Dos and Don'ts of Times Square

Monday, July 07, 2008
New York City, New York, United States
Don't step in a puddle...
...especially if it hasn't rained for a few days. Drainage isn't great around Manhattan and water can settle near the corners, just where you're likely to cross the road. After a few days the water goes green or brown and smells a treat.

Don't walk three abreast...
Walking in single file is fastest and safest. Walking in pairs is possible but you'd be travelling at about three steps per minute. The Times Square Crowd is unforgiving of space wasters. Walking three abreast is, quite simply, suicidal. As your group falters in the tide of humanity the person on the left will be pulled one way while the person on the right will be pulled the other leaving the person in the centre ripped in two and trampled. It's true, I've seen it happen.

Do stay on the correct side of Broadway...
If you're planning on seeing a lot of Broadway shows, find a hotel on the West Side of Broadway. Any hotel near Times Square is going to be close to many of the theatres but if you're on the East Side of the Square, walking time to any theatre will be increased by as much as 15 minutes (that's the approximate time to cross Times Square and walk only one block north or south at around 7pm on any day) . Then you've got to fight the crowd after the show to get back to your hotel.

Do visit Times Square at all times of the day...
Times Square is never quiet. The shops almost never close. Go and visit it early in the morning, in the afternoon and late in the evening. The odds are, if you spend enough time in Time Square you'll bump into someone you know, most likely yourself. It's not advisable to visit the Square on your own after dark.

Do go two blocks further for food...
Food on Times Square is fried. It sounds like a generalisation, but it's very close to the truth. If you get sick of the fried options head down to 9th Avenue into Hells Kitchen for some great restaurants. Hells Kitchen was not known for it's good food until recently but now you can find a great variety of restaurants from traditional American Diners, to Deli's, Sushi, Grills, Thai, Itallian and Chinese. There's even a $1 a piece chicken shop (Steven's Favourite). The best area along the avenue is the 10 blocks from 42nd and 52nd streets.

Do look up...
It's pretty.

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