Walk in NYC # 5, Midtown East & Roosevelt Island 1

Walk in NYC # 5, Midtown East & Roosevelt Island 1, is a 4 miles unusual self-guided tour that goes from the buildings and busy streets of Manhattan to the peace of Roosevelt Island green spaces.

It is unusal because of this contrast, on and off the beaten path.

It will take you about 2 hours to complete if only walking and taking pictures; much more if you visit the various recommended places on the way like the United Nations or the Ford Center, to name just two of them.

🥞There is an excerpt of it below to give you an idea of what ​​it is.

❤️‍🔥Otherwise, it is available in full for a few $ on Payhip/ImagesVoyagesImpressions in a PDF file that you'll be able to download on your phone.

🎈NB: 

• You can read much more about the general content and philosophy of these walks on the home page and see some comments there too.
• The excerpt is the beginning of the description (a bit truncated here), after the full map and the useful info about highlights, metros, buses, bikes, restrooms, and so on🚉.
• The letters correspond to points indicated on the map, so you always know where you are along the trail or where you're heading.

---

A: Take the subway to Grand Central and once you tire of the spectacle of the Vanderbilt Hall, exit onto East 42nd St and turn left.

If you have shoes to be shined, now is the time, the shoeshine guys will be to your left.
In front of you and easier to photograph, you will see the superb Italian-Romanesque building of the defunct Bowery Saving Bank.

Walk a little along 42nd St to Park Ave which you will take on the left to find yourself along Grand Central and closely admire the eagle which dominates the entrance on that side; then take 43rd St. on the right.
In front of you, in the distance, you will already see the blue United Nations building.

B: Before going there, don't forget to take a look at the Chrysler building on your right and even enter on its ground floor for superb photos of its interior.

A little further, don’t miss the church of St Agnes and its colorful altar.

Your path goes along various consulates until you reach number 320, the Ford Foundation building.
After 2 years of renovation, it reopened with an art gallery "giving a voice to the unheard and visibility to those who are marginalized" but if the gallery doesn't appeal to you, come in anyway to see the inner garden, an oasis of calm in the middle of the city.

Back on 43rd St, you're near Tudor City, a collection of Gothic Revival buildings built in the 1930s, designed as an ideal city surrounding a private park.

It was intended to keep in the city the middle classes fleeing to the suburbs and it replaced collective housing in full decline, near the city's former slaughterhouses.

Its park is now accessible to all and offers calm and greenery.

C: At the end of 43rd St., take the stairs down to another small park dedicated to peace where it is not uncommon to see people protesting against oppression in the world. You will be right across the street of the United Nations headquarters.
​
It can be partly visited from Monday to Friday but book your ticket in advance and allow at least two hours to first register at the visitors' office (at 801 1st Ave) and then join a tour. 

​(the rest is on the pdf...)

---

Ready to explore the city on your own?

Find this Walk in NYC # 5, Midtown East and Roosevelt Island 1, at Payhip.com/ImagesVoyagesImpressions along with some of the 17 others of the same series that you might like, all updated regularly, and you’ll soon be on your way to unique adventures!

​NB: In case you haven't seen it already, the map showing you where all these walks are is on the Walk in NYC page, as well as links to some walks’ bundles offers and suggestions for your first visit.