Have you decided to travel to the starting point of your cruise on your own? Do you want to stay at your destination for a few more days before you go home? Classic and more modern hotels, established and trendy restaurants, surprising bars, and good cafes.
Even when you stand in front of the reception, in a room that seems to float between styles, between Art Deco, Bauhaus, and “modern luxury”, you get an idea of the design class and uniqueness of this house.
The extent to which The Mark is unmistakable can only be seen in the rooms or suites – high-quality furnishings, superbly equipped, stylishly put together by French hotel designer Jacques Grange, who was able to take more than four years to renovate the house.
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As dynamic as Manhattan maybe when it comes to new hotels, the city is limited. One of the newest 5-star hotels has long been considered a classic: The Mandarin Oriental on Columbus Circle occupies the top 20 floors of the Time Warner Center on Central Park. The reception is on the 35th floor.
The Garden Suites – 83 square meters, living room and bedroom separated, large bathroom, small kitchen, in which you can also prepare a snack from time to time. All offer a great view from the ninth to eleventh floors. The Mark guests also enjoy the privilege of getting a table in the hotel’s restaurant “Jean-Georges” without a long-term reservation. It is certainly one of the most popular on the Upper East Side and surprises with truffle pizza, tuna tartare, grilled artichokes, caramelized steaks, and a sumptuous The Mark cheeseburger.
Little Italy.
A French bistro in Little Italy. At the entrance the queue of all those who have not reserved and who are waiting until a table becomes free. In the air the talking and laughing, shouting and clattering of countless satisfied guests and waiters. On the walls, there are wine racks, posters, a large open refrigerated counter with the fresh food of the day, oysters, and an incredible selection of cheeses.
There is hardly a livelier restaurant in New York City than the Balthazar. You sit close to small tables on which the food soon piles up. Steak tartare, onion soup, mussels in garlic butter, grilled sardines, coq au vin, poltrine de porc – here you will find the best of French bistro cuisine, slightly Americanized, i.e. in larger portions and almost always with french fries. The food, recommended by the Michelin Guide, is a delight.
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The mother of all viewing platforms, one might think, can be found in the mother of all high-rise cities. That is also true. Because the platform on the 259 meters high Rockefeller Center was opened in 1936. But 50 years later it was closed and only opened again to the public in 2005 after extensive renovation.
Yes, there are higher places for a view of the city, but none that opens up such an iconographic view – from the Top of the Rock you have a fantastic panoramic view of the city and its sky-striving architecture, which is surrounded by some new, extremely slim towers seems to expand.
The 9/11 Memorial.
At first glance, you could think of it as the saddest place in the world, as it reminds you of a day that divided the world like no other – into a time before and after: The 9/11 Memorial is marked with a museum and two large basins, the area where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood until they were brought down on September 11th.
It is a place of almost sacred simplicity: lit from behind, water trickles over black stone, the balustrade is engraved with the names of all those who lost their lives that day. But it is also a place of confidence, with the One World Trade Center right next to it. And the many daily visitors have ensured lively activity here – with souvenir shops, diners, and bars.
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Chinatown and Little Italy offer countless opportunities for a snack or homemade cake. Above all, there are various places for amazing enjoyment, such as the “Harney and Sons” tea shop, which offers blends from all over the world. Or “Saturday” a surf label in the middle of the big city, in the garden you can sit outside and drink coffee. Or the third-wave coffee shops “Happy Bones” and “Counter Culture” – they offer modern filter coffees, special roasts, cold drips.
Manhattan.
Manhattan has changed tremendously in the past ten to 15 years. If hardly any tourist would once have had the idea of exploring New York by bike, today guided bike tours are not only part of reality – it is even a lot of fun to be on two wheels in this city. Because there are spacious paths for cyclists. At least as much has been done for pedestrians.
The highlight of the project “The Making of a Greener, Greater New York City” is the High Line, a disused elevated railway line that has been lavishly landscaped and developed into a park on stilts. There are two options: Entry 10th Avenue, 28th Street and a walk to 16th Street, and a snack in the halls of Chelsea Market. If you go in the opposite direction, you eat first – and then you have a nicer view of the city’s skyline.
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