New York’s strangest attractions: 9 unusual things to see and do

Dine inside a vault at Trinity Place

The most sought-after spot in Manhattan’s Trinity Place restaurant, tucked inside the former Carnegie Safe Deposit Co? The bar, where you can dine in the original vault, with its original 35-tonne doors. Equally stunning is the restaurant, which was once the bank’s meeting room and is illuminated by the original chandelier. It was 1904 when the vault was floated down the Hudson River before being shunted into place on purpose-built railway tracks.

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Dine at the Trinity Place. Photo / Trinity Place

Toast s’mores and sleep in a safari tent in Manhattan

Governors Island is an eight-minute ferry ride from Lower Manhattan and the financial district, and this former military base, much of which is now a park, is where you’ll find Collective Retreats’ glampsite – 29 luxurious safari-style tents and cabins with double beds and private patios. Sadly, the glampsite, located within the boundaries of Manhattan, only opens between May and October, but now is the perfect time to book, because tents and cabins quickly sell out. Bag the Basecamp Cabin to admire the Statue of Liberty from your bed (without selfie sticks ruining your view) or opt for one of the yurts – almost all of them come with gorgeous views over Lower Manhattan’s skyline, dominated by the One World Trade Centre.

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Escape the chaos and camp at Governors Island. Photo / Carla Francisco

Play pinball in a Laundromat

Laundromats are part and parcel of life in New York, and they don’t get any better than the Sunshine Laundromat in Brooklyn, which has arcade games to play while your smalls are on the spin cycle. But these aren’t just any arcade games – they’re rare gems such as Munsters Pro, a pinball machined created as a tribute to sitcom The Munsters, and Attack From Mars, a video game featuring aliens and flying cows. Spend enough time (and quarters) and your name will appear on the laundromat’s leaderboard.

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Play a game of pinball at Sunshine Laundromat. Photo / strivenword, Public Domain Dedication

Attend a drunken Shakespeare performance

Drunk Shakespeare’s concept is simple – classically-trained actors perform a Shakespeare play, but one drinks five shots beforehand, resulting in chaos as the inebriated actor and his (sober) fellow thespians try to keep the performance on track. Expect audience participation and the chance to challenge the ensemble to dares -who wouldn’t want to see an actor doing a back bend mid-Macbeth monologue, for example? And yes, the designated drinker really is tipsy – to prove as much, he or she will start by bringing out five shots and inviting an onlooker to drink one before downing the rest.

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Embrace the chaos and artistry of Drunk Shakespeare. Photo / SuppliedDrunk Shakespeare. Photo / Supplied

Admire some subway dust at the City Reliquary

This fantastic museum is filled with rotating exhibits which honour the Big Apple, whether it’s the jewel-like seltzer bottles from a Brooklyn bar or promotional material from New York’s World Fair. While certain items are on the strange side (how much we can learn from subway dust remains to be seen), others offer sobering reminders of the city’s darkest days – for example, there’s a section of rope which held the mourning drape secured to New York City Hall after the 9/11 attacks. Less thought-provoking are the dentures washed ashore in Brooklyn.

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Visit New York’s catacombs

New York’s catacombs aren’t as large as Paris’s (unusual in a city obsessed with everything supersized) but they’re just as breathtaking, hidden beneath Little Italy’s Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, built in 1801. During tours you’ll wander through the candlelit catacombs, learning about the final resting place for the city’s wealthiest Roman Catholics, including bishops, bankers and generals. Don’t leave without admiring the basilica’s 2,500-pipe organ, made in 1858.

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Visit the breathtaking catacombs in New York. Photo / Gina and Paul Brake

Tour a distillery with cats

Who doesn’t love a distillery tour? Several of New York’s come with added extras – cats. NYC charity Hard Hat Cats came to the rescue of the city’s strays by encouraging distilleries and breweries, which often experience rodent-related problems due to rats’ love of grain, to adopt pre-loved furry friends. One is King’s County Distillery, where resident cats Maude and Harold put in regular appearances during tours, when you’ll learn about New York’s oldest distillery before sampling the wares in the beautiful tasting room.

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Join the cats in a tour to the Kings County Distillery. Photo / Kings County DistilleryPet a cat on your way out. Photo / Kings County Distillery

Explore an abandoned subway station

This isn’t just any subway station – it’s City Hall station, abandoned in 1945. In 1905, the city’s very first subway ride rolled out of this architectural gem, famous for its vaulted ceiling and leaded skylights. Its grandiose style is unsurprising given its architects also designed New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and during tours you’ll learn how it was even more spectacular in its heyday, when there were Persian rugs and a goldfish-filled fountain.

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Reminisce the classic and old New York at the Old City Hall station, Photo / Patrick Cashin