Times Square, New York City

I couldn't decide if this should be a "Things to Do" or "Tourist Trap" tip! My cousin and his wife's hotel was right by here so we cruised through it, checked out the new pedestrian walkway (Great idea!) and checked out some of the sights, like the Desnudas, whose photos I did not take.

Times Square, probably one of the most famous pieces of real estate in the world. Besides the freak show that Times Square itself is, the main attractions here are all the nearby theatres as this is the heart of the theatre district.

Times Square is probably the busiest intersection in the world, with 360.000 visitors a day. It is located at the junction of Broadway and 7th avenue, encompassing the area between West 42nd and West 47th street. The area is a major entertainment centre, with plenty of restaurants, flagship stores of major brands, theatres and exclusive hotels, and headquarters of international companies. At night, giant neon and LED billboards illuminate the area. Times Square is also the location of the worlds best-known New Years Eve ceremony - since 1907, a crystal ball is lowered as a symbol of the transition into the New Year.

I live across the Hudson from New York City, so several times a year I take the bus into Port Authority Bus Station, and let my feet take me the few short blocks to Times Square. There's always a fun vibe around the place, providing you don't mind tourists. If you do, you picked the wrong place! The sights and sounds make it a tourist mecca.

One thing that's a lot of fun, is if you get there early enough, you can watch the taping of Good Morning America through the Times Square studio's window.

The only thing I would get rid of, if I could, is the creepy people who dress up as superheroes and cartoon characters, and charge people to take pictures with them. I always avoid eye contact with them.

Of all the places i have visited in my 30 years on this earth, one of the things when visiting NYC that you can't miss is times square. Even if its only for the sake of saying, yes I have been there and i have seen the lights.

I was on a trip with my dad and my brother and although it is bright and brash i am happy to have gone. On the plus side, you can even meet your favourite animation characters!

One thing that confused me in America (and caused a sort of discomfort), was the absence of a urban center, as all European cities do have.

New York is no exception, but if I had to define a central point it would be Times Square.

Why? Because it is the strongest gathering point, centrally located, and in motion at all time of the day.

Times Square in New York is a must to visit, filled with energy and excitement. Times Square is one of New York City's major gathering spots and features all sorts of entertainment. Listen to great Jazz music, catch a Broadway play, or just enjoy the people. If you are one of the lucky one to ring in the new year watching the ball drop is a thrill on its own. We love to go to Times Square while in New York, we usually see a play and enjoy all the restaurants. My all time favorite past time is people watching, never a dull moment in the the city that does not sleep.

the other southern part of times square, where the famous TKTS booths for buying cheap and half priced theater tickets is acutally named Father Duffy Square.Located between 45th and 47th Streets, Broadway and Seventh Avenue.Father Duffy was the Roman Catholic Chaplain of the famed Fighting Irish 69th Regiment of the New York National Guard, Father Duffy distinguished himself in the Spanish American War and during the First World War and in 1937, The square and the statue of Father Duffy were dedicated by Legendary New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.

The Square houses the bronze statue of father duffy and a celtic cross.

We arrived late in the evening on a Sunday and it was still busy! It took 20 minutes just to walk three blocks through the crowd. I suggest getting there, walking to the bleachers, finding a spot to sit up high, and soak in some of the night life. We milled around and went in a few stores, but seeing the various costumed - or non-costumed ie Naked Cowboy - people was also very entertaining.

I don´t know why some places in this trip felt like we were inside a movie, not really there. I´m not even a movie fan, but some places you have seen even if you have seen only some movies. This is one of them.
And years ago, when me and my husband were only just moved in together, we allways watched tv show "Mad about you". In this show I think they went to Times squere at New Years eve. I had never before saw this ball going down and all the people in there, but I´ve seen it many times since. In many other tv series.
We don´t watch Sex in the city NYPD blue or anything like that, and it has been ages from "Mad about you" and Seinfield, so there wasn´t that kind of things for us in Ny as there is for many people.
We do love Mad men, but they won´t show NY there. And I don´t think they did a lot in Sopranos either. And it´s allready some years from seeing it, too.
So this was sort of bringing back some old memories for us ;)
The third photo I took, because I saw many of my friends had taken photo of it while their trips. I guess it is in some tv-series too then. ;)

I'd recommend going to Times Square for an afternoon visit or at night. My hotel was right in this area so I had the pleasure of walking outside anytime and being overwhelmed with so many things to see and do. There is shopping, good eats, tourist shops, ads, crazy people doing crazy things and its just all around-exciting. I like the atmosphere for a temporary stay. Some of the restaurants around this area are Hard Rock Cafe, some cheesecake shops and Olive Garden too name a few. There's a Sephora, Toys R' Us, and about a million tourist shops. The David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey studios are also located close to this area.

It's a magical place. There's an ocean of lights and animated billboards; colours and images flow vertically up the side of the great buildings that surround the square. It's enough to grab the attention of any passerby, and the square gets plenty of those: the population of a small European capital city walks through every day. It's a magical place by day, and even more magical at night when the lights consume the sky and engulf you in a wave of imagery.

If there's one thing Times Square is famous for its celebrations. People come here to await and celebrate the great events every year. The end of World War 2, the election of President Obama, the turn of the century - and of course the annual New Year's Eve celebrations happen here with the dropping of the Times Square Ball at midnight. It's been likened by some to the agora of ancient Athens where the population gathered for pronouncements.

Despite the magic and celebrations, the square has had a chequered history. Once called "the Tenderloin" for being the most sought after real estate in the city, it became, after the Great Depression, a sordid and dangerous place of strip shows, pornographers and sex shops. Only after the 1980s was the square cleaned up and returned to its former glory. Today it is a place of movie theaters, shops, and exclusive hotels.

As for the name: It has nothing to do with time or New Year. It was named after the New York Times which once occupied an office at One Times Square. The square was originally named Longacre after a similar square in London, but was changed in 1904 after the newspaper moved its offices.

I pretty much already knew what to expect here, but I wanted to check it off the list and say I had been there. It's basically just a promenade with a lot of fancy LCD screens everywhere and lousy street performers.. not much different from the 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica.

Super crowded, full of chain stores and restaurants, and packed with tourists (I think the only native New Yorkers there were working at the stores).

My advice: pick an evening where you won't be blocking any other things you want to do, and just stroll through it real fast. Maybe check out the giant Toys R Us and Disney Stores. Those were kind of worth seeing.

If you are not staying at a hotel in NYC but you have an entire day to spend there, you might consider visiting the Discovery Times Square Exposition museum. By it's own account, it is considered a large-scale exhibition center "presenting visitors with limited-run, educational and immersive exhibit experiences while exploring the world's defining cultures, art, history and events" as defined by the exhibition center's own website. In my opinion, the size and types of exhibitions are very comparable to that of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

My daughter and I visited the Discovery Times Exposition Center when it was featuring the King Tut exhibit. It was very well presented and the special lighting enhanced it even more. But I have to admit I was a little disappointed in the choice of objects shown. The admission fee for this exhibit was approximately $21 ea. with a discount offered by AA Advantage (frequent flyer miles club). Photography was not allowed.

Some of the rather famous exhibitions that have been presented at the Discovery Times Square Exposition Center in recent years are: Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition; Leonardo Da Vinci's Workshop; King Tut; Pompeii: The Exhibit; Harry Potter: The Exhibition; Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition, and most recently Terracotta Warriors: Defenders of China’s First Emperor. Currently being shown are: 1) Body Worlds: Pulse; 2) Shipwreck! Pirates and Treasures; and 3) The Art of the Brick.

Adult tickets currently will cost from $27 to $19.50. Coupons and promotional discounts can often be found online or sometimes in city visitor magazines.

Since our visit, DC Cupcakes Cafe offering "Georgetown" cupcakes has been added to the Center. This is a nice option for a cup of something hot and something sweet for visitors. No prices are listed on the website however, but I would expect this to be expensive.

General hours of operation are:
Sunday - Tuesday: 10 AM - 7 PM
Wednesday and Thursday: 10 AM - 8 PM
Friday and Saturday: 10 AM - 9 PM
The last admission is 45 minutes prior to closing.

Special 2013 Holiday hours are as follows:

Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 28th: 11 AM - 5 PM
Christmas Eve: Tuesday December 24th: 9 AM - 4 PM
Christmas Day: Wednesday, December 25th: 11 AM - 6 PM
New Year's Eve: Tuesday, December 31st: 9 AM - 3 PM
New Year's Day: Wednesday, January 1st: 10 AM - 8 PM

Times Square was "born" in 1906 with the construction of the New York Times building. As theatres and restaurants opened up along Broadway, Times Square enjoyed quite a few years of popularity until the economic crisis that hit the country in the 1930s changed the picture and the vocation of the neighborhood. Seedy clubs and peepshows took over the area, turning it into a place most people avoided except maybe on New Year's, for the giant ball drop. In the 1990s, plans were made to "clean up" Times Square, and have proven to be surprinsingly successful. Today, Times Square is a safe area, its theatres are popular again, and many companies such as Toys R' Us, Disney, Hershey's and M&M's have opened up larger-than-life stores, turning the place into a paradise for the young at heart! On top of all the shopping, there's always some kind of entertainment going on at Times Squares: chances are you'll run into the famous naked cowboy, some Disney characters, and hilarious street performers. If you're not afraid of crowds, don't miss the experience of walking around Times Square at night. If that doesn't make you feel like you've made it to NYC, then nothing will!