You can't say you've seen NYC until you've seen it from a boat. Hop on the ferry from anywhere to anywhere and you'll see what I mean. Not only will you see excellent old buildings and factories--the inner workings of the old industrial city--but you'll head out under working bridges and see the skyscrapers in all their towering glory. And once you've done it, do it again, at night.

The Tenement Museum celebrates the enduring stories that define and strengthen what it means to be American. We share stories of the immigrant and migrant experience through guided tours of our two tenement buildings on Orchard Street and the surrounding neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Visitors can take building tours of the recreated homes of our former residents between the 1860s and the 1980s as well as walking tours of the neighborhood they lived in.

This is my go-to spot in my neighborhood. The food is fantastic. They have an ever changing selection of beers and the staff is friendly, attentive and down to earth. Love this place.

Here's what the world used to look like.

Erie Basin is a really wonderful little shop full of old, creepy and beautiful things, such as Victorian mourning jewelry (some with hair in it), Freemason masks from the 1900's, tiny children's rings from the 1700's, and all kinds of other treasures. It is really as much a museum as it is a store, and all of the items have a haunting and unique aura.