A Week in New York City: 10 things NOT to do

In New York, everything is exactly as you expected it. The excitement of feeling so comfortable and thinking that there is room for you in New York is never going to end. It's like eating hamburgers, you can not get tired of it. New York is a giant hamburger.

The view from the Empire State Building

There is a hamburg ..., uh, a part of New York for every taste and plenty of books on what to do, see and eat. For this reason, if you’re planning a trip to the Big Apple, we will not help you scribble down a to-do list but a more useful list of what NOT to do when you’re in New York.

However, if you're wondering, one of the best burgers in town is from DuMont Burger in Williamsburg.

Museums in New York City and cultural venues

1. Don’t buy the City Pass

If you are not planning to visit all the six attractions to which the ticket entitles you, this cumulative ticket is not convenient. One reason more: the MoMA is not included.

2. Don’t go to the Moma on Friday

MoMA has free admission on Fridays. All tourists meet here on the fifth floor, between Van Gogh’s starry sky and Monet’s water lilies. Masterpieces you will never see because of the crowd.

3. Don’t watch a show on Broadway

New York boasts a very rich cultural life: cinemas, theaters, exhibitions. You could try the Opera or put yourself in a jazz improvisation venue.

Romeo and Juliet alla Metropolitan Opera

Shopping in New York City

4. Don’t shop before noon

In most cases you will not be able to do this: early morning stores open at 11:00. They also close relatively early in the evening.

5. Don’t envy someone else’s skirt

You might come across a line of people at the corner of a street. This line is most likely leading to a special salt.

Sales are a serious thing in New York. So avoid bloodshed and leave that skirt to the girl who saw it first.

Williamsburg

6. Don’t buy fruits and vegetables

Because they’re not going to be cheap.

Last but non least: survival tips

7. Don’t drink takeaway coffee

You will spill most of it because it’s not that easy to handle the glass.

Un bar in Williamsburg

8. Don’t be accommodating with the waiters

Tipping is a must. So feel entitled to ask everything you need to waiters: no ice in the drinks, no sauces on the dishes, no dressing on the salads.

9. Don’t cross the Brooklyn Bridge by bike on Tuesday

Cycling the Brooklyn Bridge on a Tuesday, as on any other day of the week, is pure madness. Every square footfall is occupied by tourists on a pilgrimage between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

10. Don’t forget to ask for spelling

The best cheese cake in town? You find it from Two red hents. Too bad that, not having asked for spelling, I looked for hours for a place called tulip red pants.