Grand Central Terminal

When I was a kid living in Fairfield, CT, my family would travel on the weekends to New York. There was a train station down the street from our house, that led a Metro North line right into the station. Because of that, I will always hold fond memories of this place.

On my most recent visit, I was able to take an official tour of GCT, which was great, because I learned so much about it that I didn't remember before. The train station (which is in its 2nd body) is roughly over 100 years old, and was financed by the Vanderbilt family. You can tell by the numerous acorns that adorn the art around the building (their family crest). This is one of the largest train stations in the world, and nearly 700000 people pass through it daily!

Now, please be mindful, if you are looking for a long distance train, to say DC or Philly and beyond, this is not your train station (Penn Station on 34th is where Amtrak and the long haulers are). This station houses the local NYC and metropolitan areas, which is quite vast (there is a map at the center of the main concourse, with people to help out at the information center). The subway is connected by a few lines as well.

This place is big, opulent, and loaded with people and marble and places to eat. It always seems to be changing (exhibits and shops) as well. Fun fact- the Grand Central Oyster Bar is actually 1 day older than the terminal itself, and that oysters were the original superfood to NY (not bagels or pizza!). They used to farm over 800 million oysters yearly locally, before the waters were deemed "unsafe for the consumers"!

Thankfully there is signage all around, leading you to various places, but as a tourist, you can easily spend an afternoon or day lounging around and exploring. I did also notice they have a newer terminal underground, which is actually 17 stories underground and cost 10s of billions (and 20 plus years) to build, because of all of the current infrastructure that was already in place. Seeing it in person is fascinating.

Be diligent though, because there ARE a lot of people. There are also a lot of police and military around as well, so it is generally safe, but just keep in mind, there are a lot of people here. There is a secret tennis club inside (that used to be the original CBS studios), a nice bar (well there are a few), and plenty of places to eat and shop. There is also a transit museum that gives you more history and exclusive souvenirs as well.

The ceiling inside the main concourse has part of the constellation. It was actually unearthed only about 30ish years ago, because they decided to clean the ceiling (as it was covered with so much soot the ceiling was black). If you look up in one of the corners and look closely, you will see one black brick- they kept it as a reminder to make sure the ceiling never gets like that again.

There is minimal seating (mostly at the eateries) to keep the homeless from sleeping inside. The current hours are 5:30A-2A. This became a National Historic Landmark in 1976. You need to visit if you are in NYC, this is not to be missed, and centrally located.

Building beautiful but management terrible!
Why is a ladies restroom (one of two at GCS) closed most of the Summer?
Why are both men's rooms functioning.
The women are lining up 30 in a line.
Everyone knows men take less time so why not let the ladies use one of the men's rooms??

When will the restroom be fixed. Post a sign.
I called 311 and searched online to speak to someone and got nowhere.

People are traveling and need well maintained facilities. This isn't an amenity it is a necessity and it is expected. PLEASE GET IT TOGETHER and fix the bathroom. It makes NYC look broken down and dysfunctional.

One of the most exciting ans interesting places to visit when in NYC !
The history, architecture and culture of this place is incredible.
Brings so many people together and travel to their destinations.
Great to people watch or visit the lower levels and get something to eat and drink, plus the many shops that they have before you get on your train for traveling.

Cool place to check out when you're in New York. It's a beautiful place to take pictures and check out! Also a good place to stop for some of the trains! Gorgeous place!

What a treat to see and visit GCT
Tons of people
Clean as a whistle
Hustle and bustle
Trains and shops

Worth a visit

I passed through Grand Central Terminal headed to my hotel on Saturday, then returned on Sunday to catch the LIRR. The new LIRR area is spacious, well lit, clean, and not crowded at all. It was easy to navigate, restrooms were sparkling, and trains were easily accessible.

It was so amazing visiting Grand Central Station as it has such extraordinary architecture and it has been filmed in many famous movies.

The trains are very well-organized and run on-time, even though there are many different local lines.

We could've spent hours walking around and enjoy the architecture.

The LIRR terminal is so gigantic and new. I wish they'd implement more stores and little shops but I can see they're well on their way! I can't get over how far down underground we are! Pretty incredible seeing two levels of tracks in the underground! Very clean but very large lots of walking. Nice artwork along the way and clean bathrooms

If you're ever in New York City, you should come by and check this place out even if you don't have a train to catch. Besides shopping, they also have a dining concourse. It's a beautiful iconic train station to say the least. You'll definitely want to get a picture of the main concourse. It's a nice place to pass the time or just to get out of the heat during the summer.

While places can be Grand, Beautiful or amazing, Grand Central Terminal encompass them all. It is truly an amazing place, a wonder of New York City.

This is not just a terminal but a mini city where so many things come together, trains, food, shopping and lots of people. This station is also history in the making on a daily basis.

Besides coming here as a last stop or leaving on a train, I suggest you make a trip here to just walk around and see the amazing architecture, lighting, and of course the amazing ceiling decoration in the mail hall. This is clearly a great stop for tourists to get a feel of New York City old and new.

There are 750,000 people passing through this station daily and that number goes up to one million during holiday time. These numbers just boggle my mind. I worked in the Empire State Building and really had an opportunity to see many people coming to work daily.

The addition of the Long Island Rail Road coming here has also been a boom to the station. Thousands of people who would come into Penn Station then take the subway can now come directly to Grand Central. Make sure you visit the [very] long escalator.

This building is a New York City Icon. "The terminal officially opened to great fanfare at 12:01am on Sunday, February 2, 1913. More than 150,000 visited on opening day. New York City would never be the same." [Google]

KUDOs to all the people who make Grand Central Terminal run seven days a week, 24 hours a day.