NYC mini tour 101: Brooklyn Bridge and Financial District
Since a lot of people asked me for recommendations about what to do and see in NYC, I decided to start this series of blog posts about NYC mini tours. Most of these tours are walk-able and do-able within a day, saving you the trouble of having to catch too many trains.
This is also a way for me to remember the places I have been to. As you might have known, I hang out a little too much, and if I don't start writing something down, all these memories will not stay too long in my mind. Hopefully all the feelings I have felt and all the sights I have seen won't be just afterthoughts one day.
For the first post, I will walk you through the Brooklyn Bridge and Financial District tour - mostly because these are some of the must-see tourist places, and also because they are close to my office in Wall St.
Without further ado, let us visit Brooklyn Bridge.
One of the tourists' mistake is to start walking from the Manhattan side. I found out that that wasn't a good idea, because the best view is the Manhattan side, so if you start from Manhattan side, you would have to constantly look back over your shoulder during your walk. On the other hand, if you start on the Brooklyn side, you can just simply enjoy the view while walking towards Manhattan.
Just take the A, C or F train and get off at Jay Street - MetroTech station and make your way to Brooklyn Bridge.
When is the best time to visit Brooklyn Bridge? The best time would be early in the morning, as the young sun shines at the Manhattan skyline. You don't want to walk in the afternoon, because the sun would be directly behind the Manhattan buildings, blinding your view. You can go in the evening too, to enjoy all the Manhattan lights.
New York city built a nice memorial area where the twin World Trade Center buildings used to be. Where the World Trade Center buildings used to be now sit 2 pools - the North Pool and the South Pool.
Right next to these pools is the 9/11 Museum. If you would like to visit for free, it's open for public on Tuesday night at 5:30 PM, but you would need to visit their website to print out the free tickets on Tuesday morning at the latest.
You can also catch a glimpse of the One World Trade Center building, that was built after the 9/11 event. This building symbolizes the recovery of NYC after the 9/11 tragedy.
You can also go to the top of the One World Trade Center too. Ticket was $34 I believe.
After World Trade Center, I usually take my guest inside the Oculus building. This building architecture was inspired by the skeleton of a giant dinosaur - or maybe that was just my imagination haha. Anyhow, Oculus is one of the main stations for a lot of the MTA subway lines and even the NJ PATH trains. There are also lots of shops in here.
You can overlook New Jersey on the other side of Hudson River too. The sunset view is a killer.
There are also a food court, a couple shops, and a French market here, but they aren't very interesting, so I will not talk about these in here. Feel free to go shopping haha.
Federal Hall with George Washing stand watching is the symbolic view of Wall Street. You can actually go inside Federal Hall and enjoy a free tour during weekdays.
NYSE stock exchange is also a popular place.
The symbol of US economy. This place is super crowded these days, and last time I was there, the "Fear Less Girl" statue was still there.
Whenever I had a bad week trading, I just walked over to pat the bull on his head for luck.
If you still have time, go to White Hall and take the South Ferry for a free ferry trip that passes by the Statue of Liberty. Most of the time it is good enough for travelers. Otherwise it would cost you the whole day for the paid tour on the Statue of Liberty island - very time consuming.
Once you're on the Staten Island side, you have to immediately take the ferry back to Manhattan. I suggest you hurry, or you would spend some time waiting for the next ferry haha.
On the way back to Manhattan, enjoy the nice view of Manhattan Financial District.
This is also a way for me to remember the places I have been to. As you might have known, I hang out a little too much, and if I don't start writing something down, all these memories will not stay too long in my mind. Hopefully all the feelings I have felt and all the sights I have seen won't be just afterthoughts one day.
For the first post, I will walk you through the Brooklyn Bridge and Financial District tour - mostly because these are some of the must-see tourist places, and also because they are close to my office in Wall St.
Without further ado, let us visit Brooklyn Bridge.
1. Brooklyn Bridge
This is hands down the most must-see place if you visit NYC.
One of the tourists' mistake is to start walking from the Manhattan side. I found out that that wasn't a good idea, because the best view is the Manhattan side, so if you start from Manhattan side, you would have to constantly look back over your shoulder during your walk. On the other hand, if you start on the Brooklyn side, you can just simply enjoy the view while walking towards Manhattan.
Just take the A, C or F train and get off at Jay Street - MetroTech station and make your way to Brooklyn Bridge.
When is the best time to visit Brooklyn Bridge? The best time would be early in the morning, as the young sun shines at the Manhattan skyline. You don't want to walk in the afternoon, because the sun would be directly behind the Manhattan buildings, blinding your view. You can go in the evening too, to enjoy all the Manhattan lights.
Credit to Beam for this nice photo
2. World Trade Center and 9/11 Museum
After Brooklyn Bridge, I usually walk my friend to World Trade Center and 9/11 museum that are just 15 minutes away by foot.
New York city built a nice memorial area where the twin World Trade Center buildings used to be. Where the World Trade Center buildings used to be now sit 2 pools - the North Pool and the South Pool.
9/11 Museum
World Trade Center in the evening
You can also catch a glimpse of the One World Trade Center building, that was built after the 9/11 event. This building symbolizes the recovery of NYC after the 9/11 tragedy.
You can also go to the top of the One World Trade Center too. Ticket was $34 I believe.
3. Oculus
After World Trade Center, I usually take my guest inside the Oculus building. This building architecture was inspired by the skeleton of a giant dinosaur - or maybe that was just my imagination haha. Anyhow, Oculus is one of the main stations for a lot of the MTA subway lines and even the NJ PATH trains. There are also lots of shops in here.
4. Brookfield Place
Because it is nearby, I usually take my friends to Brookfield Place all the time, even though it is not a very popular tourist place, but there are a couple of cool stuffs over here, such as the winter garden with palm trees grown indoors.
The winter garden
You can overlook New Jersey on the other side of Hudson River too. The sunset view is a killer.
There are also a food court, a couple shops, and a French market here, but they aren't very interesting, so I will not talk about these in here. Feel free to go shopping haha.
5. Wall Street
Now you can make your way back to Oculus to catch a train to Wall Street. Maybe this time use the overpass to enjoy a new view. Take the J train going Downtown from World Trade Center to go straight to Wall Street.
Federall Hall
Federal Hall with George Washing stand watching is the symbolic view of Wall Street. You can actually go inside Federal Hall and enjoy a free tour during weekdays.
NYSE stock exchange
6. Charging Bull
The symbol of US economy. This place is super crowded these days, and last time I was there, the "Fear Less Girl" statue was still there.
Whenever I had a bad week trading, I just walked over to pat the bull on his head for luck.
7. Trinity Church
This church is rather old and not as gigantic as the St Patrick church in mid-town, but it is still worth a visit. Years ago I had a memorable visit here with some friends. After my friend's praying, we stepped out to the cold winter weather and shared a warm, but delicious Nuts 4 Nuts. The honey roasted peanuts were so heart warming at the time that that memory stuck in my head.
8. Free South Ferry to view the Statue of Liberty
If you still have time, go to White Hall and take the South Ferry for a free ferry trip that passes by the Statue of Liberty. Most of the time it is good enough for travelers. Otherwise it would cost you the whole day for the paid tour on the Statue of Liberty island - very time consuming.
Once you're on the Staten Island side, you have to immediately take the ferry back to Manhattan. I suggest you hurry, or you would spend some time waiting for the next ferry haha.
On the way back to Manhattan, enjoy the nice view of Manhattan Financial District.
That's the end of my tour guys. See you next tour.
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