Can Anyone Help With a 1st Time Trip to New York?

[TwinMom7]

DH and I are thinking of planning a first time trip for this fall. We want to see all of the popular tourist sites, and stay in the "heart" of everything. I want to do a carriage ride in Central Park and a Broadway Show....he wants to see Yankee Stadium.

Would 5 days - 4 nights be long enough? Any recommendations on where we should stay?

If this were a DISNEY trip, I'd have no problem planning every minute of it....but NYC is another story!!

Any input will be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[Aimeedyan]

I think that one never has ENOUGH time to see all the great things in Manhattan, so go as long as you can afford to, get in what you can, and leave things to the next trip =)

I think you can easily do those things you just mentioned in that time period. It's honestly my fave place in the world to visit (dont shoot me die hard WDW fans!), and I can't get enough of it!

I have an uncle who lives there, so I crash on his floor for free...so I can't help with great hotels. I'd check out www.tripadvisor.com to get some ideas from others, and hopefully people here will pitch in. If I were to book something, I would attempt to get in as close to Times Square as possible, since its' the heart of the action all hours of the night. I always go out late late at night there, and making that trek home on those quiet, dark streets is sometimes intimidating. Times Square is NEVER quiet and dark =)

If you want any more suggestions for things to see and do, let me know! I've only been 4 times, but love love love it. And I always do it CHEAP, so usually hit the free/cheap things LOL =)

Have a BLAST! I'm so jealous. I wish we had the money to fly up there anytime soon... =)

 

[PamOKW]

5 Days/4 nights sounds like plenty o ftime to get your first taste of NYC. (Don't forget that NY gets pretty expensive so plan a budget.)

Here's a link to the Yankees site. If your husband wants to see a game, you may want to plan around when the team will be home.

Yankees

The stadium is in the Bronx and you'll want to get the subway directions or take a cab up to the game. There's not much else of interest right around the stadium and it's not an area to wander around in if you are unfamiliar with where you are going.

As suggested, there are now many hotels in the Times Square area. There are also hotels along the Avenue of the Americas (6th Avenue) and 5th Avenue that will have you within walking distance of many attractions. Keep asking questions here when you get an idea of someplace that sounds like it fits the budget.

 

[js]

Hi! I live in one of the boroughs of NY and work in the City.
The first thing I would suggest is determining a budget. You can do NYC on any kind of budget but that will play a big factor in your stay and what you decide to do, eat, Broadway or off-off Bdwy shows, etc.
If you want to see a show(s) start planning what you may want to see. Very popular shows sell out months in advance and if you know what you want to see, buy the tickets. Make a loose plan of what you want to do each day so you are not hopping from downtown to uptown and back downtown again. The Broadway shows are midtown. Being the proud mom of a Marine (please thank you son from the bottom of my families heart ) I am sure you want to visit Ground Zero, although it looks nothing like it did the months following 9/11 (thank goodness). Ground Zero is downtown. Museums and the high-end boutiques, shops are mostly found up/midtown. Carriage ride is upper midtown and you can do that through Central Park. SoHo and the Village are not downtown but not midtown either. These are places you also want to visit, walk around, browse. You can have a big meal or sit in/outside a cafe and relax and people watch. Love Italian, Little Italy is not to be missed. As someone mentioned, Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx not in the city. I'm not sure if you could "visit" if there wasn't a game going on. There wouldn't be anything going on if there wasn't a game. Try Shea too (We're Met fans LOL)
Where to stay will depend on what kind of atmosphere you want. Downtown, Gramacey Park, Midtown, Uptown all have something to offer. I do like the great restaurants that are offered in the Gramacey Park area, which is also residential. Maybe determining what you will be doing each night (ending with a show, restaurant or club) should determine where you want to stay. Enjoy and have fun!!

 

[Gupsmom]

NYC is fantastic!!!! You'll love it.

I'm not sure if this would be an acceptable option for you, but we split our stay between 2 hotels. The first was right at Central Park. That allowed us to walk (and carriage ride) through the park and walk down 5th avenue. I'm not sure when the Disney Store on 5th Ave is scheduled to reopen but rumor has it that it will be a Worl d of Disney Store.

Then we moved over to a hotel 1 block from Times Square (Westin Times Square). We walked around Times Square and saw a broadway show. If you're a kid at heart, make sure you ride the ferris wheel at Toys R Us.

Jess

 

[mikesmom88]

Try and see "Beauty and the Beast" while in NYC. It is fantastic!

Have a great trip!

 

[Kallison]

My standard NYC answer is have to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art - you can spend all day or a few hours here. Walk across park to the Natural History Museum. Check out the John Lennon memorial and see the Dakota - (we are Beatles fans).

Jekyll and Hyde restaurant is in this part of town and a popular tourist attraction.

Rockefeller Center - St. Patrick's in midtown

Statue of Liberty

Empire State Building

I LOVE New York - have fun planning!

Definitely Yankees - although that will suck up most of a day. I think there is also a Yankee Stadium tour you can do?

Don't forget to look for celebs - anyone walking briskly, head down, sunglasses, baseball hat, avoids eye contact, walks across the street to avoid passing you. We usually see one or two in the Central Park West area.

 

[monkeyboy]

Originally posted by PamOKW
Here's a link to the Yankees site. If your husband wants to see a game, you may want to plan around when the team will be home.

Yankees
.

let me add if you go in fall, you may want to get tix early because if they are doing well tix may be hard to come by