Where to Go Instead of Times Square When Visiting New York
When I recently advised New Yorkers to skip Times Square , I was greeted with righteous anger by people who do not live in New York. To be clear: you are allowed to visit Times Square! But you are not allowed to go there, and then tell everyone that New York is smelly, crowded, too expensive and full of assholes. It’s like going to Disney World and deciding that everyone in Florida is called Mickey Mouse.
Ironically, while Times Square is designed for tourists, almost everything on it has excellent counterparts elsewhere in New York. And I don’t mean superiority for New York snobs, I mean best for you, visitor. Some are cheaper, some are more special, most are both. And some of them still remain a secret for many New Yorkers. Below are some of the most popular Times Square tourist traps and my favorite alternatives to each:
Museums
If you would like to visit Madame Tussauds Times Square, I admit that this one will definitely have celebrity statues that are not found in 24 other places on the network. But for a little less money ($ 29 less if you skip the “proposed donation”), you could see true one-of-a-kind artwork and artifacts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art .
The Met is so big that you can spend an entire day exploring the art without even getting close to browsing the entire collection. Highlights include an Egyptian temple, European paintings, and a weapon and armor room, and there are always some stunning temporary exhibitions.
Other popular world-class options include the American Museum of Natural History , which features a life-size Tyrannosaurus skeleton and blue whale statue, and the Museum of Modern Art (just blocks from Times Square). Take a tour of the Tenement Museum ‘s historic apartments and workshops, or see a gym – sized New York City model at the Queens Museum.
If you really want to admire wax figures, try the eerie collection of faces and body parts at House of Wax , a chic cocktail bar in Brooklyn’s new City Point neighborhood, upstairs from Dekalb Market Hall, an indoor street food restaurant.
Shopping
Times Square has decent shops, but it is overshadowed by the equally crowded boulevard of shops along Broadway just off Houston Street (pronounced “How overwhelming”) in Soho. And these shops are surrounded in all directions by much quieter and more welcoming areas.
Or try the boutiques dotted throughout the area, just a few blocks east of Broadway. Clothing can be incredibly expensive, but it’s a fun window-shopping activity and inexpensive jewelry can be found on the sidewalks. Unlike Times Square, Soho has two excellent bookstores: McNally Jackson for new books and the charity Housing Works Bookstore Café for used ones.
Fancy Candy Shops
The giant M&M store in Times Square is quite modest. Flagship candy bar Dylan’s Candy Bar on the Upper East Side offers a much richer selection of new chocolates and chocolates, including Harry Potter’s Bertie Botts, pizza-flavored chocolate bars and, yes, M&M.
Dylan also has shops in Union Square, Columbus Circle and John F. Kennedy Airport. Or try the more economical working class candy on the Lower East Side.
Broadway theater
If you have the money for a Broadway seat, go for it. Broadway shows are good! But if you’re on a budget or looking for a more intimate getaway, consider the off-Broadway option (the term refers to theater size, not location) at Playwrights Horizons , Lincoln Center, or Signature Theater . Actors and playwrights often cite Broadway, television, and films.
Do you want something funny? Skip the “free comedy” tourist trap the Times Square guys are begging for, and try standing in the Comedy Cellar or improvising in the Chelsea and East Village locations of the UCB Theater, where tomorrow’s sitcom actors will prove that improvisation can really be good.
And for something a little more experimental, check out the weekly New York neo-futurist show Infinite Wrench , formerly known as Too Much Light Makes a Kid Blind .
Street artists, costumed characters and the plaza
When it comes to street performers, topless ladies and Elmos in suits in Times Square are not half as impressive as live performances by bands, dancers, and other entertainers in Washington Square Park . If you come in June, you will see a lot more glittery costumes at the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade .
The artwork is all lined up along Broadway, with quick cartoons, regular airbrushes of the skyline, and photographs of John Lennon wearing an “I ❤️ NY” shirt, readily available in Central Park (much nicer setting) or downstairs in Union -square (which also has a farmers’ market four days a week).
Italian restaurants
I have three friends who eat at the Olive Garden in Times Square, and they are all hipsters. Don’t be a hipster. Save an olive garden for your home where it is cheaper.
Go anywhere in Little Italy instead. Unless you check Yelp (or Foursquare , which does better in New York than anywhere else), you might end up somewhere with mediocre food but a great vintage vibe.
If you’re looking for high quality Italian (although not in Little Italy), head to Eataly , a market-style Mario Batali grocery / restaurant / bar / food museum in the Flatiron neighborhood. It’s crowded here, but for good reason. Or dine in the local elite network Parm , which serves delicious food and generous, especially for its mid-range.
While there are many good restaurants in most of Times Square, they don’t outperform options in the Lower East Side or East Village. Just find any local magazine’s list of the best restaurants as the annual winners of New York ‘s “Best of New York.”
Souvenir shops
If you want to bring home something with the words “I brought it home on a flight from La Guardia,” do not go in the shops in Times Square and buy a trinket on urban themes in Fishs of Eddy , the best store crockery and glassware New York. Something light and unbreakable, like a tea towel.
If you’re heading to Brooklyn (you can spend your entire vacation just walking around Park Slope, Gowanus, and Cobble Hill), stop by the Gowanus Gift Shop to buy memorabilia from New York’s smelly canal located on the Superfund grounds.
Giant advertising
These giant flashing LED billboards in the Plaza are lovely! Or I think they are, from the two seconds I ever stood still to look at them, before someone pushed me. But in photographs, they look no worse.
I’m more impressed with street art all over the city, as quoted by Architectural Digest , Resource Magazine , Time Out New York, and Business Insider . Check out what the Houston Bowery Wall looks like this month.
TV studios
I won’t pretend that you can substitute a visit to the set of the Late Show or Rockefeller Center. But if you’re just looking to get into some show business, check Out On Vacation to find out where TV shows and movies are filmed today. Or even visit the Queens Museum of Moving Image , which is housed in active studios and full of film memorabilia and interactive exhibits for kids.
Skyscrapers
You know what could be cooler than looking at tall buildings or citing 2010 films? Looking down from tall buildings. New York looks amazing from above, and it’s worth climbing to the top of the Empire State Building or the World Trade Center . See? You can be tourists! Just be in awe of the good stuff.
And if you go to the World Trade Center, stop by the Irish Hunger Memorial . The city will disappear for a second, and you will feel like you have passed through a portal into a windswept wasteland. Then you will walk up and see the Jersey skyline appear. Experience moves.
You will never see everything in New York. Nobody knows even if we live here. So make the most of your time here and see the good stuff.