looking for NYC experts.....................

dalt01

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 30, 2000
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what do i want to see...........where do i want to stay........is the subway hard to navigate.........tips and stratagies please??????????...........we are going to see "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" at the Al Hershfeld when Nick Jonas takes over as J. Pierrepont Finch and are going to hang around a few days......HELP:confused3
 
Obviously check out Times Square and the new Disney store! Another really good play was Jersey Boys. Central Park Zoo is a good place to spend a few hours as well.
 
Try these ideas: Museums are fantastic. Old Historic Bar Tour. Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan. Rooftop Bars. Highline Park.
 
Try these ideas: Museums are fantastic. Old Historic Bar Tour. Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan. Rooftop Bars. Highline Park.
looks like you got a good handle on the bar situation:rotfl2:.....what is Highline Park?
 

I don't have alot of advice, except be sure to go to Serendipitity for one of their frozen hot chocolates. No alcohol, but they are super YUMMY!

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I will jump in about the High Line since we visited for the first time last weekend and enjoyed it very much. It is an elevated train track that has recently been renovated into a city park. I suggest you check out their website, as it has some great info, including access points to the walkway and the nearest subway stations.

The High Line is a perfect stroll, maybe a mile or so, with great views, beautiful landscaping, and interesting architectural notes. There are wonderful areas for sitting and relaxing. The people watching is great and there are several areas where you can buy treats from food carts. The park ends (or begins depending on your perspective) at the Chelsea Market, which is also a great strolling destination.

Another fun activity on a pretty day is a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and back. You can also take the subway to Brooklyn and walk into Manhatten in order to get the best view. In Brooklyn, you can visit Grimaldi's for pizza. Be prepared for a wait however.

We always use a combination of subways and cabs when we are in the city if our destination is not within walking distance. We have always found the subway easy to use. If you are a little unsure, I would ask the concierge at your hotel to give you a few pointers before you head out. The basic information to know is the line you need to take, the direction you are headed, and the name of your stop. Studying the route map before you head out will help alot.

Hope you have a great time!
 
is the subway hard to navigate

If you realize the subway system uses "uptown" and "downtown" for north and south bound trains it gets easier. I know this isn't exact. The point is understand uptown, midtown and downtown. Weekend schedules can get tricky so make sure you check the lines, especially if you go to one of the Central Park museums.

Some subway entrances only service an uptown or downtown train, but not both.

There is, so far as I could find, no good source of information on what subway exits to take. Time Square, for example, has a bi-zillion exits.

There are some helpful iPhone apps for the subway but I don't think you have an iPhone.

If you have an iPhone don't rely on the map to show a subway route. You are likely to be routed onto a bus.

Get Statue of Liberty tickets now if you intend to do that. It is the same price to do the pedestal as it is to just go to Liberty island and going into the pedestal is fascinating. The pedestal closes for renovations after October 28, 2011, but Liberty Island will be open.

The line to to the 82nd floor of the Empire State Building line can be longer than TSM. And to make it even more infuriating, when you get to the elevator after standing in the first line, the elevator takes you to another long line before you get to go to the observation floor.

The Red Flame (diner) at 6th and 44th has good bagels and lox. It isn't much to look at but it was a good solid breakfast each morning.

Beware, some NYC restaurants charge for ice tea refills. Really.
 
If you realize the subway system uses "uptown" and "downtown" for north and south bound trains it gets easier. I know this isn't exact. The point is understand uptown, midtown and downtown. Weekend schedules can get tricky so make sure you check the lines, especially if you go to one of the Central Park museums.

Some subway entrances only service an uptown or downtown train, but not both.

A good tip for knowing which entrance to take is to face the direction you want to travel and take the entrance on your right. For streets, numbers go up for uptown and down for downtown. For avenues, the numbers go from East (alphabet and 1st) to West (12th) with 5th being the dividing line between east and west on addresses (10 E. 10th Street would be east of 5th Avenue and 10 W. 10th Street would be west of 5th).


Beware, some NYC restaurants charge for ice tea refills. Really.

Don't they all? I've never seen free refills in sit-down restaurants and only at one fast food place. I highly recommend it, by the way - Rickshaw Dumplings on 23rd between 6th and 5th Avenues.

More good places to eat: Eataly, Big Gay Ice Cream, L.A. Burdick Chocolate Cafe, Kee's Chocolate, Kyotofu, Food Parc, Rice to Riches, Crumbs, Magnolia Bakery, Papabubble, Despana, Harney & Sons Soho, Garrett's Popcorn, HB Burger (just off Times Square), Earl of Sandwich, Sweet Revenge, Grom, Amorino Gelato, Chikalicious, Kitchenette, . . .

Good places to go: Highline, Top of the Rock, Central Park, Skyscraper Museum, Irish Hunger Memorial, Battery Park City (especially the Otterness Sculpture Garden), Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, American Museum of Natural History, New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx Zoo, Rockefeller Center,
. . .
 
I give a strong 2nd to Hopstop. We use it in NYC and Boston. Another neat place to visit is the Tenement Museum.
 
we were just there last week - we stopped off in NYC on the way home to see The Book of Mormon.

we really liked the hotel we stayed at - The Pearl Hotel. It's a new boutique hotel, in the times square area - right across the street from the theater showing the book of mormon.

it's at 233 west 49th street - a nice quiet street but close to everything.

here's their website:
http://www.pearlhotelnyc.com/
 
Don't they all? I've never seen free refills in sit-down restaurants and only at one fast food place. I highly recommend it, by the way - Rickshaw Dumplings on 23rd between 6th and 5th Avenues.
. . .

I've got to second Rickshaw Dumpling Bar - YUM! And very inexpensive. Nice place to grab a snack.

If you're going to see How to Succeed - a favorite place of mine near the theatre district is Yum Yum Bangkok - it's a Thai place on the corner of 9th and 47th. Good food, not too expensive.

Also want to "third" the Highline. I didn't get what it was all about until I walked it - a really different experience of NYC.

Something I also heartily recommend is going to the American Museum of Natural History. Great museum, lots to see and fun for kids! I also recommend following this up with a trip to Alice's Tea Cup. (http://alicesteacup.com/) They're an Alice in Wonderland themed tea place - lots of fun and delicious food. There's a long wait sometimes though - usually during brunch time.

Lastly, a favorite (and free!) thing to do is walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Not sure when you're coming but it's a great perspective on NYC and you get great views. The walk it pretty easy going too.
 
I just remembered another great restaurant - Peanut Butter & Co. My favorite sandwich is the Heat is On special, which I sometimes get with bacon instead of chicken. Everything there is great, though. And you can get a chocolate Coke!
 
Much will depend on who is in your party (self, couple, family (and # and ages of kids). Some good rules to follow:

Avoid eating at chains (unless finicky young eaters demand it). Why would you chow down at a place you eat regularly at home?

Choose subway over bus as a general mode of efficient transport. However, those "get on/get off" buses that offer tours and unlimited stops (and an open-air 2nd level) seem to be very popular.

If the weather is nice, take the Circle Line boat tour (near the Intrepid Museum, another gem). Great cruise and tour.

Unless you like to collect pins/shirts/whatever, avoid generic tourist locations like Hard Rock, Planet Hollywood, M&M World, etc. Eat at unique NYC locations whenever possible.

Some of my favorite Chelsea / Flatiron NYC eateries:

Shake Shack (go to the one at Madison Square Park (5th & 23rd), not the Theater District location)

Eisenberg Sandwich Shop (5th Ave., just below 23rd)

Chelsea Market (9th Ave. & 15th St.) has a bunch of great places (and the backdoor at 10th Avenue is one block North of the southern entrance to the High Line park.)

The one thing I will recommend against -- don't make a special trip to the Disney Store in Times Square. It's a glorified mall store, and a pale cousin to the NYC World of Disney, which was a thing of beauty.

Have fun!
 
I have to second going to Eisenberg Sandwich shop.....I had the most amazing tunafish sandwich there on Friday for lunch! Funny....I work in that area and had never been there!


There is the cutest little restaurant called "Home" in the West Village that I can recommend http://www.homerestaurantnyc.com/

also..Red Rooster in Harlem if you don't mind a little trip: http://redroosterharlem.com/

Enjoy!
 
I just came back from the city a week ago and I highly recommend taking Scott's Pizza Tour. It's a highly popular and well rated tour on Trip Advisor. Even if you're not a big fan of pizza, his walking tour on the weekdays is a great way to visit the less touristy (and thus less crowded) parts of Manhattan.

For advice on the subway, trains heading to Brooklyn are going downtown and trains heading to Queens are going to midtown east. I had a little trouble with the subways, but the hopstop app should help a lot.

And about free refills, I got free refills on my pom iced tea at Ruby Tuesdays in Times Square! Yes, I know it's a chain, but it's an American one so we don't have it up here.
 
We did see "How to Succeed" when we were there 2 weeks ago. We walked and did cabs to get around. Also, see if you can get tickets to David Letterman. Great time at the taping. Also, walk Time Square, do any studio tour that is available (we did NBC,) the Today Show, the World of Disney, Toys R Us, and the M&M's store.
 
If you are traveling the lower Eastside, then there are three Jewish culinary "must dos".

"Russ and Daughters" (for appetizers)

"Katz's Delicatessen" (of "When Harry Met Sally" fame, for lunch)

"Sammy's Romanian Steakhouse" (for dinner)

I hope your cholesterol is ok otherwise you will not be able to handle the schmaltz.

There are thousands of great restaurants in NYC. Buy yourself a Zagat's and enjoy all the choices.
 




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