Day 1: Athens - New York
Meeting at the airport, final instructions and flight to New York with the leading airlines our office works with. Flight to the dream, the legendary "New York - New York", the city with a thousand faces that we all know from the movies in the cinema, the city that combined its name with "the dream" and the imagination of modern man. Upon arrival, we will transfer to the hotel located in the heart of Manhattan. Time to settle in. Shortly afterwards, depending on arrival time, we will embark on a walking tour with our guide for a first introduction to the most exciting city on the planet.
Day 2: New York City - North Manhattan Tour - Central Park
We begin our day with a guided tour of the sights of Northern Manhattan for which the city is famous. We will begin our tour at the statue of the most important explorer, Christopher Columbus with his caravels, which today is the measuring point for all distances from New York City. We will then pass by Lincoln Center, home to the Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera, an ideal venue for classical music lovers. A short stop at Central Park, one of the world's most popular parks, a place where New Yorkers relax and spend their leisure time. A park full of picturesque lakes, magnificent fountains, the Whispering Bench, Shakespeare's Garden and the small but lively zoo. Continue on to the General Grant Memorial and Columbia University, New York's premier theoretical science university, whose entrance makes mention of ancient Greek philosophers. Next is the Harlem neighbourhood, formerly known as the African-American Mecca of New York City, home to the Apollo theatre, which has hosted all the jazz demigods and Michael Jackson. The tour concludes with 5th Avenue with its famous fashion houses and Rockefeller Center, one of the largest private complexes in the world owned by the eponymous family, a city landmark and home to the "Top of the Rock" observatory. We will end up in Times Square, the world's busiest and most photographed square, where millions of visitors are dazzled by the illuminated skyscrapers with colorful "neon" signs that truly make the night a day. Nearby is the wondrous Broadway, an entertainment industry hub where one can enjoy the world's most spectacular shows.
For the evening, we recommend catching one of the famous musicals at the Broadway theatres, completing your day in New York in the best possible way. Don't forget to purchase your tickets from our office in Greece, in order to take advantage of the special low prices and save considerable time in queues!
Day 3: New York City - South Manhattan tour, United Nations, Chelsea Market and the new eccentric Hudson Yards district, cruise to the Statue of Liberty - Grand Central station
Meet in the hotel lobby for the second part of the city tour in which we will head alongside the East River passing the East Manhattan piers with views of the Brooklyn Suspension Bridge. Our first stop will be at the United Nations House, the headquarters of the organization whose purpose is to preserve world peace, study international economic trends, human rights issues, natural resources, etc. Then we will visit the Grand Central Station, gateway and symbol of the city, where at least 750,000 people pass through the magnificent main hall every day.
We then head to the Flatiron Building, a pioneering skyscraper of great architectural significance. We move on to Greenwich Village which was beloved by artists and writers, the benchmark being Washington Square and New York University (N.Y.U).
Next is Soho which is filled with famous fashion houses, Little Italy and Chinatown, two of the city's most vibrant districts where New York's multicultural identity can be felt. We head to Wall Street, the centre of the world's economy with a stop at the Charging Bull bronze sculpture, where we can also see Battery Park. Next we come across Ground Zero, where a memorial has been created to remind everyone of 9/11, and next to it is the new Financial Center called the One Word Trade Center. In the same area, the new much-discussed station, built by Kalatrawa, known as Oculus, a special architectural building dominated by white, which impresses both inside and outside and is even considered to be the most expensive station in the world, at a cost of 4 billion dollars. Afterwards, we will enter the famous Chelsea Market, home of famous New York gourmet restaurants, where there will be free time to buy local produce and taste famous delicacies. At this point there is also the Highline, a wonderful park on the old railway line, where one can walk over the city taking spectacular photos, filled with images of Manhattan neighborhoods.
Our tour continues with a cruise around Manhattan Island, where we can see historic Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty that dominates the entrance to the city, Staten Island and the great Verenzano Bridge. Of course we will pass under the various small and larger old and newer bridges and over the many tunnels that connect Manhattan to the surrounding area and the adjacent State of New Jersey. This will now give us a great opportunity to photograph the impressive Manhattan skyscrapers from afar.
After the cruise, we will visit Hudson Yards, the newly built neighborhood of Manhattan that came out of a science fiction movie! Spread over 14 acres it includes dozens of shops, gardens, groves, upscale stores, celebrity chef restaurants and the impressive climbing project The Vessel which resembles a giant beehive. We will then return to our hotel and have time to get ready for our evening out. We have almost limitless options in the not coincidentally named "the city that never sleeps": at a special cocktail bar or restaurant in the Meatpacking District, at a building-top bar enjoying the illuminated Manhattan or in nearby Soho, Little Italy, Tribecca, West & East Village, all areas with a rich nightlife. Among New Yorkers relaxing with a drink or food after a long day, New York is ready to show you its nightlife face! If we're still lucky and there's a basketball game on, we suggest you experience the spectacular and magical world of the NBA in Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center with tickets secured by us! Of course, those of you who want to get specific and tested suggestions from our guide, feel free to consult him at any time!
4th day: New York City - Visit to the Metropolitan Museum - Public Library - walk in the neighborhoods "Sex & the city'', "Friends'' - tour of the Brooklyn Bridge - Brooklyn Dumbo area - Timeout Market
Today, we begin our tour of the public library, a beautiful building both outside and inside, dominated by marble, murals, woodwork, quiet spaces for reading and study. Remarkably, the public library is one of the most important research libraries in the United States. We continue in the footsteps of the main protagonists of the famous Sex and the City series, Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. In addition to 5th Avenue where the four friends spent most of their time shopping, we will visit in particular the Magnolia Bakery where the famous group used to enjoy their famous cupcakes, and Carrie's house where the filming of the famous series took place. At the same time we will continue our walk in the West Village, where we will pass by the building where the shooting of the series that was a huge success in Greece, "The Friends", thus completing our special walk ! Then, we visit one of the richest museums in the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art where works of priceless value from every culture are collected. It is the third most visited museum in the world, after the Louvre and the British Museum.
Its permanent collections include works of art from classical antiquity, ancient Egypt, Byzantine and Islamic art, paintings and sculptures by leading painters, as well as an extensive collection of American, African, Asian, Asian and contemporary art and much, much more. Surely a single day is not enough to explore it in its entirety. This is a museum with a rich and inexhaustible collection that art lovers will love. Next, we will experience Brooklyn's Dumbo district, an area located in the southeastern end of Brooklyn. This area, whose name comes from the initials Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is one of the most historic and photographed areas with unsurpassed views for the best photos of your trip. So, as a souvenir, don't forget to take a picture of the corner of Washington Street yourself. There we'll walk through neighborhoods reminiscent of another era. The famous brownstone houses of the 19th century are a landmark, the immaculate buildings and manicured trees of Brooklyn Heights lend an air of stateliness to the neighborhood. While the area caters to classic tastes, one need not be an expert to enjoy the neighborhood's rustic architecture. In Brooklyn's most impressive neighborhood is the Timeout Market a multi-faceted market with top chef restaurants featuring specialties from around the world. We will stroll along the river with views of the Manhattan skyscrapers and enjoy food and drink in a unique setting among the majestic bridges of Brooklyn and Manhattan. From there we will have the opportunity to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge with a final destination of Manhattan! The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States (1883) and connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by crossing over the East River. Since its opening it has been a symbol of New York City and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1972.
We then return to the hotel. We suggest spending the evening at one of Manhattan's most authentic Jazz Bars, with live music, food and drink. Due to the fact that the center is often full, you have the option of booking and purchasing a ticket from us. For the burger and chocolate lovers, our guide will recommend the best spots in town!
Day 5: New York - Woodbury Commons Outlets Discount Village(optional).
Free day. For those of you whose very cheap shopping is one of the reasons for visiting New York, a visit to the largest, richest and most impressive, shopping mall, the famous Woodbury Commons is a must. It is worth noting that the shops are spread out in a huge open space that resembles a small village, which makes your shopping even safer. Just an hour or so away from Manhattan, there are all the brand-name items at incredibly low prices. Two hundred and twenty plus fashion names will be at your disposal. It is no coincidence that the largest percentage of Americans, choose this place for their shopping. With stores like Michael Kors, Gucci, Guess, Dolce&Gabbana, Ugg, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Timberland, Brooks Brothers, Tommy Hilfiger and many more in an incredible variety and at prices up to four times cheaper than in Greece. It will also help you save time, as you won't have to spend extra time shopping in Manhattan. Our guide will give you the necessary advice to see as many shops as possible, making appropriate use of your time according to your shopping interest. Along with your membership, you get a $10 VIP Coupons Book for extra perks and discounts and a map to mark the top stores that interest you. Again, if shopping is not your forte, we suggest a stroll through Soho, Chelsea with its local market and East village, which was home to high society until 1900, then populated by immigrants and from the 1950s onwards the area became a mecca for the Beatles, hippies and punk generation. The East village became a laboratory for experimentation and new trends.
Day 6: New York - New Orleans
Departure and flight to New Orleans. Arrival and check-in at our hotel. First acquaintance with the European city, so different from other American cities, which is full of vitality and seems to live in the past. New Orleans, founded by the French, is famous for its unique music, considered the home of jazz, for its Creole cuisine and for its annual carnival, known as "Mardi Gras". For the evening, we suggest you walk along the world famous Bourbon Street, the historic heart of the city known to all as the "French Quarter". This street is the liveliest street in the city, the street of entertainment where Louis Armstrong took his first steps. Here you can enjoy a drink in one of the many bars with live jazz and blues music recommended by your guide.
Day 7: New Orleans - Tour.
Tour of atmospheric New Orleans, the cradle of jazz music, on whose streets dozens of musicians were nurtured. New Orleans, the Big Easy, the "big carefree" as it is nicknamed, is a liberal and open city. The various races and cultures that make it up give it vibrancy. Today's tour will begin with the French Quarter, where we'll see the colonial-style mansions with their lacy ornate wrought-iron balcony railings, wooden shutters and pastel-colored walls. The slow tram feature in the centre of Old Town challenges us for a ride, which includes Jackson Square, which is filled with street vendors where they set their own pace in the city, the old City Hall, the old Bishop's Building and the historic St. Louis Church. We continue to General Lee's Square and the upscale downtown Garden District, created by newcomer Americans after the French purchased Louisiana, whose streets bear names from Greek mythology. In this district, you will see many mansions with beautiful gardens, the magnificent Superdom and more. Completing your tour of the city, we suggest you board a riverboat and enjoy a cruise on the Mississippi. The best option is the Natchez, the ship where she is arguably the champion of the Mississippi as she had never lost a race. The cruise is about 2 hours long and comes with live jazz music and food if you choose. Otherwise, you can visit City Park, the city park, which will impress you both for its size and its similarity, even in shape, to New York's Central Park. For the evening we suggest a visit to the World Trade Center "Plimsoll Club" to see the illuminated city and the Mississippi from above, or else you can visit Frenchmen Street, where mostly the locals are entertained and enjoy your drink there to the sounds of course of jazz music.
Day 8: New Orleans (optional excursions)
PLANTATION TOUR
We suggest a full day excursion, where we are transported back to the Old South and see the high life lived by slave owners and the hard life of slaves on the historic old sugar plantation. As we wander around the immaculately manicured estate with its impressive trees and enter the elegant big house, we get a sense of how privileged their lives were. In contrast to the life of the owners, we will realize the cruelty suffered by the other inhabitants of the plantation, the slaves. There we will discover the human stories behind the structures. The most famous of all is Oak Alley Plantation, which will impress you.
GHOSTS AND SPIRIT TOUR
Another suggestion is to tour the history of black magic within the city referred to as "the most haunted city in America ", as these stories are an integral part of it. The stories and urban legends behind some of the amazing buildings in the area will "spook you out". On this tour we will have the opportunity to visit several haunted buildings where we will learn the story behind them, many of which have been featured on The History Channel and The Discovery Channel. The tour does not guarantee that you will definitely see ghosts - but it will certainly bring you close to them!
Day 9 - 10: New Orleans - Athens
Departure for the airport and a connecting flight to Athens. Arrive at the airport with a heavy load of beautiful memories. A trip that will surely stay with you for a lifetime, having experienced both the metropolis of the world and the rhythmic New Orleans.
