One day in New YorkSkyscrapers, history and ghosts
Start early in Midtown with the Midtown Must-Sees route: Flatiron, Empire State, Grand Central, the Public Library, Times Square and Rockefeller Center, about 4.2 km. For lunch, ride the subway to the Lower East Side and order pastrami on rye at Katz's Delicatessen. In the afternoon, head south on From New Amsterdam to America's First Capital: Castle Clinton, Bowling Green, Fraunces Tavern and Federal Hall fit in two kilometers. At dusk, New York Below the Surface runs from Trinity Churchyard to the Manhattan Well in SoHo. Finish with bagel and lox at Russ & Daughters.
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Morning
Midtown Must-Sees: From the Flatiron to Rockefeller Center
- Flatiron BuildingThe skyscraper shaped like a clothes iron that amazed New York in 1902.
- Empire State BuildingBuilt in just over a year during the Great Depression, it was the world's tallest building for nearly four decades.
- Grand Central TerminalThe station that nearly disappeared and was saved by a legal battle with Jacqueline Kennedy at the forefront.
- New York Public LibraryA marble palace built on the site of an old reservoir and guarded by two lions with names of their own.
- Times SquareThe square named after a newspaper, where the New Year's Eve ball has dropped since 1907.
- Rockefeller CenterAn Art Deco city within the city, built in the depths of the Great Depression and guarded by a golden Prometheus.
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Lunch
Try Pastrami on rye at Katz's Delicatessen. 205 East Houston Street
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Afternoon
From New Amsterdam to America's First Capital
- Castle ClintonA fort that never fired a shot in battle and went on to be a concert hall, the gateway for millions of immigrants and an aquarium.
- Bowling GreenThe city's oldest park, where New Yorkers pulled down their king's statue in 1776.
- Fraunces TavernThe brick tavern where George Washington bade a tearful farewell to his officers in 1783.
- Federal HallThe spot where George Washington took the oath as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789.
- Trinity ChurchThe Gothic Revival church that was once New York's tallest building and where Alexander Hamilton rests.
- St. Paul's ChapelManhattan's oldest church, where Washington prayed and where 9/11 rescue workers found refuge.
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Early evening
New York Below the Surface: Crimes, Graves and Secrets
- Trinity ChurchyardA grave for a novel's heroine and a headstone written in secret code.
- Tweed CourthouseThe courthouse that became New York's greatest monument to corruption.
- African Burial GroundA burial ground for enslaved and free Africans, forgotten for two centuries beneath the city.
- Collect Pond ParkA freshwater pond some 60 feet deep once lay here. The city buried it, and the ground took its revenge.
- Five Points (Columbus Park)The most feared neighborhood of the 19th century, home to the gangs behind «Gangs of New York».
- The Manhattan WellThe well where Elma Sands was found in 1800, the start of the young nation's first great murder trial.
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Dinner
Try Bagel and lox at Russ & Daughters. 179 East Houston Street