Seeing New York City Via the CityPass

Tourists coming to New York City this summer, who want to check out NYC's most popular tourist attractions might want to consider purchasing a New York City Pass (http://www.citypass.com/new-york). There was a time when this pass was very museum heavy but thanks to some recent changes, I found out when I used the pass, I was able to hit some of New York City's key landmarks.

Recently, they added the Top of the Rock to their collection of sites, where CityPass holders can choose between going to the Top of the Rock or the Guggenheim Museum (closed Thursdays). The other sites included on this pass are the Empire State Building , the Museum of Modern Art (closed Tuesday), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, (closed Monday and the American Museum of Natural History. When planning your trip, be sure to take into account the days when the museums are closed.

If you want to avoid the lines for the Empire State Building, consider arriving early in the morning (open 8am) or later in the evening (open until 2am with the last elevator going up at 11:15pm). If you are really pressed for time, the Top of the Rock has much shorter lines and your photos of the skyline will be just as scenic.

The CityPass also allows you to experience Manhattan via water by going on a 2-hour cruise around the lower half of Manhattan, a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a 75-minute high speed ferry ride around Manhattan, or The Beast speedboat ride. Unless you are prepared to arrive early to secure a pass to go up the monument, consider taking the 2-hour cruise which will get you close enough to the Statue of Liberty that you can take a few photos. The high speed ferry or the Beast might be good options if one has children with limited attention spans, though parents need to be forewarned that they will get wet on the Beast.

Also for harried travelers, the CityPass allows you to skip some of the long lines. Check out http://www.citypass.com/new-york/lines , which gives you the full details, so you aren't stuck waiting in line when you could have just breezed on through. Bear in mind that CityPasses are not tickets, you will need to exchange your CityPass for an actual ticket. The CityPass is valid for 9 days from the first day you use the coupon booklet.