By Crystal Davis –

Grab your bikinis and wetsuits; we’re going to Central Park!

New York City in summer time is full of hidden wonders that are all neatly placed in the palm of your hand. Unfortunately, you cannot cover the entire city in a single day or a single week for that matter, if this is what you would like to do, then sit down and read a coffee table book on the Big Apple.

When going to the City, the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) are continually useful. Finding your way around the city can be easy but sometimes it can also become confusing if you are unfamiliar with the subway. Pace yourself for the excitement and make an entire trip out of it.

Maksym Senyshyn, 21, history/sec. Ed, Jersey City, explained over a glass of orange juice, “I don’t care much for wandering the streets of New York; it all kind of looks the same to me. A trip to NYC usually means one of two things: a metal concert or guitar center. I’ve gotten lost in NYC more times than I can count, but at least it’s not boring.”

Most things can be free if you know where to look—for the many art lovers at our very own NJCU; it would be a spellbinding trip if you visited the many museums along the line. With museums ranging from The American Museum of National History (AMNH) to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (LESTM) it would be good to know that you may not have to pay a fee. However, if it is the case that you should need to, do not forget that your student I.D. might just help you get a discount the next time you decide to travel.

New York City can be exciting but it really does in fact depend on what you are more interested in. If you find yourself lost, do not be afraid to ask around. Imagine all the places you could find if you ask a native New Yorker who knows all the best hotspots?

Of course, to give you an easy idea on some of the more popular things to do in New York City, listed below are some of the best things to do in NYC during the summer.

• Student Rush a Broadway show online and see if you can catch one while on a stroll down 42nd Street.
• Visit Central Park for the day, enjoy the concerts, horse drawn carriages, and food vendors.
• Nonchalantly arrive up the subway steps into Chinatown or Little Italy and explore one of the city’s biggest melting pots.
• While you’re in Chinatown you might want to check out the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. You can even go to the Bowery or the Village for some good fun and some good eats.
• Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and the Cloisters (on the same day) and become engaged with the beauty of art and the medieval.
• You can also visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) if you are up for it.
• Promisingly avoid Times Square for the lack of tourists’ sake, and to keep some loose change in your pocket.
• Ride the ferry to the Statue of Liberty or Staten Island, and spend a couple hours relaxing if you will (the Staten Island Ferry is FREE!).
• Visit the Strand or the New York Public Library if you are a fluent reader (you can find a Strand outlet near the MET).
• The Bronx Zoo is free to the public on Wednesdays!
• The Brooklyn and Bronx Botanical gardens are two of the most beautiful places to visit if you are interested in foliage all-year-round (the Botanical gardens area at their peaks in summer, around this time in spring they’ve already started growing various types of rose bushes).
• Visit the Chelsea area and finally take a rest at the Highline—enjoy the beauty of a historic landmark in the big apple.

The city is yours to explore, so why not take a relaxing vacation in a fast paced city?