Students, Welcome Back to School!

Ok, it may be a little early to be welcoming college students back for the Fall semester, but it’s never too early to start making plans.  Beginning August 16^th, Gray Line New York will be offering all college students from the Tri-State area half priced tours!

Maybe you’re coming to NYC for freshman orientation and you want to learn more about the place you’re going to call home for the next four years.  Maybe you and your college friends want to see NYC from a different perspective.  Maybe you’re a Rutgers student who’s coming to Manhattan for the day and want to take advantage of a cheap tour.  This tour is for you!

What’s that?  You family is coming with you but they aren’t currently enrolled in college?  If they’re with you, they get 10% off as well.  Your summer may be over, but the fun doesn’t have to stop.

For more information on this discount follow this link to the Gray Line New York website.

Park Avenue is closing for NYC Summer Streets

Photo: nyc.gov

It can be tough to close portions of busy streets in major cities, but it does happen from time to time.  In Paris, Champs Elysees closes to traffic for the finish of a bike race.  Parts of Oxford Street in London have closed in the past so that Christmas shoppers don’t get crushed (if you’ve ever shopped on Oxford Street, you know this is a legitimate concern).  Well in New York City, we close down almost 7 miles (7 miles?!) of Park Avenue on three consecutive weekends in the summer, just so people can have fun.

During the first three Saturday’s in August, Summer Streets is taking over Park Avenue.  From 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., one of the busiest streets in the world will be opened up to the public to do pretty much whatever we want.  There will be art workshops, rock climbing walls, food markets, workout sessions, a zip line and more!  Fun can be had by the whole family.

This is the 5^th year of NYC Summer Streets and it is such a great time.  Get out of your apartment (hotel room) and have some fun, go for a run, ride a bike, play some games.  New York is shutting down 7 miles (7 miles?!) of road for you, so you better take advantage of this truly unique opportunity.

Harlem Week 2012

Harlem Week, 2011
Photo: harlemweek.com

One thing that’s great about New York is its weeks.  Yeah, it has 52 just like any other city, but the weeks in New York are special, because they seemingly all have a extra significance.  Whether it’s Fleet Week or Pride Week or Restaurant Week; there is always something great going on.  And to top it off, New Yorkers love their weeks so much that we don’t even limit them to a week!  Fleet Week lasted 8 days; Pride Week 9 days; Restaurant Week is already 10 days deep and we’re not even half way home!  Yeah, there is something special about New York City and its weeks.

This weekend is the start of another week in the Big Apple: Harlem Week.  What originally started out as a day of celebration in 1974, Harlem Week has turned into a festival of events that encompasses over a full month of the calendar year.  And why should it only last 7 days when there is so much to celebrate about the uptown neighborhood.

• On Saturday and Sunday, begin Harlem Week with “A Magical Weekend in Harlem,” and event for the whole family!  Art will be on display, musicians will be on the street and there will be activities for the kids.  Swing over to 104^th between Lexington and Park for this free event.

• Every Wednesday night in August the world famous Apollo Theater will feature Amateur Night, a timeless tradition and salute to the young talent within the community.  This will be a ticket work getting.

• Street ball and Harlem go together like apple pie and America.  Some of the most gifted basketball players in the world got their starts playing on the hard courts uptown.  During the first two weeks of August, Holcombe Rucker Park will play host to the Entertainers Basketball Classic, a free event starting at 6 p.m. every night. (Yes this is the event that NBA Star Kevin Durant set on fire last year) 

For a full list of events and to learn more about Harlem, visit harlemweek.com.

The Weekend in NYC: Go to space on the Intrepid

Each weekend, we like to tell you what’s up in New York.  This way, when you finish your bus tour or you’re just hopping off, you’ll know what to do.  Here’s what’s happening this weekend in New York City:

 

Image: intrepidmuseum.com

Intrepid SpaceFest

Yesterday the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum opened up its Space Shuttle Pavilion featuring the Enterprise, which many of you will remember making its journey into the harbor.  SpaceFest is a 5-day festival focused around the pavilion, and by all accounts it is awesome!  NASA is on hand all weekend providing exhibits and demonstrations suitable for guests of all ages, and on Friday you can even watch Star Trek from aboard the ship itself.  Anyone who is into space exploration won’t want to miss this event.

Soccer at Yankee Stadium

Baseball’s (New) Cathedral has hosted plenty of sporting events since it opened in 2009.  There are 80+ baseball games played each year, it is home to college football’s Pinstripe Bowl, and now we can add professional soccer to the list.  This weekend, European Champion Chelsea FC will take on Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly as part of the World Football Challenge.  It’s fun that the stadium that hosts the world’s top baseball team will now play host to the world’s top soccer team as well.

Block Party!

The New Museum will be hosting their 6^th annual block party this Saturday at Sarah D. Roosevelt Park.  The party begins at noon and is free to all.  Once the bash comes to a close, head over to the New Museum where you will receive free admission for the day.  This sounds like lots of fun with activities for comers of all ages.

If you have any weekend tip or just some questions looking for suggestions, email us at ask@graylinenewyork.com 

August Special Deals: Sneak Peek!

Wow! This summer is just blowing by with heat wave after heat wave and the occasional random downpour.  July is almost over, the Olympics are just 9 days away and your August sneak peek is ready to run.  Without further ado, here are Gray Line New York’s specials for the eighth month of the year:

Save $20 on a last-minute getaway!

Last minute Niagara Falls getaway!

This one is for those of you who reside in the area.  You’ve spent so much of your summer in NYC already that you are looking for something a little bit different.  Maybe you want to stop in at our nation’s capital, or head up north to the beautiful Niagara Falls.  Well, for the first two weeks of August we’re giving you $20 off select 1-2 day excursions outside of Manhattan!  From August 1-15, bring a valid form of identification proving residency in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut to our visitor center to purchase this deal.

50% off back-to-school special!

Are you coming to Manhattan for your freshman orientation at NYU? Maybe you’re just coming back for another semester at Columbia.  Are you starting grad school up at Fordham?  Well you’re in luck because our All Loops package will be 50% off for all college students with a valid college ID.  Beginning August 16 and continuing through the month, we’re inviting our local college students to see the city in a different way – atop a double decker bus!  The best part is, if you’re with family or friends, they ride for 10% off with your presence.  Awesome!

Speaking of back-to-school…

Did you know that we run transportation from Port Authority to Woodbury Commons every day?  Get all of your back-to-school shopping done at your convienence as we run buses to and from the premium outlets throughout the day.  Check out the schedule to choose the best plan for you.

For more insider information and all the latest NYC excitement, sign up for our monthly newsletter where we will give you the best deals in town!