Travel documentary on NYC

I am total newbie and have never made a film. I have this idea of travel documentary where one of my friends and I introduce tourist destinations of New York as well as its history, culture and a bit of social life to the viewers. We go to each place eg Times Square and talk about its history what it is famous for etc. Then we move on Grand Central station and then central park. I want to make around 13 episode wherein each one covers 2 or 3 places. Each episode will last 40 min. I have a couple of challenges for the helpful gurus of IndieTalk:

1. Without a story or theme, it seems dull. What kind of stories can be added here?
2. The budget is very low. Where and how can I find cameraman/cinematographer for such a low budget?
3. Should I write a script or just go and film and improvise on the spot?
4. What kind of shots are best for such a film? There will be a bit of talking while walking, taking taxis/subway and of course showing the places.
5. Where can I find interesting/surprising information about places in NYC?

Thanks

With the caveat that I've only done narrative work (shorts & features) not documentaries, here are a few thoughts as someone who worked in NYC for 30+ years:

1. You can make the theme something like "Canadians lost in NYC" or "Let's pick a subway stop at random and see what's there" or make a goofy alphabetical list and work through it.
2. I'm inclined to say you should be your own cameraman - maybe an iPhone and a few add-on lenses.
3. I'd make each episode much shorter because people these days have short attention spans - stick to one place per episode, edit it down super tight, and keep to 5 or 6 minutes on each.

Should make it funny. Like, poutine vs dirty water dog, and who has the better mounted police, Canada or Central Park. Something about Bieber lol. Interviews, with humor, get a comedian... or else I'm afraid, it's just a boring, done before but not as good (because you are not from here and doing it on the fly) doc.

Forgot to mention that this series is intended to be run by a tv channel in a developing country where most of the people have never been out of country and they take deep interest in everything foreign.



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