While I am a well-traveled person, ny traveler, NYC was confusing at first glimpse!! I hated the first day there and then got used to the streets and maps. Great shopping, sights and plays. The people there wre nicer than thoe at home!! Please, nytraveler, don't make fun of us southerners who venture up north, where things are so different...It is hard to cross streets the first day until you learn to look at the cross street, or follow fellow NYorkers!!!!!

All agree that 20 blocks, going North/South, is equal to one mile. There were different figures presented with regard to how many north/south blocks equals an avenue to avenue block going east/west.

This morning I was driving on W. 72nd Street and from Central Park West (8th Ave) to West End (11th Ave). My car odometer showed the distance covered was 4/10s of a mile - 8 north /south blocks. Divide by 3 and you get a block, avenue to avenue, is equivalent to 2.67 north/south blocks. I assume my car odometer is reasonably accurate.

iw -

I'm not trying to make fun of anyone. but I do wonder if you're so well-traveled why crossing a street in NYC would be a challenge. There are traffic lights at every intersection, walk/don;t walk signs on every corner, marked pedestrian crosswalks painted on the street, most streets are one-way only - and the traffic usually moves so slowly there's no need to dodge between moving cars making turns - as you do in the burbs.

How did you manage in London (where the traffic is going the "wrong" way) or Paris (where the boulevards can be 8 lanes wide) - never mind Rome (where there are few traffic lights and no rules at all)???

Sorry, rqf, but either your odometer is way off, or you made a mistake.

Again, look at a scale map or punch addresses into Yahoo driving directions -- the distance between Avenues west of 5th and east of 3rd is .20 miles, or 4 north/south blocks.

iw, we found crossing some of the streets in NY to be a little daunting at first also. We very quickly learned to follow those who looked like they knew what they were doing.

Within a day we had it down and felt comfortable. I think the reason it is so different from where I come from (northern Canada) is the amount of traffic that one needs to be aware of in ALL directions. We just don't have that much traffic here ever. I think also that the noise is distracting, there seems to be such a blur of so many things going on at once to someone who is not used to it. I should add though, that I have never felt as safe as I did while in NY. With the amount of pedestrians and a very visible police presence, we felt safe walking to our hotel even late into the night.

First a couple of thoughts on your suggested itenary.

I've walked it many, many times in the opposite direction down through Soho to Tribecca and then on to Century 21. You should have no problem walking all those distances except NoLita is on the east Side and you want to end up in the west village.

Plus you'll be carying shopping bags. when you walk up from Century 21, you'll hit the edge of Canal street, walk towards Broadway if you want more shopping in China town.

Then of course just a few blocks north is SoHo. But you need to head back west. Get off of Broadway b/c it is not true SoHo.

Don't worry about crossing Canal, Houston is the one you need to worry about. So be careful when crossing Houston.

Then you'll end up in the area south of Washington Square Park. watch out for Bleecker, take it going west and you can follow it all the way to the West village. Try to stay on the west side of Broadway so that you don't end up too far east when you try to walk to the West Village.

Make sure you have a good subway map because most of the lines are in that area, but then start to spread out depending on which direction you want to go.

Enjoy it and if I could remember which streets my favorite little jewelry guy was on in SoHo, I would post it.