New York NYC travel news
January 26th, 2010 by admin
Smart Destinations and Marriott Hotels of New York City are offering an exceptional getaway package. The package, called “Explore Your New York” is designed to provide visitors a perfect weekend in the Big Apple buy combining a weekend’s hotel stay with breakfast for two and two New York City Explorer Passes. The NY Explorer Pass let you visit any three of fourty participating museums, tours, and attractions.
“We wanted to find a great partner in New York City to work with us in offering a package that delivers exceptional value for today’s traveler,” said Cecilia Dahl, founder and President of Smart Destinations, the creator of Go City Cards and Explorer Pass, which aggregate all the best museums, tours, and attractions onto a single money-saving ticket.
“Marriott has a wide variety of brands to suit all kinds of travelers, and their hotels are located in great locations all around the city. Pair that with the New York City Explorer Pass and people really get an amazing experience, while saving hundreds of dollars.” Dahl adds that the Explorer Pass not only gets visitors in to the Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Natural History, and over 40 other top sites, but comes with skip-the-line privileges, as well as shopping and dining discounts.
People like to do a little of everything when they come to New York and Marriott hotels have long been an ideal base for visitors to New York City, with a broad range of choices, including Marriott Hotels & Resorts, Courtyard by Marriott, Renaissance Hotels and Residence Inn brands.
Using the Explorer Pass, you can see the city by guided tour, bus, or bike. Visit top attractions, museums, or national monuments. Check out movie location sites or take a back stage tour. Whatever you want to explore, we make it easy with the Explore Your New York package - allowing you to choose three participating attractions plus discounts at world-class shopping and restaurants, “skip the line” benefits and much, much more.
To purchase the Explore Your New York package visit Marriott’s dedicated web site.
Package includes:
- Two adult NYC Explorer Passes for the price of one, each with the holder’s choice of any three included attractions, from a list of over 45
- Breakfast for two or $50 Bonus Bucks (Varies by hotel)
- Two or more nights accommodation at participating New York City Marriott Hotels, rates based upon availability
It is a great way to take in the Big Apple.
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November 20th, 2009 by admin
“Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop” opened today in New York City. Marking its world premier, this one-of-a-kind exhibit features life-size, interactive models of Leonardo’s inventions and machines drawn directly from the pages of his notebooks.
Visitors will get to see dozens of Leonardo’s ideas brought to life from the iconic drawings he put down on paper at the height of the Renaissance. Highlights range from weapons of war to flying machines imagined centuries before the Wright brothers. Hundreds more of Leonardo’s ideas are presented through interactive touch-screens, giving a clear representation to the breadth and depth of the thinking of one of history’s most prolific geniuses.
Far from being a kitschy display, all of the physical replicas were built not just to look like the drawings and notes left by Leonardo, but actually have been built using authentic techniques from his day and using materials that were in use in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop can be visited at Discovery TSX located at 226 West 44th Street in Manhattan. The exhibit will run from November 20, 2009 through March 2010. Tickets are available for $19.50 (adult), $17.50 (child 4-12), and $18.50 (senior over 65) – or get in free when selecting Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop as one of your choices with a New York City Explorer Pass.
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October 6th, 2009 by admin
With the upcoming movie release of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, New York City is going Wild. October 12 to 16 has been declared “Wild Things Week” across the Big Apple’s five boroughs and there are a variety of activities parents and kids can participate in.
One of the highlights is the Morgan Library’s display of sketches and early drafts of Sendak’s classic children’s book (October 6 - November 1). While over at the Museum of Modern Art there is exposition on the work of Where the Wild Things Aredirector Spike Jonze (October 8-18). Most of the City’s children’s museums are participating in the fun as well with a variety Sendak themed events and readings.
The folks at NYC & Company has a great resource on their site to help you join in the fun, just go to http://www.nycgo.com/wildthingsweek for complete details on what’s happening where. This is a great excuse to get out with your kids and enjoy the early fall weather! To get in the mood, you can see the preview for the movie here.
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August 10th, 2009 by admin
The New York City Explorer Pass offers the ultimate in convenience, cost savings and flexibility for visitors and locals alike. Customers choose three, five, seven – and now ten — attractions at a low, pre-paid price. The pass serves as a ticket to any of the 45 participating NY attractions. Customers have the freedom to use the pass at anytime of the day or night and can take up to 30 days to use the admissions on the pass, making it an ideal way to see the city in a few days or over multiple weekends. The pass also provides discounts at popular restaurants and shops and the ability to skip the lines at many attractions. Each Explorer Pass also comes with a color-printed, pocket-sized guidebook full of maps, travel tips and itineraries for New York City.
“The New York Explorer Pass quickly became one of our most popular offerings,” said Cecilia Dahl, President and Co-Founder of Smart Destinations. “When we heard from our customers that they would like to have this additional option, the flexibility of our platform allowed us to quickly respond and add the new 10 choice Explorer Pass.”
Dahl went on to credit Smart Destinations’ growth in New York and for the company overall to the combination of a comprehensive and flexible offering along with economic conditions that favor Smart Destinations offerings. “Being able to help people save money is always popular,” explained Dahl, “And from the beginning we’ve focused on having all the best attractions and tours in our program, so the savings don’t come at a cost in customer’s flexibility to see what they want. Particularly in this market, people are looking for ways to stretch their money as far as possible and there’s no doubt that’s helped fuel our growth.”
Among the top attractions included in the NYC Explorer Pass are the Empire State Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Top of the Rock, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry, the Brooklyn Museum – and 40 more.
The New York City Explorer Pass also includes transportation, such as the City Sights “hop-off” double-decker bus tour and other attractions including On Location’s Sex and the City Tour, NY TV and Movie Sites Tour, a Biking Tour of Central Park and a shopping tour of SOHO. The pass also offers a multilingual city tour given in Spanish, German, Italian and French. See the full list here.
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May 12th, 2009 by admin
The Empire State Building Observatory is now part of the NYC Explorer Pass. The newly-renovated visitor’s area at the Empire State Building Observatory is one of the most visited attractions for visitors to New York City and represents an important addition to the popular NY attraction pass.
The NYC Explorer Pass offers the ultimate in convenience, cost savings and flexibility for visitors to the city. Customers choose three, five or seven attractions at a low, pre-paid price. The pass serves as a ticket to any of the 40 participating NY attractions. Customers have the freedom to use the pass at anytime of the day or night and can take up to 30 days to use the admissions on the pass, making it ideal for out-of-towners and locals alike. The pass also provides discounts at popular restaurants and shops and the ability to skip the lines at many attractions. Each Explorer Pass also comes with a color-printed, pocket-sized guidebook full of maps, travel tips and itineraries for New York City.
“With millions of visitors from around the world, the Empire State Building is the ‘must-see’ attraction in New York City,” said Jean-Yves Ghazi, Director of the Observatory at the Empire State Building. “We have recently renovated our 86th and 102nd floor observatories with aesthetic and modernization improvements. By joining with the NYC Explorer Pass, we encourage people to get the most out of their visit to the world’s most famous office building.”
Among the top attractions included in the NYC Explorer Pass are Metropolitan Museum of Art, Top of the Rock™, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry, and Madame Tussauds. In addition to the Empire State Building Observatory, in 2009 Smart Destinations also added a Harlem Walking Tour, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, Bodies…The Exhibition, the Museum of Sex, and an entire Brooklyn section with attractions including the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and more.
“Offering a product that saves the two most precious commodities of any vacation – money and time – is extremely relevant in today’s economy,” said Cecilia Dahl, founder and President of Smart Destinations. “We’re very excited to make that value proposition even stronger with the inclusion of the Empire State Building Observatory in our New York City Explorer Pass.”
The New York City Explorer Pass also includes transportation, such as the City Sights “hop-off” double-decker bus tour and other attractions including On Location’s Sex and the City Tour, NY TV and Movie Sites Tour, a Guided Biking Tour of Central Park and a shopping tour of Soho. The pass also offers a multilingual city tour given in Spanish, German, Italian and French.
Planning a trip to
New York?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
New York Travel Blog.
March 3rd, 2009 by admin
The Great White Way is going pedestrian only — or at least parts of it are. In an effort to eliminate traffic snarls caused by Broadway’s diagonal bisection of midtown Manhattan’s grid layout, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is shutting down key sections of the street and turning it into a pedestrian zone.
The shut-down begins on Memorial Day and is planned to run through the end of 2009 — and perhaps become permanent thereafter if all goes well. For the heavily congested Time Square area, this will be a blessing for visitors on foot. Navigating over-crowded Broadway sidewalks in Times Square between 42nd and 47th streets will soon be a much easier proposition. Similarly, Herald Square further South (the area around 34th Street) will also be reserved for pedestrians.
The city is not stopping at simply shutting the streets and taking down the railings. It further plans to add benches and tables to allow people to enjoy their new found elbow room.
So starting the Memorial Day, enjoy the extra room and take your New York City Explorer Pass along for the walk as you visit a number of attractions that will be in or adjacent to the new pedestrian zone such as Madame Tussauds, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and a tour of Madison Square Garden. To see the Department of Transportation’s graphics of what the changes will look like, go to their site for links to images for both Times Square and Herald Square.
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December 2nd, 2008 by admin
This December 3rd will see the traditional lighting of the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. 2008 marks the 76th annual lighting of the famous tree which is hand selected to ensure the proper shape and quality of the 65 foot (or higher) tree. This year the ceremony will run from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm and typical involves appearances by celebrities and a variety of musical acts.
The setting is spectacular with Rockefeller Plaza all decked out for the Holidays, including the world famous skating Rink at Rockefeller Center. While the ice gets pretty banged up, its an amazing experience to skate in front of a crowd of onlookers with the tree in the background. If you miss the Tree Lighting Ceremony itself don’t worry, a tree that big tends to stick around for a while. This Holiday you will be able to see the tree until January 9th, 2009.
It is illuminated each day from dawn until well into the night (5:30 am until 11:30 pm), so there are plenty of opportunities to get just the right photo – although it does get crowded, so you may want to drop off any shopping bags at your hotel before you go. While you wait for it to get dark to see the tree lights at full effect, use your NY Explorer Pass to visit sights in the surrounding area like the Top of the Rock Observation Deck or take the Rockefeller Center Tour.
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April 7th, 2008 by jamie a
Yankee Stadium Photo uploaded by
Baseball season has begun in the Big Apple, with the Yankees kicking off their last year in their stadium with a win against the Toronto Blue Jays. Along with their regular season, Yankee Stadium will also be hosting the All-Star Game in July, and the ticket sales are already booming.
Recently named by Men’s Fitness, this is your last chance to see the park in all its glory. The park opened on April 18, 1923 with a Yankees victory against the Boston Red Sox, complete with a home run by Babe Ruth himself.
If that’s how the stadium opened, it’s sure to end with a bang as well, with tons of fans wishing it farewell. If you act fast and grab some tickets, you could be part of history too!
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March 12th, 2008 by susan j
Bike New York City Photo uploaded by
Spring is a great time to visit New York City: couples stroll through Central Park, buskers entertain passerby, and visitors flock from all over the world to experience NYC’s unique combination of grit and grandeur. Here at Explorer Pass, we’re gearing up for an exciting spring, including of the addition twelve new New York City attractions to our New York City Explorer Pass.
We’ve got tons of exciting NYC sights, from Madame Tussauds New York to Madison Square Garden. You can also take a guided bike tour of Central Park or explore the Guggenheim Museum (as of April 1). Explorer Pass also gives you at tons of stores and restaurants around NYC. To celebrate, we’re offering 15% off all New York City Explorer Passes from now until Thursday, March 20. What’s your favorite NYC attraction? Leave a comment and let us know!
Planning a trip to
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February 22nd, 2008 by jamie a
The Strand Photo uploaded by
, New York’s famed bookstore, has been named to CNN’s list of
Founded in 1927 and still run by the original owners, it boasts of “18 miles of books” including used, rare, and new best-sellers.
Christina Foxley, Director of Store Events, says, “Our stock is constantly changing. One hour we might have a book, one hour we don’t. You never know what you might find.”
Planning a trip to
New York?
Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the
New York Travel Blog.
