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Grand Central Terminal, New York City |
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True to its name,
this palace of trains is
a pleasure to visit. Come here
for your Amtrak intercity train, regional
train up the Hudson
River, or along the Connecticut
shoreline.
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New York City's main terminus for regional trains lives up to its name: it's central, at Park Avenue and 42nd Street (map), and it's grand. Even if you're not taking a train, it's worth entering the station just to experience the grand concourse with its star-lit ceiling of constellations. An information kiosk is at the center of the main concourse. Snack and coffee shops, newsstands and other shops are at the sides of the concourse. You board trains on either the Upper Level (same level as the grand concourse), or the Lower Level. Toilets are on the Lower Level. The terminal's most famous restaurant is the Oyster Bar, a noisy, tile-encrusted hall on the Lower Level where you can order oysters by the particular variety, and oyster stew made while you wait. Pennsylvania Station, New York's other principal intercity railway station, for interstate Amtrak trains, is 13 blocks (1.5 miles/2.41 km) southwest of Penn Station at 8th Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets (map): walk 4 blocks west on 42nd Street, then 9 blocks south on 7th Avenue to 33rd Street and turn right (west). You can walk between stations in about 45 minutes, 35 if you have no luggage and you walk fast. A taxi might take 15 minutes.
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