Times Square: What to See

Times Square is an exciting place to visit. My friends and I visited New York City and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Times Square.

Blue Finn Seafood Restaurant and Bar
One of the most impressive places we enjoyed to sit at was in the heart of Times Square. The Blue Finn Seafood Restaurant and Bar. My friends and I didn't eat there so I cannot comment on the food or service. It was fun to sit at the bar, although it was really crowded and small, to look out the windows. The bar is made of complete windows from top to bottom. You will not miss what is happening in Times Square while sitting in this bar. It literally feels like you are sitting on the sidewalk amidst all of the action. It kind of reminded me of what an ape must feel like in the zoo. The drinks, of course, are expensive as you are paying for the ambiance of being right in Times Square. In 2005 the cheapest drink on the list was a bottle of Budweiser for $6.00. I had a bottle of Guinness beer for $8.00. The prices may have gone up from three years ago.

NASDAQ
Go to the NASDAQ sign and have someone take a picture of you and your friends or family. You can post the photo online at Flickr for all to see which makes it fun knowing others around the world will see you and your unique photo.

Pencil Drawings
For $20.00 you can have one of the vendors along the sidewalk draw your face for a mere $20.00. If you want the black mat the total comes to $30.00. Three of the four of us had this done. It was 1:00 a.m. when we were walking the streets of Times Square soaking up every last minute of our trip when we came across the men drawing. We had to do it. What an inexpensive memorable piece to cherish for years to come. The artists did a phenomenal job capturing our faces.

Double Decker Bus Tour
This tour is wonderful if you want to see Times Square and the surrounding areas. You can sit below inside the bus or on top in open view in the fresh air. The tour guide points out history of the buildings and tidbits about Times Square and a lot of New York City. You can take the tour in the daytime or at night. Night time would be pretty to see all of the skyscrapers lit up. We had this included in our package deal with our hotel. You can also purchase this tour separately. Vendors are along the street of Times Square or you can ask your travel agent to supply tickets to go with your airline tickets.

Empire State Building
Our first stop was the Empire State Building. Prepare yourself for long lines. Since 9/11 the Statue of Liberty is no longer open which leaves the Empire State Building with many more people wanting a high view of the city to come here. Do not let a staff member talk you into seeing the Sky-Ride. We were waiting quite awhile from the long line. The staff said for $7.00 you can see the Sky-Ride and then we would only have a fifteen to twenty minute wait after viewing it. We thought that sounded like a great deal and we felt like we were getting VIP treatment as they took us and made it sound like we'd be skipping all of these people to get ahead.

First we stood in a room and viewed a five minute film about the Empire State Building. Then we were taken to the Sky-Ride, which is one of those attractions like they have at Disney World where there's about six rows of seats, and you sit down and pull the bar down toward you, and then they show a film while the "ride" is lurching up and down and from side to side. The film was narrated by Kevin Bacon and it's like you're flying over New York City. The camera angles of the film were swiveling all over too, so by the time it was over we were practically sick to our stomachs. (I had to go back downstairs as I was very sick from the motion. Sadly, I ended up missing the Empire State Building view.) My friends got back in the main line, and they were actually about four rows behind the people who had been right in front of them. They had to wait for another elevator to go up six more floors to the observatory, but then an employee came along and said they could walk up the last six floors if they wanted. So they did that. It was quite a view from way up there and they took several breathtaking pictures. They stayed up there about twenty minutes and then came back down.

Greenwich Village
Then we decided our next stop was going to be Greenwich Village and we got back on the bus. Greenwich Village is where a lot of the artsy people live. Immediately we felt a sense of calm from the busy, flashing lights, horns, and fast-paced city. Wonderful bakeries where we bought some gorgeous looking desserts. I'd highly recommend seeing Greenwich Village. A lot of different looking shops. We also stopped at Christopher Park and Washington Square Park, and saw some of the buildings that make up NYU.

China Town and Little Italy
The bus tour stops at many places. You get to choose which areas you want to get off at. Feel free to get off of the Double Decker Bus and see Little Italy and more! Get a map and brochure from the Double Decker Bus staff and plan ahead of time where you want to go.

Souvenir Shops
Many t-shirt and souvenir shops adorn Times Square. You will find excellent t-shirt deals at most of them and they are all basically the same price. Be sure to check t-shirt quality. I decided to pay a little more for better quality t-shirts instead of the $1.00 or $2.00 t-shirts as they were paper thin. We shopped till we dropped.

Live Times Square Earth Cam
There is always something going on in Times Square. Please see Earth Cam: Times Square Cam to view from quite a few Earth cameras. The cameras are in real time. The views are further away to close street views. Exciting to watch before your upcoming trip.

Vendors
While in Times Square enjoy yourself and be sure to check out what vendors are selling on the tables. We saw a lot of good deals and brought back many inexpensive yet nice items for family and friends. Be sure to bring an extra suitcase for all of your goodies.