On these days, hotel rates drop, theatres and museums are more empty than
usual and you may even get a look in at the city's best restaurants.
That's according to the city's tourist board, NYC & Company. The
organisation has uncovered a series of dates throughout the year when
Americans, who visit the city more than any other nationality, are less
likely to be in town.
Many of the dates will surprise British travellers, such as the week before
Christmas - a perfect time to stock up with presents, particularly now, as
the dollar approaches two to the pound.
Like the week ahead of Christmas, most of the dates are either before or
during American public holidays, such as Thanksgiving at the end of November
and Labor Day Weekend in early September.
That's all very well, but finding affordable flights is the next problem,
particularly at those dates around Christmas and New Year. In the week
leading up to Christmas the cheapest fare we could find to New York is £419,
flying indirect at unfavourable times of the day, and in excess of £550 to
go direct.
If the other windows of opportunity to visit New York appeal, outlined in the
graphic linked above, then the trick to finding a cheap flight is to start
looking early. Go to the airline's website direct first to find out a fare
(British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Aer Lingus, Air India, Silverjet,
Maxjet and Eos are among the airlines that fly there from the UK). If the
fare is over your budget, sign up to the carrier's email alert so you can
get in early when a route goes on sale. There are also price comparison
websites such as www.cheapflights.co.uk
and www.netflights.com.
Those 84 days:
Thanksgiving (the week surrounding the third Thursday in November)
Christmas (December 18-25)
New Year’s Eve (January 2-15)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Weekend (January 12-15, 2007)
President’s Day Weekend (February 1-19, 2007)
Memorial Day Weekend (May 25-28, 2007)
July 4th Holiday (July 1-8)
Rosh Hashanah (September 13-16, 2007)
Halloween (October 31)
New hotels and new happenings in New York
Once you've booked your flight, for British travellers wanting to take
advantage of the quiet periods in New York, there is plenty that is new in
the city, this year and next, for Big Apple veterans and first-timers.
Here's a brief round-up:
New hotels
The Gramercy Park Hotel is an Ian Schrager property, and the hottest hotel in
New York right now, with over-th-top design and artwork by Andy Warhol and
Damien Hirst.
The Rockefeller Center Hotel offers state-of-the-art rooms, with flat panel
high definition television and ergonomic work stations for business
travellers, in the historic surroundings of Rockefeller Plaza.
Hotel Mela opened last month and is a boutique property on 44th Street and
Broadway Avenue. Luxuries include 400 thread count bedsheets and
custom-designed furnishings, from $509 a night.
London NYC is a trendy new hotel on West 54th Street and the site of Gordon
Ramsay's first US restaurant.
New things to do
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will launch its Greek and Roman galleries on
April 20 2007. The collections, which have been 15 year in the making offer
sculpture, paintings, glass and artefacts from the fourth Century BC to the
fourth Century AD. The gallery is open 9.30am to 9pm Fridays and Saturdays
and until 5.30pm on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The
recommended admission is $20 for adults and $10 for students.
There are a host of new services to help you get into the right nightspots,
rather than hanging out with all of the other tourists. These include, Club
Planet has listing a chat room and guest list opportunities, as does Joonbug
and Partythisweek.com, plus gallery openings and parties, or there's My NYC
Nite (tel. 212 201 2007), a phone service that directs you to the best
parties in town.
A host of new shopping tours include Safari Shopping, for the inside track on
discounted designer goods; the wittily-named Elegant Tightwad, a shopping
tour with Pamela Parisi , who also promises to find designer clothes at
bargain prices; and Shop Gotham, which offers private and group shopping
tours to the shops that only New Yorkers know.
Thanksgiving is the *fourth* Thursday in November.
Dennis Paul Himes, Vernon, Conn., USA