New York Smart Guide, The Smart Way to Navigate by the Discovery Channel's APA Publications provides an itemized list of what to see and what to do in New York. This 160-page guide discusses the following in New York:
- architecture
- bars
- cafes
- children
- religious services
- dance and fashion
- festivals, restaurants, food and drink
- galleries
- gay and lesbian events
- essentials
- history
- hotels
- literature and media
- movies, theatre and museums
- music and nightlife
- pampering
- parks and gardens
- shopping, sports
- transportation
The guide has overviews of neighborhoods in New York, giving readers an idea of the flavor of each, focusing more on the positives and ignoring the negatives. As a bonus, for people who love numbers, the guide gives readers facts about New York’s population, 8 million, number of international visitors, and other statistics.
What to Do in New York
Following the borough/neighborhood overviews, the book lists attractions. Attractions that are somehow connected to each other are cross referenced in the guide. Subway directions or page numbers for maps are provided for each listing. The listings do not include all that New York has to offer. This would not be possible in a book as small as the New York Smart guide. The book, instead gives readers a snapshot of offerings that that editors deem worthy to mention. For example, in the listing for cafes, the guidebook avoids mentioning popular chains, but lists instead cafes that have character.
The shopping section, however, is rather skimpy, listing only two bookstores, and two children's stores in Midtown New York. The listings are rather obvious. Borders is listed as a book store. Toys R Us and FAO Schwarz are listed as toy stores. Because the listings are organized per area, it may take some searching through the book to get a good idea of what New York has to offer throughout the city. In other words, readers who are looking through listings only in midtown may not realize that there are better choices in the uptown section for a stores or New York bars. Tourists, however, who plan to spend most of their time in only one section of New York, can easily get a general idea of where to eat, shop or what to see nearby.
New York Guide Summary
This guide is good for people who are only spending a few days in New York and who are visiting a relatively small area of the city, because the listings give few choices in some cases. The book's small compact size makes it easy to pack, and carry. The pages are heavy-weight and can stand up to wear and tear. There is also a handy subway map in the back of the guide.
Title: New York Smart Guide, The Smart Way to Navigate
Publisher: ASA Publications
ISBN: 27793-58670
