New York is a diverse city and is known for Wall Street, the financial district where the Twin Towers stood, but also for the large Central Park of almost 50 blocks high. In addition, New York is known for the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, the Trump towers and of course the always lively Time Square.
According to Allpubliclibraries, Manhattan is most popular for a visit during a city break or vacation. The island has several neighborhoods and neighborhoods, many with their own “theme,” such as Chinatown, NoLiTa (Little Italy), SoHo, and the Upper East Side. As a result, the city has many faces and every neighborhood or borough has its own sights.
New York City Tours
Would you like to see as much of the city of New York as possible? Then you can choose to take a tour of the city or part of it. Many locals give these regularly so you can experience New York as they do on a daily basis. Do you mainly want to visit the tourist attractions? Then you can come a long way in 2 days with a hop-on hop-off tour bus. You get on and off where you want. The stops are always near a point of interest or popular location. Tours are also given in the theme of a film or television series, such as the Spiderman tour or the Sex and the City tour.
Cycling in New York with a Dutch Guide
Cycling through Central Park. Or would you rather cross the Brooklyn Bridge? Everything is possible in this metropolis. The Big Apple has more than 300 kilometers of bike paths and is ideal for seeing sights such as Times Square, the Theater District or the Manhattan Bridge. Of course, the unique and exceptional architectural delights in Brooklyn are not to be missed. Our Dutch guide, who lives in the Big Apple, will show you the best places and tell you the secrets of New York. Suitable for everyone! Choose between the Central Park Bike Tour or the Manhattan & Brooklyn Bike Tour !
Discover the hotspots of the stars
Escape reality and follow in the footsteps of your favorite TV and movie characters with one of On Location Tours ‘ tours. During the tour you will be taken to the places in New York City where movies and TV series were shot. For 15 years these tours have been one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city and are a fun way to see the city. New York City is the most filmed city in the world and there is a lot to experience here for the real movie buff. Enjoy the hotspots from Sex and the City, The Sopranos or the favorite places of the characters from the TV series Gossip Girl on one of the tours.
Wall Street
Wall Street is one of the most famous streets in New York City. Located in Lowe Manhattan, this street is the heart of the American financial world. Wall Street is about 800m long and is surrounded by skyscrapers. You can also visit smaller monuments such as Trinity Church, Federal Hall and the New York Stock Exchange.
Meatpacking district
The name ‘Meatpacking’ originated from the many meat processing companies that once called this neighborhood their home. The district has kept its historic character and cobbled streets, but now you will also find the hottest restaurants, bars and fashion houses. One of the area’s best-known luxury stores is designer Diane von Furstenberg, a brand popular mainly for its silk tops. Men also get their money’s worth in the popular area. Known for red-soled stilettos, Christian Louboutin opened a men’s store in the Meatpacking District in 2012. True shoppers sleep in one of the area’s stylish hotels. Dream Downtown is an innovated hotel with a swimming pool and various dining and entertainment options. The rooms and suites are inspired by stylish lofts. A well-known accommodation is The Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC. A modern hotel with a popular rooftop bar and a great view over the city.
Highline Park
A special park is the Highline Park. A park that has been laid out on top of the old West Side Line train line, which curves right through the neighborhood on a steel structure. Previously, this freight railroad was used by the New York Central Railroad. Fun fact, the planting was designed by the well-known Dutch landscape gardener Piet Oudolf.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is 1 of the 5 boroughs of New York City and the second largest borough of this well-known city. It is nice to know that the name is derived from the Dutch Breukelen and that the city was founded in 1646. Even the saying of the city is still Dutch: “Een draght maeckt maght”. Those will also be the only memories you will encounter when staying in authentic Brooklyn.
Traveling to Brooklyn
Because Kennedy Airport (JFK) is adjacent to Brooklyn, you usually arrive at your hotel in Brooklyn in less than 40 minutes. With the Airtrain and the L-train, that will cost you less than $10 for a single journey.
Brooklyn Landmarks
There is a lot to see in Brooklyn. This district itself consists of a number of districts. Of these, Williamsburg, East Williamsburg, Bushwick, DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights are the best-known areas of Brooklyn. Gangster Al Capone (1899-1947) was also from Brooklyn, as were singer Barbra Streisand and actor Eddie Murphy. The younger generation will especially know Jay-Z and Lil’ Kim as well-known Brooklyn rappers.
One day is not enough to see everything Brooklyn has to offer. We recommend visiting 3 sights per day and visiting Brooklyn for at least 2 days. That leaves plenty of time to relax and see the best of Brooklyn.
Street art in Brooklyn
One of the neighborhoods in Brooklyn where you can admire street art in Bushwick. This district consists of industry, shops and houses. You don’t see that combination often, owner and guide Matt Levy knows how to tell. A neighborhood is often just industry or shops and houses. But these 3 combined is exceptional. And that makes Bushwick unique when you walk through the neighborhood with a private tour of The Levys’ Unique New York.
After the district lost 1.5 million inhabitants in the 1950’s due to the industrial age collapse and subsequent whiteflight, Bushwick’s decline began. Homeowners put many tenants in 1 building or had buildings burnt down to collect money from the insurance. That’s why the neighborhood resembled a warzone in the last century, Matt explains.
This ensured that rents were low and artists moved into abandoned industrial buildings. Matt tips: If you see curtains hanging in an industrial building, people live there, otherwise it is empty or still in use as a business hall. The artists started decorating walls, at first illegally and later legally or even paid:
- tag
- Permissioned
- Commissioned
The latest development is especially interesting. The same companies that ensure that gentrification makes a neighborhood more expensive and more expensive and allows artists to move. Those companies hire the artists again to create street art in Bushwick. So in a sense you can say that:
StreetArt Gentrifies
Matt concludes his story at the end of the private tour. What remains are the memories and photos of the countless works. Because if you see a nice piece of street art, take a picture of it. In a month’s time it may have been replaced by the work of another artist from the Bushwick Collective.
