HOw easy in New York to walk? How long does it take to walk a block (and I understand that a block via a Street is different than a block via an Avenue.

New York is a great walking city. I've never timed exactly how long a block takes, but it's pretty quick. I can walk to 30ish blocks from work (in midtown) to home (UWS) in less than half an hour. On the West Side, the blocks between the avenues can be a bit more punishing than the ones on the East Side--the Amsterdam/Columbus block seems to go on forever, but even it's not all that bad.

I guess it also depends how fast or slow you walk, and how much you stop along the way...

walking in new york is the only way to see the sights and sample the atmosphere, i went for the first time in June and i only got a cab once (that was because it was rainning and i was soaked) I walked evrywhere my hotel was on 30 east 30th street and from there i walked north as far as central park and all the way to battery park Downtown, It doesn't take to long unless you stop to go into shops that is.

Thanks for the response and the info....Thats good to know, as I would prefer to walk then cab or subway, unless I have too. When I was making a list of the things I wanted to see in NYC and where they were, I logged on to the New York Subway site to get direction and it seemed like it took alot of time to get to where I was going. This included walking to the subway and walking from the subway to my gallery, of course. What do you think?

Where are you trying to go? If you want to see a lot of things in different parts of town, it's definitely worth the price of an unlimited MetroCard ($7 for one day or $24 for the week). The subway is the fastest way to get around town.

Going back to my example above, it takes about 1/2 hour for me to walk the 30 blocks home from work. This same trip takes about 8 minutes on the train, so it's definitely faster.

Since you are not going to rushing around and want to see things, I would give yourself about one and one-half minutes to walk north/south streets or about 30 minutes for 20 blocks which is about a mile. East/west avenue blocks take about 4 minutes each to walk.

I've been to NYC, Manhattan, twice in 2 years. This past April was for one week. I've talked to many locals & from my own experience I'm convinced of this.
To get around, I used 3 forms of transportation; subway, cabs, walking.
For longer distances, I used the subway, even if I had to wait a while for the next train. (You can't outwalk the subway train from Penn station to anywhere in brooklyn even if you waited 20 minutes or longer for the train.)
I also used a step counter my entire weeks stay to monitor all my steps & mileage walked. In 7 days, from early morning til very late at night, I averaged 10-20 miles of walking per day. This is in addition to using the subway & cab rides. ( I had alot to do, and got it done)

If you need to go more than 10-20 blocks, and get there in reasonably quick time, you're better off taking the subway. If time isn't an issue, and youre a tourists, visitor and want to see the city, walk at your own pace.

However, as a tourists, if I'm in Lower Manhattan or even midtown, and want to go to say Lincoln Center, or somewhere on the UWS or UES (upper west or east side), take the subway or bus.

If your destination is less than 10 blocks, no matter where it is (in a safe area), walk........its a waste of time to take the subway. You can outwalk the subway train in terms of time, sometimes simply waiting on the next train you could've gotten there by then.

Or, in short distances, you can catch a cab on occasion, and if you get caught in traffic, tell the diver you're getting out, pay the fare, and walk the rest of the way.

Manhattan's streets are very walkable. Whats so awesome about it is that no matter you are........you're bound to find something to see while walking.




Jeff Smith
jeffreysmith@triad.rr.com

Thanks Jeff...Great Info

I walked to or from 80th and Park or near Grand Central more than once last summer. As a tourist your time is your own for the most part, and walking is the best way to see the city. The bonus is all the great food you eat walks right off too! I lost 5lbs and ate so many lovely things while I was there, not to mention wine and cocktails.