Page 365 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - New York City
P. 365
PR A C TIC AL INFORM A TION 363
Internet service, 311, which
provides government informa
tion and nonemergency
general assistance. Calls are
answered by a team 24 hours a
day, with a translation service.
Smoking and Etiquette
It is illegal to smoke in any
public place or building
in New York, including
restaurants, and this law is
taken very seriously.
When boarding buses, Many stores have late opening hours to accommodate workers
New Yorkers generally form
a line rather than pushing donation,” leaving it to the on Thursdays. Phone ahead
to enter. Subway boarders are visitor to decide what to pay. of your visit, or check the
not so polite at rush hours, On Friday evenings (Saturdays website, before planning
but do stand aside to for the Guggenheim), the your itinerary.
let passengers exit Museum of Modern New York’s traffic rush
before rushing in. Art, Whitney Museum, hours extend roughly from
Turning off cell and Folk Art Museum 8 to 10am and 4:30 to 6:30pm,
phones in theaters, are open late and Monday to Friday. During these
cinemas, and are free or have times, every form of public
museums is a “pay what you wish” transportation will be crowded.
expected. Casual policy. The Jewish
wear is accepted Museum is free Public Bathrooms
in many places in all day Saturday,
New York City, but The New York Pass while the Brooklyn New York City does not provide
some establishments and CityPASS Museum offers free many public bathrooms. Free
may require formal art and entertain restrooms can be found at city
dress; check when you ment on the first Saturday of the information centers, department
make a reservation. month (5–11pm). Consult local stores, large bookstores (such
listings for museums of interest as Barnes & Noble), and big
to you. The New York Pass restaurant chains (Starbucks,
and CityPASS (see p364), offer McDonald’s), as well as at hotels.
discounted entry to some Bathrooms are also available in
50 attractions. train and bus stations, but these
are not usually the most
pleasant options.
Opening Hours
Business hours are generally from
9am to 5pm, with no lunch time Taxes and Tipping
closing. Many Midtown stores Sales tax in New York is
stay open until 7pm to accom 8.875 per cent, and it is added
modate people in fulltime jobs, to all purchases (including
and they may close even later meals), except for clothing and
on Thursdays, at 8:30 or 9pm. shoes under $110. Tipping is an
Most stores are also open from integral part of New York life: taxi
noon to 6pm on Sundays. drivers expect 10–15 per cent;
Typical banking hours run cocktail waiters 15 per cent,
The entrance to the Solomon R. from 9am to 6pm, Monday to hotel room service 10 per cent
Guggenheim Museum (see pp184–5) Friday; some banks also open (when not added to the bill);
on Saturdays from 9am to 4pm. coat check $1; hotel maids $1
Admission Prices
ATM machines are available or $2 per day after the first day;
New York can be expensive 24 hours for credit and debit hotel bellhops about $1 per bag;
for visitors, though you may card cash withdrawals (see p368). hairstylists 15–20 per cent, and
often find a way to avoid high Closing days vary for the barbers 10–20 per cent. Waiters
charges. Museum prices can major museums, as do the generally receive 15–20 per cent,
run from $12 to $25, but evenings they are open late, of the bill, not including tax. A
some galleries, such as the although most tend to be quick way to calculate restaurant
Metropolitan Museum, call closed on a Monday. The tips is simply to double the tax,
their charge a “suggested Guggenheim, however, closes adding up to about 18 per cent.
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