New York Tour Guide (1)

Your Day of Arrival in the Big Apple.

Most visitors arriving from Belgium will land in New York somewhere between noon and 2 pm. Once you’ve tackled immigration and customs (don’t forget your online visa waiver and for the love of god, don’t joke around about bombs or other devices in your luggage!), the easiest way to get to your hotel is taking a yellow cab outside the airport. They will take you to any destination in NYC for a prix fixe of $45, plus about $5 toll. Now, an important lesson for the rest of your stay: if you want to avoid a nasty look (or worse) from your cab driver, don’t forget to tip! For a longer cab drive, we recommend about $5 to $10 (depending on how happy you are with your driver’s skills). For shorter cab drives, you’re fine if you round up to the higher number plus $1 (e.g., if the bill is $7.40, you pay $9).

While we are on this (at least for Europeans) strange concept of tipping, let me lay down the rules for ya. In restaurants, you always tip – not tipping is like robbing your waiter. Depending on how happy you were with the service, you tip from minimum 15% to maximum 20%, with 18% being a good number in NYC. In NY state, the rule of thumb is to double the tax (on your receipt, the tax (about 9% in NY) is always indicated separately). If you’re in a bar or club, and you’re not being served at a table, you tip the bartender about $1 per drink (unless he reenacts a scene from Cocktail in which case you give a little more). If you go to the restrooms and there is a “toilet lady”, the decent thing to do is to tip her one buck. The guy taking your bags at the hotel, gets 1 to 2 dollars. Basically, anyone providing a specific service for you is tipped (even the hairdresser and shampoo girl).

So, you have successfully hailed your first yellow cab who drops you off (about 40 to 60 minutes later) at your hotel. Now, it’s time to go explore… I would definitely start with a visit to Times Square on your first evening. Living in New York City, it is definitely not my favorite place in New York (I even try to avoid it). However, I still remember that on my first visit to this decadent symbol of capitalism and consumerism, I was simply flabbergasted. To quote a hit single, the lights will inspire you… or maybe even blind you. You have to see this place by night!

If you get hungry while you’re here, I would not recommend to have dinner on Times Square itself – most of these places are tourist traps. There are a few hidden gems nevertheless. John’s Pizzeria started as a little restaurant in the Village (btw, also a very nice location) but has a branch near Times Square in what appears to be an old church or theater, and they serve excellent pizza. Another good option, is the huge, Italian American restaurant Carmine’s. It is always packed (be prepared to wait) and serves family-style dishes (such as huge pasta plates to share with 2 to 4 people for $20 and up). A little bit further away, there is the excellent restaurant Esca by, amongst others, star chef Mario Batali serving delicious, fresh Italian seafood and pasta dishes. If you’re already missing your home country and are craving some steak frites, Marseille serves pretty good French brasserie style food. For inexpensive, simple but delicious Greek food, we recommend Dafni Taverna.

One last tip for day one, fight the jetlag and try to stay awake as long as possible! This is the best way to adjust to the new time zone. But... if there is one place in New York City that will keep you eyes wide open, it is Times Square!