Limousine Blog

New York City's The Carlyle restaurant

Perform at an open-mike night
In a city of 8 million stories, yours has to be one of the most interesting, right? Even if it isn’t, there’s a spotlight somewhere waiting to be filled. Ensure a stellar performance with a chauferred ride from our New York limo service.

Visit Flushing, Queens
Boasting the city’s second-biggest Chinatown and its largest Korean population, Flushing teems with restaurants and markets. Drop by KumGangSan for Korean barbecue and use our New York limo service. Find healing for whatever ails you at Shun An Tong Health Herbal Co., where an herbalist prepares ginseng, shark’s fin and other traditional Chinese remedies. Catch the monthly Queens Jazz Trail, a trolley tour of the homes of former Queens residents Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane, picked up from Flushing Town Hall, or take a breather and contemplate the 140-foot-high Unisphere, a steel globe from the 1964-1965 World’s Fair, from a bench in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Test out the whispering gallery in Grand Central station
Our chauffeured New York limo service can drop you and your guests off at the Oyster Bar & Restaurant near the ceramic vaulted ceiling where two underground walkways meet. Stand diagonally opposite each other, facing the corner, and your whisper will carry across the ceiling by the phenomenon of telegraphing. It’s a famous spot to propose marriage. Grand Central Terminal, 87 E 42nd St between Vanderbilt and Lexington Aves.

Browse indie wares at the Market
Every weekend, independent clothing and accessories designers set up shop in the gymnasium of a church’s youth center (complete with basketball hoop), giving you the chance to buy a variety of unique wares directly from the makers. Our New York limo service will carry all your treasures. 268 Mulberry St between Houston and Prince Streets.

See art at the Whitney Art Museum
When Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a sculptor and art patron, opened the museum in 1931, she dedicated it to living American artists. Today, the Whitney holds about 15,000 pieces by nearly 2,000 artists, including Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Edward Hopper (the museum holds his entire estate), Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O’Keeffe and Claes Oldenburg. There are free guided tours daily and live performances on select Friday nights. Add this stop with your on your NY sightseeing trip with our New York limo service. Located at 945 Madison Ave at 75th Street.

Work it out at Dance Dance Party Party
The only rules for this all-girl, come-as-you-are, exercise-oriented jam are “No booze. No men. Leg warmers optional.” Every Sunday afternoon, a group of groove enthusiasts sweat to the beats of a prepared iPod mix. After the dance fever subsides, they split the rental price of the studio (typically $6 each) and go home. Aspiring Flashdancers: Take your passion, make it happen and our pink Hummer New York limo service will drop you off and pick you up in style. Located at  440 Lafayette St at Astor Place.

Visit the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
Founded in 1897 by the Hewitt sisters, granddaughters of industrialist Peter Cooper, the only museum in the U.S. solely dedicated to design (both historic and modern) has been part of the Smithsonian since the 1960s. In 1976 it took up residence in the former home of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie: It’s worth a look as much for the impressive mansion as for the roster of temporary exhibitions, which include an always-interesting series in which works are selected from the permanent collection by a prominent artist or designer. An extensive renovation is planned over the next few years to expand the gallery space and create a new library, but the museum will remain open throughout 2009. 2 E 91st St at Fifth Ave.

Kayak in the Hudson
Dip your toes in the water (metaphorically speaking) with free weekend 20-minute kayaking sessions from Downtown Boathouse. Located at 72nd St at the Hudson River

Go to Chelsea Market
Chelsea Market is the former home of the National Biscuit Company, as evidenced by the vintage Uneeda Biscuit items on display just past the security desk. You can consult a sommelier at Chelsea Wine Vault or have a steaming bowl of soup from the newly renovated lunch window at The Lobster Place, where soups and chowders are ladled into hollowed-out sourdough rolls from nearby Amy’s Bread. A great place to stop for lunch and a tour on your NY sightseeing trip with a New York limo service.

Get a drink at the Carlyle
Choice acts keep New York’s most dapper nightspot on the map, while the steep cover charge and white-jacketed service makes sure riffraff doesn’t scuff up the bar’s most valued draw: original Ludwig Bemelmans murals. Mixologist Brian Van Flandern’s spiffy (and pricey) potions preserve the bar’s classic character. Reserve a luxury limo from a New York limo service for the ultimate evening out.  Bemelmans Bar, The Carlyle, 35 E 76th St at Madison Ave. Visit thecarlyle.com

This is the fourth part of a five part series about the top 50 destinations around New York City with the best New York  City limousine company, Five Towns Limo, courtesy of New York Time out.