What to do in New York City?

[babslittleones]

My husband and I will be taking a last minute weekend trip. We will be spending one day in New York City on Sunday. We plan on doing things in the Manhattan area.

Does anyone know of any must see things to do or see in the city?

Is it a long wait to go to the top of Empire State Building on a Sunday?

Can you go over the island where the Statue of LIberty is located?

As you can tell, we have never been close to this area before so any advice or tips would be wonderful.

Thanks everyone!
Beth

 

[MagicalMom]

We took the NBC studio tour & really enjoyed it.

 

[MagicalMom]

Wow, I don't know why I had the triple post. Sorry!

 

[MagicalMom]

sorry! didn't mean the triple post.

 

[rcyannacci]

I actually just arrived in the city today (I'm here on business, but I hope have a little fun)! There's tons to do, depending on your interests.

There is a TKTS booth in Times Square that sells discounted tickets to Broadway shows- so many good shows to see!

Tons of museums- Met. Museum of Art, Guggenheim, MOMA (Museum of Modern Art).

Haven't been to Ellis Island myself, but I've heard good things.

Have fun!

 

[babslittleones]

Thanks for the help so far.

So far, we have planned to go by the Empire State building, Statue of LIberty, and see the spot where the World Trade Center was.

Any other ideas or tips?

 

[Kallison]

I love the Metropolitan Musuem of Art -- you can spend all day there. Then a walk through Central Park. Have fun.

 

[skiwee1]

We waited 2 hours for the Empire state tour and that was with paying extra! We also found out that we had another hour to wait for the last elevator so we decided to hike up the last 8 flight, I believe. I thought they were going to bring me back down on a stretcher! There is too much to do in NY in a day. DH and I have gotten hooked on NYC on our last anniversary when we took our first trip. We stayed 3 days and did the Empire state building, Statue of Liberty among all the other stuff. What I would do if I only had one day would be to buy a ticket for a bus tour. The Greyline runs buses that go everywhere. You can choose a tour that goes uptown, downtown, city night lights and so on. Choose the one that takes you by all the major sites. It takes about 4 hours to do. You can also hop on and off the bus if you want to see something more in depth. You can get web pricing in their website which I believe is Greyline.com. Also take a carriage ride through Central Park. We have been back to NYC for 4 days again this past March and have just booked another 4 days for November. We just love it there.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I've live right across the river from Manhattan all my life, and I've never been to the top of the Empire State Building or the Statute of Liberty. LOL! They say we natives never go there, so I guess it's true.

I have heard great things about the tour buses Skiwee is talking about. Those are the double decker ones, right? They sound like a very good option for seeing a lot in a limited amount of time.

If you decide to do your own thing, though, here are a few ideas.

Downtown Manhattan (where the World Trade Center was) is very quiet on the weekends except for a few places. One of them is the South Street Seaport. You could spend a lot of time hanging out there.

The Staten Island Ferry is one of the best bargains in all the world of tourism. I believe the fare is less than a dollar (35 cents?), and it takes you past Governor's and Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The views you get from that boat ride are spectacular!

For walking around, the neighborhoods slightly north of Downtown are special. Chinatown, Little Italy, and Greenwich Village are all fun to explore. Lots of shopping, people watching, noshing possibilities.

For "sight" seeing, Uptown is the place to be. You could start with Grand Central Station and work your way on foot north. Fifth Avenue from 42nd Street (Grand Central is 42nd and Park) up to 57th Street (where Central Park begins) is chock full of famous sights.

Rockefeller plaza, Trump Tower, Tiffany's, Bergdorf Goodman's, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Waldorf Astoria are just some of the places you'll see along that route.

Heading into Central Park, you have Tavern on the Green, Strawberry Fields, the Dakota, the Lake, the Zoo. The Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are practically in the Park; either institution is worth a day of exploration on its own.

Sorry if I've bombarded you with so much; just wanted to give you some ideas.

I hope you enjoy your visit, no matter how you choose to do it. New York City is one of the best places in the world, I think.

 

[Nancy]

The last time we took the Ferry it was free (staten island) we rode it both ways and got some great views of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

If you take the "real" ferry to the Statue be prepared for more of a wait. You wait to load, get off at the Island, walk around and wait to load again. It also stops at Ellis Island so you can also get off there and walk around. We actually enjoyed Ellis Island when we went last summer.

I have been to NY many times and have never gone to The Empire State building. I've done most of the other tourist stops though. Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, the stores and more stores, WTC both before and after.

We also like Southstreet Sea Port...nice little area.

 

[LJC1861]

I live here in Manhattan and will be glad to assist you any way that I can.

The Empire State building is fun, but in my opinion not worth the up to 3 hour wait that you could have. Unless you get there 1 hour before it opens to get on line and be one of the first up you will spend most of your day waiting.

I agree with other posters that the Staten Island Ferry is a great value. FREE!! It takes you fairly close to the Statue of Liberty and is a wonderful way to cool off on a hot day.

Visiting the Statue is great but as other posters have said the wait for the ferry can be prohibitive. Also, the statue will re-open to the public in early August. this will dramatically increase the number of tourists going out to see her since they have not been able to since 9/11.

Ellis Island is wonderful and worth the trip. this would be a great option if it is raining or you have lots of time.

Ground Zero is easily accessible via several subway lines or a cab from mid town for about $12

Broadway shows are one of my favorite things and there are several ways to get discount tickets. You can stand on line at the TKTS booth ( again you will waste time standing in line ) or you can check out several websites for discounts. One of the best is www.HitShowClub.com and it is free to join.

As for food, there are too many good restaurants to choose from. I would suggest www.dinnerbroker.com to find places that offer a discount. It is a great way to try some fantastic food at discount prices. If you get adventurous come down to the West Village ( Greenwich Village on the West side) for some fabulous restaurants at bargain prices. If you want to try this, a cab ride from mid town will set you back about $8.

Let me know if you need or want specfic help, I'll be glad to assist.

Linda

 

[phorsenuf]

I was in NYC a few weeks ago and had a blast! I was with my mom and sister. We decided on the train ride home we are going to make it an annual thing! My sis and I did the empire state building at night. It was around 10 or so when we got there. We did the flight over NY first (very cool..) and then headed up. The wait was probably less than 1/2 hour to get to the top. After getting out of the ride you go to a different wait line so I think that helped some. Viewing NY at night from the top of the Empire State bldg was beautiful!
We also went to Ellis Island and to the museum there. Awesome.....didn't get off at the Statue, just waved
We went to ground zero....very solemn and moving experience. We walked up thru Chinatown and had dinner in Little Italy. I could eat there every night of my life! LOL
We hit Madame Tussards wax museum at night. Less crowded then the day and reduced admission prices. The line for TKTS is very long.......................
We walked around Central park. Very pretty, but very tiring....LOL
Gosh....what else did we do????? Times square of course, walking along 5th ave with a stop in Tiffanys (got a bag, nothing else! LOL, although there was a very pretty ring I was eyeballing, but I didn't have 1.5 MILLION dollars with me!)
I know we did some other things, but can't think what else right now.
We did all that in 1 full day and 2 half days. Oh yeah....we went to the Museum of art. I could've spent days there.......
For lunch grab a pastrami sandwich at the stage door deli...its across the street from Lindys. Here's a picture of my sandwich. Pretty awesome huh.......
Have fun...wish I could go with you!!!!

 

[charlie,nj]

check out:

www.nyctourist.com

 

[babslittleones]

Oh my goodness!

Here is a super huge thank you for all the hints and tips.




I really appreciate all the help.

thanks again,
Beth