I’m off to New York from 13th-18th December with my girlfriend. Has anybody who’s been got any recommendations of places to go/things to do that you’ve particularly enjoyed or are a bit different? We’re already planning on going to MoMa/Natural History Museum and are seeing a show on Broadway.

Unfortunately I fall 2 months short of being able to drink in the US, so no bars etc.

Statue of Liberty
World Trade Center memorial & museum

Don’t eat at TGI Friday on 5th Avenue

Blue Man Group at the Astor Place Theatre. It’s their original home and quite a small venue, miles away from the big Las Vegas shows.

Book ahead though. We were very lucky as our hotel concierge managed to magic up some tickets for the next day – everywhere was reporting it was sold out.

EDIT – And you get to meet them after!

Unfortunately I fall 2 months short of being able to drink in the US, so no bars etc.

Thats probably just as well you’ll not be missing much – americans don’t really do drinking like we do. I went to new york around the same time of year a few years back. My GF was there to meet a greet a few charity projects so I’d make arrangements to meet up with her afterwards – no problems, just find a bar somewhere. No, all shut during the day.

Later bumped into a pal from Scotland by chance so went for a pint and people were genuinely looking at us like we were football hooligans.

My tips – expect it to be really cold, walk everywhere. MOMA is great, but for galleries you might enjoy Chelsea / the meat packing district. Navagate your way to somewhere like Gagosian (555 W 24th St) and all the premisis around will be galleries too. Inside they’re all super slick, on the outside they look like the streets Starsky and Hutch would crash into cardboard boxes.

In that neck of the woods you’re also close to The High Line

also see if you can track down a copy of the Time Outs Book of New York Walks

Get out into the surrounding boroughs, I always say go out to Rockaway but would be better in the summer.

If you have young children or don’t want to see lady chest, avoid time square 😯

Eat at Fish on Bleecker Street
Buy jeans at Dave’s, Avenue of the Americas
The Blind Tiger, opp Fish, is worth a visit for a Coke
Amy’s bakery for breakfast
Williamsburg bridge is a great walk and Williamsburg is singlespeed hipsterville

Grand Central Station – especially the lower ground floor for cake, I kid you not.
Pershings for breakfast over the road from Grand Central.
Statue of Liberty.
Top of the Rock is better than ye olde King Kong tower for views but you have to do both really.

I’m seriously not a city person but even I think NY is fun.

We did King King tower (big queues even with pre-booked tickets) & 1WTC (no queues at all, $32pp) so didn’t bother with Top Of The Rock

Lots of walking +1. We covered over 30 miles in 4 days

Even if you aren’t into military stuff SS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier turned into a museum in west Manhattan, is really, really cool. I’m a massive pacifist and it’s one of my highlights of two visits to New York.

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/AircraftCarrierIntrepid

If it weren’t December I’d say go on one of the yacht cruises too, but it is and it’ll be grim.

Otherwise my favourite things were-

Whitney Art Gallery. My favourite gallery there by a way, much better than MOMA for me.

Empire State building was very good.

If you can afford it a helicopter flight is super. Really really good.

Pottering about Soho is great.

You can buy a city pass which will save you a lot of money on the main tourist attractions, I’d go for one of them.

aerospace museum, walk the highline, use the subway, up the rockefella, plenty of time in central park, soho, greenwich village, willuamsburg, eat breakfast in diners and listen to the locals

Jewish deli for lunch – marvel at how rude people can be.

Met museum – some brilliant stuff in there

Ice hockey at Madison sq. garden

+1 for Top of the Rock

Also one of those open top bus tours.

USS Intrepid is great. Lots if great things to see all while wandering around inside an aircraft carrier.
The high line park is a nice walk.
A boat trip is a good way to get a nice view if the city. You can either go on a ferry of a tourist boat. The tourist packs more in but is more expensive.
A sandwich at Katz Deli is fab

Ice skating at the Rockefeller centre after heading up the Rock? I’d recommend either sunrise or sunset as the city looks great at the end of the day and lighting up.

Overall it’s a great city for hanging around in watching people go by.

Highline well worth walking..
I’m heading back in April, I’ve a score to settle, as last time we where there, New York was effectively closed. 🙄

Loads of brilliant small restaurants in East and West villages . Bar culture is actually pretty good too despite comments. Closest thing to European I’ve come across in US

Great small shops in same areas, plus Soho, especially into obscure collectibles, comic books, art, small designer clothes shoes handbags etc

Also, just generally mooching about like a local,getting a slice and coffee in a polystyrene cup

Whitney is excellent gallery, smaller and less mobbed than MOMA, but MOMA has some great stuff too.

Btw it could well be cold, and when it gets cold it stays cold, not a lot of sun at street level in Winter

I thought Ellis island was fascinating and the ferry takes you past Statue of Liberty
I did the Empire State Building at midnight, no queue and amazing in the dark!

oh- I did the ground zero memorial late at night – amazing architecture, moving memorial with all of the family names placed together

Highline is awesome in summer, in winter it is too cold to hang about

Have a shag with the girlfriend. If you can make it there you can make it anywhere 🙂

PS don’t try to take a bananna up the statue of liberty.

take a bananna up the statue of liberty.

That HAS to be a euphemism.

As mentioned elsewhere, a few from me;
Top of the Rock.
Breakfast at Loeb’s
Pizza at John’s near Times Square
Ribs at Virgil’s, also just near Times Square
The Metropolitan Museum. What a place!

Top of the rock is a good call because it gives you a good view of the empire state.

Take a look at trump tower for the sheer tackiness. And the designer shops on fifth avenue, ever seen an episode of Ab Fab? There are real Edinas out there.

I liked Greenwich village too for a few bars and something to eat. Just liked the area.

How about a show on Broadway. I’m a bit of a Green Day fan and got lucky and saw American Idiot when Billie Joe was guesting.

That HAS to be a euphemism

When the security guard says ‘sir, do you have a bananna in your pocket’ just fess up, saying ‘no, I’m just pleased to see you’ is not considered funny 🙁

Visit the Tenement Museum and have a wander around the lower east side, walk over Brooklyn Bridge and along Brooklyn Heights promenade, take the Staten Island ferry for great views and a free sit down, get Metrocards and zip around underground … it’s a brilliant city!

There’s loads of great threads on this.
However: YOU HAVETO DO THE HIGHLINE
Views from the bar/club at the top of The Standard hotel
are fab. Wednesday night was gay night when we went, so it was like walking into a movie about New York.
Flamboyant trannies, great music, lots of fun.
Great photo ops at Staten Island ferry terminal, where all the bridges line up nicely.

You can run round at Staten Island terminal and catch the free ferry straight back.