New York's CityPASS is the ticket for making the most of a few days in the Big Apple

TAKE A TASTY BITE . SAVE MONEY, TOO, WITH THE PASS THAT MAKES THE MOST OF MANHATTAN TIME

The new World Trade Center Tower One is a magnificent memorial to a tragic event.

 

action-packed CityPASS
maximizes precious time, gives options that show off a dozen of the world's most lively cities

 

 

Times Square is ablaze at night. CityPASS offers
money-saving admissions and you skip the lines.

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS
PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

IF YOU HAVE only five or fewer days in New York, and want to savor a large, tasty bite of The Big Apple, we recomend CityPASS.
Enroute back from Europe recently, we decided to enjoy New York with this nationally known money-saving booklet.

A trip to Ellis Island is a must for many visitors to New York, and a trip
and visit are offered through CityPASS, or you can choose a river cruise. 

Thoughtfully chosen, the tickets include the best New York has to offer -- from world famous museums to historic buildings and monuments.
A dozen cities and regions -- 11 in the U.S., and Toronto -- offer bargains on their town's best and most popular attractions.

Bruce Keller and Christene Meyers enjoyed both day and nighttime visits
to the Empire State Building, and the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center.

We loved it, not just because of the savings, but because once purchased, CityPASS offers a psychological advantage: You've invested in the city, paid your money, have your ticket book, so you don't want to waste it.  You get out of the hotel rather than squandering half the day lounging and drinking coffee (a temptation I succumb to, when I have a lovely hotel room with a view of one of the world's most amazing cities.)

You can visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, or have a
bird's eye view of both Liberty and the immigration museum
 from a Circle Line tour, part of your CityPASS options.

WE WERE NOT newcomers to New York City, but even seasoned Manhattan travelers can find the options for touring overwhelming.
CityPASS helps you sort, taking confusion out of the equation.
Experienced travelers and consultants who have lived in the cities pick the best attractions and present them in a user-friendly ticket booklet.
YOU HAVE six admission tickets, with entries good for nine consecutive days. From the Empire State Building to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Circle Line cruise and a visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, you will get your money's worth and more.
Adults save 42 per cent by paying $114 (rather than $196 if you purchased tickets individually) or $89 for kids 6-17, compared to $171 over-counter price if you just walked in and purchased tickets.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers antiquities
and a splendid collection of art through the ages. 

AND INSTEAD OF rushing about, spending money on taxis from Midtown to The Village, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Ellis Island or the Empire State Building, you can plan your time, set your own pace by lining up attractions in a sensible fashion. CityPASS makes the best use of time by subway, taxi or on foot, also referencing which way is best to get you there.
BESIDES CityPASS, we had tickets to five Broadway plays, in a 30-block area, ranging from Midtown Manhattan;s theater district to Lincoln Center, where we saw a fabulous production of "The King and I" at the Vivian Beaumont. We tied in the play with a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with time for a stroll and cocktails at Central Park's Tavern on the Green.
We loved seeing the city that never sleeps at our own pace, by-passing queues and making the most of our Manhattan time.
If you're sandwiching plays in, CityPASS is great, too. Having 2 p.m. matinees on a couple days -- and curtains at 7 and 8 p.m. each evening made us exercise discipline with CityPASS options. We planned at least one activity in the morning and one in the afternoon or evening, depending on our theater commitments.  On the same day, we visited the magnificent Empire State Building in the morning, then returned in the evening after our play, for the delightful 360-degree open-air view of the city lit up. The nighttime entrance is an exclusive CityPASS bonus.
You can also hook up with CityPASS in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Southern California,Tampa Bay and Toronto.
 Last Best News features our bear break-in story 

Large pools offer comfort to mourners and beauty and
 tranquility as international visitors pay homage to
those lost in the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

UP NEXT: A visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum left us sad and awed.  We'll share our morning there in the next blog. Meanwhile, remember to explore, learn and live, and catch us each Wednesday as we enter our fourth year of global arts and travel with photos and adventures at www.whereiscookie.com