Will be in NY for three days. Can I get from 64th street to 70th by walking? Also from 64th is the Met. Museum of Art a walkable venture.

hints about safety and buses or taxis.
thanks

New York is a very walkable city. You have to keep in mind your cross streets, however. You can walk from 64th to 70th, but keep in mind that walking across avenues takes a bit longer than walking across streets. The Met of Art is at 81st St. & 5th Ave, so it's a bit of a hike. You might be better off taking the 6 train to 86th and walking over to 5th.

Measuring distances north/south is very easy in New York: 20 blocks equal one mile. So, from 64th to 70ths is a little over a quarter mile. As the previous poster noted, east/west blocks are longer. So, how far it is to the Met from 64th Street depends how far east you are. You can figure east/west blocks are about are about 2 to 2 1/2 times as long as north/south blocks. In any event, it definitely possible to walk from 64th Street to the Met, no matter how far east you are. (I disagree with the previous poster. I don't consider it a "bit of a hike" at all!) I would recommend you walk up either Fifth or Madison Avenue to get there. But, any north/south street in that area is nice for walking...and also safe. If you must take public transportation take a bus northbound on Madison Avenue and the return southbound on Fifth Avenue--a much more enjoyable ride than the subway!

Mary is quite correct - I'll comment on some of your other questions. First, please note that if you going up ior down town, the distance can easily be calculated by remembering the ratio of blocks to miles - it's either 16 blocks per mile or 20 blocks (I can't recall which it is but Howard R. will undoubtedly post with the correct answer!). The block length is more variable going cross town. Get a Metrocard for subway travel. Stores that sell them have a 24 hour "FunPass" that allows unlimited travel for a day -works like a debit card. I don't think that the teller windows in stations sell that card but it's a great deal - if you take 3 rides or more you're saving $$ over the regular fare. get on a bus or a subway and you can transfer to the other within a given time period (I think it's 1 - 2 hours). I generally use subways to get up and down town and buses for cross town. Taxis are okay at night but a waste of time for crosstown traffic during the day - it's faster to walk! All the subway stations I've been in Manhattan are okay as far up as the east and west 90's. Figure out where you're going before you get down to the platform and stand where there are other people if it's late at night. I don't know anyone who's had any problems whatsoever but most people who are not locals feel more comfortable by doing that. The rare panhandler will just keep going on to the next prospect if you simply ignore them and do not become engaged in conversation or in any other way. If you're a single woman and a bit nervous about traveling around alone in the city I'd suggest taxi's after 10PM simply as a way to enhance your peace of mind. The public transport system in NYC is safe, relatively clean, very reliable and a great bargain - I encourage you to use it. A great tool is the little wallet size subway mops that are printed on a durable, plasticized paper. They're unobtrusive and extremely helpful - most bookstore and larger newsstands carry them.

Doesn't it figure? While I was typing my typically wordy and long-winded response, Howard posted with the correct blocks per mile ratio just as I'd predicted he would! By the way - thanks should be extended to Howard by all for his unfailingly polite, helpful and accurate info re/NYC (not to mention that he's concise!).

Owen, thank you very much. That was very kind of you to say those nice things. Most important, I'm delighted that you find my postings helpful. Hey, I love New York and want to see all visitors come and love it, too!
(P.S.: What I cherish most about your comment was the word "concise"!)