Patricia Schultz’s first edition of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (2003) was an immediate bestseller, but the author was already contemplating revision. “The ink was still damp when I began thinking of what I wanted to add and what changes I wanted to make—that is the nature of the beast in the world of travel books. Things are forever changing,” Schultz noted shortly before the publication of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, The New Full-Color Second Edition (Nov. 2011). Workman reports that more than 50% of the material is new and newly organized, plus there are more than 200 entirely new places (many in China, India, and countries of the former Soviet bloc). Copies in print for both books, according to the publisher, are more than three million; the first has already been translated into 25 languages.
You can meet Schultz today at the Workman booth (4158) at 2 p.m. Here, she shares five recommendations from the book for BEA visitors, tweaked a bit by her with some timely details.
● Join the New Yorkers who have embraced the elevated greenway called the High Line (www.thehighline.org), a historic freight-railroad-line-turned-park that runs along Manhattan’s West Side from Gansevoort Street in the trendy Meatpacking District to West 30th Street. Before you set off, stop for a drink or a bite at the Standard Hotel, which straddles the High Line, or descend midway to visit the Chelsea Market in the old Nabisco factory for a gelato or lobster roll.
● Save one night for the Great White Way, and pick from the dozens of theaters that promise a Broadway experience (www.Broadway.com ). Evita is the hot new ticket in town, though for some (very) irreverent fun, consider The Book of Mormon. And for a guaranteed oldie, Jersey Boys continues to pack them in. Pre-theater, tuck into a mile-high pastrami sandwich at the Carnegie Delicatessen (www.carnegiedeli.co), or head to Esca for deliciously prepared fruits of the sea (www.esca-nyc.com).
● There’s always something going on in Central Park, Manhattan’s playground and green lungs. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater, with the sure-to-be-acclaimed As You Like It beginning June 5 (www.shakespeareinthepark.org). Enjoy an afternoon in the park on a rented bike, from the back of a pedicab, or over lunch at the lakeside Boathouse (www.thecentralparkboathouse.com).
● Head out to the Bronx and the new Yankee Stadium to soak up the amicable rivalry between New York’s two hometown baseball teams, the Yankees and the Mets, when they play each other June 8–10 (or catch a Yankees-Rays game June 5–7; newyork.yankees.mlb.com). The new ballpark was completed in 2009 across the street from the 1923 “House That Ruth built,” and is expected to sell out for Madonna’s World Tour in September 2012.
● Is there any better walking city than New York? Little wonder, then, that a proliferation of excellent walking tours have taken root and flourished, guaranteeing visitors an in-depth, insightful, and hugely enjoyable way to understand the complexities of the city—kind of like having a seriously well-informed best friend who lives here with a doctorate in All Things New York. Context Tours leads small groups on 20 themed walks that revolve around architecture, art, and urban history (www.contexttravel.com) while the Big Onion (as in the Big Apple, not!) has been offering similar outings from Harlem to Ellis Island for over 20 years, including its popular Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour (www.bigonion.com).
