When your senses are first bombarded with light, sound and colour as you exit a yellow cab into the bustling heartland of Times Square, New York’s magic spell already has you in its thrall. Chow down on a hot dog from a street vendor in the middle of Central Park, cheer on the Yankees on homeground, or catch a show on Broadway to get the all American experience in the city that never sleeps.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

“Batter, batter, batter, swwwwinnng, batter!” It wouldn’t be a trip to the US without catching a game of baseball. The season runs from April until September. With a catchcry of ‘Heroes Remembered. Legends Born’, The New York Yankees have certainly turned out their fair share of sporting heroes since their inception in 1913.  The Yankees hail from The Bronx and are a team surrounded by mythical curses, controversy and the rise of legends including Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. The original Yankee Stadium was built in 1923 at the height of Babe Ruth’s fame, but was retired in 2008 with the new stadium built just across the park featuring many of the significant monuments of the historic ballpark. These days, the heroes of the field are Alex Rodriguez and top home-run hitter Curtis Granderson. Grab a hot dog, a beer and settle in to watch history in the making. Just be sure to practise your hollers before you go.

New York’s Yankee Stadium

Central Park

The hustle and noise of the Big Apple seems to fall away completely when you enter the heartland of Central Park. It’s 51 blocks of woods, grass and parkland that makes you feel like you’re in upstate New York, rather than the beating heart of its centre. Famous landmarks litter the landscape. The Alice in Wonderland statue near East 75th/76th Streets captures Lewis Carroll’s trippy mushroom meeting of Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the White Rabbit in a lifelike bronze replica. Strawberry Fields near West 71st/72nd streets is a monument to the fallen John Lennon, etched with the mosaic remembrance ‘Imagine’. The Central Park Zoo is similarly a hidden gem in the middle of Manhattan. There are many ways to amble around Central Park: hire a bike, take a stroll or catch a horse and cab ride. Don’t forget to grab a pretzel from a street vendor on your way in, so you can tease the squirrels and experience an all American moment.

New York’s Central Park

Catch a Show on Broadway

A New York holiday is not complete without taking in a show at one of Broadway’s 40 professional theatres. Broadway attracts more than 12 million visitors a year, turning over more than $1 billion in revenue. Broadway was born in the late 1800s, when musicals began to infiltrate the theatres. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that the boutique theatres began to creep upon Times Square, consolidating around it in the 1920s and 1930s. Since that time countless long-run performances have trod the boards, with the longest running show being Phantom of The Opera with more than 10,000 shows from 1988 to today. Catch Chicago, Cats, Mamma Mia and Wicked starring A List celebrities and the crème de la crème of the world musical theatre stars. Because you haven’t seen it, until you’ve seen it on Broadway!

Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway

Freelance writer Megan Reeder Hope+ is a former music publicist and photojournalist. She has visited New York four times and can’t get enough of its neon splendour.