10 Things You Don’t Know About New York Until You Get There

One of the most publicised cities in the world, there probably isn’t a day goes by when New York City isn’t on the TV, in a newspaper or on a homepage. But there are some things about New York that you just don’t know until you get there.

1. Central Park has traffic lights for cyclists

You don’t need a permit to ride a bike around Central Park, but the laws of the paths are very similar to those on the public roads, and must be obeyed. There are traffic lights and a speed limit of 20mph. There are also some paths that are one-way only, and you can’t cycle on pedestrian paths unless marked otherwise. Pedestrians also have right of way.

2. You can get Insomnia Cookies delivered until 3am every day

So, Insomnia Cookies aren’t exclusive to New York, but there couldn’t be anything more appropriate for the city that never sleeps. With several locations around the city delivering until 3am, you can have peanut butter cookies, a Cookiewich (scoop of ice cream sandwiched between two cookies, and even a cookie melted on top of a brownie. Thirsty? Order a cup of milk to go with them!

3. Their New York Cheesecake isn’t as good as the UK version

If you go to New York, chances are you’ll have a list as long as your arm of food that you want to try, and, understandably, one of them would be traditional New York Cheesecake. But, we’re sorry to tell you that they’re just. Not. That. Good. Instead of the biscuit crumble base us Brits are used to, it’s actually a thin slice of cake. Actual cake.

4. Manhattan really is an island

Ok, you might have known this one already, but you can’t appreciate this fact until you actually see Manhattan surrounded by a river. And as soon as Manhattan begins, it’s skyscrapers the whole through.

5. You can’t see the Manhattan skyline when you fly into the airport

You might have images of seeing the Manhattan skyline on your aeroplane flight and thinking “I’ve arrived” – but you won’t. Obviously the airports can’t be that close to the city, so when you fly in, you actually don’t see that much. To see Manhattan from the sky, you need to book a helicopter flight, which can take your along the length of Manhattan, over the Brooklyn Bridge and past the Statue Of Liberty.

6. The Empire State Building stays open until 2am

You’ve got so much to squeeze into each day, the Empire State Building makes it so much easier to fit in by staying open until 2am. The last journey up is at 1.15am, so if you want to see NYC at night, this is just the ticket.

7. They have peanut butter with everything

Peanut butter cookies, Peanut Butter M&Ms, Double Peanut Butter Magnums, peanut butter crackers – even peanut butter on-the-go! They love their peanut butter in New York.

8. You won’t be bumping into celebrities on the street

It might be the popular choice of residency and shopping for celebrities on the east coast, but unless it’s how you want to spend all your time, you won’t be bumping into Taylor Swift or Kim Kardashian outside Macy’s.

9. Century 21 is a discounted Macy’s

If you can’t afford the prices in Macy’s, head to Century 21. There’s a huge one by Ground Zero, and it’s full of bags, shoes, clothes, sunglasses, perfume and jewellery from designers such as Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs with amazing discounts.

10. Macy’s do offer 10% off for visitors

However, Macy’s do offer 10% discount for visitors, so if you want to say that you’ve bought something from the biggest department store in the world, you at least won’t be paying full price…