Unusual & Unique Things to Do in NYC
You’re here for a short time, and you want to get off the beaten path - I hear you!
As a 20+ year NYC resident (and resident weirdo), I hope I can share some locations that will make you feel like less of a tourist.
My recommendations (and these are NOT super-weird - don’t worry, they’re just not on everyone’s first-time NYC list - I’ll do another list of weirder things later)…
Lodging: Stay in a non-Times Square location.
You can really get to know a neighborhood and get a feel for New York waaaay better if you stay in say, Chinatown, or Prospect Park, or Astoria. This may not be a good recommendation for first-timers as you navigate learning the subway, but if you have been to the city once or twice before, branch out!
Artsy/hip neighborhoods with great nightlife: Greenwich Village, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Harlem, Washington Heights, Astoria, Crown Heights, Bushwick, The East Village, Lower East Side
Family-friendly & quieter: Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Long Island City, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea, Morningside Heights, Park Slope, Flatiron, NoMad, SoHo, FiDi
NYC History: Go to the Tenement Museum.
This place is incredible and affordable, and offers tours of real NYC tenement buildings that are just SO informative and entertaining. $30 gets you a spot on a guided tour with a knowledgeable docent!
Arts & Culture: Visit any museum that is not the MoMA, The Met, or the Natural History Museum.
Caveat: These museums above are ALL amazing and 100% worth spending your time/money on, but if you want to see something that *most* tourists aren’t seeing, check out the Bone Museum, The Museum of the City of New York, Mmmuseum, City Reliquary, The Tattoo Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Museum of Interesting Things, the Graffiti Hall of Fame, or the Museum of the Moving Image.
Food: Get something you CANNOT get back home.
NYC is home to soooo many nationalities, and with them come incredible cuisines! Have you ever had Ethiopian food? Taiwanese? Ukrainian? Peruvian? You can actually eat your way AROUND THE WORLD here. Here are just a few of my recommendations, but there are too many restaurants in NYC to list here.
If in doubt, spin a globe and pick a city, and then Google where you can eat the food of that city within New York!
Awaze (Ethiopian), Gulp (Taiwanese), Jong Ro (Korean BBQ), Casa Adela (Dominican), Yin Ji Chang Fen (Chinese Rice Rolls), Tumi (Peruvian), Little Taco House (Mexican), Little Poland (Polish).
6. Bars/Nightlife: Don’t get sucked into what everyone else is doing!
You should ABSOLUTELY see a Broadway show, and go to a speakeasy, hit the most popular comedy club, and see some live music at Madison Square Garden. But to get to less-trafficked and more “underground spots”…
House of Yes, Brooklyn: Incredible burlesque and a place to dance the night away.
Burp Castle: A monastery themed Belgian bar, where you are not allowed to speak above a whisper.
Shrine: An iconic Harlem venue for live music including jam bands, jazz and R&B.
Joe’s Pub: A dinner-and-a-show spot where you can see some experimental and wacky stuff, but also people who are crazy talented!
McManus: An historic bar in Chelsea with that great dive feel and hospitality, not crazy expensive
Knockdown Center in Queens: An amazing live music venue - check the calendar and get yourself there!
3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn - Drag shows, comedy, burlesque - a queer-friendly space, absolutely iconic.
TV Eye in Queens - Live music, you never know what will be on the calendar, check it out.
