During my most recent trip to New York City I did something I’ve never done before: I never ventured north of 38th Street. Stuck in what I call the “Midtown Slump,” I always stay in Midtown & then take the subway down to the Union Square Farmers Market & other places on the lower half of the island. But since I was just staying overnight, I thought I’d try a new neighborhood & see how it went.
I scored a room at the Hotel Giraffe through the awesome Hotel Tonight app & set up shop at the corner of 26th Street & Park Ave. – a block away from Madison Square Park. After a Saturday morning stroll down to Union Square & the surrounding neighborhood, I ended up in Madison Square Park for the first time.
The streets around the park are home to some of Manhattan’s most famous buildings, including the Flatiron Building & Met Life Building. The park also has a spectacular view of the Empire State Building. Perhaps most notable is the original Shake Shack, which is located in the southeastern corner of the park. With time to kill, & beautiful sunshine beaming down on a warm early-March day, I found myself a bench & just sat, soaking in the sun & admiring my surroundings.
I not only managed to break my Midtown Slump, I also managed to find a new favorite spot in NYC: Madison Square Park.
(C) Christina Saull – All Rights Reserved
(C) Christina Saull – All Rights Reserved
Love this. On my last trip to New York (which was a few years ago) I did some venturing outside of Midtown as well. There are so many great neighbourhoods and things to see in New York that people can miss if they just stay in Midtown. Love the photo of the Flat Iron Building – you can definitely tell why it’s got that name.
No matter how many times I see it, I’m still always in awe of the Flatiron Bldg and the Empire State Bldg. They’re icons for a reason, I suppose!