When visiting new places, time is the enemy but if you plan to have a seven day stay in New York City then you should have ample time in this busy city to explore and see all the ‘must do places’. Probably one of the first stops will be the Empire State Building and whilst it may be on every tourists list, that doesn’t mean it is not worth it, especially the view from the top. There is of course some competition between the Empire State Building and the The Statue of Liberty is best seen from a tour boat although these can be extremely busy and since 9/11, the delays can be long so it is best to go ashore at Ellis Island; which is the former immigration center but is also fascinating.

As an alternative why not go to Staten Island via the free ferry and look at the Statue of Liberty from there; there are always a good number of professional standard street performers to watch. However, no seven day trip to New York would be complete now without a visit to where the World Trade Center Towers once stood not that long ago. Twin Towers stood on but not one where a photograph would be appropriate. 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.

Other stores like Bloomingdales are the kind of place where you can look at the goods but must not touch to the other famous store Macey’s where there is always a sale on. The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum will also be worth visiting late next year when it re-opens after a period of refurbishment; well worth looking in if your around at that time of the grand re-opening.

For those that are interested in large vessels like planes and aircraft carriers for example, then this is the place to visit with the aircraft carrier – Intrepid; submarines and even a Concorde to name but a few of the craft they have there. The real New York City Police Museum is open for visitors and whilst admission is free; donations are expected of around five dollars to help with running it; many TV viewers have grown up with the cop shows set in New York and a large amount of memorabilia is housed here.

For those who like to see the darker side of a city the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is ideal as it shows the conditions for many immigrants back in 1864. If you visit Central Park (and why wouldn’t you?) you can call into the Museum of New York City which has some excellent exhibitions about the past, present and future of the city. The building’s pretty grand and the shop sells quality souvenirs and whilst admission to this venue is free, a nine dollar donation is recommended. Perhaps as with any capital city, seven days in New York really is only enough to give you a taste of what it has to offer; still that just means to will have to spend more time there in the future!