8 Exciting Activities to Do in New York City That Your Tour Guide Will Not Show You

New York City is an amazing place to both live and visit. Whether you’re a morning person who wants to enjoy the city during the day or a night owl who is looking to see why they call it the city that never sleeps, there is something for everyone. But New York City tour guides will mainly bring up the same tourist traps to everyone. The Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, The Statue of Liberty, Central Park, etc. While I do recommend everyone visits these at least once in their lives, there’s so much more to see in this city.

1) Become a Spy in Spyscape

There’s a ton of awesome museums in New York City: from the Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and even the Museum of the Moving Image. But how many of these museums allow you to become a spy?

That’s the exact experience you get in Spyscape. Spyscape is an interactive museum that not only teaches you the history of famous espionage cases, but allows you to test your skills and determine what kind of spy you are.

You’ll be tested in fields such as encryption, deception, surveillance, and special ops. Your scores in these tests as well as a personality test you’ll take are calculated and you’ll be given a role within the industry. Will you be a handler? Hacker? Analyst? Or Spymaster?

2) Test Your Investigative Skills at Hoodwinked Escape Rooms

New York City is full of escape rooms, these mazes test your intellect under pressure as you solve puzzles and find objects to, well escape the room. While some have you trying to escape a single room, the best escape rooms have you escaping multiple rooms and have a theme.

My favorite escape room so far has to be Hoodwinked Escape in Harlem. I got the chance to visit with a few friends and we took on the most challenging room they had, becoming a spy and working to stop a bomb (yes I love being a spy). But the challenges and trickery of escape rooms are a great place to go with friends, a date to see how your significant other handles stress, or a great way to spend time with the family.

3) Learn How Television Shows are Made at the Museum of the Moving Image

Remember when I said there was a lot of awesome museums in New York? Well Museum of the Moving Image in Queens is my personal favorite (I study television and film production in school).

The Museum of the Moving Image teaches everyone not only the history behind how television shows and films were created, but it also shows you where these industries are currently at and where they are going. From a hallway that gives you a timeline of all the cameras used in studios, a life-like control room that shows behind the scenes of sports broadcasting, to a virtual reality room that has eight different experiences. You also learn about special effects, voice acting, and can even create your own stop motion videos. If you’re the type to binge watch shows or movies, this is definitely a museum you should check out.

4) Travel Back in Time in the Old City Hall Station

As a lifelong New Yorker, I have a curiosity for how the city used to look in the past. The old City Hall station was one of the first things I saw and it was completely by accident. I had fallen asleep on the 6 train and didn’t wake up until the train had already closed its doors after the last stop (Brooklyn Bridge - City Hall). The train rode off to the other side of the station (with me in it) and I got to see remnants of the old station. Maybe one day I can see it again without being so drowsy.

5) See the Future of Entertainment With Virtual Reality Arcades

We are moving into an age of virtual reality. These next few places allow you to try out virtual reality in both practical and entertaining ways.

If you want to have fun and play games VR World is definitely the place for you. Think about your favorite arcade, but you get to actually go into the games. I haven’t personally had the chance to visit yet, but I hear great things about it and the prices are fair for the experience you’re getting.

If you want to have fun and learn more about virtual reality you should definitely visit Samsung 837; Samsung’s flagship store which calls itself a playground for adults. They have different virtual reality experiences that you can try and workshops that teach you how to use their VR products and how they can be implemented in your daily life. Did I forget to mention that all of this is also free?

6) Visit One of the Last Speakeasy's in Please Don't Tell

This one is for my 21+ readers. If there’s two things I love, it’s history and a good drink. Please don’t tell gives you a little bit of both being one of the few speakeasy’s left in New York City. In order to get into Please Don’t Tell, you have to enter the famous Crif Dogs in the East Village and go through a secret entrance inside a phone booth. I tried to visit once and the experience was a bit ruined because there was a longer line to get into the phone booth to Please Don’t Tell than it was to get a hot dog. It really killed the idea I had for going to a speakeasy, but the inside of Please Don’t Tell really looks amazing.

7) Party Until The Sun Comes Up (Literally) With Daybreakers

This one is definitely for those early birds who tend to wake up before the sun. Daybreaking is partying early in the morning (yes, that is a thing). These parties usually start around 5 or 6 in the morning and would go until 9. You would not notice the time once you’re inside because it looks like you’re inside a nightclub. The biggest difference is that daybreakers do not serve alcohol at these events, mainly coffee to help you start your day. Many daybreakers say that this morning party gives them a great boost to their day and they feel energized.

8) Grab a Few Laughs at New York Comedy Club

Something you’ll see a lot of walking around Manhattan area comedy clubs or promoters for shows. Seriously, walk through times square and count the number of people offering to sell tickets to comedy shows.

These tickets are overpriced and not really worth it in my opinion. If you want a fun comedy show experience, check out the New York Comedy Club’s website or Eventbrite. You can get emails for free entry tickets to shows or tickets as low as $6. I’ll warn you though, there is also a two drink minimum per person in these comedy clubs, but that’s a steal for the laughs you’ll have at the club. Also sit in the front of the stage, enjoy being roasted by the comedian performing.