New York is filled with things to do, especially if you’re visiting. The North American location is one of the most famous in the world so most people know what to check out when there.
There’s the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden, and many other notable venues. If you’re a sports fan, the latter’s resident New York Knicks always present a great outing, as do the Brooklyn Nets, New York Giants and Jets, Buffalo Bills, and, of course, the New York Yankees. Apart from watching games, you can totally bet on them whilst in NY, with platforms such as BetMGM New York offering impressive odds on the teams therein.
There are perhaps, attractions you’ve never heard of or even thought were a thing, which is what this guide is all about. So keep reading to get the 411 on some of the most unusual things you could do during a trip to The Big Apple.
Drink In A Real Bank Vault
You could enjoy food and beverages in a real bank vault when in NY. Trinity Place, located in the Wall Street Financial District in lower Manhattan, happens to be in a converted bank vault that dates back to 1904.
The vault, made up of five-inch steel walls and two 35-ton doors, was commissioned by steel giant Andrew Carnegie. It offers a mahogany bar that’s 40ft long, where you can enjoy craft beer, special cocktails, and a range of wines stored in a cellar that used to be the bank’s elevator.
Catch A Show From Drunk Shakespeare Society
The Drunk Shakespeare Society offers performances in a hidden library that houses over 15,000 books. The society hosts shows performed by five trained actors, with one of them going bottoms up on at least five shots of scotch before taking to the stage.
This plays out exactly how it sounds, as the four sober actors struggle to keep things on track working alongside an inebriated colleague. You can join in on the drinking too as cocktails are served during the plays.
Go To Court… At Night
If you happen to be a fan of shows such as Night Court, Law & Order, or Matlock, then Manhattan’s night court is for you. You could attend very real court cases at the Manhattan Criminal Court, with sessions going up until 1 AM. The court hears 70-90 cases on average at night.
Visitors could witness the American Justice system work up close and personal while most people are asleep. As you would expect of court cases, there’s no end of entertainment during Manhattan’s nocturnal judiciary proceedings.
Indoor Shuffleboard
The owners of Brooklyn’s Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club got the idea for an indoor shuffleboard venue when they visited a shuffleboard location in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The first-ever shuffleboard address to be launched in New York City, Royal Palms has 10 regulation-sized shuffleboard courts, a lineup of food trucks, and a cocktail bar with tropical drinks.
Group activities can be arranged therein, though it’s generally a walk-in shuffleboard club.
Learn The Trapeze
Trapeze School New York’s expert instructors give flying trapeze, trampoline, static trapeze, and aerial silk classes. Visitors can also participate in team-building workshops, as well as pretty unique parties.
This is one of the rarest things you could do while in NY, or anywhere for that matter.
Get Your Groove On At A Certified Nerd Bar
The Way Station in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, caters especially to nerds. The bar is sold as a nerdvana, which, according to Wiktionary, is “a place or state of happiness and fulfillment for nerds.”
It’s adorned in sci-fi artifacts and steampunk-inspired art. Apart from music from just about everywhere, the Way Station, has astronomy trivia nights, comedy, and karaoke (called nerdeoke). Craft beers and cocktails are also available.
Eat At the Real Seinfeld Diner
Lots of people are Seinfeld fans. Lots of people would love to eat at the restaurant which featured in the iconic comedy. Tom’s Restaurant, a family-owned business offering a classic diner-style menu in Morning Heights, Manhattan, has appeared in exterior shots during certain Seinfeld episodes as the fictional Monk’s Cafe.
It also appeared in a 1978 episode of The Bionic Woman and was the inspiration behind Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” song from 1987.
“Those who live in the Morningside Heights region of New York might already know this fact, but yes the restaurant used as the exterior for Monk’s Cafe is indeed a real-life restaurant,” Screenrant reports. “Located at 2880 Broadway in New York City, fans of the show and locals can take a seat in a piece of Seinfeld history.”
Its walls are littered with Seinfeld memorabilia, naturally. It’s open 24 hours a day.