Getting to Know New York City - NYC Experiences to Avoid

I was thinking of posting here some tips about the city that never sleeps in the world, New York.

I've never been to New York, but I do wish getting there and having the best time there. What follows is what a very respectable travel editor suggests when going to the big apple.

New York has so much going for it, the good overwhelms the bad. But there is bad, and I'm not talking about the obvious. I'm talking about experiences that might be perceived as good, but take my word for it: They are not. So, despite what you have heard, the following are a few experiences you must do your best to avoid:

New Year's Eve in Times Square: You see the event on television every year, and now you're here. This is your chance to be one of the hundreds of thousands of revelers packed tightly together in the frigid cold to watch the ball drop. Don't do it! Despite the happy faces you see on television, the whole thing is a miserable experience and not worth the forced elation of blowing on a noisemaker at midnight with half a million others. And you won't find many New Yorkers here; we know better.

Three-Card Monte: When you see a crowd gathered around a cardboard box with one man flipping cards, madly enticing innocent rubes into his game, while another guy scans the crowd for undercover cops, keep on walking. Don't stop and listen to the dealer's spiel or think you can be the one to beat him at his game. You can't. Buy a lottery ticket instead; your odds are much better.

Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides: Pity those poor beasts of burden. They get dragged out in the heat (though not extreme heat) and cold (though not extreme cold) with a buggy attached to them just to give passengers the feel of an old-world, romantic buggy ride through Central Park. But the horses look so forlorn, as if it's the last thing they want to do. And they don't even get a cut of the generous take: $40 for a 20-minute ride, $60 for 45 minutes, excluding tip. If you want a slow, leisurely ride through Central Park, minus the ripe and frequent smell of horse poop, consider an alternative called Manhattan Rickshaw Company (tel. 212/604-4729). The beast of burden behind the rickshaw has two legs, and the rate is about $1 per minute.

Chain Restaurants: Oh yes; they're here, probably to stay -- and most likely with more to come. I'm referring to those restaurants with familiar names like Olive Garden, Applebee's, Red Lobster, and Domino's. When you begin to feel the pangs of hunger, ask yourself: Did I come to New York to eat exactly what I can eat in every city or town in this country? Or did I come here to experience what makes New York so unique? Well, that includes the amazing variety of unchained restaurants, from the coffee shops and diners to the bargain-priced ethnic cuisine and higher-end dining experiences. So bypass the old standards, and try something different and exciting. You won't regret it.

Electronics Stores: You might notice a wealth of electronics stores in and around Times Square, on Fifth Avenue, or wherever gullible tourists frequent. Many of the stores post banners advertising a GOING OUT OF BUSINESS sale. These guys have been going out of business since the Stone Age. That's the bait and switch; pretty soon you've spent too much money for not enough stereos or cameras or MP3 players. The people who work at these stores are a special breed of shark; they work you hard to take their deal. Don't even get close enough to let them sink their fangs into you because when they do, you're usually theirs for the taking.

The Feast of San Gennaro: At one time this was a distinct and genuine Italian feast (please see the films Godfather II and Mean Streets for the Feast in the good old days). Its decline has pretty much coincided with the decline of Little Italy, a neighborhood that is just a shell of what it once was. Now the Feast, held annually for 2 weeks in September, is just an overblown and overcrowded street fair with bad food, cheap red wine, and games of chance you have no chance of winning.

Driving in the City: You have been warned already about driving in the city, but some people are stubborn and just can't give up the so-called freedom of maneuvering a car in heavy traffic, battling yellow cabs, and searching fruitlessly for a legal parking spot. With subways, buses, and your feet, New York has the best and fastest public transportation. A car is a luxury you want no part of.