Little Island
Little Island is an award winning park located at Pier 55 within the Hudson River Park. Lying close to New York’s Meatpacking district and Chelsea neighbourhoods of Manhattan. The nearest subway station is at 14th Street/ 8th Avenue.
The pier was created from the remains of Pier 54 which served as a port of departure and return for transatlantic ocean voyages operated by the Cunard-White Line during the 19th and 20th centuries. The pier eventually fell into a state of disrepair, suffering further damage by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
This urban oasis opened in May 2021 and boasts more than two acres of landscaped gardens, winding paths and stunning views. Entrance to the park is via a ramp as the park has been constructed on raised tulip shaped concrete containers to create an illusion of it floating on water.
Our springtime visit coincided with its sixty thousand bulbs beginning to flower putting on a vibrant show of daffodils, tulips and crocus.
The park has been designed to incorporate miniature gardens, lawns and hills and with narrow, winding pathways leading to the upper viewpoint it feels much larger than it actually is. From the top we enjoyed stunning city views and could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
Our visit was mid-morning when it was reasonably quiet but I’m led to believe that it can get crowded at weekends and just before sunset so it’s probably best to get there at a quieter time as we did.
Pier 57
Pier 57 is located directly across from Little Island and is also worth a visit as it contains a large food hall with varied dining options, a rooftop park and even more panoramic views. The large rooftop park layout works well making it a perfect spot for a picnic on a sunny day. Pier 57
Washington Square Park
On leaving the riverside we strolled along to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, arriving there just as it started to pour with rain.
The square is dominated by a stone arch constructed in honour of George Washington, a founding father and the first president of the United States. Surrounding the square are tables with built-in chess boards and it was good to see that the inclement weather hadn’t deterred the players as several tables were in use with pairs huddled beneath umbrellas considering their next moves.
Strand Book Store
Our next stop was to the historic Strand Book Store located on the corner of Broadway and 12th Street. This iconic book shop contains no less than 18 miles of books and has been family owned for more than 95 years.
Staff are very knowledgeable and on hand to help with finding any one of its 2.5 million books, energetically climbing up and down ladders to reach high shelves. We browsed some of the bookcases packed with everything from the latest paperbacks to hard to find first editions and if we hadn’t made plans for the remainder of the day, I’m sure we would have lingered longer.
Union Square
Continuing on our way it didn’t take long to reach Union Square which is another of New York City’s national historic landmarks in recognition of its significance in American labour history. Overlooking the square is an 8ft bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi which was erected there because of the long tradition of protests within the square.
Gantry Plaza State Park
The sun then decided to make a welcome appearance so we hopped on the subway and headed over to the New York borough of Queens for an afternoon stroll along the banks of the East River. Gantry Plaza State Park is beautiful and as it’s off the usual tourist trail, it’s a calm and peaceful place to while away an afternoon.
The park is located in a former dockland and manufacturing district which has been transformed into an attractive 12 acre park with a riverside promenade with wooden seats and benches on which to relax and soak up the views. We enjoyed a stroll along the waterfront admiring the restored gantries that were once used to transfer freight off barges coming from railway stations in New Jersey.
Other reminders of the district’s industrial past include a huge illuminated Pepsi Cola sign that’s visible from across the river in Manhattan. The sign dates from the 1940’s and was originally installed on top of the company’s bottling plant. The giant advertising sign stands 20ft (6 metres) off the ground and measures 50 ft (15 metres).
The park offers sweeping views of mid-town Manhattan with no crowds and few tourists and is quick and easy to reach either by subway or by taking a five minute ferry ride from 34th Street. On spotting a cafe we sat out on its terrace resting our legs awhile with hot dogs and ice creams. The perfect way to end our afternoon before heading back to our hotel in midtown Manhattan to prepare for our evening activity.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
On Friday and Saturday evenings between 5.00 – 9.00 p.m. its Date Night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) offering live music, drinks and small bites alongside the outstanding artwork. The standard admission to Date Night of $30 (£24) is the same as for its usual day time openings and although it’s styled a ‘date night’ everyone is welcome from couples to families, friends or you can just come on your own. From near our hotel close to Times Square we caught a bus that took us along Madison Avenue to 83rd Street. The MET was then just a 10 minute walk from there. We arrived at around 6.45 p.m. on a Friday evening expecting the museum to be crowded but to our surprise its galleries were fairly quiet allowing us lots of space to enjoy viewing the artwork.
This famous art museum is on a par with the Louvre in Paris and the British Museum as it attracts huge numbers of art lovers worldwide. As the MET collection spans 5,000 years of history with its collection including a staggering 1.5 million works of art dating from prehistoric times to the present day, it would be impossible to view everything on a single visit.
With the aid of a museum map and a brief chat to one of the helpful guides, we opted to view paintings by European masters from the 13th to the 19th centuries. These works included paintings by the Spanish masters El Greco and Goya, the Dutch artists Rembrandt and Vermeer and from France, Monet and Cezanne.
We also explored the American Wing viewing furnished period rooms that provided us with a detailed tour of American domestic architecture and interior design from the seventeenth century.
In summary, a visit to the MET is not just about the wondrous collection of art it displays but also about the architectural beauty of the magnificent building itself. This coupled with an evening of music from a string quartet, good food and drink ensured that it was an evening to remember for us. Date Night at The MET.
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