating their prices for products that are not as good as anywhere else.
The statue of freedom is more beautiful by far (= in the landscape of NYC) than close up.
Central Park... is a park. Immense, very well maintained, very beautiful, yes, but it is above all a precious place for the New Yorkers who often need a breath of fresh air in the middle of a lot of green. For a tourist, it's better to leave the city and venture anywhere else, in one of the thousands of national parks that the United States has to offer.
Anything that looks like a skyscraper from near or far is, in my opinion, a tourist trap. Top of the rocks, Empire State Building, etc., are buildings of interest only for their beautiful views of the city. But, in my opinion, the most beautiful view of New York is free. It's the view from any bridge when the sun sets over Manhattan.
Coney Island allows you to see the Atlantic Ocean, and to stroll on a jetty where dozens of small shops and amusement parks of all kinds can be found. It's nice, but once again, this place is especially interesting for those who live or stay in New York City for a long time. Otherwise, it is a lot of roads/transport for a place, certainly mythical, but which has only a very limited interest for a foreign traveller.
My advice for a first trip / visit to New York City
It is on EasyVoyage that I found the cheapest flight Paris-New York: 299 € return!
NEVER PARK NEAR A FIRE HYDRANT! If you do, do it at 6 meters AUTOUR of the mouth in question. Otherwise, it's $115 fine. The city of New York generates $1 billion every year (yes, a fucking billion dollars) with this fine alone. We were pleased to contribute.
For accommodation, which is overpriced in New York (the second most expensive city in the world after Moscow, for hotel rates), using Air BNB will be the cheapest solution BUT you have to think about booking in advance. Very, very, very early. If you make it a week before you leave, you'll be able to find a few $45-potable rooms, but you'll have to travel a lot. For more information on how to find cheap accommodation in New York, I invite you to take a look at this article I wrote.
Rent a car to explore the rest of the country, if you can. Don't rely too much on Greyhound and company buses.
Focus on Manhattan and the northwestern quarter of Brooklyn (Williamsburg). And if you only have to choose one metro station, get off at Bedford Avenue. Yes, there are a million billion things to see and do elsewhere, in the other neighborhoods and the other Burroughs, but believe me, if you don't have a guide, a friend, a friend, an acquaintance on hand to take you to those places, you'll already have plenty to keep your eyes, ears and nose busy for a lifetime in Manhattan and Williamsburg.
But i still love to be there , but the rules are just too hard.
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit