Walking times

[ct30girl]

Would someone please give an estimate of time it will take to walk from one place to the next? Time, not blocks or miles. I appreciate it.

The Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station to Rockefeller Center

The Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station to The Plaza

The Plaza to Times Square

Times Square to the Empire State Building

The Empire State Building to The Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station

While I'm at it, can someone just let me know the average time it takes to walk one block?

Can you tell I'm from a small town, or what!? How pathetic! LOL

Thanks, guys!

[ryan]

Depends how fast you walk - and I mean that with less sarcasm than it probably sounds. Think of walking for nyers like you taking an expressway. We're goal-oriented and walk much faster than probably any country or suburban context. In those contexts people stroll for relaxation or to see stuff, so you tend to be very slow.

Each of your walks is about 15 blocks give or take, and would take me 15-20 minutes if I had to be somewhere, but you should figure 30-40 minutes. You want to stop and smell the roses, plus I'd guess you're traveling for fun, so there would be no reason to rush.

All are pleasant walks, but if you're not used to walking on concrete you would get fatigued after one or two. I hope that's not an itinerary for one day - it would be too much walking through mostly boring areas. Grand Central to the Plaza (and you'd have to continue across the street to Central Park) is a great walk (you'd go past Rockefeller Center on 5th ave) and I do it whenever I play tour guide. The Empire State Building is much less interesting up close than you'd imagine, and is best enjoyed at a distance.

To give you less of a straight answer about averages, blocks in nyc aren't square, so if you were walking north or south, and rushing, it would take a minute to cross the short street blocks. If you were walking east or west it would take 2-4 minutes to cross the much longer avenue blocks.

[ct30girl]

Thank you very much! Great answers! What a help!

That's actually an itinerary for 2 days.

The more I think about it, I might actually skip going to the Empire State Building and just look at it from the Rockefeller Center Observatory deck.

One more thing, where is Macy's in all this?

Second, which couple of things should i do in the same day - ya know, things that are close together so I'm not zig-zagging all over the city.

Thanks again!

[Ninjahedge]

Bring some comfy shoes and just try not to stand in the middle of the sidewalk gawking... ;)

If you catch the lights right the short blocks take about a minute apiece. I also think that it is 20 blocks to a mile in the city, and 5 long blocks to the mile.

So figure how long it takes you to do a mile. Comfortable pace is about 3 MPH, or about 20 min. Figure catching a light every so often and you get that 1min/block even if you are cruising.


Macys is midtown, I think near 33rd and 6th avenue. It is pretty much the same as the Macy's you get in the burbs, just bigger. If you are looking for the window display, go on ahead, but if you are looking for something special try FAO Schwarts or something... ;)

Also, while you are here, if you are a shopper, you have to walk through Chinatown. lots of cheap stuff all over, good food (if you know where to go), and cheap produce (pick up some Baby Bok Choy to cook at home. REALLY nice if done right).

Electronics shopping would be 6th avenue electronics, B+H, and J+R....

Lotsa stuff, not much time to do it.

[lofter1]

Pretty much all the trips you ask about you can make in ~ 20 minutes. Unless, of course, something catches your eye and you get side-tracked (which is half the fun of walking around NYC).

[ZippyTheChimp]

Average walking pace.

Getting from point A to point B: 20 min per mile
Strolling: 30 min per mile.

The Midtown grid is uniform. Walking north-south, the streets are 260 ft apart. 20 blocks is one mile. Walking crosstown, the avenues are an average of 800 ft apart.

Walking north-south, one block can be covered in 1 - 1.5 minutes.
Walking east-west, one block can be covered in 3 - 4.5 minutes.

Walking from the Empire State Building (34th St & 5th Ave) to Rockefeller Center (49th St & 5th Ave):
North on 5th Ave for 15 short blocks: 15 minutes to 22.5 minutes. You know you are walking north because the street numbers get higher.

The East and West street designations begin on 5th Ave.

As confusing as Manhattan can appear to a visitor, the street layout is complete simplicity.

Macy's is at Herald Square, where Broadway intersects 34th St & 6th Ave. From Times Square at 42nd St, 8 blocks directly south on 7th Ave to the back of the store, or along Broadway (slightly longer) to the Herald Square side. Either way, a short walk.

[ryan]

The more I think about it, I might actually skip going to the Empire State Building and just look at it from the Rockefeller Center Observatory deck.

Good idea - I haven't done it yet, but I imagine one of the best views of the empire state is from rockefeller center. Not to beat a dead horse, but up close the ES is just a drug store. The lobby is kind of pretty, but much less so than rockefeller or chrysler.

One more thing, where is Macy's in all this?

It's around the corner from the ES, but again, missable (kind of dumpy, though I like the old wooden escalators). I'd suggest spending more time in the park (even though it's winter, it's still worth seeing) and maybe doing a second museum rather than dragging around to see sights. The met (art) and natural history each have something for everyone.