by Mark Hall

I would recommend staying at least seven days in New York City if you really want to enjoy what it has to offer the tourist. One of the busiest visitor locations in the city is the Empire State Building and even if you don’t get to the top there is still a great deal to see. There is of course some competition between the Empire State Building and the Possibly equal to The State Building is The Statue of Liberty but owing to delays with the ferry trips it might be worth viewing this ‘beautiful lady’ (and an inspiration to many) from Ellis Island.

Thankfully, the Staten Island ferry is free and provides some great views of the Lower Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty; it is also worth walking around the terminal as well as there are many excellent street performers there. If you are spending seven days in New York you’ve got to see the site where the World Trade Center Towers stood, something that changed all our lives.

While there is a strange eeriness about the place that is larger than you expect at the same time it does not feel as if it needs to be photographed. For those who love to shop there is of course the famous Tiffany’s and Broadway plus some fantastic old discount warehouses worth a look down on the Lower East Side.

Of course you must not miss out Maceys where there is always a sale on or the very expensive Bloomingdales. An excellent tourist location is the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum which is likely to be closed until the end of 2008; although often underestimated, once it opens its doors again, it will be well worth a visit. Many special (and large) craft are located here including a number from World War II, namely the aircraft carrier the USS Intrepid. If you have the time the New York City Police Museum is also worth a look and although it’s free to enter, a five dollar donation per visitor is advised; many TV viewers have grown up with the cop shows set in New York and a large amount of memorabilia is housed here.

The migrant period of New York is highlighted in an excellent exhibition at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum where scenes of what made America a great place to be are alongside of scenes America would like to forget. For a step back in time it worth going to Central Park where the New York Museum is located; this is an exhibition of many periods relating to the life of The Big Apple. The venue is also free but relies on donations and souvenirs to survive; generally visitors provide a donation of approximately 9 dollars. Most visitors seem to be on a flying visit so end up missing some of the most beautiful areas and that’s why seven days in New York should really be the minimum stay.