Tour Grand Central in Midtown Manhattan

When it comes to astonishing public buildings, Midtown Manhattan has an embarrassment of riches. You may recall I fell madly in love with the New York Public Library. There is another Beaux Arts beauty in Midtown worthy of my love, and it’s also one of NYC’s best free attractions: Grand Central Terminal. The current incarnation opened in 1913. The main concourse, its astronomical ceiling painted with a blue sky and stars, is a not-miss. You really must tour Grand Central.

The terminal’s distinctive architecture and interior design have earned it recognition as a National Historic Landmark. Grand Central Terminal is one of the world’s ten most visited tourist attractions, with over 20 million visitors a year (not including train and subway passengers).

About those train and subway passengers—Grand Central is a ginormous transportation hub. Some 750,000 people pass through daily, and holiday traffic swells to more than a million. A commuter rail terminal serving the northern parts of the New York metropolitan area, Grand Central covers 48 acres and has 44 platforms, more than any other railroad station in the world!

Officially dubbed Grand Central Terminal, previously called Grand Central Station, and Grand Central Depot before that (1871), workers demolished the Depot to make way for the higher-capacity Grand Central, built on the same site.

With Grand Central Market in one of the passages and lots of restaurants and food stalls below, it’s also a good place to shop and to eat. Once the commuter train level, the lower level is now the dining concourse, while the upper level is the main concourse.

Tour Grand Central’s main concourse

The main concourse is awe-inspiring, in a cathedral-like sense. Perhaps train stations during the late 19th and early 20th century were the equivalent of cathedrals, a temple to the everyday commuter. A vast space opens before you and the blue celestial ceiling soars above, spangled with golden stars and constellations. Built by railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, the station was, in many ways, a symbol of wealth and power. Thus the concourse’s majestic size: 275 feet long, 120 feet wide, and 125 feet high.

Often used as a meeting place (meet me at the clock!) you may have seen the terminal’s main concourse featured in television and film. The concourse features an elliptical barrel-vaulted ceiling painted with an elaborately decorated mural of constellations. Ten Beaux-Arts style globe-shaped chandeliers, each weighing 800 pounds, light the concourse, along with three arched windows, each 60-feet high, in the east and west walls. Catwalks made of semi-transparent rock crystal run across these windows. The station’s architects modeled the windows and the grand staircases after the Palais Garnier in Paris.

To learn more, take a guided tour

Things have changed recently if you want to tour Grand Central. There used to be daily docent-led tours, which are my favorite kind. Docents are individuals with so much knowledge and passion about a place, they volunteer their time to show it to others. I’ve never had a docent-led tour I didn’t love. For whatever reason, the terminal now has partnered with Walks tour company in an exclusive partnership to lead the official tour.

Tickets start at $35, it’s 1.5 hours long, and the list of sites they cover includes lesser-known areas as well as the main sites.

The self-guided audio tour appears to no longer be available, which is too bad as it was a very affordable option. To learn more about tours and tickets, go here.

The whispering gallery

I’m going to admit right now, we didn’t try this out. But we should have. Confused, per usual, we thought the whispering gallery was in the main concourse. It’s actually on the lower level near the Oyster Bar.

The archway in front of the restaurant is famous for this acoustical quirk. Someone standing in one corner can hear someone standing in the opposite corner perfectly, no matter how softly they speak.

Grand Central Oyster Bar

Another must-do, in my opinion, is the Grand Central Oyster Bar downstairs. It’s a classic NYC institution and so much fun.
Note: the restaurant is closed on Sundays.

First of all, it’s gorgeous. Located on the subterranean level, the oyster bar embraces its below-ground location and elevates it. The restaurant space was first opened as the Grand Central Terminal Restaurant in 1913. Its architecture features vaulted, Guastavino-tiled ceilings. Guastavino vaulting is a technique for constructing self-supporting arches and architectural vaults using interlocking terracotta tiles and layers of mortar, with the tiles following the curve of the roof. A herringbone pattern adorns the Oyster Bar’s vaulted ceilings, and they are stunning!

Twinkling lights outline the architectural arches, supplementing the huge hanging chandeliers. The lights reflect off the tiles that cover the walls and ceilings, casting a golden glow. There are windows, too, on all sides that abut the hallway, huge divided-glass windows taking up the entire space inside the arches and displaying incredible craftsmanship. It is, simply, cool, with an antique yet somehow futuristic vibe. If I end up living in an underground tunnel post-apocalypse, I’d like it to be this one.

Old school bread and butter!

Secondly, it’s unique and quirky. And old school. Red-and-white checked tablecloths, tufted leather booths, actual bread and butter. It’s not just a place to eat, it’s an experience. The waiters (and they are waiters, no female servers to be found) wear aprons and little hats. Mine agreed to pose for me:

We really enjoyed our meal. We had Manhattan Clam Chowder (of course!), Oysters Rockefeller, and some crispy kale stuff. You get this plate of really good crackers and bread. (It’s been my experience that there is no longer any such thing as a bread basket in most restaurants. Except on the appetizer menu. You’re lucky if you even get a decent piece of bread with your soup these days. The last time I ordered a bowl, I got a thin slice from a round loaf that had been cut in half. In HALF, I tell you! And there was no butter. At all. But I digress.)

Anyhoo. REALLY good crackers. Bread and butter, very good butter. I was totally starving, so this kept me going while waiting for our meal. I’m sad to report we did not have dessert. I don’t know if I ate too many crackers, or what. I do recall I asked for more and seriously considered putting some in my purse. (In fact, I might have done that. But I will not admit it under oath.) They were very good crackers.

Other places to eat

There are a ton of other options for food in Grand Central. The dining concourse encompasses the entire lower level. Over 20 vendors, all of them local, include Magnolia Bakery, Shake Shack, Doughnut Plant, Zaro’s Bakery, and Mendy’s Kosher Deli.

Leaving Grand Central Station

When you leave the station, exit on the Park Avenue side. Look up: the iconic Chrysler Building is located at 42nd and Lexington, right across the street. If you’re there on a weekday, pop in for a look at the Art Deco lobby. (Thanks to MadHattersNYC for the Chrysler lobby tip!)

Take the Library Way to the NYPL

It’s just 3 short blocks to the New York Public Library from Grand Central. In fact, architects designed Grand Central’s facade to complement that of the NYPL, another Beaux-Arts beauty over on Fifth Avenue. The station and the library are two great free attractions, and you can see them both in one day, if you like. On Park Avenue, walk south, away from the Chrysler building, and turn on 41st Street to take the Library Way.

For more about the library and its many wonders, see In Love With the New York Public Library.

More to explore in Midtown Manhattan

Another iconic New York building in the area is the Empire State Building. We were lucky enough to have a great view of it from the rooftop of our hotel.

The Koreatown neighborhood was near our hotel, and I wanted to eat Korean fried chicken. After much difficulty we found the Turntable restaurant (their sign is sorta small). We mowed through an order of seafood fried rice, super delicious fried chicken, and the best kimchee ever. We ate a big bowl of it then ordered more to snack on later.

Midtown is also home to the 5th Avenue shopping mecca and many beautiful holiday window displays. If you’re in NYC between mid-November and New Year’s, don’t miss the displays. For more info about holiday windows and other holiday fun, see New York City is Crazy for Christmas.

You’ll never lack for things to do in Midtown Manhattan. It’s a great base for first-time explorers of New York.

More New York City Neighborhoods

On the unforgettable Upper East Side, visit some famous museums and tour Central Park.
Calling on the Woman in Gold
Visiting Ancient Egypt at the Met
Upper East Side Redux: More Things to Do includes some fun locations in Central Park

On Manhattan’s Lower East Side, explore New York Street Art and good food, too!

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