Travel desk: news, deals and destinations with Fionn Davenport

NEW YORK

Getting there

Summer 2014 will be a bumper season for North American flight traffic as 200,000 extra seats will be available, a 17 per cent increase on 2013. United announced that a second daily service between Dublin and New York will be operational between June 6th and August 19th. UA131 will leave Dublin daily at 12.30pm and land in Newark at 3pm. The return flight departs Newark at 10.25pm and arrives in Dublin at 10.20am. In addition to Aer Lingus’s new flights to San Francisco and Toronto, the airline announced a new service from Shannon to Boston, as well as a six-times weekly service to JFK, beginning March 30th, bringing transatlantic flights from seven a week last year to 13 in 2014. Summer return fares to New York start at €600.

The average New York hotel bedroom cost $297 last year, but you’d have needed to spend a bit more for this city-view room at the Mandarin Oriental, Columbus Circle

Someplace to lay your head

A record 54.3 million tourists visited New York city in 2013, up 4 per cent on 2012 and estimates are that in excess of 55 million will visit in 2014. Some 30 million hotel room nights were sold last year, and the number of available rooms will top 100,000 in 2014, with a number of new openings in the outer boroughs. The average price for a room rose by 4 per cent per cent in 2013, to $297 a night, not including tax of 8.875 per cent. Of the total number of visitors, 21 per cent were international, accounting for nearly half of the total tourist spend, which is in excess of $55 billion. There won’t be a breakdown of the 2013 numbers until mid-year, but in 2012 Canada and Britain led the way with just over a million visitors each; Irish visitors totalled 224,000.

Restaurant Week

Twice a year, 300 NYC restaurants participate in Restaurant Week, really a three-week spell in which restaurants offer three-course deals for lunch ($25) and dinner ($38). It’s a bit of a bear-pit, as diners scramble to make reservations for their favourites, then grumble because the deal doesn’t feature the best of the menu – and Saturdays are excluded (Sundays are included by some). 2014’s winter edition begins on February 17th and runs until March 7th; the summer one begins in mid-July.

[ nycgo.com/restaurantweek ]

Save with CityPASS

Save 40 per cent off entry and skip queues at six of the top attractions in the city with a CityPASS ticket (citypass.com; adult/child $106/79). Attractions include the Empire State Building, Museum of Natural History, Metropolitan Museum and MoMA, as well as your choice of the Guggenheim and the Circle Line Ferry. The pass is valid for nine days. Buy online or at participating attractions.

I do in New York

New York is a popular spot to get engaged but the preferred venues depend on the season. Between October and April, the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Centre is top of the list, with couples happily forking out $350 for the basic Engagement on Ice package (exclusive use of the ice for the proposal to your chosen song, plus a champagne toast; therink.smartertakeout.net). In summer, the focus shifts to Central Park: in 2013, the Parks Department issued 1,019 permits for people either getting engaged or getting married in the park. Also popular is Times Square – at any time of year.

MICRO-GUIDE: BROOKLYN

our 60-second guide

STAY

Aloft (216 Duffield St, Brooklyn, NY; aloftnewyorkbrooklyn.com; room from $149) Modern hotel in with all amenities and free wifi.

EAT

The Elm (160 N. 12th St, Brooklyn, NY; theelmnyc.com; dinner mains $17-28). Culinary star Paul Liebrandt brings his skills to the ground floor of the new King & Grove Williamsburg Hotel. Modern European cuisine.

Brooklyn Bridge (Tillary St at Adams St). Mile-long stroll across along the central elevated pathway of this magnificent structure.

FIVE WAYS TO VISIT NEW YORK MUSEUMS FOR FREE

Some New York museums charge a hefty admission fee. But go at the right time, and your visit won’t cost you a dollar.

Museum of Modern Art (MoMa)
Save $25 and visit the city's premier modern art museum (100,000 art pieces by the biggest names in 20th century art) on Free Friday Nights, every Friday between 4-8pm – an initiative sponsored by clothing manufacturer Uniqlo.
11 W53rd St
moma.org

Brooklyn Museum
On the first Saturday of the month, it's free entry to the museum between 5 and 11pm, where you can explore the vast collection (normally $12 entrance fee) in the company of DJs and an array of other performances. There's also food and drink (but you have to pay for that).
200 Eastern Parkway
brooklynmuseum.org

New York Historical Society
The extensive collection of this museum dedicated to the history of the city and the country at large (which includes an interactive children's museum) runs a pay-what-you-wish scheme on Fridays between 6-8pm. It's $18 at other times.
170 Central Park West (at 77th St)
nyhistory.org

American Museum of Natural History
You only get an hour (4.45-5.45pm) every day, so you'll most likely have to pick one or two of its 45 permanent exhibits to explore (I recommend the Blue Whale), but you can indulge your inner Holden Caulfield for absolutely free and avoid the suggested $22 admission.
Central Park West at 79th St
amnh.org

Neue Galerie
One of the city's lesser-known, but equally fascinating art galleries, you can explore its fine collection of German and Austrian art (lots of Klee, Kandinsky and Schiele) for free between 6-8pm on the first Friday of the month; otherwise it's $20 admission fee.
1048 5th Ave (at 86th St)
neuegalerie.org