School trips to New York

New York is pure energy. You’ve seen the towering skyscrapers, the bustling traffic and bright lights in the movies. The Big Apple is home to the world’s finest museums, most diverse restaurants, and top rate music and entertainment. Infinite sidewalks lead to café-lined streets, unique designer stores, and the green grass hills of Central Park. The spring you feel in your step is just one reason why this is the world’s favourite city.

New York City is small in size but big in numbers. It’s the most densely populated city in North America with 8 million citizens on just 830 square km of land. It has always been a city of immigrants, and you can hear around 138 different languages and experience a large variety of cultural and culinary experiences.

Mostly when people speak of New York they mean Manhattan but New York City is made up of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Most visitors will get to Staten Island (thanks to the free ferry!) but visitors with a little extra time available should try and explore Brooklyn, especially the historic Coney Island boardwalk.

New York is one of America’s safest cities and the best way to see it is to walk. Numbered streets in Manhattan make navigation easy. Streets run from east to west, and avenues intersect from north to south (uptown and downtown). New Yorkers are, contrary to their reputation, friendly and talkative and always willing to give directions to tourists.

With good planning (and a New York City Pass) it is possible to take a sizeable bite out of the Big Apple and take in a good number of the world famous landmarks and unique attractions including Central Park, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the United Nations, Rockefeller Centre, Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Broadway and many, many more….

When we mention “Taking a bite” it should not be forgotten that competition between bars and restaurants in New York is fierce. With so many establishments everybody’s got to have a gimmick to distinguish their place from the rest. You’ll be amazed at the variety of coffees, hot chocolates, pastries, signature dishes, ice cream flavours and other desserts that can appear on a single menu. And you’ll wonder how specialty establishments who only sell cupcakes, bagels, sushi, or whiskey even survive. It’s consumer heaven for those who like lots of options. Some say you can eat your way around the world in 80 New York restaurants so get adventurous and find out!

Places of Interest

The New York City Pass – Almost an essential item for visiting groups the New York City Pass gives you free entry to over 55 attractions and special discounts on sightseeing tours, and at restaurants, theatres, and department stores. Available in 1, 2, 3 or 7 day options and a comprehensive 160+ page guidebook that includes a brief description, offer, location, contact information, and directions for each participating facility. IBT Travel will work with you to plan an itinerary that makes the best use of your New York City Pass.