What to do/not do in NYC and DC?

[westgrove]

Hi, DH and I are from the UK and I'll be having my first ever visit to WDW in May, but before we get there we spend 4 in NYC and 2 and half in DC,
We've done research already as I've never been to those places either but any suggestions would be great

thank you, Laura

 

[DisneyNutMary]

In NY, I'd suggest catching a Broadway show, if you do not buy tickets in advance, go to TKTS in Times Square and see what shows have seats available. Keep in mind, TKTS sells tickets to THAT DAY's performances.
Also, I highly recommend a visit to the Met or to MOMA, even if you are not a museum person, these are both really great museums, and worth the visit. May in NY is beautiful, so how about picking up sandwiches at a deli and having a picnic in Central Park?

I love NY, there is so much to see and do, I hope you enjoy our beautiful city too

 

[cornflake]

DO:

The Met Museum
Tenement Museum
Central Park
Empire State Building (late late at night)
Staten Island Ferry
Cloisters
Columbia University
Broadway shows (TKTS on John St. however, will save you hours of time)
BAM
Other shows (ABT, MET Opera, Philharmonic, UCB, etc.)
New York Historical Society

DON'T:

Times Square (unless you're on your way to a show, it's like hanging out in Picadilly or Leicester, except with more tourists, less architecture and just mall stores)
Statue of Liberty
Bus tours

EH:

MOMA (they have a free night, take advantage. Otherwise, if you're into modern art, go nuts. If you're not, I wouldn't spend the $$, it's a pricey admission and not a huge museum)
Guggenheim (depends on what's there, exhibitwise, but it's a cool building)
The Highline (it's a little park like thing with benches to walk along. Woo. It's a nice parklike thing however, just the hype is outsized.)

 

[punkin]

NY: Broadway show, Met. Museum of Art, Empire State Building, Ellis Island (statue of liberty is closed so I would just look from the ferry-no reason to stop on the island), Central Park, 5th avenue stores for window shopping.

DC: Free Museums of American History; Air and Space; Natural History (hope diamond); National Gallery (just spent 2 hours there Monday - not nearly enough time). Cost money but worth it: spy museum, newseum.

 

[akhenaten]

Central Park... enter by the Metropolitan Museum and walk to bethesda fountain... fans of John Lennon.. visit strawberry fields....

Battery Park.. the eternal flame and the crushed sculpture from the WTC.
People watch and great views... ride back and forth on the staten Island ferry... great views of The Statue of Liberty and lower manhattan ...

Times square is a must.. the famous ticker of news and where the ball drops...
a huge toys r us can be a fun visit also... ( I have lived 15 minutes from NYC and still marvel at the lights and action in times square... I may not stay long but still enjoy seeing it)

Lincoln center ... Saint patricks and roc center...

 

[akhenaten]

in dc the national museum of the american indian is a must do!!

http://www.nmai.si.edu/

 

[punkin]

in dc the national museum of the american indian is a must do!!

http://www.nmai.si.edu/

even if only for the food court-which is amazing!

 

[akhenaten]

even if only for the food court-which is amazing!

The entry path and building architecture also!

 

[Wishing on a star]

We did a long weekend in NYC..
Thourougly enjoyed it!

Stayed at the Intercontinental Times Square.... had an amazing top floor skyline view.

Yes, we did Times Square on a Saturday evening... It was great! Got DS the I-heart-NY hoodie... saw all the lights and the action.... Yep, it is a done it once, BTDT.... experience... But, yes, do it once!

Just a note.... New York is on some kind of accelerated time warp... Like double-time...
Nobody moved slower than a power-walk... Even most folks in Central Park!
We just jumped in with the flow, and laughed, and I said "This place is C-RA-ZZZZZY!!!!"

We did the Statue of Liberty... this is a 'must' of course for us in the U.S...
AMAZING seeing that gorgeous statue lit up in the morning sun against a bright blue spring-time sky.
That alone was worth the whole trip for me.

From there, walked north and checked out the World Trade Center site.... This might not be a must for many people...

We checked out Rockefeller Center and DH took DS up to the Top-Of-The-Rock.... Definite 'tourist' thing.... They could see absolutely for miles!

We did Central Park... Very nice! We were not happy with the picnic lunch that we brought... Pastrami sandwich from Carnegie Deli and French Bread and cheese and fruit from the organic french deli... But, other than that, it was amazing, sitting on the grass, under some blooming Redbud trees, with Central Park and the NY skyline as our view.

After Central Park, we exited on the east side and visited the Museum.
For anybody who appreciates museums like this.. another 'must'!

On limited time and budget, we did not do a Broadway Show... I would have wanted to see the most expensive ones that are not discounted! And, we didn't have time or money to actually shop on 5th avenue...

OP, if you send me a PM, I can send you a link to some of our photos...



Ohhh, another trip on another day!!!

 

[akhenaten]

Hi, DH and I are from the UK and I'll be having my first ever visit to WDW in May, but before we get there we spend 4 in NYC and 2 and half in DC,
We've done research already as I've never been to those places either but any suggestions would be great

thank you, Laura

OP is there anything in particular that you are interested in?

Museums/ Shows/ sights/ Places where tv shows or movies were filmed?

Anything that you always wanted to see?

 

[Art 1]

So much in NYC has already been mentioned. There is a peanut butter sandwich place that's interesting. We like MOMA. The Central Park Zoo is ok. Inexpensive and doesn't take all that long. If you like watches there are plenty of watch boutiques in the 5th and 57th area, along with Tiffany and Cartier. Plenty of pocket book boutiques that my wife likes in that area as well. Diamond District is interesting. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. We like China Town and usually eat in Little Italy at least once. There is a very old Church and graveyard near Ground Zero that is interesting.

 

[ILoveToRun]

Central Park! I love it so much, I say it's a least a half-day thing. Also, walking around Greenwich Village, SoHo, Tribeca is fun. It too, can take a while. I like going to Times Square, primarily because of the Disney Store. I think it's a thing to do for a couple of hours and move on.

Also, don't be afraid to use the subway, it really can be a great way to get around.

I don't really know much about DC though...

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Oh I second the walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Make sure to start in Brooklyn because the views are great walking into the city. I've been to NYC twice and did this on my second trip. Hands down it was the best thing we did. Also try to seek out the Wafels and Dinges food truck and get a waffle with their spekuloos spread.

DC, all the free museums of course. Newseum and the Spy Museum are pretty neat. I suggest going through and picking the museums you most want to go to because it takes A LOT of time to thoroughly go through each one. For something quirky, the Mansion on O Street is pretty cool. Part hotel/private social club, but they have public events like brunch and tea. The food at the brunch is ah ma zing, but the draw for a lot of people is that you get to tour the hotel and any rooms that are unoccupied. Each room is decorated differently and there are secret passages that are fun to find.

 

[westgrove]

Thank you everyone,
we've got tickets to see Evita when we're there, I'd usually wait and buy on the day but I really want to see it and with it being brand new I'm sure there wont be much, if any, on the day availability.
Off topic - Shows in the US are sooo much more expensive than in the west end in London though and to be honest I dont really see why!!! But we're n holiday so we've paid it regardless!

We'll see a lot of the museums in DC I think, I was already planning to definitely go to air and space and native american museums but now I'm sold!

When I get excited about something I channel it through planning, which DH hates but I just dont see how he can manage to be so calm!

 

[westgrove]

Oh I second the walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Make sure to start in Brooklyn because the views are great walking into the city. I've been to NYC twice and did this on my second trip. Hands down it was the best thing we did. Also try to seek out the Wafels and Dinges food truck and get a waffle with their spekuloos spread.

DC, all the free museums of course. Newseum and the Spy Museum are pretty neat. I suggest going through and picking the museums you most want to go to because it takes A LOT of time to thoroughly go through each one. For something quirky, the Mansion on O Street is pretty cool. Part hotel/private social club, but they have public events like brunch and tea. The food at the brunch is ah ma zing, but the draw for a lot of people is that you get to tour the hotel and any rooms that are unoccupied. Each room is decorated differently and there are secret passages that are fun to find.

I looked at the O St Museum for Tea but it's only Sundays when we're not there

 

[akhenaten]

Thank you everyone,
we've got tickets to see Evita when we're there, I'd usually wait and buy on the day but I really want to see it and with it being brand new I'm sure there wont be much, if any, on the day availability.
Off topic - Shows in the US are sooo much more expensive than in the west end in London though and to be honest I dont really see why!!! But we're n holiday so we've paid it regardless!

We'll see a lot of the museums in DC I think, I was already planning to definitely go to air and space and native american museums but now I'm sold!

When I get excited about something I channel it through planning, which DH hates but I just dont see how he can manage to be so calm!

Evita... good choice. Ricky Martin is easy on the eyes.. LOL

 

[Art 1]

Thank you everyone,
we've got tickets to see Evita when we're there, I'd usually wait and buy on the day but I really want to see it and with it being brand new I'm sure there wont be much, if any, on the day availability.
Off topic - Shows in the US are sooo much more expensive than in the west end in London though and to be honest I dont really see why!!! But we're n holiday so we've paid it regardless!

We'll see a lot of the museums in DC I think, I was already planning to definitely go to air and space and native american museums but now I'm sold!

When I get excited about something I channel it through planning, which DH hates but I just dont see how he can manage to be so calm!

I am really looking forward to seeing Evita. Maybe later this year.