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The Case Against Travel

By Agnes Callard

What is the most uninformative statement that people are inclined to make? My nominee would be “I love to travel.” This tells you very little about a person, because nearly everyone likes to travel; and yet people say it, because, for some reason, they pride themselves both on having travelled and on the fact that they look forward to doing so.

The opposition team is small but articulate. G. K. Chesterton wrote that “travel narrows the mind.” Ralph Waldo Emerson called travel “a fool’s paradise.” Socrates and Immanuel Kant—arguably the two greatest philosophers of all time—voted with their feet, rarely leaving their respective home towns of Athens and Königsberg. But the greatest hater of travel, ever, was the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa , whose wonderful “ Book of Disquiet ” crackles with outrage:

I abhor new ways of life and unfamiliar places. . . . The idea of travelling nauseates me. . . . Ah, let those who don’t exist travel! . . . Travel is for those who cannot feel. . . . Only extreme poverty of the imagination justifies having to move around to feel.

If you are inclined to dismiss this as contrarian posturing, try shifting the object of your thought from your own travel to that of others. At home or abroad, one tends to avoid “touristy” activities. “Tourism” is what we call travelling when other people are doing it. And, although people like to talk about their travels, few of us like to listen to them. Such talk resembles academic writing and reports of dreams: forms of communication driven more by the needs of the producer than the consumer.

One common argument for travel is that it lifts us into an enlightened state, educating us about the world and connecting us to its denizens. Even Samuel Johnson , a skeptic—“What I gained by being in France was, learning to be better satisfied with my own country,” he once said—conceded that travel had a certain cachet. Advising his beloved Boswell, Johnson recommended a trip to China, for the sake of Boswell’s children: “There would be a lustre reflected upon them. . . . They would be at all times regarded as the children of a man who had gone to view the wall of China.”

Travel gets branded as an achievement: see interesting places, have interesting experiences, become interesting people. Is that what it really is?

Pessoa, Emerson, and Chesterton believed that travel, far from putting us in touch with humanity, divorced us from it. Travel turns us into the worst version of ourselves while convincing us that we’re at our best. Call this the traveller’s delusion.

To explore it, let’s start with what we mean by “travel.” Socrates went abroad when he was called to fight in the Peloponnesian War; even so, he was no traveller. Emerson is explicit about steering his critique away from a person who travels when his “necessities” or “duties” demand it. He has no objection to traversing great distances “for the purpose of art, of study, and benevolence.” One sign that you have a reason to be somewhere is that you have nothing to prove, and therefore no drive to collect souvenirs, photos, or stories to prove it. Let’s define “tourism” as the kind of travel that aims at the interesting—and, if Emerson and company are right, misses.

“A tourist is a temporarily leisured person who voluntarily visits a place away from home for the purpose of experiencing a change.” This definition is taken from the opening of “ Hosts and Guests ,” the classic academic volume on the anthropology of tourism. The last phrase is crucial: touristic travel exists for the sake of change. But what, exactly, gets changed? Here is a telling observation from the concluding chapter of the same book: “Tourists are less likely to borrow from their hosts than their hosts are from them, thus precipitating a chain of change in the host community.” We go to experience a change, but end up inflicting change on others.

For example, a decade ago, when I was in Abu Dhabi, I went on a guided tour of a falcon hospital. I took a photo with a falcon on my arm. I have no interest in falconry or falcons, and a generalized dislike of encounters with nonhuman animals. But the falcon hospital was one of the answers to the question, “What does one do in Abu Dhabi?” So I went. I suspect that everything about the falcon hospital, from its layout to its mission statement, is and will continue to be shaped by the visits of people like me—we unchanged changers, we tourists. (On the wall of the foyer, I recall seeing a series of “excellence in tourism” awards. Keep in mind that this is an animal hospital.)

Why might it be bad for a place to be shaped by the people who travel there, voluntarily, for the purpose of experiencing a change? The answer is that such people not only do not know what they are doing but are not even trying to learn. Consider me. It would be one thing to have such a deep passion for falconry that one is willing to fly to Abu Dhabi to pursue it, and it would be another thing to approach the visit in an aspirational spirit, with the hope of developing my life in a new direction. I was in neither position. I entered the hospital knowing that my post-Abu Dhabi life would contain exactly as much falconry as my pre-Abu Dhabi life—which is to say, zero falconry. If you are going to see something you neither value nor aspire to value, you are not doing much of anything besides locomoting.

Tourism is marked by its locomotive character. “I went to France.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to the Louvre.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to see the ‘Mona Lisa.’ ” That is, before quickly moving on: apparently, many people spend just fifteen seconds looking at the “Mona Lisa.” It’s locomotion all the way down.

The peculiar rationality of tourists allows them to be moved both by a desire to do what they are supposed to do in a place and a desire to avoid precisely what they are supposed to do. This is how it came to pass that, on my first trip to Paris, I avoided both the “Mona Lisa” and the Louvre. I did not, however, avoid locomotion. I walked from one end of the city to the other, over and over again, in a straight line; if you plotted my walks on a map, they would have formed a giant asterisk. In the many great cities I have actually lived and worked in, I would never consider spending whole days walking. When you travel, you suspend your usual standards for what counts as a valuable use of time. You suspend other standards as well, unwilling to be constrained by your taste in food, art, or recreational activities. After all, you say to yourself, the whole point of travelling is to break out of the confines of everyday life. But, if you usually avoid museums, and suddenly seek them out for the purpose of experiencing a change, what are you going to make of the paintings? You might as well be in a room full of falcons.

Let’s delve a bit deeper into how, exactly, the tourist’s project is self-undermining. I’ll illustrate with two examples from “The Loss of the Creature,” an essay by the writer Walker Percy.

First, a sightseer arriving at the Grand Canyon. Before his trip, an idea of the canyon—a “symbolic complex”—had formed in his mind. He is delighted if the canyon resembles the pictures and postcards he has seen; he might even describe it as “every bit as beautiful as a picture postcard!” But, if the lighting is different, the colors and shadows not those which he expects, he feels cheated: he has arrived on a bad day. Unable to gaze directly at the canyon, forced to judge merely whether it matches an image, the sightseer “may simply be bored; or he may be conscious of the difficulty: that the great thing yawning at his feet somehow eludes him.”

Second, a couple from Iowa driving around Mexico. They are enjoying the trip, but are a bit dissatisfied by the usual sights. They get lost, drive for hours on a rocky mountain road, and eventually, “in a tiny valley not even marked on the map,” stumble upon a village celebrating a religious festival. Watching the villagers dance, the tourists finally have “an authentic sight, a sight which is charming, quaint, picturesque, unspoiled.” Yet they still feel some dissatisfaction. Back home in Iowa, they gush about the experience to an ethnologist friend: You should have been there! You must come back with us! When the ethnologist does, in fact, return with them, “the couple do not watch the goings-on; instead they watch the ethnologist! Their highest hope is that their friend should find the dance interesting.” They need him to “certify their experience as genuine.”

The tourist is a deferential character. He outsources the vindication of his experiences to the ethnologist, to postcards, to conventional wisdom about what you are or are not supposed to do in a place. This deference, this “openness to experience,” is exactly what renders the tourist incapable of experience. Emerson confessed, “I seek the Vatican, and the palaces. I affect to be intoxicated with sights and suggestions, but I am not intoxicated.” He speaks for every tourist who has stood before a monument, or a painting, or a falcon, and demanded herself to feel something. Emerson and Percy help us understand why this demand is unreasonable: to be a tourist is to have already decided that it is not one’s own feelings that count. Whether an experience is authentically X is precisely what you, as a non-X, cannot judge.

A similar argument applies to the tourist’s impulse to honor the grand sea of humanity. Whereas Percy and Emerson focus on the aesthetic, showing us how hard it is for travellers to have the sensory experiences that they seek, Pessoa and Chesterton are interested in the ethical. They study why travellers can’t truly connect to other human beings. During my Paris wanderings, I would stare at people, intently inspecting their clothing, their demeanor, their interactions. I was trying to see the Frenchness in the French people around me. This is not a way to make friends.

Pessoa said that he knew only one “real traveller with soul”: an office boy who obsessively collected brochures, tore maps out of newspapers, and memorized train schedules between far-flung destinations. The boy could recount sailing routes around the world, but he had never left Lisbon. Chesterton also approved of such stationary travellers. He wrote that there was “something touching and even tragic” about “the thoughtless tourist, who might have stayed at home loving Laplanders, embracing Chinamen, and clasping Patagonians to his heart in Hampstead or Surbiton, but for his blind and suicidal impulse to go and see what they looked like.”

The problem was not with other places, or with the man wanting to see them, but with travel’s dehumanizing effect, which thrust him among people to whom he was forced to relate as a spectator. Chesterton believed that loving what is distant in the proper fashion—namely, from a distance—enabled a more universal connection. When the man in Hampstead thought of foreigners “in the abstract . . . as those who labour and love their children and die, he was thinking the fundamental truth about them.” “The human bond that he feels at home is not an illusion,” Chesterton wrote. “It is rather an inner reality.” Travel prevents us from feeling the presence of those we have travelled such great distances to be near.

The single most important fact about tourism is this: we already know what we will be like when we return. A vacation is not like immigrating to a foreign country, or matriculating at a university, or starting a new job, or falling in love. We embark on those pursuits with the trepidation of one who enters a tunnel not knowing who she will be when she walks out. The traveller departs confident that she will come back with the same basic interests, political beliefs, and living arrangements. Travel is a boomerang. It drops you right where you started.

If you think that this doesn’t apply to you—that your own travels are magical and profound, with effects that deepen your values, expand your horizons, render you a true citizen of the globe, and so on—note that this phenomenon can’t be assessed first-personally. Pessoa, Chesterton, Percy, and Emerson were all aware that travellers tell themselves they’ve changed, but you can’t rely on introspection to detect a delusion. So cast your mind, instead, to any friends who are soon to set off on summer adventures. In what condition do you expect to find them when they return? They may speak of their travel as though it were transformative, a “once in a lifetime” experience, but will you be able to notice a difference in their behavior, their beliefs, their moral compass? Will there be any difference at all?

Travel is fun, so it is not mysterious that we like it. What is mysterious is why we imbue it with a vast significance, an aura of virtue. If a vacation is merely the pursuit of unchanging change, an embrace of nothing, why insist on its meaning?

One is forced to conclude that maybe it isn’t so easy to do nothing—and this suggests a solution to the puzzle. Imagine how your life would look if you discovered that you would never again travel. If you aren’t planning a major life change, the prospect looms, terrifyingly, as “More and more of this , and then I die.” Travel splits this expanse of time into the chunk that happens before the trip, and the chunk that happens after it, obscuring from view the certainty of annihilation. And it does so in the cleverest possible way: by giving you a foretaste of it. You don’t like to think about the fact that someday you will do nothing and be nobody. You will only allow yourself to preview this experience when you can disguise it in a narrative about how you are doing many exciting and edifying things: you are experiencing, you are connecting, you are being transformed, and you have the trinkets and photos to prove it.

Socrates said that philosophy is a preparation for death. For everyone else, there’s travel. ♦

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October 23, 2022 By Lyndsay

Is New York Overrated?: 17+ Activities Most Tourists Don’t Know About

• 1 Is New York overrated?
• 2 What are tourist traps?
• 3.1 1. Take a boat tour around Manhattan
• 3.2 2. Climb to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty
• 3.3 3. Take the Tram over to Roosevelt Island
• 3.4 4. Explore world-renown art and artifacts at one of New York City’s incredible museums
• 3.5 5. Step back in time at the Cloisters
• 3.6 6. Watch a Broadway show
• 3.7 7. Spend a day lounging on the beach
• 3.8 8. Actually spend time exploring Central Park
• 3.9 9. Climb to the top of Outlook Hill on Governors Island
• 3.10 10. Take the Staten Island Ferry to the only outlet shopping mall in the city
• 3.11 11. Jump on the fun food trend
• 3.12 12. Binge-watch classic T.V. at the Paley Center for Media
• 3.13 13. Visit the 9/11 Memorial
• 3.14 14. Find your new favorite comedian at a comedy show
• 3.15 15. Catch a professional sports game
• 3.16 16. Be a studio audience member at your favorite live taping
• 3.17 17. Learn about what makes New York such an eclectic city on a full-day walking tour
• 4 Is New York Overrated?: Wrap-Up

This post may contain affiliate links! I will receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase something recommended here.

You’re thinking about the Big Apple as your next vacation destination, aren’t you?

And everyone you know has an opinion on it. It’s dangerous, there are too many people, everything is so expensive.

Yes, it has its problems, but it also has its charms. And I would argue that many issues stem from the fact that most visitors come expecting something else.

They come hoping for an adventure or romance, leaving empty-handed. They come looking for excitement, and they leave feeling overwhelmed.

Is New York overrated? No. It’s just… the reality is different than what most people expect.

Most tourists visit NYC thinking they know what they’re getting into. They arrive with preconceived notions about the city. If those aren’t met, they write the city off as “overrated.”

It’s a place where you can find anything. See a Broadway show, eat at a five-star restaurant, or climb to some of the tallest points in the Western Hemisphere.

Get your list of Free Activities in New York City

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase – the best things in life are free. Why not begin your adventures with this book of the best free activities in New York City!

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Is New York overrated?

No, New York City is definitely not overrated. With so much history, art, and culture throughout the city, it’s one of the most iconic cities in the world for a good reason. Although some areas and landmarks of NYC might not live up to the hype you had thought, it’s worth experiencing at least once .

Part of visiting a place like New York City has very high expectations–with good reason.

It feels like every famous, modern movie in a city features New York City . T.V. shows like Sex and the City, Seinfeld, and Gossip Girl have idealized the experience of life in NYC.

So, when you get to New York City and your authentic experience doesn’t meet your expectations, you feel let down and disappointed.

If you’re interested in learning more about this phenomenon, its technical name is the Paris syndrome.

“ Paris Syndrome is a sense of extreme disappointment exhibited by some individuals when visiting Paris, who feel that the city was not what they had expected. The condition is commonly viewed as a severe form of culture shock.” Wikipedia

If you’re worried that you’re going to get here and think that everything you’re seeing isn’t there are New York City areas, I recommend you avoid the tourist traps.

What are tourist traps?

New York is filled with something we like to call “tourist traps.”

When you tell someone you’re traveling to a bucket list place like New York City, the usual response is all the places you should go and things you should do when you get there.

More often than not, you will hear the same things over and over again.

Tourist Trap (n.): Varied by location, it is a distinction given to well-known sites or activities that are considered a “must-see” or “must-do” while traveling.

Tourist traps are known as such for a reason.

Usually, they’re sites that have some historical significance. Others are beautiful, unique places and landmarks that are highly photographed and set a visual distinction for your travels.

Unfortunately, as a site becomes increasingly popular, the surrounding neighborhood starts catering to the influx of tourists patronizing the place.

While this can be a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to flourish, it often becomes overrun with commercial companies trying to capitalize on the traffic.

Sometimes, the site itself ends up becoming commercialized.

It’s still worthwhile to visit tourist traps. They’ve gartered their notoriety for a reason, and regardless of their current state, it’s still a significant spot.

The real problem is if you spend all of your time jumping from one tourist trap to the next.

Although it’s technically true that you “saw the sights,” you end up missing out on experiencing the local business and the current culture and finding sites that connect and engage you now.

It might take some extra research to find, but accessing still authentic and local spots is just as incredibly worthwhile as visiting the landmarks.

I’ve found that experiencing tourist traps, hidden gems, and local places gives you the most well-rounded experience, and that’s what I’m after!

Top Underrated Experiences in New York City

Here are my favorite ways to experience this fantastic city, which most tourists don’t know about.

1. Take a boat tour around Manhattan

One of my favorite ways of experiencing New York City is from the water!

Imagine–immigrants coming to Ellis Island in the 19th and early 20th centuries arrived by boat. This is how they experienced the awesome city skyline for the first time themselves.

I recommend taking this architecture boat tour around Manhattan with Classic Harbor Line Cruises .

With an average of 4.9 out of 5 stars from more than 200 reviews, you’ll spend 2 hours on a 1920’s-style yacht cruising around New York Harbor.

Learn about the city’s iconic architecture from American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (AIANY) members and architects.

2. Climb to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty

If you’re looking for a unique experience in NYC , instead of just staring up at the Statue of Liberty from Liberty Island, climb to the top of her Crown and take in the view.

From this vantage point at one of the city’s best observatories , you can see the Manhattan skyline along with Brooklyn and Jersey City.

You must climb 168 steps from the elevator to reach Lady Liberty’s Crown, or 366 steps if you want to challenge yourself and take the stairs the whole way up.

If you know you want to visit the Crown at the Statue of Liberty, start searching for tickets as soon as possible to secure the opportunity during your trip because Crown tickets sell out months in advance.

Tickets to the Statue of Liberty, the Crown, and Ellis Island can only be purchased through CityExperiences, formerly Statue Cruises .

3. Take the Tram over to Roosevelt Island

This is one of my favorite summer activities in the city ! For the swipe of your MetroCard, you can ride the Roosevelt Island Tramway and soar above the East River to arrive at Roosevelt Island.

It was the first operating commuter aerial tramway in North America and drops you right in the center of the island (next to the Roosevelt Island F train stop, if you’d prefer to take the subway .)

Once you’re on the island, feel free to walk around.

Each end of the island has a different park; at the north end, you’ll find the historic apartment building Octagon Tower and Lighthouse Park, with its 1872 stone lighthouse standing tall next to the water.

Along the island’s south side, you can wander through Cornell University’s Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute and explore the ruins of the former Smallpox Memorial Hospital, built in 1864, in Four Freedoms Park .

4. Explore world-renown art and artifacts at one of New York City’s incredible museums

New York City offers some of the most famous museums in the world, filled with thousands of significant and iconic historical artifacts spanning thousands of years.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Guggenheim, The Whitney, and The Frick Collection are just a few of these incredible museums, along with many others.

But dozens of lesser-known museums and galleries are hidden throughout the city, offering unique experiences and collections worth exploring.

5. Step back in time at the Cloisters

The Cloisters, located in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, is a fascinating museum that transports visitors to Medieval Europe.

The museum, a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, houses almost 5,000 works of European art dating from the Byzantine period through the early Renaissance. The museum was created in the medieval European monastery style by architect Charles Collens.

Visitors can meander around the tranquil gardens and listen to the birds or pick up a guide and tour the museum grounds to discover everything it offers.

6. Watch a Broadway show

While seeing a Broadway show in Times Square is something most tourists know to do, they often go see a long-running hit like Chicago, Wicked, or Book of Mormon.

Although those are all great shows, some of the best Broadway performances I’ve ever seen were lesser-known shows that don’t receive as much hype or aren’t as famous as these long-running favorites.

If you’re ready to discover your next favorite musical, look at Playbill’s week show schedule and see what other productions are playing right now.

And then do a little research! YouTube will be your best friend for watching these excellent shows’ rehearsal and promotional footage in action.

When you’re ready to purchase tickets, check out my tips on buying Broadway tickets and other things you need to know before seeing a Broadway show.

7. Spend a day lounging on the beach

Did you know New York City has its own beach?! And not just one, mind you; all five boroughs have their own beautiful beach where you can enjoy a day in the sun!

A little more than a mile long, Orchard Beach is The Bronx’s only public beach.

Named after the 33rd U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and Beach are one of Staten Island’s larger beachfront areas.

While there are no beaches in Manhattan yet, construction has started on a new public beach on the Gansevoort Peninsula. While you won’t be able to swim in the water, you’ll be able to layout on sand without leaving the island.

My favorite New York beach is in Queens. Rockaway Beach is easily accessible by subway, and it’s a quick walk to the shoreline from the station. Make sure you stop at Mara’s Ice Cream Parlor for a sweet treat before heading back to the city center!

Brooklyn has several of New York City’s most famous beaches, like Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach Park, and Coney Island.

8. Actually spend time exploring Central Park

Chief among New York City’s beautiful parks is Central Park.

Most people only explore the southern sections of the park, which includes the Central Park Zoo, the Carousel, The Mall and Literary Walk, Bethesda Terrace, and Wollman Rink, one of my favorite NYC winter dates .

But have you explored the other landmarks in Central Park?

An Obelisk from ancient Egypt was erected in the park in 1881.

The Conservatory Garden with the Untermyer Fountain is a formal garden with three areas designed in a different historic style.

There’s even the North Woods Loch Waterfall, which you can only reach by walking through a heavily wooded area.

Fun Fact : Did you know Central Park was designed like the human mind? The idea is that thoughts are not linear; therefore, Central Park has no straight paths.

9. Climb to the top of Outlook Hill on Governors Island

One of my favorite places to visit when I’m spending the day alone in NYC is Governor’s Island. It has a rich history, vast parks, and a stunning view of New York Harbor.

The 172-acre island, known to the Lenape as Paggank, which translates to “Nut Island,” is a popular destination for people looking for a day away from the busy boroughs.

Take a bike ride along the 2.2-mile Promenade, picnic at Picnic Point, browse the galleries in the Arts Center, or stroll outside to see any of the island’s transforming public art.

Climb to the top of Outlook Hill for the view in the picture above. It’s a popular destination for New Yorkers now that it’s open all year.

Or, if you’re interested in staying overnight, you can book a glamping experience . Spoiler alert–I had a fantastic time, and it’s one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever done in NYC!

Ferries leave from The Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan daily and on weekends from Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Basin in Red Hook.

Adult tickets are $3, but children under the age of 12 are free, as do seniors over the age of 65, military members, NYCHA residents, IDNYC holders, and Governor’s Island members.

10. Take the Staten Island Ferry to the only outlet shopping mall in the city

The Staten Island Ferry runs from Battery Park in Manhattan to St. George on Staten Island. The 40-minute voyage is free and provides a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty.

Once you reach Staten Island, take a short stroll through the ferry terminal to the Empire Outlets, New York City’s only outdoor outlet shopping center.

You can spend a few hours here by checking out the stores and shopping with excellent views along the water!

11. Jump on the fun food trend

Amazing cities have amazing food. While overpriced food in the NYC’s biggest tourist destinations can lead you to believe that New York City’s food scene is overrated, that can’t be further from the truth.

The hard truth is, if you’re going to eat at Olive Garden or the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square along with the other hoards of tourists, be prepared for exorbitantly high food prices and, potentially, a mild touch of food poisoning.

Instead, check out some of New York City’s phenomenal restaurants featuring ethnic cuisines and innovative food products you can’t find at home. 

Exclusive dining experiences like One if by Land, Two if by Sea in Greenwich Village, or Eleven Madison Park next to Madison Square Park.

Although I’m partial to New Haven -style apizza, no one can debate that NYC has some amazing pizza too. The New York pizza style also comes from Italian-American roots.

Check out Lucali or Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn, Zero Otto Nove in The Bronx’s Little Italy, Numero 28 in the West Village, Angelo’s Coal Oven Pizzeria just below Central Park, or Kesté in Lower Manhattan for some of the city’s best pizza.

And don’t get me started on desserts! Visit Magnolia Bakery for its banana pudding, Chip City or Schmackary’s for their cookies, Mom’s Kitchen and Bar for milkshakes, and the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory for small-batch ice cream.

12. Binge-watch classic T.V. at the Paley Center for Media

The Paley Center for Media is a museum where you can rewatch your favorite T.V. shows, radio broadcasts, and even tapes from previous Olympic Games.

The Museum of Broadcasting, located immediately outside Rockefeller Center, was created in 1975. The Paley Center for Media was renamed in 2007 to incorporate all types of media entertainment, such as television, radio, film, streaming, podcasting, and more.

You’ll start by browsing The Archives, a database containing over 160,000 recorded broadcasts. Then once you’ve decided on a show to watch, you can sit back and watch it alone or in a small group of up to four people.

Admission is free for the first 1.5 hours, although a recommended donation is appreciated.

Insider Tip: Visit the Paley Center for Media for one of their many scheduled screening events on one of their theater-sized screens. Their films are also free, but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, so arrive early.

13. Visit the 9/11 Memorial

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum is one of the most powerful places you can visit in New York City.

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the area known as Ground Zero was transformed into the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

The Reflecting Pools are positioned where the original Twin Towers originally stood. Visitors can walk around and see the names of those who died on 9/11 and in the World Trade Center bombing of 1993. Visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Survivor Tree, and the Memorial Glade.

You can choose to walk the grounds on your own and then head into the museum or learn the in-depth history of the day’s events by taking a guided walking tour.

14. Find your new favorite comedian at a comedy show

As famous as Broadway is, NYC is also one of the most incredible destinations to watch up-and-coming comedy talents and well-known comedians.

And, with many of the world’s most renowned comedians getting their start in New York, you never know who will turn up to try out new stuff in an impromptu performance.

• Comedy Cellar – Found in Greenwich Village since 1982, this is one of the most famous comedy bars in the city. They have several shows a night , and the cover is only $25 to reserve your ticket to a show.
• Gotham Comedy Club – This Chelsea club opened in 1996 and has been a staple in the NYC comedy scene ever since. In addition to an excellent line-up, they have top-notch pub food and offer more than 30 different types of vodka.
• Caroline’s on Broadway – Up in Midtown in the Theater District, Caroline’s has been home to excellent comedy since 1982. The club also produces one of the best fall festivals in NYC , the New York Comedy Festival.
• The Stand – Over in Gramercy Park on the east side of Manhattan, The Stand is a relatively new addition to the NYC comedy circuit.

15. Catch a professional sports game

Want to root root root for the home team? If you don’t go, it’s a shame * wink *

New York City has several sports teams encompassing all seasons, so you can catch a home game at one of the city’s stadiums.

For baseball, we have the New York Yankees and the Mets.

We have the NHL New York Rangers and the Long Islanders for hockey.

For basketball, we have the New York Knicks and Nets.

And for football, we have the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets.

16. Be a studio audience member at your favorite live taping

To fill their theaters, many of your favorite shows that film in front of a live studio audience in New York City have free ticket policies. However, tickets are routinely issued and snapped up months in advance.

If you’re able to plan that far ahead, you should be able to get tickets to your favorite show’s taping. Check 1iota or TVTaping to see what shows have available tickets, and reserve your spot.

You can also attempt securing a stand-by ticket if you’re prepared to get up and stand outside from early morning until late afternoon.

17. Learn about what makes New York such an eclectic city on a full-day walking tour

New York City offers some of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world. From Chinatown to Little Italy, Greenwich Village to Harlem, there’s no shortage of unique places to visit.

And because New York is such a large city, you can easily spend days exploring its many neighborhoods.

But where should you begin? One of those overlooked gems is a walking tour.

You’ll learn the history behind some of the city’s most famous landmarks, and have an opportunity to ask a local, licensed guide for additional recommendations to make the most of your time in NYC.

This 6-hour walking tour covers almost all of Manhattan, starting in Times Square and working your way down the island.

Pro Tip : Remember – tip your tour guides!

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Is New York Overrated?: Wrap-Up

OK, do I think New York City is overrated? Absolutely not. NYC is iconic for a reason.

This city has played a role in some of our modern history’s most important world events.

It’s filled with groundbreaking landmarks, incredible art and culture, and history on literally every street corner .

So before you go, read about this unbelievable city. Take advantage of all the different resources I offer here on The Purposely Lost to learn about things to do in New York City for all different seasons and interests.

While yes, there are some tourist trap attractions that you should avoid in favor of some lesser-known options, everyone needs to come to experience the Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps, the Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of, at least once in their lifetime.

Then, when you return home, reflect on your trip. Nothing’s perfect, so what was to be desired? What exceeded your expectations? What can’t you wait to do again?

Once you’ve done that, you’ll realize there’s nowhere like New York City.

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Philosopher sparks outrage with essay about why people shouldn’t travel: ‘Very elitist’

‘travel is a boomerang. it drops you right where you started,’ she writes, article bookmarked.

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A philosopher has sparked outrage after detailing why she believes people shouldn’t travel .

On 24 June, The New Yorker published an essay written by philosophy professor Agnes Callard, in which she outlined her argument against travelling. In the essay, Callard claimed that, while some may argue that travel “lifts us into an enlightened state,” that is not always be the case.

“Travel gets branded as an achievement: see interesting places, have interesting experiences, become interesting people. Is that what it really is?” she wrote.

In the essay, Callard then claimed that, although travelling is an opportunity to “experience a change,” it frequently leaves people “unchanged”. To backup her argument, she reflected on a trip she took to Abu Dhabi, during which she “went on a guided tour of a falcon hospital,” despite having “no interest in falconry or falcons”.

“But the falcon hospital was one of the answers to the question: ‘What does one do in Abu Dhabi?’” she wrote. “I suspect that everything about the falcon hospital, from its layout to its mission statement, is and will continue to be shaped by the visits of people like me - we unchanged changers, we tourists.”

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As for why it may be “bad” for a place to be shaped by tourists, Callard claimed that it’s because travellers “not only do not know what they are doing, but [they] are not even trying to learn”.

According to Callard, the issue with tourists engaging in tourist activities is that, often, individuals choose to see these places despite not having an interest in them in their day-to-day lives. “If you are going to see something you neither value nor aspire to value, you are not doing much of anything besides locomoting,” she wrote.

“When you travel, you suspend your usual standards for what counts as a valuable use of time... After all, you say to yourself, the whole point of travelling is to break out of the confines of everyday life,” she continued. “But, if you usually avoid museums, and suddenly seek them out for the purpose of experiencing a change, what are you going to make of the paintings? You might as well be in a room full of falcons.”

Callard then shared what she claimed to be an important realisation about travel - that we “already know what we will be like when we return” - before noting that this means a vacation will likely not change us in the same way that a major life moment, like starting a new job, falling in love, or moving to a new country, will.

“We embark on those pursuits with the trepidation of one who enters a tunnel not knowing who she will be when she walks out. The traveller departs confident that she will come back with the same basic interests, political beliefs, and living arrangements,” she wrote. “Travel is a boomerang. It drops you right where you started.”

According to Callard, although travelling may be “fun,” it is not “mysterious” like some may suggest, with the philosopher arguing that what is mysterious is “why we imbue it with a vast significance”.

“If a vacation is merely the pursuit of unchanging change, an embrace of nothing, why insist on its meaning?” she questioned.

However, according to Callard, most individuals aren’t self-aware enough to realise this about their own travels, so she encouraged readers to consider the vacations of their friends, who may argue that they’ve returned from a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” but who are ultimately unchanged.

She asked: “Will you be able to notice a difference in their behaviour, their beliefs, their moral compass? Will there be any difference at all?”

Callard concluded her essay by claiming that travelling is merely a way of splitting time into “chunks,” and that travel experiences are “disguised” into a narrative about doing “exciting” things. “You are experiencing, you are connecting, you are being transformed, and you have the trinkets and photos to prove it,” she wrote, before arguing that travel distracts from the idea that “that someday you will do nothing and be nobody”.

The essay has since gone viral on Twitter, where many readers have accused Callard of having an “entitled” take on travel, while others argued that they have gained new perspectives through visiting different places.

“I disagree with Callard on almost every point,” one person wrote. “Travel is uncertainty, it is a new challenge, it is virtue training in frustration, there are valuable moments of peace and of awe, it requires learning. Obscures the certainty of annihilation? Blessedly, yes.”

“Didn’t even realise there could be a rich, entitled take on *opposing* travelling. Use a bunch of centuries-old, decontextualised quotes to complain about this incredible privilege of experience but never once mention the actual barrier: finance? Amazing,” another person wrote.

A third wrote: “This is a bleak read. Travel opens your horizons, makes you appreciate that ‘your world’ isn’t ‘the world’. Dunno, sometimes the impulse to be counterintuitive and dislike what the masses like is very elitist. What’s next: the case against pop music. Why enjoying life is bad.”

One person suggested something missing in Callard’s essay about the reasons for travelling, writing: “It seems like the possibility of talking to people was excluded here to begin with. But some of us actually talk to people when we travel! Whether or not travel or anything else makes us more virtuous is a question, but some things you don’t learn from a reason schedule.”

While most of the reactions to the essay were negative, some readers agreed with Callard’s argument about what the current state of travel is, and what it could mean.

“Callard’s piece is important. A good number of influential people substitute the experience of travelling for introspection,” one person wrote.

“Agnes Callard comes at it from the wrong angle here but there is actually some truth in it,” another added. “The relatively easy mobility of contemporary tourism creates a false sheen of cosmopolitanism, and a feeling of emptiness as a result.”

Speaking to The Independent , Callard said that, while travel can be a transformative experience, “the question is whether, with a given activity, we tend to overestimate its transformative power”. After her essay was published, she also noted that there’s a “caveat” to her argument about travelling, which she shared on Twitter .

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“Spent this morning in an argument, the result of which was me conceding that the claims in the piece prob apply better to older travellers (precisely the sort who would assert, ‘I love to travel’) than to young people, for whom I grant travel is more likely to be transformative,” she wrote.

When contacted by The Independent , The New Yorker declined to comment.

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Overrated New York Attractions (And Their Underrated Alternatives)

by: Matthew Sheahan

August 17, 2014

For the tourist, and many of the locals, New York is a series of attractions and experiences that everyone must check off of their bucket list in order to consider their New York experience authentic or complete. But there are some things that are overrated and that resident and tourist alike should move to the bottom of their list.

Let’s make not being a sucker one of the authentic New York experiences once again. Here are five overrated New York attractions that get way too much attention, along with some more reasonable alternatives:

The Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is a beautiful monument to the enduring symbol of freedom America is to the world. However, visiting Lady Liberty means paying a shyster ferry company for an overpriced ticket out there, standing in a long line to go through TSA-style incompetent security care of the U.S. Park Police, and then riding to Liberty Island where you can wait in another long line if you want to get to the top of the statue’s crown. Once you get up there, you’ll have a few seconds in front of a small window before you are hustled on your way. It’s not worth the money or the time out of your life. As an alternative, the Staten Island Ferry is absolutely free, requires no strip search, and will get you within great photograph distance of both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Brick Oven Pizza.   Hipsters and tourists stand in long lines and pay high prices for pizza that is burned, unevenly cooked, and gives you less of everything. Somewhere a mob-connected pizza scammer is laughing until he wets his creased chino pants. Go ahead and wait hours for your sucky overpriced pizzas and brag to your friends how you pretended to enjoy the thin crust and the flimsy layer of “artisanal” cheese. Meanwhile, any real neighborhood pizza place will get you a delicious slice or pie for a good price. Here’s an effective litmus test of any New York pizza place: if it doesn’t have parmesan cheese for you to sprinkle on your pizza, walk away.

The Central Park Zoo. Every zoo in New York that isn’t the Bronx Zoo is playing second fiddle to that fine animal kingdom. The Central Park Zoo gets lots of foot traffic because of its location but it’s overrated and doesn’t have as much to offer as its counterpart in Queens. People are too enthralled with being in the heart of Manhattan to notice that the zoo they paid for sucks. Take the 7 train to Queens and you can experience the Queens Zoo in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The Queens Zoo is half the price of the Central Park Zoo and has more to offer.

Thanksgiving Eve Balloon Inflation Stampede. The night before Thanksgiving, thousands upon thousands of New Yorkers, tourists and their children make their way to the Upper West Side to see the Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons before the parade. While it’s a relatively mild, family-friendly mob scene, it’s still a mob scene that requires you to pack into a small area where you have no choice but to follow the slow moving crowd. The balloons are inflated but kept under nets at odd angles. This might make for some unintended comedy. It might look like the Buzz Lightyear balloon is being fellated by Pikachu and that might be hilarious, but it’s not hours of being herded like cattle hilarious, and you can’t expect your children to find that funny if you’re a parent. Wait until the Big Apple Circus comes to your borough and take the kids to see that. There will be some impressive talent and you can save Thanksgiving Eve for preparing for Thanksgiving.

Fancy cupcake shops. I like cupcakes as much as the next guy, but any bakery not run by blind monkeys can churn out delicious cupcakes. How a few choice cupcake stores have made everyone whore themselves out for their goods is beyond me. I was at a catered event and had a cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery. It was good, but so were cupcakes I had from school bake sales and every other bakery I’ve been to. For a good New York dessert experience, go to the Lemon Ice King of Corona in Corona, Queens. It is a famous place but it’s far enough away from Manhattan that you’ll have a real New York experience and not be a fool.

One Response to “Overrated New York Attractions (And Their Underrated Alternatives)”

Helen griffin.

I worked for a while in an internet cafe–and got to meet lots of tourist, and I agree, unless you have documented family that passed through Ellis Island, it and statue of liberty are an expensive waste of time. But there are other great things (free or low cost)–like the public library at 42nd street–It more of a biblio museum than a library, and well worth a visit. Walking across any bridge is a good choice, too. Brooklyn bridge is very popular, but a walk across the GeorgeWashington? spectacular. The North(aka Hudson) River is really a fjord, and you can easily see that from the walkways. Your old stomping grounds (Inwood Park and Fort Tyron park and Cloisters) are great–too. They give a glimpse into NY past–and if you are staying in NY for more than 5 days, a MUST see is the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. Virgin forest, green house delights, a museum–and all easily accessable via public transport. I love Manhattan, and it has many wonderful things to see, but Every borough has charm.

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What’s overrated and underrated in NYC?

We declare what deserves more of the spotlight and what should people seriously calm the hell down about

New York is the best at, like, everything. Pizza , nightlife , dining ...you name it. Okay, so maybe we’re not great at the whole modesty thing. But just because something here gets a lot of attention and buzz doesn’t necessarily mean it’s tops. (Don’t tell your Instagram-famous friend—you’ll break her heart.) So we decided to cut through the incessant “everything is awesome” chatter to break down the things that are truly worth the accolades and the ones that need to get over themselves. Try not to spill your unicorn milkshake, NYC, and prepare yourself for some piping-hot takes.

RECOMMENDED: F ull guide to the best things to do in NYC

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• 10 Of The Most Overrated Tourist Spots In New York City

• Travelers who invest vacation time and money do not want to waste either when they are exploring New York City.
• The Empire State Building, once famous and the tallest in the world, is now dwarfed by its skyscraper neighbors.
• Admission to skate on Rockefeller Center is around $40 per person, and you will likely wait in line for quite awhile

The “City that Never Sleeps” has 24/7 tourist attractions, and it would probably take years to experience every one of them. Locals have the opportunity to pick and choose, and finding one bad apple in the bunch is disappointing but not disastrous. Travelers who invest vacation time and money do not want to waste either when they are exploring New York City . For some, they will only get once chance to visit here.

You may have your heart set on visiting some of the City’s most renowned tourist spots, but learning about which ones are worth your efforts before making plans is the smartest way to travel. Here are 10 that you may be better of skipping.

10. Central Park

Central Park has its good points and can seem like a nature sanctuary in the middle of all that concrete and glass. The problem is that it becomes packed with tourists, joggers, horse-drawn carriages, and horse droppings. It is also easy for rookies to get lost here, especially since the exits can be hard to locate. If you do decide to venture out here, be sure to do it while it is still light out. Being in Central Park after dark could be risky.

9. The Museum of Natural History

This children’s museum can also get quite crowded, so you may have to face long lines and cranky company. It is located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan , and adult ticket prices range from $23 to $33 (kids ages two to 12 range from $13 to $20). Exhibits can be closed due to renovations, and some guests have complained that the lighting was poor and things were a bit dusty. It can also be easy to get lost here, and you have to pay extra to see certain exhibits. There are newer museums in the City, some with more interactive areas for families.

8. Greenwich Village

Back in the day, “The Village” was the place to go for trendy cafes, eclectic shops, interesting characters, and cool music venues. These tree-lined streets have changed over the years, with small businesses moving out and more generic ones moving in. There are still a few good spots here, though, and the yearly Village Halloween Parade is amazing.

7. The Empire State Building

This famous building , once the tallest in the world, is now dwarfed by its skyscraper neighbors. It costs a pretty penny ($30) to take the trip up to the observation deck, too. Sometimes the lines are pretty long to get up there, and once you do, you have to share the space with many other folks. The panoramic view is also hampered by suicide prevention glass that is there to keep everyone safe.

6. The Museum of Modern Art

Located in Midtown Manhattan, The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) is one of the most popular museums in the City. It is hard to navigate through, especially when it is crowded. Its exhibits have been described as unimaginative, with pieces just “hanging on the walls.”

5. Rockefeller Centre Ice Rink

As one of the most famous ice-skating rinks in the world, Rockefeller Centre Ice Rink can get very busy at the height of the season. Admission is around $40 per person, and you will likely wait in line for quite a while before getting up to the booth. The rink fits about 150 skaters, which limits the amount of space. You and your family or friends may also end up spending most of your time on the ice dodging other people who are coming at you from all directions.

4. Dylan’s Candy Bar

Dylan’s Candy Bar is huge and has more than 7,000 kinds of candy that come from all over the globe. After 2001 it expanded to include an apparel section, gift shop, café, and private party rooms. It also has a cocktail bar, with touristy drinks like the Jolly Rancher Cosmo and a Strawberry Nerd Mojito. Critics claim that it is overpriced and packed with tourists.

3. Opentop Buses

You see them in most tourist-packed cities: the dreaded open-top bus. A ride usually costs around 30 bucks, and the buses shuttle travelers around Manhattan while a guide reads from a script. Rather than being able to go into shops, eateries, and landmarks, you will be viewing all from above. Plus, if you are seated close to an obnoxious person, the whole experience can prove to be quite uncomfortable.

2. Junior’s

If you Google “ cheesecake ” and “New York City,” Junior’s Restaurant and Bakery is one of the first hits. Though the food and décor are decent, real New Yorkers do not eat here except for the cheesecake once in a while. Most New York eateries that serve cheesecake have the New York version anyway, and many are even better than Junior’s.

1. Times Square

Times Square can be one of the busiest places on the planet, and everywhere you look, someone is trying to sell you something. All of those billboards and screens can be impressive at first, but there is no substance beneath the style. On top of that, there are stragglers who try to sell their wares on the street, plus sneaky pickpockets. The chain restaurants and shops here are some of the same you can find in your own cities, but with higher-prices goods and services. It can also get so crowded that you may not even be able to move for minutes at a time!

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Every tourist in New York City makes these 11 mistakes

We know we're far from the first to tell you this, but New York City is a special place. It has just about everything its 8.4 million residents could ask for — on top of the nearly 50 million who come to visit every year. And if you're one of them, well, we have some words of wisdom for you. You don't want to be one of those tourists who ends up on Overheard New York , do you?

New York, like every other city on Earth, has its own customs and etiquette. And as a born and raised New Yorker from Long Island who has lived in Manhattan for five years now, I can assure you, I've seen visitors (and locals) make these mistakes in the city at least once.

So, you want to experience the Big Apple like an expert? Top up your MetroCard, pack your comfiest shoes, order a cup of black coffee from the first street vendor you see and avoid these common tourist mistakes in New York City.

For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter .

Walking too slow — and other violations

Haven't you heard? We're in a rush to get somewhere. There's no quicker way to infuriate a New Yorker than ambling along the sidewalk — or worse, walking three abreast with your family. If you need to take a selfie, get your bearings or have a conversation with meaningful eye contact, step over to the side against a building or duck into the first cafe you see.

No matter where you are or where you're going in the city, the key here is just to be mindful of the space around you, because there really isn't that much of it to go around. In addition to keeping pace on the sidewalks, make sure you're not walking against the foot traffic, or standing on the wrong side of the escalator. (Hint: If you're going to stand on an escalator, be sure you're on the right. If you're chatting with people, you still need to be in a single-file line. Otherwise, save the conversation for after you're off the escalator.)

Waiting for the traffic light to change to cross the sidewalk

We're not telling you to get hit by a car or anything, but be strategic. You won't see many New Yorkers waiting for a walk signal if the road is free of oncoming traffic. We're all in a hurry, remember?

Related: A beginner's guide to New York City

Wearing uncomfortable shoes

If you're planning on walking, wear comfortable shoes. And even if you're not planning on walking, wear comfortable shoes. You don't want to be that person who has to walk 20 blocks back to your hotel after a day of sightseeing, do you?

We know, you packed all your favorite Carrie Bradshaw-inspired pumps. But we'll let you in on a little secret: Most of us keep a spare pair of shoes in our bag. Nothing will make you look like more of a New York pro than whipping out a pair of collapsible flats or sneakers from the depths of your bag.

Taking cars everywhere

Sure, hailing a yellow cab at least once is a great New York City experience, but we New Yorkers typically prefer to walk or take the subway. Your wallet will thank you, and honestly, it's usually the much faster way to get where you're going . Even relying on Uber or Lyft can be expensive and a waste of time, especially during rush hour. You know why they say a New York minute is an instant now, right?

Oh, and while we're at it: Don't get on an empty subway car. Just don't, and thank us later.

Spending time in Times Square

Yes, we know it's loud and colorful, but it's also underwhelming and overstimulating. If you're dying to see Times Square, just make sure you have a game plan. We recommend a drink at The Knickerbocker — the view from high above is far more pleasant than being in the thick of it sometimes — and, of course, a show on Broadway.

Eating at the nearest restaurant

Or even worse, a chain (looking at you, Olive Garden in Times Square). You're in New York, for crying out loud! Some sources say there are more than 27,000 restaurants in New York City, and you'll find everything from fine dining to knockout dishes from every imaginable cuisine.

Unless you want to wait in line, try to snag a table in advance using the restaurant booking service Resy or OpenTable, which now lets you redeem OpenTable Dining Points for hotel stays through Kayak . If that fails, the Amex Concierge is going to be your best bet. Select American Express cardholders have access to this special service that will help you with tours, events and yes, even hard-to-get restaurant reservations.

Paying full price for entertainment

Yes, New York City is one of the most expensive places on Earth. No, you don't need to sell a kidney to have a great time. There are so many ways to have an incredible, entertainment-filled trip without having to drain your savings account.

You can find deeply discounted, same-day Broadway tickets at the TKTS booths in Times Square, South Street Seaport and Lincoln Center, or try your luck in a digital lottery. If you're interested in the city's art, culture and history institutions (trust me, you are) you can prioritize pay-as-you-wish museums such or schedule your visit during free times. And instead of paying a premium for a harbor tour, you can enjoy the same views of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty for free by boarding the Staten Island Ferry for free instead.

Related: The 12 best things to do in New York City for free

Staying in Manhattan

Sure, a lot of the flashy, iconic New York City attractions are on the island of Manhattan. But you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you don't venture out and explore at least one other borough.

If you're craving Italian food, for example, spend a day exploring the Bronx — or take a global food tour just by crossing over into Queens. And you could spend days exploring Brooklyn (you can even walk across the Brooklyn or Williamsburg bridges to get there), which is filled with incredible restaurants, sprawling parks and exceptional museums and entertainment venues.

Only eating pizza and bagels

Yes, we like our pizza and bagels here, but there are so many other amazing foods you should be eating, too. You name it, and we got it. It's possible to travel the world just by exploring some of New York City's neighborhoods, including Chinatown, Koreatown and Little Italy. But if your heart is set on pizza and bagels, please don't wait in line for either (looking at you, Ess-a-Bagel).

Pronouncing Houston Street like the city

Repeat after us: "How-stun Street." This is important to know, especially if you're headed to tourist hotspots in the Lower East Side like Katz's or Russ and Daughters.

Thinking life here is like "Sex and the City" or "Friends"

Don't get us wrong, we love these shows — and also love this crazy city . But don't come here under the assumption we're all walking around in giant apartments (with walk-in closets!), going for brunch every day and only showing up to our jobs for three hours, once or twice a week. Sounds nice, but not gonna happen.

And please, whatever you do, stop with the selfie sticks .

Additional reporting by Melanie Lieberman.

Don't Go There: My Top 10 Overrated Travel Experiences

By Sascha Segan

Here at Frommer's, we pride ourselves on not only telling you what to do, but what not to do. Every one of our books has a little "overrated" tag that we attach to experiences we don't feel come up to our standards. This article is not a compilation of those overrated experiences; rather, it's one travel writer's assessment of ten things around the world to stay away from, or at least to be wary of. As always, New York is a little bit overrepresented in the list, because I live here. But there's plenty of derision to go around.

Clear. In the nervous months after Sept. 11, everybody had to show up at the airport hours in advance. So a $199 card that let people jump security lines sounded like a great idea. Until the security lines got much shorter. Then the TSA stepped in, and said that Clear card holders have to go through the same slow, humiliating sock-and-belt-removal process that everyone else does. And eight years after Sept. 11, the card still only works at around two dozen airports. That $199 card is looking like just a pretty piece of plastic. Pity you can't use your $199 to bribe the TSA agents to let you keep your shoes on.

Harajuku, Tokyo . I knew Harajuku was finished once Gwen Stefani started toting oddly dressed Japanese girls around the world, apparently as pets. Years ago, Harajuku was the center of a fascinatingly edgy youth culture in Tokyo focused on dressing up in wild costumes. Not any more. Now it's an overcrowded shopping area of overpriced midrange fashion, with a corner where tourists take pictures of preening teenagers. It's over.

New York's Little Italy . At least the "little" is accurate. A hundred years ago, a proud Italian neighborhood stretched across much of lower Manhattan. That neighborhood is gone. Totally gone. On one block of Mulberry Street, there are a bunch of mediocre, hideous tourist-trap red sauce restaurants that exist solely because tourists insist on imagining there's a "little Italy" left in Manhattan. There is none. It is a Potemkin village, a tourist trap, and the food is generally pretty bad to boot. If you need to do something in the former Little Italy, get a coffee at Ferrara's, which at least won't sour your palate with cheap tomato sauce.

Restaurant Weeks. All around the world, restaurants get together to offer three-course meals at a fixed price a few times a year. This seems like a good deal, until you realize that the meal you actually want isn't on the "restaurant week" menu, and even though it's lower than the usual price, it's still more than you want to spend. Congratulations: you just overspent your budget on something you didn't actually want to order.

The Carnegie Deli in New York City. This New York landmark long ago got intoxicated with its own fame. The result: lousy service, overpriced food, and sandwiches that are too big for any person to actually eat. You'd think an overstuffed sandwich would be a great thing, but it's really just a waste of pastrami. Oh, and look around you: there's not a New Yorker in the place! Katz's and the Second Avenue Deli are far superior in terms of prices, seating, ambiance and even food.

The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace . Guy leaves box. Guy enters box. Why were we all waiting there exactly? Let's go get a pint.

The Sears Tower in Chicago. So you think, like, it's the tallest building in America, right? That's what everyone else thinks, so the lines are punishing. You wait on line, and you wait on line, and at the end of the very long wait, the view isn't as good as the one at the John Hancock building . Whoops.

The Wynn /Encore Hotel, Las Vegas. This pair of luxury hotels in Las Vegas are so bland, they make me weep. A good Vegas casino-hotel has an over-the-top theme -- the Bellagio does marvels with marble, the Venetian has Venice, and the Palms is bedecked with half-naked reality TV starlets. The Wynn is so aggressively unthemed, you lose mental focus when you're inside. Now connected to the equally unthemed Encore, it becomes acres of bland forgettability, a casino-hotel designed as something out of a high end Macau corporate office park. For the prices you're paying at these places, you should get some imagination. And maybe even a little sense of humor.

Vancouver. "Blandcouver" looks great on TV, where it often masquerades as other, more interesting cities. This Canadian metropolis is indeed like many other places, just duller. I actually heard a Vancouverite call their city "diverse" and "cosmopolitan" when what they mean is "we have some Chinese people as well as the Anglo-Canadians." Anyone who thinks Vancouver is cosmopolitan has never been south or east of Portland. Most of Vancouver's other attributes, meanwhile, are seen in better form in either Portland, Seattle, or San Francisco. Spend your time in Victoria instead, or Whistler, or, heck, Nanaimo. If you insist upon going, try our much more enthusiastic destination guide .

Venice, Italy. The biggest, smelliest tourist trap in the world was once a proud city, one of the commercial capitals of the world. That was hundreds of years ago. Now almost nobody lives there, and the place is mobbed by tourists. Because the entire economy consists of tourists who leech off of Venice's history, everything is overpriced. You're ten times as likely to meet forty British people following a guide with an open umbrella than a Venetian in Venice. Our official guide, of course, finds a lot to love; check it out at our destination guide .

Which travel experiences do you think are overrated? Tell us in the comment field below.

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Overrated Vs. Underrated New York City

New York City , United States Travel / April 30, 2016 by fulltimeexplorer / 3 Comments

Have you ever visited a city and heard about something a million times. Then you finally see it and think “that’s it?” Later, you end up stumbling upon something you’ve never heard of and it was way better? Well, it happens to me all the time when I’m in other cities. So, I thought I’d share the inside scoop on NYC. There are so many places that are in movies, on Pinterest, etc. and we become so obsessed with going to those specific places that we get tunnel vision. The main tourist attractions are great, but sometimes they’re overcrowded, overpriced, and frankly a little overrated. Here’s a list of other options to try when visiting the big apple.

Overrated & Underrated Museum

Overrated Museum: MOMA

Underrated Museum: The Whitney

Known for it’s modern art, MOMA is one of the most popular museums in NYC. Sadly, it’s overrun with tourists (no offense), and it’s hard to navigate. The exhibits are kind of just there, hanging on the walls. Large brightly colored slabs that are supposed to make you feel all the feels. I went to the Whitney Museum recently as part of my NY Pass post , and was extremely exhausted when I arrived. After entering the museum, I quickly became obsessed and ended up walking through the whole museum where there were interactive exhibits and art that popped off the walls.

Overrated & Underrated View

Overrated View: Empire State Building

Underrated View: Top of the Rock

Everyone comes to Manhattan and feels the need to go to the top of the Empire State Building. The only problem is that it’s one of the most iconic buildings in the NYC skyline, and when you are standing on it, you can’t see it. Hence, why Top of the Rock is the better choice. Both roofs cost the same amount, except most people don’t think to go to Rock Center for the view. It’s less crowded, the deck is bigger, there are multiple levels, and guess what? You can see the Empire State Building!

Overrated & Underrated Pop Culture Exhibit

Overrated Pop Culture Exhibit: Discovery Times Square

Underrated Pop Culture Exhibit: The SNL Exhibit

I constantly see adds for Discovery Times Square and always feel like I want to go. I finally made it and was a little disappointed. It was insanely crowded with little room to move. Also, as a local, I try to avoid Times Square like the plague. I saw The Hunger Games exhibit and was less than impressed. Try the SNL exhibit instead. It walks you through how the show is made in a week. I don’t actually watch SNL, but have seen the iconic scenes on YouTube. Even as an outsider to the cult phenomenon, I enjoyed every second of the exhibit and could recognize most of the characters.

Overrated & Underrated Bakery Item

Overrated Bakery Item: Cronut at Dominique Ansel Bakery

Underrated Bakery Item: Creme Brulee Donut at The Doughnut Plant

I’m going to be honest here and say that I have never waited online for a cronut, so I can’t speak to the flavor. As far as waiting hours on a line for a pastry… don’t bother. New York City has some of the best bakeries in the US. Why wait at this one? Check out the Doughnut Plant which has been featured on the Food Network and is a local favorite. I recommend the Creme Brulee doughnut which is my personal fav, but they have a variety including rose petal, peanut butter and jelly, tres leche, carrot cake, etc. They are literally the best doughnuts I’ve ever tasted.

Overrated & Underrated Brunch

Overrated Brunch: Balthazar

Underrated Brunch: Le Grainne Cafe

There are a lot of brunch spots that have a line out the door, and claim to be the best brunch in NYC. I can honestly say that I have been disappointed by most of them. The best brunches I’ve ever had were in super tiny places with tons of charm. Check out Le Grainne Cafe in Chelsea, Home in the West Village, Atrium in DUMBO, or Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn. I guarantee you’ll love the charm of these little places so much more than the overrated eggs benedict at places like Balthazaar in SOHO and Bryant Park Grill in Midtown.

Overrated & Underrated Park

Overrated Park: Central Park

Underrated Park: Brooklyn Bridge Park

Yes, Central Park is in every movie, and yes it is gorgeous. But it’s also crowded and very hard to navigate. It was actually designed to get people lost which can be fun at times. It can also be annoying when you can’t find an exit and suddenly find yourself 30 blocks in the wrong direction. My favorite park is actually Brooklyn Bridge Park . I discovered it when I moved to DUMBO and fell in love. It’s increasing in popularity, but it’s not nearly as overrun as Central Park. It has an incredible view of downtown Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge, and you can even see the Statue of Liberty. Plus, there’s amazing ice cream shops, kayaking, basketball courts, and more!

Overrated & Underrated Ceiling

Overrated Ceiling: Grand Central

Underrated Ceiling: NY Public Library on 42nd St

I’ll admit, I’m a huge fan of Grand Central, but it’s also a train station which means that most people are in a rush, and half of those people are in a bad mood. If you’re going to stop by, go after rush hour around 8 or 9 pm. Prior to that, it’s a mess. Right around the corner from Grand Central is the incredible 42nd Street Library. While most people take photos out front, very few explore inside. It has incredible ceilings that look as though they belong in a cathedral in Venice. If you want to skip the crowds and angry commuters, check out the peaceful library instead.

Overrated & Underrated Pizza

Overrated Pizza: Grimaldi’s

Underrated Pizza: Patsy’s

I am not a fan of waiting on lines… unless it’s Black Friday in which case game on! But I digress. Waiting on line for one hour for the best pizza in New York City seems crazy. There is literally pizza on every corner, and to be honest I didn’t think Grimaldi’s was that great. It’s not even owned by the legendary Grimaldi’s anymore. In fact, the little place next door named Julianna’s is owned by the real Grimaldi’s. However, there is usually a wait outside of both of these rivalries doors. Patsy’s which is also associated with the famous family has pizza which is just as good, if not better, and guess what? Never a line or wait. There are several throughout the city and they are one of my go to restaurants for an affordable meal.

Overrated & Underrated Museum for Kids

Overrated Museum for Kids: Museum of Natural History

Underrated Museum for Kids: The Intrepid

The Museum of Natural History may be my least favorite museum in New York City. In fact, it is. So much so, that it drives me bonkers that everyone wants to go there when they visit. If you want a hands on exhibit or something suitable for children try The Intrepid which is child friendly and so much better than fake dinosaur bones. Bonus, this is even fun for adults. I loved getting lost on the ship and seeing the inside of a submarine!

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Writer at Full Time Explorer

I’m just your average New Yorker who quit her job in the fashion industry to explore the world. Come find out what it’s like to trade in five-inch heels for squat toilets.

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Reader Interactions

August 3, 2020 at 2:08 pm

Great list! I’d also add Flushing >>> Chinatown Manhattan 🙂

August 5, 2020 at 5:33 am

Yes! I love Flushing. Great recommendation 🙂

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THE CITY – NYC News

Reporting to New Yorkers

Tourists Are Flocking Back to NYC, But Fear of Crime May Be Keeping Day-Trippers Away

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Tired of being stuck at home in Bologna, Italy, Frederico Lelli decided in January to book a summer trip to New York City with his children, his cousin and his cousin’s wife. He’d been to the city five times already, but Lelli wanted to introduce his family to the Big Apple.

On Tuesday, the Lellis had breakfast at a Dunkin Donuts in Times Square, sampling the chain restaurant’s signature fried dough for the first time. Then they headed downtown to check out Wall Street, Chinatown and Little Italy before seeking out more off-the-beaten track destinations. 

“We wanted to get some freedom back and why not come to New York,” Lelli said. “We knew when we booked the trip there was some risk of cancellation and things like that, but why not take the risk.”

Today, millions of people like Lelli have decided to follow the same path and, in a sign of hope for the city’s economy, tourism to New York City is rebounding much stronger than expected.

Hotel occupancy for the week of June 25 hit 87% of pre-pandemic levels , the highest of any major market in the country, according to STR, which tracks travel and tourism. Room rates for that week averaged $309 a night, higher than any other U.S. market outside of Hawaii and the Florida Keys.

And Times Square is seeing an average of 300,000 visitors a day, not far from the 365,000 people a day it averaged in 2019. One Sunday in June, it topped 400,000 visitors, just above the 2019 crowds for the same day.

As a result, the city’s tourism arm NYC & Company raised its forecast last month, predicting that visitors this year would slightly exceed its previous prediction of 56 million (compared with only 33 million in 2021). NYC set a record for tourists in 2019, with just slightly more than 66 million visitors in the year before the pandemic. 

This unexpected summer tourist boomlet has provided a lifeline to hotels whose bottom line was devastated by pandemic shutdowns. Some restaurants in tourist areas that survived the last two years have also reported sharp upticks in business.

“Travelers are beginning to return to New York and they are coming from far afield,” Fred Dixon, CEO of NYC & Company said last week at a forum hosted by the Center for an Urban Future. “There is an enormous amount of pent up demand domestically and internationally among people who have not been able to travel.”

The desire to travel by domestic and international tourists like the Lellis have defied concerns about the soaring costs of travel. Surveys by AAA show record travel for Memorial Day and the July 4th holiday in the United States.

Business travel has also rebounded, surprising those who speculated that virtual meetings would permanently shrink the need for it. American Airlines, a major carrier at LaGuardia and JFK airports, recently told investors that business travel had reached 80% of 2019 levels and would soon reach 90%.

Who’s Afraid of Crime?

In something of a surprise, a sizable chunk of missing visitors are those from the New York metro area, a deficit tourism officials attribute to new fears of crime sparked by a constant drumbeat in the media. Crime has risen in the city’s pandemic era, but remains historically low compared to previous decades; fear of crime , however, has risen steadily.

“We need the suburbanites to be comfortable coming into the city to support Broadway, to eat in our restaurants, to go to Little Italy in the Bronx,” Dixon said. Historically, such day trippers account for half of all visitors, he added. 

Dixon took a media tour of Europe in the spring, a week after the subway shooting in Brooklyn , sure that the journalists he talked to, especially those in France and the United Kingdom, would be preoccupied with the incident. He prepared himself for a barrage of questions on crime and gun violence.

“Over five days it didn’t come up one time,” he said.

But in the New York metro area, residents are carefully following media coverage of crime, he added, and the agency’s sentiment tracking surveys show they are concerned about their safety.

Mark Fox, who runs the Fox Lifestyle Hospitality Group, which owns restaurants like Manhattan’s White Oak Tavern, agrees. He lives in Nassau County and his friends there question the choices made by the professional office workers who are Fox’s core customers.

“Those that have not or are rarely in the office have a very dim view of public safety,” he said. Not only don’t they venture into Manhattan, “they do not allow their 18- to 22-year-olds to come to the city,” he said.

Survival of the Fittest

Further complicating this summer’s tourism boomlet is the fact that fewer businesses — and fewer workers — are benefitting from it. Jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector remain far below pre-pandemic levels . 

The survivors of the pandemic are better off because of the hollowing out of the tourism industry. The sharp uptick on hotel rates, for example, is partly a result of the hotel rooms that closed during the pandemic and which have not reopened, estimated at about 10,000.

It is the same story for restaurants.

Fox notes that his eateries are seeing business travelers, weekend visitors from elsewhere in the country and now international travelers, who have come in increasing numbers since the U.S. government dropped its requirement for negative Covid tests before boarding inbound flights.

Fox’s six-unit group was down 60% from 2019 revenues last year. Now it is 20% ahead of that year.

“A lot of places closed and the places that were able to reopen and maintain strong Covid policies have enhanced consumer confidence,” he said. “As the economy recovered, they benefited from that confidence and fewer competitors in the market. That’s the main driver of our success.”

In part because of all those closed hotels and restaurants, employment in the sector remains depressed.

An analysis prepared by the Center for an Urban Future shows the city remains 66,000 leisure and hospitality jobs below the 2019 record, and that doesn’t include positions at airports and retail stores that haven’t been restored. The sector accounts for about a third of the city’s gap with the 2019 peak.

The loss of those jobs is in large part the cause of the city’s inequitable recovery. Two-thirds of all leisure and hospital jobs are held by people of color; half are immigrants. Nine of out 10 jobs in the industry are open to people without a bachelor’s degree, the Center notes.

And while soaring and persistent inflation has yet to cut into travel demand, Dixon thinks that 2023 will see only modest growth. Pent up demand will be met, and higher prices will deter some people from expensive trips, he predicts.

But many businesses that cater to tourists remain confident about the future.

The lack of office workers in Times Square remains a problem for Virgil’s Real Barbeque and Carmine’s Italian Restaurant, the famed family style eatery. But Virgil’s is back to 2019 revenue and Carmine’s has slightly exceeded its 2019 volume, said owner Jeff Bank.

Later this year, Bank plans to open a 13,000-square-foot fish restaurant on West 43rd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues.

“Absolutely I’m optimistic about Times Square. Otherwise we would not be doubling down on this location,” he said.

Related Headlines

Visiting New York

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• Central Park
• Empire State Building
• Free Things to Do
• Grand Central
• Historical New York
• Hudson Yards
• In the Spring
• In the Summer
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• Moving to New York City
• New York Botanical Gardens
• Rockefeller Center
• Subways (& their Stations)
• Times Square
• World Trade Center
• New York Diaries

Hanit Gyani

Is NYC Overrated? Debunking Common Misconceptions about New York City

New York City, often heralded as the epitome of the American dream and a global cultural mecca, finds itself at the center of a surprisingly heated debate: Is NYC overrated? As a New Yorker who has made NYC home since 1999, I find this question both surprising and unexpected, and one that I am happy to answer with a resounding no as I love everything that New York City has to offer. It goes beyond the usual iconic landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and Central Park, and offers a rich tapestry of arts, entertainment, and business that truly makes it the crossroads of the world in more ways than one. With its perpetual buzz and the promise of endless opportunity, New York carries a reputation that sometimes seems larger than life itself.

While there is a common belief that New York City is too expensive and unafforable for most, I believe they are confusing Manhattan with New York City , which happens often. New York City is comprised of five boroughs, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. The cost of living is decidedly more affordable outside of Manhattan, which is where most of NYC’s 8.3 million population chooses to live.

What I do find understandable is that while some view the city’s energy as invigorating, others suggest it can be overwhelming, highlighting a divide in perceptions that strikes at the heart of New York’s global esteem. New Yorkers like to work hard and party hard, often at the expense of a work life balance, which is a choice that New Yorkers are happy to make given all that we gain from living in NYC.

Amidst a chorus of diverse opinions, the city’s true character remains a complex subject. Whether considering New York to be overrated or not depends heavily on individual expectations and experiences, and it is not a city that is well suited for everyone. It is, however, hard to ignore York City’s influence on commerce, fashion, art, and cuisine, which makes it a significant point of reference for cities around the world, cementing its status as a central hub for innovation and cultural exchange.

Table of Contents

Debunking the myth of nyc.

New York City often finds itself at the center of discussions on whether it is deserving of its iconic status or if it is, in fact, overrated. This section will explore what being ‘overrated’ means and will measure New York City against other major cities to understand the merit of this claim.

Is New York overrated?

Very literally, an overrated entity is something perceived to receive more praise than it merits. Factors often quoted in relation to New York City being overrated include its high cost of living, perceived rudeness of its inhabitants, and the challenges associated with urban density. However, such criticisms need to be weighed against the city’s diverse cultural offerings, economic opportunities, and historical significance to get a balanced view.

• High Living Costs : New York City is considered to be expensive as a blanket statement, but that is not true. Some parts of NYC are more expensive than others, but the cost of living varies significantly between its various boroughs and neighborhoods.
• Urban Density : The city’s density is often associated with noise and crowds, yet this also fosters a vibrant, energetic urban environment.
• Cultural Offerings : New York’s rich tapestry of art, cuisine, fashion, and entertainment is unparalleled.

Relative Comparison with Other Cities

When comparing New York City to other cities , it’s essential to consider a variety of factors.

• Cultural Impact : New York City boasts an impressive array of museums, theaters, and galleries that are considered best in class, and are often trendsetters on a global stage.
• Economic Opportunities : As a global financial hub, opportunities in New York City are vast and varied.
• Quality of Life : While expensive, the city offers immense conveniences, amenities, and services that are unmatched. Affordability is a significant concern for many residents, most of whom live in boroughs other than Manhattan, and the high cost of living intersects with economic factors which shape the city’s demographic and social dynamics.

By most standards, when the full scope of what New York City has to offer is taken into account, the city’s reputation seems to be built on solid grounds. It’s key to remember that the value and appeal of urban experiences are subjective and differ greatly from person to person.

Cultural Perspectives

New York City boasts a complex cultural landscape with a vibrant art and culture scene, diverse food experiences, and an entertainment industry epitomized by Broadway.

Art and Culture

New York City’s art scene is as diverse as its population, featuring world-renowned museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and cutting-edge galleries in neighborhoods like Chelsea and Bushwick. The leading museums such as the Met offer pay what to wish entry to New Yorkers, making art accessible to locals that can pay as little as $1 to go in. Most museums have free days where anyone, including tourists, can experience them for free. The city also abounds in free art and culture events, espcially in the summer, where it is possible to soak in all that New York is famous such as the New York Philharmonic performing for free in all the boroughs without needing to pay a penny.

In addition, New York City has public art exhibits for free in public spaces at all times.

Food and Dining

When it comes to food and dining, New York City is a smorgasbord of options across all budgets, ranging from a $1 slice of pizza to a three star Michelin dining experience. NYC’s food and dining options range from the fashionable food trends of bistro eateries to the timeless appeal of a slice of pizza in a no-frills setting. While culinary enthusiasts can either applaud the city for its gastronomic diversity or dismiss it for overhyped dining experiences, the range of ethnic foods that it has to offer cannot be dismissed.

Broadway and Entertainment

Broadway shows take center stage in New York’s entertainment milieu, with a plethora of productions ranging from dramatic plays to splashy musicals on New York’s Great White Way . While Broadway tickets can be expensive and ticket prices often become a point of contention, theater’s offer day of performance lotteries, student discounts, rush tickets etc to make the theater experience more accessible to everyone.

Public Spaces and Attractions

New York City’s public spaces and attractions are constantly under scrutiny, but they play a pivotal role in the city’s identity, offering an eclectic mix of historical significance, cultural depth, and natural beauty.

Parks and Recreation

NYC has a lot of parks tucked away within its urban landscape. Although Central Park is the best known of NYC parks, it is only the fifth largest park spread across 843 acres.

NYC Parks are all characterized by lush landscapes and myriad recreational opportunities, providing much-needed green space for both residents and tourists.

Parks such as the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Gantry State Plaza offer a more modern waterfront recreation area, with striking views of the city skyline, and are often regarded as a refreshing escape from the urban environment.

Famous Landmarks

NYC boasts a wealth of famous landmarks. The Statue of Liberty is not just a tourist destination but a symbol of freedom and democracy, although it may be perceived as overhyped relative to other rich historical sites in the city. The Empire State Building provides an iconic skyline and an observation deck for panoramic views, though some may find it less extraordinary amidst newer, taller buildings rising in the city. Times Square is often criticized for its commercialization yet remains a vibrant example of NYC’s bustling energy.

Museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) and the American Museum of Natural History are cultural staples despite debates about their rank among global institutions. Some may find museums like these to be crowded and tourist-heavy, but their contributions to preserving and exhibiting human history and culture are significant. The West Village epitomizes the charm of NYC’s diverse neighborhoods and offers a stark contrast to the debated overratedness of more frequented tourist destinations.

Urban Living

Urban living in New York City offers a vibrant lifestyle with its own set of challenges and perks. The cost of living is high, but many find the trade-off worth it for the unparalleled cultural and social opportunities available.

Housing and Neighborhoods

New York City real estate is among the most expensive in the world, reflecting the desirability of its diverse neighborhoods. Tiny apartments are common, yet each area has its own character; for example, the West Village is known for its quaint streets and historic charm, while Williamsburg offers a cool and artistic vibe, attracting a younger crowd. Manhattan continues to be a focal point with areas like the East Village and Chelsea, which are coveted for their vibrant nightlife and culinary scene. In Brooklyn, DUMBO has emerged as a sought-after area, though some argue it is overrated due to high costs and tourist influx.

Neighborhood Highlights:

• West Village : Historic, charming, walkable streets.
• Williamsburg : Hip, local art scene, younger demographic.
• DUMBO : Scenic waterfront views, upscale amenities.
• East Village : Lively, abundant bars and restaurants.
• Chelsea : Cultural hotspot, proximity to art galleries.
• Meatpacking District : Trendy, exclusive nightclubs.
• SoHo : Fashionable, cobblestone streets, luxury shopping.

Transportation Infrastructure

The subway system is the lifeline of New York City, facilitating the commutes of millions daily. Despite its vast reach, it faces issues such as delays and maintenance challenges. Manhattan’s infrastructural layout benefits its residents with efficient cross-town bus routes and underground trains to navigate its streets and avenues , while areas such as Williamsburg rely heavily on particular subway lines, like the L train, for access to the rest of the city.

Subway Reliability:

• Manhattan : Generally reliable with multiple lines for redundancy.
• Williamsburg : Dependent on L train; can be problematic.
• DUMBO : Accessible by F train; also served by buses and ferries.

A lesser known fact is that subway stations have a ton of art by globally relevant artists, whose work is concurrently displayed in NYC museums.

New York City’s urban living experience is shaped by its dynamic neighborhoods and transportation network, making it an ever-evolving landscape that can either be seen as overrated or worth every penny.

Social and Lifestyle Aspects

New York City’s social scene is as diverse as its population, offering everything from high-energy nightlife to a bustling dating scene. Residents and visitors alike find a variety of options to socialize, often influenced by the city’s distinct neighborhoods.

Nightlife and Socializing

New York offers a wide range of options for nightlife and socializing, with the added bonus of bars staying open till 4am for a night out in town. Each neighborhood has options that are aligned with its residents. For instance, Williamsburg, in Brooklyn is a hipster haven with its burgeoning nightlife, replete with an array of bars and spots serving expertly mixed cocktails. The neighborhood is often cited as a hub for those seeking a cool and contemporary place to unwind after a long day. Chelsea, in Manhtatan, on the other hand, offers a different ambiance, with its gallery scenes and rooftop bars that attract a sophisticated crowd looking for upscale social experiences.

Dating Scene

The dating landscape in NYC is dynamic and sometimes challenging, and it can be difficult for singles to find love in the city. Williamsburg provides a backdrop for casual meets at coffee shops or quirky dive bars, ideal for low-pressure first dates. Conversely, Chelsea’s more polished setting might be preferable for those looking to impress with a fine dining experience or swanky lounge, elevating the art of courtship in the city.

Tourism Perspective

Tourists are a part of the New York experience, and often outnumber New Yorkers in NYC. As such, it is important to dissect the gap between the tourist’s expectations and the reality of visiting, along with strategies to sidestep typical tourist pitfalls.

Expectation Versus Reality

Tourist Destinations: Expectations of visiting iconic sites like the Empire State Building often involve grandeur and awe. Reality, however, can include long lines and crowded viewing platforms, which may dampen the experience. Similarly, Broadway shows , perceived as the pinnacle of theater, may disappoint if the performance or seats don’t live up to the high expectations and premium prices.

Museums: Tourists may anticipate a serene, intellectual atmosphere within New York City’s well-known museums. In many cases, visitors encounter this enriching environment, yet during peak times museums can become quite congested, making it difficult to fully appreciate the artifacts and artworks.

Avoiding Common Tourist Pitfalls

Tourist Traps and Chain Restaurants: To truly experience the food diversity in NYC, visitors should explore local eateries beyond the restaurants concentrated in tourist-heavy areas, which can be overpriced with under whelming food.

Food Trends: New York City is a melting pot of culinary innovation, and food trends often start here. Instead of defaulting to well-known dining spots, trying out up-and-coming food trends can offer a more authentic and unique experience. Step out to the boroughs to experience ethnic foods, or visit food halls like Urbanspace, Urban Hawker, Chelsea Market or Smorgasburg to get a peek into the food options you have easy access to.

Getting Around: Use public transportation. New Yorkers do. It is the fastest and most cost effective way to get anywhere, except maybe on weekends where track service work can make the commute slower. Also be prepared that the subway stations may not be the cleanest, but they are practical and efficient.

New Yorkers are not friendly: It is a common misconception that New Yorkers are not friendly. New Yorkers choose to do a lot in their day, and are likely to have less time for you if you catch them on their way to work in the mornings or late getting someplace, which may make them seem abrupt. Catch them when they have time, and you will walk away with recommendations for the best things to do and eat from them.

By maintaining realistic expectations and seeking experiences beyond common tourist traps, visitors can enjoy a more fulfilling visit to New York City.

The Diverse Boroughs of NYC

New York City is known for its vibrant and distinct boroughs , Manhattan , Queens, Brooklyn , Staten Island and the Bronx , each offering a unique slice of the city’s culture and history. To truly understand the city, exploring its diverse neighborhoods is a must.

Brooklyn is a tapestry of diverse communities, with neighborhoods like Williamsburg and DUMBO making significant cultural impacts. Williamsburg has transformed from an industrial district to a bustling hub for arts and entertainment, renowned for its lively music scene and trendy cafes. On the other hand, DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) has been marked by its dramatic transformation into an expensive residential area with picturesque views of the Manhattan skyline.

Manhattan , the most densely populated borough, is the heart of NYC with iconic neighborhoods such as the West Village and East Village. The West Village remains a charming neighborhood, boasting tree-lined streets, historic brownstones, and a rich array of boutique shops and eateries. In contrast, the East Village has a more eclectic vibe, known for its artistic community and vibrant nightlife.

Bronx is well known for its New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo, as well as the original Little Italy at Arthur Avenue. Bronx is also home to the largest park in NYC, Pelham Bay Park. It also has the distinction of being the birthplace of hip hop, and home to the Yankee Stadium.

Queens has two of NYC’s airports , JFK and LaGuardia, and is characterized by ethnic enclaves that have outstanding food options. It hosts the US Open every year, and areas on the other side of the East River offer outstanding views of the Manhattan skyline.

Staten Island is the southernmost borough of New York City with a population of fewer than half a million people. It is sometimes called the forgotten borough of NYC, and covers a land area of 58.5 square miles.

New York City evokes varied opinions, often labeled as overrated due to its high cost of living and bustling nature. It’s a city where the prices of hotels and dining are influenced by demand—making it a costly destination for many. In this, toruists often consider Manhattan to be New York City, overlooking the fatc that there are cost effective hotels and options to be found in NYC’s other boroughs.

NYC’s cultural, historical, and artistic offerings are varied and cannot be dismissed. While New York’s tourist attractions may sometimes fall short of expectations by being overcrowded, there is more to NYC than the landmarks that it is known for. I can personally vouch for the fact that New Yorkers are considered unfriendly due to the city’s fast-paced life than the nature of its residents, and may in fact be some of the nicest people you meet if you give them a chance.

Cultural significance and diversity are inherent to New York’s identity. While it might not resonate with everyone, calling the city overrated fails to recognize the nuances of its appeal. There is a whole world that exists for New Yorkers that goes beyond the well-trodden paths that toursists tend to follow, which is the reality lived by New Yorkers.

Ultimately, New York is best experienced with an open mind—what one finds overrated, another may see as mesmerizing. The city if definitely worth visiting, even if just to form one’s personal verdict about this enduring, exciting, dynamic and complex metropolis.

December 23, 2023

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Hi, I'm Hanit Gyani, a full time professional by day and a blogger by night and weekend. Welcome to my blog, aka my passion project, Gotta Love New York.

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The Contender

Is Travel Overrated?

Everywhere tourists.

Revenge travel is an unsettling phrase. Just who is being avenged? Presumably we’re striking back against our constrained life of the pandemic. But the real victims, it seems, are overrun European cities and seaside towns. Crowds are high, prices are high, anxiety is high. Nobody seems very happy.

There was an article this weekend in the Financial Times about cities reconsidering tourist economies. Should there be higher taxes on visitors the were there are in Bhutan? Old cities just aren’t designed for this many people, who, in many cases, treat locals like the extras in their social media triumphs. In the case of Amsterdam, it’s even more intense because people take what they call a moral holiday which means they basically go there to act like idiots.

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10 Of The Most Overrated Tourist Attractions In New York (& What To See Instead)

New York City is a popular tourist attractions, which comes with some overrated sights and some hidden gems.

With iconic landmarks galore, a melting pot of foods and cultures, and some of the most revered museums in the nation, The City That Never Sleeps finds itself on nine out of ten bucket lists. It’s the most heavily visited city across the US, welcoming close to 60 million faces annually from near and far, each in search of those greasy, 99c pizza slices (probably).

As a mainstay in popular culture, the Big Apple’s aura continues to grow - and therefore, so do the obnoxious crowds, inflating prices, and cliché scams. Sure, visit New York, but make sure to steer clear of the tourist traps.

10 Times Square

The fact of the matter is that Times Square is most visited haunt across the USA, with close enough to 330,000 people passing through the neon-lit, overcrowded, tourist-trap intersection on a daily basis. Is that obscene popularity a good thing or a bad thing? Well, it’s both. With such high foot traffic, there is never a shortage of local entertainment - street performers, costumed characters, the infamous Naked Cowboy, to name a few - and the atmosphere is always lively - sometimes too much so. Scammers are out in full force and it’ll take you 20 minutes just to cross from one side to the other.

RELATED:  10 Free Things Every Visitor Should Do In New York

What to see instead: Ditch times square altogether and head somewhere off-broadway to catch a show, or move west to the High Line.

9 Liberty Island

Sitting in the New York harbor, the iconic Statue of Liberty is synonymous with American freedom. It’s a symbol of the nation and for that exact reason, every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants to catch a glimpse of the 93m copper statue. In reality, though, half of those 93 meters are attributed to the massive platform beneath, meaning that Lady Liberty herself isn’t actually as impressive as first thought. Plus, a visit to Liberty Island is expensive and you’ll find yourself elbowing through the crowds in the peak months.

What to see instead: Hop on board the free Staten Island Ferry to catch a view of the statue from afar as well as sublime views of the Lower Manhattan skyline.

8 Empire State Building

Just like the Statue of Liberty before it, the Empire State Building is blessed with the curse of being a national icon. Thanks to its countless appearance in film and pop culture (Sleepless in Seattle, anyone?) the building's reputation has only continued to grow and grow. Of course, immense popularity comes hand in hand with hoards of obnoxious, selfie stick-welding tourists.

RELATED:  10 Of The Most Overrated Tourist Attractions In The US (& What To See Instead)

What to see instead: Head to the Top of the Rock. Not only are the crowds generally smaller but you can also squeeze the iconic Empire State into your photos as opposed to standing on top of it.

7 The Brooklyn Bridge

Linking New York’s two bustling boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, the beauty of the revered Brooklyn Bridge can’t be argued. The bridge itself is as picturesque as any (take that, Golden Gate), while the views of Lower Manhattan are second to none. The main issue, like the other citywide icons, is the over-tourism. Thousands of tourists cross the bridge tails, often battling it out with local cyclists for space.

What to see instead: For equally impressive skyline views without the clusters of irritating tourists, stroll down the adjacent Manhattan Bridge.

6 Chelsea Market

Sitting near the southern entrance to the High Line, the infamous Chelsea Market is smack-bang in the middle of a tourist hotspot. While this does make it convenient to tick off both in a single afternoon, it also means that literally every other person shares the same idea. The market is aesthetic and the food offered is generally of top quality, however, it’s all overshadowed by the crowd - especially during the lunch hour.

What to see instead: It’s New York City! There is never a shortage of flea or farmers markets on hand. Take a stroll to the Union Square Green Market or The Annex / Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, just to name a couple.

5 Williamsburg

This hipster Brooklyn suburb has quickly become the new ‘it’ locale. However, as quickly as it has become popular it has become overrated. A lot of the restaurants and cafes in the tourist hub are hiked up in price (that isn’t to say that they aren’t still impressive nonetheless), and it’s a little further out of the way than most people realize.

What to see instead: Stroll across the Manhattan Bridge (avoiding the subway altogether) and head a little further south to DUMBO. Here, iconic photos of the Bridge and Brownstones await

4 Any Big Bus tour

No matter which major city in the world you find yourself in, it’s all but guaranteed that there’ll be pestering salespeople trying to convince you that the best way to see the city is onboard a tourist-filled, closed-route, often poorly air-conditioned double-decker. Granted, there is a time and a place for this type of travel but that place is not New York.

What to see instead: The Big Apple is a metropolis that blossoms for anyone who chooses to explore it on foot - turn any corner and you’ll stumble across something new and interesting.

3 5th Avenue

Unless you’re rocking a bank balance that rivals that of Jeff Bezos, 5th Avenue is not the place for you. Ultra-lux shops like Tiffany, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari are the like are dotted across the infamous street, each teasing passersby with their excessive price tags and snobbish customers.

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What to see instead: If adding to your wardrobe is the aim of the game, less obnoxious alternatives are aplenty. Head to Columbus Circle on the southwest corner of Central Park or take a stroll through SoHo - you might even catch a glimpse of some famous faces.

2 Madame Tussauds Wax Museum

In the heart of the already-crowded Times Square, Madame Tussauds New York sees an incredible amount of foot traffic. Inevitably, a number of tourists get sucked in by the awkward wax version of Morgan Freeman, Zac Efron, or whoever it may be. Sure, it’s cool in a novelty sense, but Madame Tussauds is all over the world. Why waste your time on something you could do at home?

What to see instead: Literally any other museum. From the MET to the MOMA, the Natural History Museum and the Whitney, just to name a few, there is plenty of museums on offer that aren’t tacky, overpriced, and replicated in any other major city.

1 Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

In the same vein as Madame Tussauds, Ripley's Believe It or Not! markets itself as one of the best things to do in NYC. However, it’s also one of the best things to do in L.A., and Baltimore, and Toronto, and Niagara - you get the idea. For around $25 USD, travelers can learn a few fun facts that can be found in pretty much any city around the globe, or, better yet, online.

What to see instead: If its quirky, offbeat museums you’re after, New York isn’t limited in choice. Choose between the Museum of the American Gangster, the Sex Museum, and the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space.

NEXT:  10 Reasons To Visit New York City In The Winter

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The Three Key distinction is the highest hotel honor in The MICHELIN Guide. Earning One Key (80 properties) or Two Keys (33 properties) is difficult enough, but only 11 hotels earned Three Keys in the United States. Of those, four can be found in New York City. The Three Key hotels excel in all five criteria used to judge hotels by our Inspectors. But in this series , we thought it fitting to focus on just one of those criteria — the most photogenic of the five — architecture and interior design. Below, take a look at the interiors and exteriors of each of our four Three Key hotels in New York City.

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Ay, car-rumba.

A new study shows the cost of travel has skyrocketed since 2019 — with rental car prices far and away the most inflated, compared to pre-COVID.

NerdWallet found that the expense of having your own wheels away from home was a whopping 39.3% higher in March 2024 versus five years ago, in March 2019 — and that’s after an 8.8% decline from March 2023.

The research revealed that Chicago’s O’Hare was the priciest airport for car rentals, with an eye-watering average weekly rate of $671.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport came in second at $598, then Las Vegas’ Harry Reid Airport at $588. Los Angeles International Airport was priced at $568 — just slightly above Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s $566.

Researchers found Enterprise to be the cheapest and National to be the most expensive.

They also noted that booking in advance was more costly than at the last minute, when rental car companies are now sometimes found offering better deals.

Although rental cars saw the steepest increase, there are plenty of other culprits keeping the cost of hitting the road higher than normal.

Restaurant prices have soared for example, by 29.3% between 2019 to 2024. During the past year alone, they’ve risen 4.2%.

Tickets to plays, movies, and concerts also shot up 22.6% — 5% more than a year ago.

Hotel rooms are far from immune.

Over the five-year period, lodging costs increased by 16.3% . They have risen by 6.7% between February and March of this year.

The biggest shock, however, is that airfare has only increased 2.6% during the past five years.

It is currently down 7.1% from 2023. American and Southwest both announced losses in the first quarter of 2024; Southwest said it will limit hiring and pull out of four airports as a result.

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Anonymous NBA player poll 2024: LeBron or Jordan as the GOAT? Most overrated? Finals favorite?

Sample size matters, people.

So when The Athletic launched its first NBA player poll in 2019, with 127 players answering questions about league matters so honestly because of the anonymity they were granted, the bar was set very high. We hit triple digits again last year (108 players), when the popular poll returned in full force after a COVID-19-induced hiatus because of limited locker room access for reporters during that time.

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This time around, with familiar topics like MVP, “most overrated,” “player you’d least like to fight” and the referees to discuss, as well as new debates over the 65-game rule and the commissioner’s letter grade, our NBA staff interviewed a whopping 142 players from March 5 through April 11. That’s nearly a third of the entire league, with unfiltered views of stars and role players alike. And yes, all 30 teams had a voice.

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As is always the case, not every player answered every question. But the unprecedented participation means there are more opinions and insights than ever. There’s a bonus question, too, with players telling us which non-NBA player is their current favorite athlete (yes, as you might have imagined, Caitlin Clark received a few votes).

Away we go…

( Editor’s Note: In some cases, the combined percentages of all the answers to a question may not add up to 100 percent, because individual percentages have been rounded up or down to the nearest tenth of a percentage point.)

Here’s a not-so-bold prediction when it comes to the actual MVP race: Nikola Jokić is going to win it by a far more significant margin than the one you see above. This has been the trend with our polls, with players typically seeing it very differently from the 100 media members who vote on the award every year.

So while Jokić is considered the heavy front-runner , it should come as no surprise that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came so close to taking the top honor here. And bear in mind, these votes were taken before Oklahoma City secured the top seed in the Western Conference on the last day of the regular season.

Luka Dončić was simply incredible down the season’s home stretch, but — like SGA — didn’t see his full body of work reflected in the polling because of the timing factor in the process.

Jokić voters

• “He’s Jokić. He affects the game in many ways that people just can’t understand — both offensively and defensively, honestly. His defense has gotten a lot better.”

• “He’s unstoppable.”

• “To be this effective the year after winning a championship, when it’s supposed to be harder, is impressive.”

• “Nikola Jokić is MVP. Consistent, still winning, still affecting the team in a number of ways. And it’s noticeable when he’s off the floor.”

• “He’s changed the game. His defense is underrated. He just knows the game so much.”

Hollinger: Why Joker is MVP again, Wemby is Rookie of the Year and more honors

• “No one expected the Thunder to be what they are this season, and he’s the head of that snake. And he’s consistent every single game — same numbers, and they’re incredible numbers. And he plays on both ends of the floor.”

• “I think he’s the most consistent No. 1 option on his team without a consistent helper. Like, there isn’t really a clear second superstar even though Jalen Williams is coming on as well. I think what he’s doing every game is the most impressive, and it translates into wins.”

• “Obviously, he’s scoring the ball. But the way he shares it and has his team involved is very unselfish. And I think he’s up there in steals as well (tied with Sacramento ’s De’Aaron Fox for the league lead at two per game). And he’s been doing it all season long. …He’s just been really consistent in the style of play that he has. He’s just been dominating the game, and it’s not just points. It’s rebounds, assists, and he’s done a great job of leading that team over there.”

• “Underdog. Just with what OKC is doing, nobody would be mad if they were a 10 seed with their roster. If they were a 10 seed, nobody would be like, ‘Oh, they’re having a bad year.’ They’d be like, ‘They’re still rebuilding.’ … With what he’s doing, I think that’s my MVP.”

Victor Wembanyama said last month that his friend and fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert would be a worthy winner of the 2023-24 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. But Wembanyama also added that, in future seasons, he, and not Gobert, would be the front-runner.

Their NBA peers, however, feel Wembanyama’s time has already arrived. Players voted the towering Spurs rookie as the league’s best defender right now.

Wembanyama led the league in blocks, averaging 3.58 per game. His next closest competitor, Utah’s Walker Kessler , recorded 2.41 blocks per game.

“He just makes it so hard to finish at the rim,” one opponent said of Wembanyama.

Another player said: “He’s changing the game. Players — you can’t say ‘scared’ — but he’s changing their shots. He deserves it.”

The Grizzlies certainly looked terrified in this three-on-one Wemby highlight that went viral earlier this month.

Grizzlies 3-on-1 against Wemby pic.twitter.com/TEdtKfpYNq — Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 10, 2024

Gobert, who would join Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners of the DPOY award if he wins it this season, finished fifth in our vote (6 percent). As you’ll see later on in this poll, this isn’t the last time Gobert is questioned by his peers.

Jrue Holiday, the top vote-getter by a wide margin in last year’s poll, placed second in the voting this year at 12.9 percent, barely trailing Wembanyama.

Wembanyama voter

“He really, like, affects everything in the paint. He has dudes not even trying to go to the rim. He damn near leads the league in blocks right now, and this is his first year. He’s doing it in limited time too.”

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Holiday voter

“I think guard defenders are more impressive because they’re on the ball all the time. As a big man, you make up mistakes by helping off your man. So it’s easier. Protecting the paint is somewhat easier than staying in front of the ball.”

Lu Dort voter

“(He) guards multiple positions, (is a) physical defender, guards without fouling — even when at the beginning of the season when the referees were calling fouls. Now, it helps him even more, because they’re not calling fouls.”

Wembanyama entered last year’s draft with enormous hype. The answers to this question once again demonstrate that, in the players’ eyes, the adulation was deserved.

“Some of the stuff he does offensively, the way he moves, it just looks so fluid,” one player said. “Just seeing him from afar, he’s playing the right way. He has the right principles. He’s focused on the right things. I like him.”

Wembanyama’s age factored into some of the players’ votes, as he turned 20 in January. Naturally, any team executive looking to build a title-contending team wants as long of a runway as possible.

“You can have him for 20 years,” one of the players said.

Another player who chose Wemby explained his vote like this: “The upside and at 20 years old, you can see that if he stays healthy and continues to get better, he can be a truly great player. I don’t want to put a ceiling on him.”

Jokić, on the other hand, is 29. So, it says something about how much his peers respect his game that so many of them still would make him their first signee even though he’s nearly one decade older than Wembanyama. Jokić is seven years older than Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and four years older than Dončić.

Do you think Jokić faring so well is impressive? How about the fact that LeBron James is still getting votes in this young man’s category at the ripe old age of 39 (he’ll be 40 on Dec. 30). Ditto for Steph Curry , who turned 36 on March 14. The same can’t be said for 29-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo , who won this category by a landslide in both 2019 (36.4 percent to Anthony Davis’ 10.4 percent) and 2023 (52.4 percent to Jokić’s 8.7 percent) but registered a measly 2.2 percent this time around.

There’s just something about Gobert’s game that his peers don’t like . Maybe the skepticism stems from a lack of playoff success, as none of Gobert’s teams have advanced to the conference finals. Or maybe it all traces back to the bubble in 2020 when the Clippers’ Terance Mann buried all those 3s over Gobert in the West semifinals and sparked serious scrutiny about the perceived limitations of the big man’s game.

Gobert has the elite résumé, though, with the three DPOY awards, three All-Star appearances, an All-NBA Second Team selection and three All-NBA Third Team nods. He has the receipts from this season , as he was the indisputable anchor of a Minnesota defense that was the best in the league while Gobert finished second in rebounds (12.9) and sixth in blocks (2.1) on a team that came just two wins shy of earning the No. 1 seed in the West (it finished third). And as our resident Timberwolves expert Jon Krawczynski wrote in January , the truth about those Jazz teams was that their lack of perimeter defense was the real problem that was exposed in those playoffs. These Timberwolves don’t have that deficiency.

How a Brazilian coach is transforming Rudy Gobert into an offensive threat

Still, Gobert joins Draymond Green (2019) and Trae Young (2023) as the latest winner of this undesirable award.

Seven seasons in, Derrick White’s top claim to NBA fame is finishing 16th in the media’s 2018-19 Most Improved Player voting and being named to the 2022-23 NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Jalen Williams, in his second season, placed second in last season’s Rookie of the Year voting but was also routinely mistaken on opposing telecasts for the Thunder’s “other” Jaylin Williams. Both Jalen Williams and White were lightly recruited coming out of high school.

So yes, in other words, they’re very familiar with the experience of being underrated. And while both are receiving more acclaim, they’re not the ones commanding the brightest spotlight on their respective teams.

White plays in the shadows of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porziņģis and Holiday. Williams, meanwhile, is on a dynamic young Thunder team where Gilgeous-Alexander commands most of the spotlight alongside big man Chet Holmgren.

One of the players who voted for White said, “I say that every single day: He’s one of the most underrated players in the league. They talk about him more (now), but they still don’t talk about him enough.”

Said another: “(White) defends really well (and) does a little bit of everything on offense.”

It’s notable, too, that Gilgeous-Alexander finished fourth in the players’ most-underrated voting even though he’s a virtual lock to be an All-NBA First Team selection by the media for the second season in a row.

“I don’t know if you can even say it anymore because he’s starting to get his due, but from a players’ perspective, it doesn’t feel like it’s covered enough,” an SGA voter said. “But what Shai has done this year, just how his progression has gone … I don’t know if you can call him underrated, but it almost feels like how for all those years they were talking about Damian Lillard (during his Portland years), how he was kind of flying under the radar (because of Steph Curry). But if you asked players, (they would’ve said) he’s one of the best guards in the league, in the top two. So I’m starting to see some of that with how we’re talking about Shai.”

The legend of James Johnson grows yet again.

Not only is the 6-foot-7, 240-pound, 37-year-old tough guy now a three-time winner of this award, but he continues to inspire fear in his opponents despite playing in just nine games this season. The Pacers forward has been mostly out of sight, but he’s not out of mind.

As many players discussed, it’s Johnson’s formal training as an actual fighter that most concerns them. He previously said that he holds a 20-0 record as a kickboxer, is 7-0 in mixed martial arts fights and has a black belt in karate. His nickname is “Bloodsport.” Need we say more?

In a January podcast interview with former NBA player Ryan Hollins, Johnson shared his opinion that, with a year of training in ground defense, he could beat UFC heavyweight legend Jon Jones in a fight.

“I’m 6ft 8 though.” NBA players James Johnson thinks he can beat Jon Jones in a year pic.twitter.com/FTGeieeKv7 — Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) September 16, 2023

Here’s the best part of Johnson’s latest season, though: Johnson re-signed with Indiana just two days after the game ball kerfuffle between the Pacers and Bucks on Dec. 13. Johnson had been available all season long, but the Pacers just so happened to come calling for him to return after that wild night in which Antetokounmpo gave them all the Big Brother treatment.

Johnson has been on board ever since, with a brief interruption for paperwork purposes. Indiana had to waive him to complete the Pascal Siakam trade with Toronto on Jan. 17 but signed him to a 10-day contract two days later before signing him for the rest of the season.

“He can actually fight,” one player said. “He’s different. He’s crazy. He’s one of those where you won’t win, but if you do win, you’ll have to kill him.”

Another player said: “Is he still in the league? He’s a triple black belt. I’m not f—ing with James. There’s other guys (where) I might actually lose the fight, but I’m not f—ng with James. He might kick me in my head.”

One of Johnson’s former teammates said: “J.J. is actually the coolest dude ever. He’s super cool. I just know his reputation. I know if you mess with him, it can get like that. But he’s one of my favorite teammates that I’ve had.”

Speaking of consistency in this category, Steven Adams (6-11, 250) takes second place behind Johnson for the third consecutive time. The Houston Rockets big man hasn’t played since Jan. 22, 2023, when he suffered a posterior cruciate ligament sprain in his right knee that would later require surgery. But like Johnson, the intimidation factor remains.

“(Adams) knows all the MMA stuff, and he can get you in a chokehold real quick,” one Adams voter said. “He’ll be nice with it, but he’ll choke you out and be like, ‘It’s OK, buddy.’”

And how’s this for a terrifying thought for Rockets opponents during an on-court melee? A healthy Adams and his 7-4, 290-pound teammate, Boban Marjanović , in the same scuffle. The Serbian big man, who played a villain in “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” and starred in the below fight scene with Keanu Reeves, garnered votes as well.

“John Wick 3,” one Marjanović voter said in explaining his choice. “It’s not like he can fight, but he’s huge.”

You may have noticed Wembanyama received a vote for the player guys would least like to fight. Picking Wembanyama seemed like an iffy choice considering how thin he is. But, sure enough, Wemby garnered the player’s vote. The reasoning? He would have a massive reach advantage.

Do you think MJ’s getting nervous? King James almost took his (player poll) GOAT crown this time around, and he’ll do just that next year if this voting trend continues.

In this endless debate , His Airness has experienced serious slippage for the third consecutive poll. Jordan had a huge edge in 2019 (73 percent to LeBron’s 11.9 percent) and was still nearly doubling him in 2023 (58.3 percent to 33 percent). Now the gap is only 3.8 percent.

It makes some sense, though, as James is doing things at this late stage of his career that players this age have never done. And these many feats, it’s quite clear, are changing the way some players see this debate. Consider the highlights of his past 14 months…

• Broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record on Feb. 7, 2023
• Led the Lakers to the West finals three months later
• Led the Lakers to an (inaugural) In-Season Tournament title in December
• Became the first player to be named to a 20th All-Star team in February
• Was one of three players to average at least 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds this season (the others were Jokić and Dončić)

NBA 75: Top 75 NBA players of all time

As one of us wrote when James became the first player to cross the 40,000-point barrier in early March, the constant comparisons do a disservice to both. Their respective journeys have become too different for the discussion to maintain any merit. But James’ ability to remain elite for this long, and to put together this incredible body of NBA work that started during George W. Bush’s first term as U.S. president in 2003, is forever changing the way his career will be remembered.

As a final note here, someone did, in fact, vote for Paul Pierce as the GOAT. (Insert shrug emoji here…)

The folks who run Madison Square Garden call it “The World’s Most Famous Arena” and the “Mecca.” But what sounds like brash marketing hype also matches the opinions of NBA players.

One player responded: “MSG. It’s the Mecca. It’s classic.”

Another who chose the Garden answered: “At MSG and Crypto, there are bright lights and celebrities.”

The Celtics’ arena historically has gotten a lot of praise for its fans, and nothing’s changed this season. One player said: “Crazy atmosphere. Some big sports fans. It’s so loud in there.” Another said he likes facing the Celtics in Boston because he enjoys playing in a “hostile environment.”

The architects who designed Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, Charlotte’s Spectrum Center and Memphis’ FedExForum shouldn’t feel bad. Those arenas top this list because the home teams in those venues struggled to draw fans this season relative to other clubs.

Little Caesars Arena, which the Pistons share with the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, “won” this dubious honor even though its average announced crowd was said to be a respectable 18,159 fans per game.

“No fans, no atmosphere at the moment,” one player said.

Another added: “It’s very open. It’s got to be packed out for it to stand out, and that’s just not what it is.”

The Hornets ranked next to last in home attendance this season, prompting one of the players who voted for Spectrum Center to say, “It’s quiet. Good arena. But it’s quiet.”

One of the NBA’s off-court dramas this season swirled in Washington , where Wizards principal owner Ted Leonsis attempted to move the team and the NHL’s Washington Capitals to Alexandria, Va. Leonsis later scuttled those plans after they failed to move forward in Virginia’s legislature, and Leonsis subsequently reached a deal to remain at Capital One Arena and receive $515 million in funding from the local government to upgrade the arena.

Opposing players don’t like the arena much. One of them said: “Just the way it’s built, it’s a very cold arena. It feels like there’s no soul to it. It feels very empty when you’re there — not by how many people are there. There’s no warmth. I don’t really know how to explain it. … As a player, you like to feel enveloped by the crowd. It doesn’t feel like that.”

You may be wondering why Denver’s Ball Arena, where fans have been rocking for years now, ranks seventh in the voting. The answer: the altitude, which is something the Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche lean into as a psychological play. When visiting teams’ buses arrive in the arena’s loading dock, players see a sign that says: “Ball Arena WELCOMES YOU TO THE MILE HIGH CITY, ELEVATION 5,280 FEET.”

“Oh my God, that team needs to be moved,” one player said. “The altitude is crazy. I don’t like it at all. Every time I play there, I’m dog-tired.”

This is a case where players’ opinions appear to have changed in one year. Gregg Popovich won this vote last year, followed by runner-up Steve Kerr.

Erik Spoelstra placed third last year, receiving 9.5 percent of the vote, but has since vaulted to the top. He has come a long way in this poll since getting just 1 percent of the vote (12th place) in 2019 . Considering that his Heat reached the NBA Finals by way of the Play-In last season, it’s safe to assume that earned him even more respect.

“Just the Heat culture — they’re always competing,” one Spoelstra voter said. “They’re always trying to find a way (to win). I feel like they’re always taking guys that fit their system, and that makes them play very good.”

The Tao of Spo: Erik Spoelstra’s compassion, competitiveness and confrontations

Popovich remains highly regarded.

“Pop,” one player answered. “Easy. I love those types of coaches, like Pop and Spo. I would rather you ‘mother—’ me than smile in my face.”

The Knicks’ Josh Hart, who voted for Spoelstra, insisted that he be quoted on the record for this one.

“Spo, hands down,” said Hart, who worked with Spoelstra at the FIBA World Cup tournament last summer when the Heat head coach was a Team USA assistant. “Quote me on that one. F–ing love Spo.”

Few coaches get more out of their teams than Tom Thibodeau does. But no coach gets more grief for it than Thibodeau, either.

Thibodeau’s Knicks finished 50-32 and earned the East’s second seed , but New York’s success this season and his two NBA Coach of the Year awards didn’t seem to matter much to players. He’s been named the coach players least would like to play for in all three polls, with this margin (37.7 percent ahead of Doc Rivers) the largest yet (he was 13.5 percent ahead of Chicago’s Jim Boylen in 2019 and 29.1 percent ahead of Houston’s Stephen Silas last year).

Instead of wearing on the Knicks, coach Tom Thibodeau is enhancing them

“I’m too old for those practices,” one player said.

“He’s playing everyone 48 minutes,” another said.

Well, that’s not quite accurate. According to the NBA’s figures , four Knicks players ranked in the top 50 in minutes per game this season: Julius Randle (15th at 35.4 per game), Jalen Brunson (16th at 35.4 per game), Anunoby (35th at 34.0 per game) and Hart (50th at 33.4 per game).

It’s said that the NBA has improved parity in recent years, and that’s true.

But players still think the NBA title race will come down to two teams: the defending champion Nuggets and the team with the league’s best regular-season record, the Celtics.

“Whoever comes out of the East is going to lose to the Western Conference teams,” one player said. “I just think when you look at the landscape out West, the best teams — Denver is my pick. OKC’s too young and they’re not big enough. … The one team that could give (Denver) problems would be the Clippers if they play at their best and they’re healthy, just based on matchups. But continuity in this league is everything, and Denver has it. So that’s my pick.”

Another player who voted for the Nuggets said: “It’s like a factory, plug and play. They play the right way, no matter who’s out there. Shoutout to Jokić.”

Still, Boston was a buzz saw during the regular season, compiling a league-best 64-18 record while finishing first in offensive rating and second in defensive rating .

“When you’ve got Jrue Holiday on the team with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown , who are shot makers, he’s a great defender obviously,” one player said. “And with Kristaps Porziņģis, they have got danger everywhere and defensively as well. Also, their fans make it hard to beat them, for sure.”

All things considered, this report card could have been much worse for the refs. In essence, you had 21.9 percent of the players polled indicating that the officiating job was below average this season and 78.1 percent giving a grade of average or better. Given all the high-profile frustration with the officiating on display this season, as well as the midseason change in “points of emphasis” that empowered defenders again and suppressed scoring , no one should be surprised that they didn’t get straight As.

Voters who gave an F

“Sh–, they don’t know if they want us to play or not play.”

“But they good people…”

Voter who gave a D

“It’s a different sense of entitlement that they feel, and they get a little bit more sensitive than they had previously. Some of the missed calls, it’s just like, that’s not OK. And some of them are blatant. It’s not an easy job by any means. (But) I’ve seen better years.”

Voter who gave a C

“The issue is there’s just too much volatility. But also, the inconsistency. I would say there’s eight elite officials, great officials, and then you have the rest of the 50 that are just, you could carry them in. It makes it hard on those guys. There’s eight elite officials who are great at communicating and at officiating, and then there’s four (who can do) one of each, where they can either officiate or they can communicate. And the rest of them are just … bad.”

Voter who gave a B

“I don’t think people realize how hard that job is. All things considered, they’ve done a good job. That’s not a job I would ever want to have. There’s still definitely room for growth, but within the job and what’s asked of them and where the game’s moving, I think they’ve done a great job.”

Voter who gave an A

“They make the calls that the league wants them to make, right? … And now, we’re just adjusting again, because there’s more holding and grabbing now. So they’re allowing stuff now. I guess they just do whatever they’re told.”

What’s more telling? That 46.2 percent of the players gave the commissioner an A or that none of the 130 players who responded gave him a D or an F?

“Some of the things he does, we’re not going to like, but that’s just us as players,” said one of the players who gave Adam Silver an A. “We like to complain about s—. But I think what he’s doing is great for the league. The In-Season Tournament. The Play-In. All this is to build the luster of the league and to build the TV ratings to make sure they’re in a certain place so when it comes time to do this new TV deal, we can do it.”

Another said: “I’d give him an A. The money’s good. The fans are enjoying the games. We’ve got a new In-Season Tournament that everybody looks forward to now, especially because there’s money on the line. I really wanted to win that In-Season Tournament. I had some plans for that money, for real.”

It’s not all perfect, of course.

“Everything is good except the All-Star Game, and that weekend wasn’t great,” said one player who still gave Silver an A. “Other than that, I feel like it’s been entertaining. I feel like the league’s been real competitive.”

One player who gave Silver a B said: “There’s a big disparity with the referees still. Referees aren’t consistent with their integrity, the way they approach you, and the NBA has a huge problem on its hands. That’s the biggest thing in the NBA right now: the referees. Some people get calls and some people don’t get calls. It may be the same (play), but if it’s Trae Young or somebody else, it looks different.”

In terms of criticism for Silver, several players indicated officiating is one of the few areas in which they believe he has fallen short.

“The only reason (I’m giving Silver) a B and not an A is that I’m not sure that players have the liberty to speak out (against referees) the way it should be,” one player said. “I do, to a certain extent, understand why that is, because you’ve got to create a culture of togetherness and can’t just randomly criticize referees and all that stuff. But some of this stuff, especially with referees, they have an ego and they know that so they act a certain way toward you because they know you’ll lose money if you criticize them. … Adam’s doing a great job of maximizing our money in a great way.”

The new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players, enacted last summer, includes a provision that says players must appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for most end-of-the-season honors, including MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, the All-NBA teams and All-Defensive teams.

From league officials’ perspective , the new rule is designed to get the league’s best players on the court more often. In addition to benefiting the fans who purchase tickets to games, the theory goes that having such a rule will make the league even more attractive to suitors for the upcoming media rights deal.

The rule has come under fire from some players, even though they voted to accept the new CBA. Keep in mind that the rule is one small part of a large, dense document that came as the result of thorough negotiations between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association that represents them. Neither side got everything it wanted.

But still, we wondered how players feel about the rule now. In the wake of the sensitive Embiid situation earlier this season, when the reigning MVP was roundly ridiculed for missing a nationally televised Jan. 27 game at Denver because of a left knee injury only to get hurt three days later when Jonathan Kuminga fell on the knee in a game at Golden State, the discussion about whether the rule was putting players in harm’s way was front and center for the second half of the season.

Exactly half of the players who answered the question said they’re against the rule.

“Obviously, I get why they do it in terms of wanting guys to play,” said one player who is against the rule. “But I also think guys will force themselves to play through things sometimes — obviously, the Embiid thing that happened, whether he was right or not to play. I just think it gets risky for guys. If you’re talking about MVP, I think for everyone in the league it’s clear who the MVP is, whether they play 65 or 82 games. From a player’s point of view, I think guys know who the MVP is. It’s always going to be whatever the top two or three or whoever those guys are. So, I just think it’s forcing guys to play sometimes when there (are) legitimate reasons (not to play).”

Some of the players against the 65-game rule said they’re in favor of having a rule but would prefer the threshold be set at a lower number of games.

One player said: “I think that’s a lot of games, honestly, when you think about how the game is played. Back in the day, guys would play 80-some games. They would walk the ball up and post up. But we’re non-stop, and there’s a lot of wear and tear So, guys like Embiid, guys that are superstars in this league, there’s a situation where they might have to fight through games to get to a threshold to get an award. It’s kind of tough, kind of bulls— sometimes. But what if one of those guys, they’re at 60 games, they’ve got a bad knee injury and, in one of those five games, tears his meniscus because he’s trying to get an award? I don’t like that.”

Nearly 45 percent of the players who responded said they were in favor of the rule.

“Sixty-five games, that gives you a 17-game cushion to miss if you need rest or things like that,” one of the rule’s supporters said. “I’m all for it. You’ve got to be out there on the floor if you can.”

Let’s face it, folks: During the 2023-24 college basketball season, no player was more compelling than Clark. And when we were enjoying March Madness, the women’s NCAA Tournament seemed to have more engaging storylines and colorful characters than the men’s.

This got us wondering: Is women’s basketball having a moment within the NBA too?

The answer appears to be a resounding “yes!”

In our survey, Clark not only ranked as the second-favorite current non-NBA athlete, but women’s basketball players — Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum, Angel Reese, JuJu Watkins, A’ja Wilson and Clark — were named on 12.2 percent of all NBA players’ ballots. Only NFL players were named on more ballots (39.1 percent of them) than women’s basketball players.

“She’s unreal,” one NBA player said about Clark, who went first overall last week to the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft. “I’m excited to see how her journey pans out and what she does for the women’s game.”

Caitlin Clark's whirlwind WNBA Draft week just the start for the in-demand rookie

Now that Clark has finished her college career, who, if anyone, will become the most popular NCAA women’s player? Maybe Watkins, the dynamic 6-foot-2 guard who just finished her first season at USC.

One NBA player said: “Her game is so pretty to watch. She’s so fluid, smooth. … I hadn’t watched a full game (of hers) until tournament time. I’d seen little clips and highlights and stuff. But watching her against UConn the other night, she definitely made a big fan out of me.”

Soccer players — none of them American — were named on the third-highest number of ballots, coming in at 11.3 percent.

Given that the NFL dominates the North American sports landscape, it should come as no surprise that it dominated our poll. Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback who won his second NFL MVP last season, has a bunch of fans in the NBA.

“He’s one of the best QBs ever since he came into the league,” one player said. “His running ability is crazy.”

But it was one other NFL quarterback — a quarterback far less talented than Jackson — who drew one of the funniest responses in our entire poll: Cousins, the former Commanders and Vikings quarterback who recently signed a four-year, $180 million contract to join the Atlanta Falcons, with $100 million of that total guaranteed.

When an NBA player named Cousins as his favorite current non-NBA athlete, the response elicited a dumbfounded “Why?” from one writer from The Athletic .

The NBA player said: “Kirk Cousins because he gets paid and doesn’t have to win or don’t have to do anything and made $400 million off of one playoff win. Legend.”

(Illustration by John Bradford / The Athletic ; top photos of Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama and Adam Silver: Kenny Giarla, Ronald Cortes, Justin Tafoya / Getty Images)

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On Earth Day, Biden Spotlights Climate Investments to Contrast With Republicans

President Biden announced $7 billion more for solar power projects and pointed to a new a climate work force as he tries to galvanize young voters.

• Share full article

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Brad Plumer

Zolan Kanno-Youngs reported from Triangle, Va., and Brad Plumer from Washington.

President Biden announced $7 billion in grants for solar power projects on Monday and tried to draw a contrast with Republicans who want to roll back his policies on climate change.

In remarks at Prince William Forest in Virginia, Mr. Biden said the money from his signature climate and energy law, the Inflation Reduction Act, would help provide solar power for hundreds of thousands of homes in disadvantaged communities.

“Despite the overwhelming devastation in red and blue states, there’s still those who deny climate is in crisis,” Mr. Biden said at the start of a week in which his top officials will fan out across the country to promote his environmental policy. “Our MAGA Republican friends don’t seem to think it’s a crisis.”

He also said the American Climate Corps, a new work force for people hoping to combat climate change, would create thousands of jobs for the next generation.

Mr. Biden’s Earth Day event comes as he tries to energize younger voters, many of whom are disillusioned with the 2024 candidates and infuriated over the administration’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza.

On Monday, Mr. Biden tried to strike a middle ground when speaking about the turmoil on college campuses . Asked whether he condemned “the antisemitic protesters,” Mr. Biden said, “I condemn the antisemitic protests.” He added: “I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”

Mr. Biden leads his Republican opponent, former President Donald J. Trump, among young voters, and many approve of his record on the environment when contrasted with Mr. Trump’s. Mr. Biden’s lead, however, is smaller than it was at this point during the 2020 election cycle, according to a Harvard Youth Poll released last week.

Another poll, from October , found that just 31 percent of voters younger than 30 were “satisfied” with Mr. Biden’s record on climate change.

Danielle Deiseroth, the executive director of Data for Progress, a left-leaning research firm, said Mr. Biden could use his efforts to combat climate change to bolster support among young voters.

“The bigger fear is not necessarily young voters turning out en masse for Trump. It’s them staying home,” Ms. Deiseroth said. “That’s where the climate stuff does come into play, to sort of energize and also to scare young people to coming out to vote.”

Mr. Biden has faced a messaging problem when it comes to the Inflation Reduction Act, his most consequential climate policy to date. The legislation contained hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits to help companies switch to low-carbon electricity sources like wind, solar and nuclear power. It also included billions in incentives for people to buy electric vehicles and electric heat pumps for their homes.

The law, signed in 2022, is already having ripple effects: Across the country, businesses have announced plans for more than 150 factories that would build electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and wind turbines. Sales of electric cars and installations of large-scale solar power plants both hit record highs last year.

Yet polls suggest that few Americans seem to know about the law.

One potential problem is that many of the climate law’s outcomes are not yet fully visible. While companies have announced more than $100 billion in new manufacturing investments in states like Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, many of those factories are not yet up and running.

Some environmentalists have sought to publicize the law’s effects. Climate Power, a liberal advocacy group, plans to spend $80 million on election-year advertising to contrast Mr. Biden’s legislative accomplishments with the actions of Mr. Trump, who has mocked climate science and has vowed to roll back programs to promote clean energy.

Other climate activists have sharply criticized Mr. Biden for not doing enough to curtail fossil fuel drilling in the United States. U.S. oil and gas production soared to record highs last year. Many activists have focused anger on Mr. Biden’s approval of Willow , an $8 billion oil drilling project on pristine federal land in Alaska, and on federal approval of a natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia that has been opposed by environmentalists.

“President Biden has taken historic action on climate change and done more than any president in history to combat the climate crisis, but that bar is unfortunately quite low,” said Stevie O’Hanlon, the communications director for the Sunrise Movement, a group of young climate activists. “If Joe Biden wants to be seen as a climate president by young voters, he needs to decisively take action to end the fossil fuel era.”

In recent months, Mr. Biden has taken a series of steps to try to slow down domestic fossil fuel production. In January, the administration said it would pause the approval of new terminals that export liquefied natural gas in order to study the issue further. This month, the Interior Department said it would ban oil drilling across nearly 13 million acres in Alaska’s North Slope.

Lisa Friedman contributed reporting.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent, covering President Biden and his administration. More about Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Brad Plumer is a Times reporter who covers technology and policy efforts to address global warming. More about Brad Plumer

Our Coverage of the 2024 Election

Presidential Race

Even after Nikki Haley dropped out of the Republican presidential primary, nearly 20 percent of G.O.P. primary voters have cast ballots for someone other than Donald Trump. Here’s what to make of the “zombie vote”  against Trump.

From the courts to the campaign trail , Trump is challenging a hallmark of American-style democracy : its suspicion of concentrated power.

President Biden has homed in on an infamous moment  of Trump’s, which crystallized the chaos of the Trump presidency, by trolling his political opponent.

Other Key Races

With the 2024 primary season entering the homestretch — and the presidential matchup already set — hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians  cast their ballots  in Senate and House contests  as well as for president and local races. Here are the takeaways .

David McCormick  won an unopposed Republican primary for Senate  in Pennsylvania, securing the party’s nomination two years after former Trump torpedoed his first Senate run by backing his primary rival, the celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Representative Summer Lee, a first-term progressive Democrat, won her primary contest  in western Pennsylvania, fending off a moderate challenger in a race that centered on her stance on the war in Gaza .