The wonderful thing about Manhattan is that most of the city is spread out like a grid. Once you get accustomed to this style, you can pretty much navigate the entire city above 14th Street. 14th Street kicks off an array of streets and avenues that intersect perpendicularly with each other; The streets run north and south, going up in number. The avenues run east to west. If you’re counting just the streets (14th Street, 15th, etc.) every 20 blocks equals one mile in distance. This is a good way to indicate how much you’ve been walking.

Central Park takes up a hefty chunk of Manhattan, with many entrances leading travelers into the various sectors of the park. But did you know that each entrance has a gate, and each gate has a name? You’ll see the name etched into the stone gateway leading you into the opening as you enter the park. 

During the spring, you’ll notice a lovely patch of daffodils here and there throughout Central Park. What you may not know is that these flowers were given to the city as a gift from Holland after the 9/11 attacks. It was their lovely contribution to the restoration of New York’s lost beauty.

If you’ve ever walked all the way through Hell’s Kitchen and into the Upper West Side, you’ve probably wondered why 10th Ave magically transitions into Amsterdam Avenue despite no significant change. Or why 9th Ave becomes Columbus and 11th becomes West End, and so on. The answer is simple: it’s a marketing tool. As the neighborhoods shift to slightly more ‘upscale’, realtors thought they should make the roads sound fancier by assigning the numbered avenues with actual street names. You’ll see this change at 59th Street.

No matter where you walk in Central Park, it’s more than likely that a film crew occupied that area before you.  From iconic movies like Home Alone to television staples such as Law and Order, Central Park has been filmed, photographed, and framed more times than any other location in the world.

Soho occupies a large chunk of the downtown area, with fancy shops, art galleries, and cobblestone streets to entertain walkers. That said, Soho is a bit difficult to navigate, being separated from the ‘grid’ portion of the city. But the name ‘Soho’ is actually a tool in navigating where to find this neighborhood. Soho is shortened for South of Houston Street. So, you’ll know that once you hit Houston Street, you’ve left the Village and entered the boundaries of Soho.

If America is a melting pot then NYC is the cabinet full of spices. Between the 800 different languages spoken here, New York has been crowned the most linguistically diverse city in the world. English takes the first place prize with Spanish following closely behind.

In general, NYC is the hub for all things culture, from countless Italian pizza joints to Korea Town, China Town, Little Spain in Hudson Yards, and so many more global influences. As you walk around, you’ll notice different languages buzzing around you in the crowd, coming from people who may seem like tourists, but likely live in the city.

New York is a musical city with melodies of sirens, people yelling in the street, and most commonly, the honking of car horns, blessing the ears of pedestrians. This, however, is illegal. Though it may not sound like it, honking your car horn in NYC is against the law, unless you’re using it to alert someone of immediate danger.

The Central Park Zoo is no secret to locals and tourists alike. Placed in the southeast corner of the park, the Zoo provides animal entertainment for any who enter. As you exit the Zoo, you’ll see a clock atop the archway. Around the clock are statues of animals that rotate every hour like a porcelain merry-go-round.

Here’s a win for the ladies! You might not be able to tell just by walking around, but roughly 53% of New York’s population are female while 47% are male.