Going to NYC

[glenpreece]

So Kevin my bff was going to come to Toronto this summer to see Beyoncé since my trip to Paris falls a day after her performances there. Well since he decided this well after the tix went on sale I can't get him a ticket for a normal price. So he had this "brilliant" idea that we should go to NYC instead. Not for Beyoncé cause of course the shows there are sold out too. LOL Anyways so we're going Sept14-21 and were staying in Long Island City and taking the subway into Manhattan. Any must do's besides the obvous Lady Liberty ESB Times Square etc?? I never been to NYC before and as couple of gays going to the big apple i'm kinda overwhelmed by it.

[ashley0139]

There are TONS of things to do, it's hard to narrow it down without knowing what you are interested in. See a couple shows, definitely. Museums - the Met, the Guggenheim, the MoMA, Tenement Museum, etc. Walk Central Park. Times Square, obviously. Find some really good places to eat. Go hang out in the Village. Etc etc.

[ToddyLu]

The Hop on/Hop off bus is really pretty good in NYC, not impressed with the one in DC. You can pay a price for 2 days I think and ride it all over town, then pick it back up again when you see one. They usually have a tour guide on board talking. There is also a night tour over to Brooklyn which was really nice. In fact we only took a taxi twice. The rest of the time we just rode that bus all over. Got to get some cheesecake from Juniors...and go to the Disney Store and M&M World. The NBC store is cute too.

If you want to see the skyline...I recommend not going up in the Empire State Bldg, but going up in the other other tall building...I think the Chrysler Bldg? Someone will correct me if I am wrong. (This makes me feel stupid)

[SwimBikeRun]

Originally Posted by glenpreece

So Kevin my bff was going to come to Toronto this summer to see Beyoncé since my trip to Paris falls a day after her performances there. Well since he decided this well after the tix went on sale I can't get him a ticket for a normal price. So he had this "brilliant" idea that we should go to NYC instead. Not for Beyoncé cause of course the shows there are sold out too. LOL Anyways so we're going Sept14-21 and were staying in Long Island City and taking the subway into Manhattan. Any must do's besides the obvous Lady Liberty ESB Times Square etc?? I never been to NYC before and as couple of gays going to the big apple i'm kinda overwhelmed by it.

The statue of Liberty island was quite damaged during Sandy. Not sure if it's opened yet. The statue is fine. The walkways are not. However the ride on the staten island ferry takes you right past the statue. The ferry is free and you can get great photos of the statue and the skyline.

Eat a hotdog from a cart in the middle of Times Square!

NYC is very gay friendly. You'll have a great time!

[ashley0139]

Originally Posted by ToddyLu

If you want to see the skyline...I recommend not going up in the Empire State Bldg, but going up in the other other tall building...I think the Chrysler Bldg? Someone will correct me if I am wrong. (This makes me feel stupid)

It is the Chrysler Building, but the best way to see the skyline is actually the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center.

[DrGaellon]

I recommend the Circle Line boat ride around Manhattan, for starters. Pick a museum or two - if you like art, check out the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim, or the Museum of Modern Art. There's the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, and the Museum of the Moving Image. And, of course, you have to catch at least one Broadway show.

[glenpreece]

Thanks everyone for the ideas keep em coming. For museums I apparently only have to endure the Met I don't really like them heck I did the louvre in 2.5hrs. Where abouts is the village??? I love shopping and just wandering city streets. Any locals wanna show us around???

[shoney]

Top of the rock is great!!!!

Also, the beast boat ride gets you very close to the statue of liberty for great pics. It is sooo much fun!
http://www.circleline42.com/new-york...768644%2Cd.dmQ

The staten island ferry is free, but doesn't get that close.

Take a ride on the roosevelt island tram for nice views, too.

You can take the subway to Brooklyn and walk back over the brooklyn bride for great views as well.

We did this tour a few years ago and it was really fun...history of the village and food!
http://www.foodsofny.com/greenwichvillage.php

Have fun!!!!

[AuroraRora]

If you're looking for a more "adult" museum, NYC now has a Museum Of Sex which is a lot of fun and actually pretty interesting!

You can also reserve free e-tickets to go to the memorial gardens at the WTC on the 9/11 website, and see the memorial fountains. It's a very moving and humbling experience. The tickets give you a specific time to arrive and it takes about 30-1hr to do it all, given that the memorial museum isn't open yet.

If you want to see Broadway shows on the cheap, you can line up at the TKTS booth in Times Sq for discount tickets the morning of the show. Alternatively, a lot of shows do "broadway lottery" where you show up at the box office about 1hr before curtain-up (so, around 5:30pm ish) and put your name in a draw to win the chance to buy 2 tickets for around $30 each. There's no guarantee you'll win and they advise you go midweek or in bad weather so there's less people doing it. But $30 is a great price compared to tickets that can run into the $200-$300 price range and they're usually really good seats.

Oh, and I don't know if its your thing anyway, but don't do any of the Ghost Tours. They're dreadful! My roommate and I got a Groupon to do 3 different haunted tours and each one was terrible - the only saving grace was that one of them was funny based on how bad it was.

[glenpreece]

Originally Posted by AuroraRora

If you're looking for a more "adult" museum, NYC now has a Museum Of Sex which is a lot of fun and actually pretty interesting!

You can also reserve free e-tickets to go to the memorial gardens at the WTC on the 9/11 website, and see the memorial fountains. It's a very moving and humbling experience. The tickets give you a specific time to arrive and it takes about 30-1hr to do it all, given that the memorial museum isn't open yet.

If you want to see Broadway shows on the cheap, you can line up at the TKTS booth in Times Sq for discount tickets the morning of the show. Alternatively, a lot of shows do "broadway lottery" where you show up at the box office about 1hr before curtain-up (so, around 5:30pm ish) and put your name in a draw to win the chance to buy 2 tickets for around $30 each. There's no guarantee you'll win and they advise you go midweek or in bad weather so there's less people doing it. But $30 is a great price compared to tickets that can run into the $200-$300 price range and they're usually really good seats.

Oh, and I don't know if its your thing anyway, but don't do any of the Ghost Tours. They're dreadful! My roommate and I got a Groupon to do 3 different haunted tours and each one was terrible - the only saving grace was that one of them was funny based on how bad it was.

That's good to know about the Ghost Tours cause that's something I would've done.

[AuroraRora]

Originally Posted by glenpreece

That's good to know about the Ghost Tours cause that's something I would've done.

They were seriously bad. At one point the guide took us to an old tree in a park and said "this tree is old enough for people to have been hanged here back in hanging times!" We asked who had been hanged there and he admitted they didn't actually know of anyone being hanged there, but it was the only tree in the park old enough, so it was "certainly possible!". Then another tour took us to where a terrible car crash had happened a few years back... except no-one died in it. Obviously I'm glad that everyone survived, but why would a GHOST tour go to a scene of injuries?

[glenpreece]

Originally Posted by AuroraRora

They were seriously bad. At one point the guide took us to an old tree in a park and said "this tree is old enough for people to have been hanged here back in hanging times!" We asked who had been hanged there and he admitted they didn't actually know of anyone being hanged there, but it was the only tree in the park old enough, so it was "certainly possible!". Then another tour took us to where a terrible car crash had happened a few years back... except no-one died in it. Obviously I'm glad that everyone survived, but why would a GHOST tour go to a scene of injuries?

that's too funny

[BrdwayBoy]

Definitely agree with those who mentioned catching a Broadway show :-)

[glenpreece]

Originally Posted by BrdwayBoy

Definitely agree with those who mentioned catching a Broadway show :-)

I don't think i could be a 'mo and not see a show while in NYC

[poton754]

Don't miss the folk art museum. Its amazing.