Walking in NYC
 

Hi everyone, this may seem like a strange question: my husband and I are coming to NYC for Thanksgiving and are planning on seeing a lot of Manhattan. My question is, how far does something have to be before you decide to take the metro or a taxi instead of walking? More than 20 blocks? I don't really know how far apart city blocks are in NYC so I thought you guys could help us out and give us an idea. Thanks!

The blocks going from North - South are very short. So, you can easily walk 15, 20 or more blocks going that way.

But, the blocks running East - West are much longer, about 3 times as long as the North South ones. In my opinion, it depends on what direction you are headed. Get a good map and if you have any specific destinations in mind, then certainly write back and ask if from "A to B" is walkable.
Have fun in NYC!

If you walk at a good pace it will take you around 1 minute per block going north to south (number streets). It will take close to 4 minutes for each block going east to west (avenues). So to walk from 46th and 8th to 34th and 6th will take around 20 minutes.

The rule-of-thumb is that Manhattan has 20 blocks per mile, going north/south. The east/west blocks are much farther apart, but not at consistent spacing.

Anonymous is correct. There are 20 north-south blocks to the mile. East-west blocks vary anywhere from twice as long as north-south blocks to four times as long!

There are a couple of other factors besides distance.
1. If it's rush hour, and especially if you need to go crosstown, walking may actually be faster than a taxi.

2. The subway is often the absolute quickest way to get from point A to point B, depending on where A and B are in relation to the train lines.

3. What's the weather like? If it's really freezing or pouring rain, you don't want to walk 10 blocks, do you? (However, this is one reason why I always take an umbrella to NY although I almost never use one at home.)

Hey! Who woke up Marilyn? :-d

We went back a few years ago (Mrs Kal and I not Marilyn!).

Stayed at The Wellington next door to Carnegie Hall around 54thish.

Took a taxi early one Sunday morning to Battery Park for the St of Lib/Ellis Isle tour.

After we were done, we decided since it was such a beautiful day and we never knew when/if we'd come back, we decided to walk back to our hotel from the tip of Lower Manhattan.

Figger'd if we got pooped, we'd hail a taxi.

We drank up EVERY step of that great city.
Walked right under the WTC, only regret is that we were too early to go to the top as it wasn't opened yet.

We zig-zagged thru Tribeca, Greenwich, a bit of Soho. Next thing we knew, we were at out hotel!

If you're in shape, know where you're going and the weather is OK, walk till ya drop!

Ms. Marilyn-
We're taking a "NYC Mulligan" and will be attempting a do-over for Mrs K's b'day in May '05, just in case you and The Flash will be there again.((Y))

Unfair, Kal! I've had a busy day and I'm not done yet. (nonprofit board meeting tonight)

NY is indeed one of the great "walking" cities of the world and 50 blocks can go by without noticing if you are enjoying yourself. I have a friend who walked home every day from 23rd and Park Ave South to 72nd and Riverside. Now that's a hike!

NYC and Chicago.
2 GREAT walkin', eatin' and drinkin' cities!

Them and Yountville!!!

I agree with Kal, I think it depends on the weather and your tolerance.

We were in NYC last weekend and walked from our hotel on 5 & 48th Street all the way to Ground Zero. We were going to catch a cab if it started raining or if we got tired, but we were enjoying the walk so much, we didn't bother.

Look at the map, so you can walk by places that interest you on your way to your destination. Hopefully, your husband won't mind if you stop and look in windows or, God forbid, actually go INTO a shop or two X( (Do I sound a tad resentful?)

I live "way uptown" (103rd) and regularly walk about half of the the way to work on 32nd Street. In weather I hop on/off the bus or subway.

The NYC street life (the "passing world") is an on-going major source of inspiration and entertainment to me, and I've been around here for many years. Each day brings a new set of miraculous scenarios!

Suggestion: If you invest in an all-day Metrocard, you can do the walk/ride combination at will and cover as much or as little territory as you want.

Taxi Fares zoomed up in the past year (I forget how much, because it's off my scale of possibilities now. Maybe somone else knows that detail)

Cab fares did rise in the spring - but they're still note bad - especially for 2 or more people. Befor that they had been the same for 7/8 years - and were very low compared to the rest of the country. Now, they're more in line with other cities.

FYI - upper west side to midtown (3/4 miles) is about $8/9 plus tip - depending on the traffic.

If you like to walk (and wear comfortable shoes), you can easily do a few miles. It also depends on how much time you have. If you are in no rush, then walk. If you get tired hop on a bus or subway, or take a cab.

It depends mainly on 3 things:

How late it is (after 10 subway service can be erratic)

how comfortable your shoes are

and how much you're schlepping.

Thanks, everyone! We definitely want to try and walk as much as possible, as long as it's not 15 degrees during Thanksgiving weekend! I think that walking will be a great way to really see the city, not just the big touristy spots. :)

Have a great trip; it's EXTREMELY unlikely that the temp will be 15 degrees in November, it's more likely to be in the 40s, but do come prepared against wind, with gloves and a hat.

We went to NYC in late OCT last year and many other NE cities during this late fall period and it always amazes us Texans how northerners seem to put on winter gear when the temp is barely below 65 degrees. I was wearing lite clothing and sandals and people next to me were wearing coats and scarfs. Bizarre.
This is something we have noticed in NYC, Boston, Montreal and Toronto.
You would think that Texans would be cold but maybe it is because we keep the a/c so cold down here?
I wore a coat -maybe- 2 or 3 times last year, even when it was 30 or 40 degrees.
Has anyone else noticed how northerners dress warm early in the season or how quick they are to crank up the heat?

In any city with transit system that sells an "unlimited rides" ticket, I always purchase one. That way I can hop a bus or subway whenever it strikes me ... even if I could walk, but I see a bus about to arrive that will get me the 5 blocks, I'll consider hopping aboard. Yet I've walked all the way from 34th to 103rd, so I have no rules about when to walk/ride. I prefer the bus for shorter trips, so I can see the streetscape, but the subway for longer trips when I don't want to waste time in traffic.

The Metrocard is one of the best buys you can make in NYC, even if you get a "per-ride" card, but the day or 7-day pass is better.