New Year, New Resolutions, so why not a new trip as well to the wonderful New York!! Booked up ready to go in April and while researching my must-do places to visit, it got me wondering about the similarities and comparisons between our beautiful Newcastle and New York City and I came up with a few interesting ones!

Bridges

The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in the world. We have our iconic Tyne Bridge and while it was a quarter of the size of Brooklyn Bridge when it opened 45 years later it still very much defines the appearance of entry or exit into a magnificent city.

Statues

Fancy ascending 377 steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty? This robed Roman goddess was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States. If that’s too many steps for you, how about 164 steps instead? Grey’s Monument, built in 1838, honours former Prime Minister Earl Grey, who was originally from the North East. Tours run by Newcastle City Guides are available during the summer months to ascend to the top but sell our very quickly.

Arenas

Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks basketball team has a capacity of 18,200. The Newcastle Utilita Arena, while a prime entertainment venue in our city only has a capacity of 11000.

Stadiums

The MetLife Stadium is the home stadium of two National Football League franchises, the New York Giants and the New York Jets with a capacity of 82,500. St James Park, home to Newcastle United FC has a seating capacity of 52,388. While it may not be as big as its New York equivalent I’m sure all Geordies reading this would argue they are by far the most passionate and loyal of the football team’s supporters. Plus, we play proper football here 🙂

Skyscrapers

The tallest building in New York is One World Trade Center, which rises to 541m. The 104-story skyscraper is also the tallest building in the United States, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh-tallest building in the world. Newcastle, while not usually known for its skyscrapers will officially have its first one in 2020! Hadrian’s Tower will be Newcastle’s tallest building when it opens this year, standing at an impressive (for Newcastle) 26-storeys. Wow! The tower will consist of one to three-bedroom flats and have unparalleled views of the city from floor to ceiling windows. I didn’t bother to price one up, they’re not my cup of tea (yeah, yeah, whatever!). It will certainly change the Newcastle skyline once it is competed, that’s for sure.

Parks

Wonderful and instagrammable Central Park which has its own zoo, fountain, castle and reservoir covers an impressive 843 acres in the heart of Manhattan. By comparison our Town Moor has lots of cows! It also hosts Europe’s largest travelling fair, The Hoppings, each year but wait for it….it is a staggering 1000 acres making it 200 acres BIGGER than Central Park.

Bigger isn’t always better but we had to not be the smallest in at least one category surely?

Has anyone else been to New York City and got any recommendations for me to do or see during my trip? Especially good food places – slice of pizza, bagels and hot dogs for sure!