New York is the largest metropolis in the United States,
and also one of the most recognized and influential on Earth.
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It is considered the cultural and financial capital of the world,
and home to so many landmarks like Times Square,
Central Park, Fifth Avenue, the Empire State Building,
Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, just to name a few.
New York is divided into five distinct boroughs,
each one a separate county,
and honestly, they could be separate cities as well.
In the series, we're going to focus on Manhattan,
as it's the most famous,
and also where several of the top attractions are located.
And in this very first video,
we're going to walk around Midtown Manhattan
and the Theater District. A little bit of the Central Park as well.
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Hello, I'm Renata,
and this is my husband, Gordon.
- I'm a Canadian. - [laughs]
I'm a journalist. - And I'm Gordon.
You're the cameraman.
-Cameraman. -Both of us film, actually.
- What do you do on your channel?
- Here on this channel, we take you on a virtual trip
around the world.
So come with us.
Also, you can use our trips to plan your own trips.
- Plan to go to New York?
Singapore?
How about Tokyo, Japan, where the Olympics just were?
We can help you.
Check down below, like, subscribe,
and see all the beautiful videos we've created.
-You're inspired today, aren't you?
- Inspiration. [in Portuguese]
-New York City is a place we both love.
We've been here many times since we were teenagers, basically,
since way before we were even dreaming of meeting each other.
And yet, every time you come here, you discover something new.
We're planning to shoot three videos here,
mixing old-time favorite attractions with brand-new activities,
or new places to visit.
Let's get started in a very traditional way, shall we?
With a bagel at Grand Central Terminal.
That, by the way, is the largest piece of Tiffany glass in the world.
And the only clock on time in the entire station.
The others are slightly ahead.
It's an extra hand for people not to miss their trains.
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Grand Central is more than a train station.
This is a historic landmark in Midtown Manhattan.
Here you also have some options for dining, shopping.
Sometimes there are even events going on here.
And as every day, thousands of people come from the suburbs for nearby states
to work in New York City,
this is their first point of contact with this massive metropolis.
This clock right here is rumored to have been made of opals,
a very expensive gemstone.
It would be worth millions if it is true.
The ceiling is the constellation.
Look at the zodiac signs here.
There is a food court in the lower level.
Lots of options here for quick snack.
This one right here is Zaro's.
This is the fourth generation family-owned and operated business.
- Cheers! - Cheers!
You cannot come to New York and don't have a bagel.
And I love bagels.
- Plain Jane. - Both of us, yeah.
- Plain Jane. - Cream cheese.
Everything bagel.
I love bagels.
Good morning.
You found a sink in the middle of the station, baby?
- Yeah. - [laughs]
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Look at that! A very famous building here in New York City.
That's the Chrysler Building.
They don't have an observatory there.
So, unfortunately, you cannot go for a visit,
but you have some other great alternatives,
and I'll show them along this and in my next videos.
In the 1920s and '30s,
there was kind of a rush here in New York City
to build the tallest building in the world.
That's why you see so many beautiful art deco skyscrapers.
That's the Chrysler Building.
It was the tallest building in the world for 11 months,
until another one right here was inaugurated, the Empire State Building.
It's hidden right behind this one here.
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Now, here they got a great observatory.
the Empire State Building was the world's tallest building
for about 40 years.
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And why this name, Empire State?
That's the nickname of the state of New York.
One of the most famous and sophisticated avenues in the world.
Welcome to Fifth Avenue.
Look at this building, how amazing!
The New York Public Library.
We're gonna be back on Fifth Avenue very shortly.
But first, let me show you a very nice place here
between Fifth and Sixth.
Oh, there's some construction here.
This is Rockefeller Center.
There is some kind of construction work going on here at the plaza.
Oh, here's what it is.
It looks like they're creating a commercial space down there.
This should be ready by the end of the year.
If you live in the U.S. or Canada,
you may recognize this setting here.
This is where they show the "Today" show.
That's Al Roker, the weatherman.
Oh, he's my favorite.
Oh, and they're interviewing that girl.
She's the youngest American to go to space.
That is so cool.
A lot of security here,
exactly because people stop, you know, to watch.
[laughs]
You can't see very clearly inside.
There's like a film.
It's actually so that the light would be good from inside out,
but it’s still cool.
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There are various buildings in this complex here.
- Yeah. -This was a massive development
during one of the worst times in the American History, the Depression.
- Yes. - The buildings were built here
in the end of 1920s, early '30s.
- And to make an investment of this magnitude
during that time. -Exactly.
- Amazing. - Yeah, Mr. Rockefeller himself.
He invested it all.
- Did he build with rocks?
- I don't know, baby.
That was just his last name. - Oh.
- But you know that this building here is "30 Rock," right?
30 Rockefeller Plaza. [- Television.]
- 30 Rock, yeah. - Television.
- Yeah, yeah, just like on TV.
When you see the address like this, you may not recognize,
but this is "30 Rock."
There's an observatory all the way up there.
This is Top of the Rock.
You have an amazing view of the Empire State Building from up there.
It is one of my favorite observatories exactly because of this view.
When it comes to New York City,
you got to visit at least one observatory
because the views are absolutely fantastic from up there.
We've been to most of them. They're all very worth it and amazing.
This time we're gonna see a brand-new one to us,
and it's coming up in a future video.
Make sure you activate the notifications, not to miss the upcoming videos.
Radio City Music Hall,
this was the first building in the Rockefeller Center
that opened up in the early '30s.
It's not even located in the plaza.
This is a massive theater,
almost 6,000 people can fit in over here.
Still one of the biggest in the United States.
And do you know something that happened here?
The NFL football draft.
I knew you'd say that. [laugh] Yeah.
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We're back at Fifth Avenue, and now you can hear the bells,
we're right in front of St Patrick's Cathedral.
This beautiful Catholic Cathedral right here
is the seat of the New York archdiocese.
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Now you may think, how can a church be
in such a high-priced piece of real estate over here?
Well, the construction was way before this avenue became
the Fifth Avenue we have today.
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They still have services here.
Look at this, every day.
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There's a line to visit the store inside the church.
Wow! This is a very modern church.
Look at this. You can do everything from your phone.
Donate, learn about the history, follow the gospel reading,
and the cardinal's welcome.
And they not even distribute papers anymore.
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Now from here until Central Park,
this is where you come for window shopping.
It's no surprise that Fifth Avenue
is one of the most expensive streets in the world
and most designer stores are located exactly in the next few blocks.
Even if you have no intention of shopping,
it's worth it to come here for a stroll,
as this is a really beautiful area.
Fun fact: Fifth Avenue is a dividing line
for East and West Streets in Manhattan.
For example, it separates East 56th from West 56th
Just arriving in the Central Park and Apple.
This Apple Store here is open 24 hours.
I needed to pick up something here, an AirTag for my mom,
as the Apple Stores in Orlando are very far from where we live,
this was way more convenient.
Now I can already say I went shopping on Fifth Avenue.
Now, basically just across the street, look at where we are.
This is the one and only Central Park,
an oasis right in the middle of the city where you can even hear the cicadas.
A lot of people come here for picnics, get some rest,
read a book.
Here are some of the most expensive real estate in New York.
- Absolutely.
In fact, the section of Fifth Avenue that runs along Central Park
was nicknamed Millionaires' Row in the early 20th century
due to the high concentration of mansions.
And today's condos are worth several million dollars.
There's so much to do here that you'd need a couple hours to enjoy.
Also, this park is really, really big. For me to show you everything here,
I'd need to dedicate an entire video to Central Park.
You can even download this free audio guide to learn all about it.
In the next few videos, I'll show you some newer parks in the city
that are gaining a lot of attention as well.
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This is the most visited urban park in the entire United States.
- Really? - Uh-hmm.
- I could understand that.
- I could understand. - You know it's a big city and...
- ...you know, lots of people come and travel here, yeah.
- Uh-hmm, yeah.
It's probably the most famous park as well. - Yeah
So interesting how you hear more foreign languages here
than English, right?
At the Central Park at least. - Yes.
- It's so interesting.
- Isn't English the second language?
- The second language here? - Yeah.
- It might be. [laughs]
Seriously, we heard Russian, Greek, Spanish everywhere.
What else? Some I don't even know. I can't recognize.
You can rent a bike right here. It's $15 for an hour.
Here are the prices. - Yeah.
- Scooter, electric. - Oh, scooter, too.
- E-bike. - And an e-bike.
That's so cool. Thank you, thank you.
You can rent here for an hour and go enjoy at Central Park.
We're right in front of Central Park. Look at that.
What's your name? - Muhammad.
- Muhammad. You can come here and look for Muhammad.
Hi, hello! - Hi!
- [laughs]
Bye. Thank you. - Bye.
Here in New York City, you see dollar pizzas everywhere.
So we decided to give it a try today.
Just found this one here for 99 cents.
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What's the verdict? 99-cent pizza?
- Good. - Yeah.
Mmm. It's much better than I expected.
I like it.
- Get me another.
There you go.
In New York City, you eat pizza with your hands.
You got to grab and fold the pizza.
You should actually fold it a little more,
but I'm using the napkins here to make it easier.
This is how it is.
Lunch for $6, huh?
- Yeah, it should have been 50 cents less.
- Yes, if we had paid attention. - Yeah.
- If we had paid attention that you could get two slices and a Coke...
- For $2.75.
- Exactly. We just got one to get started, and then we wanted more.
- [laughs] - I didn't expect it to be so good.
- And these places are normally open until four in the morning.
- Quite the park, huh?
- Very cute, very nice.
Let me show you a really nice place in this area here.
This is Bryant Park. It is so full of cafes and restaurants.
Look at this, full of tables outside.
Everyone outdoors having a good time.
And even better, there's always something going on here.
Look at this, free tai chi classes.
There's a stage here, look at this.
Sometimes there are movies. Sometimes there are concerts.
Everything free. Normally, late afternoon, early evening.
During winter, there are other things going on.
And across the park, this wonderful building
is New York City's Public Library.
The same building we saw earlier from Fifth Avenue.
I think I've never seen so many tables like this
spread all over a park.
But Bryant Park is super famous for the public restrooms.
They're supposedly among the best in the country.
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You should go check the bathroom.
- Why? - It is really nice.
It's like a high-end bathroom.
- Oh, really? - Uh-hmm.
- Does it help you to go?
[laughs]
- When you want to go, you just want to go, you know?
- Oh, okay.
Seriously, you'd never expect something like this to be free in a park.
- We have free toilets all across America.
- Baby, it smells good, it looks like a high-end place.
There are mirrors, really nice flowers, and classical music.
- So they take care of it
They make it an experience. - Oh, yeah.
So when you come to New York,
you have to go to Bryant Park and go to the toilet.
- Yeah. - Forget everything else,
just go to the toilet.
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- Now get ready to see a square that is exactly the opposite.
Times Square is a big commercial and entertainment center.
But if you ask any New Yorker, they'll tell you not to come here
because it is a big tourist trap.
It can be, it can be.
But as a foreigner, I also understand why tourists love this area here,
because look around, where else do you see a place like this?
Where else on Earth do you see a place like this?
This many billboards, lights everywhere.
If it is your first time in New York,
I think it's worth coming here for a stroll.
Just don't spend a lot of your money here.
Why the name Times Square?
- Because of the newspaper Times.
- The New York Times. - The New York.
- Yes, they moved right here. They were in this main building.
This area was not called Times Square at all.
When the New York Times moved right here as a homage,
this became Times Square.
Even the New Year's tradition here,
that ball that drops, you know, from up there
that started with the New York Times.
The Time started everything here.
Uh-hmm, yes.
Journalists, baby, journalists.
The importance of journalists. [laughs]
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As the Times moved to this area here,
a lot of other companies started coming as well.
Today they're not here anymore, they needed a bigger space.
This is a really cool place for you to come,
sit down over here and just people watch.
But as the stairs are now closed, let me share some images
I shot during my last trip here.
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There are a lot of people in costumes here.
If you want to take a picture with them,
they're going to charge you like $10 or $20.
so just be ready.
When you come to New York City, you're gonna realize that a Broadway show
is not necessarily located on Broadway Avenue.
That's because Broadway is just a reference to the size of the theater.
A Broadway theater has more than 500 seats.
Less than that is off-Broadway or off-off-Broadway.
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This here, for example, this is the Majestic Theatre,
not on Broadway Avenue,
and this is home to the longest-running Broadway show in history,
the Phantom of the Opera.
It's been going on since 1988.
Now, they're taking advantage of the pandemic here
to renovate the theater.
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But you should definitely visit Times Square at night.
There are some steps here.
Is it really for people to take pictures?
Look at YouTube! Advertising YouTube Shorts on Times Square.
Here, at this place here, TKTS, you can get discounted,
same-day tickets for Broadway shows.
Normally, there's a big line.
Now, it is closed because it closes at 8 p.m.
If you haven't realized it yet, we spent an entire day in New York City,
seeing some of the top attractions without paying any entrance fee.
This is something I love about the city
because New York can be very expensive,
but you can also have a great time totally free.
- Renata talks a lot,
for a very long time,
very long,
very, very, and...
- Okay... - Cut!