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Nice surprise for my 50th from Mrs S. of a 4 day trip to New York in the middle of November. Staying in the Novotel in Times Square, with New York Attraction passes thrown in.
Never been or even looked into going so now there is some serious planning to do. Looking for some things to see and things not worth the effort.
Reasonable places to eat and from looking nothing is reasonable the prices are jaw dropping at some restaurants.
A Helicopter flight has also been booked so I`m thinking this will cover Lady liberty and the need to travel out to her again.
We both like walking and this looks like the plan, or is this crazy and should we be using public transport to zip around?
The only thing I am defo going to do is see a SR-71 Blackbird in the flesh on the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum.
Is it the sort of city you go out for the day and stay out or will there be time to head back and get ready for a night out.
Any help very much appreciated as it would be nice to get it right as probably never get there again as I will be keeping an eye on the joint account that she managed to squirrel £2K from over the last 18 months without me noticing :-). Cheers John.
Reasonable places to eat and from looking nothing is reasonable the prices are jaw dropping at some restaurants
Yup that's pretty much the way of things in New York and remember those prices won't include Tax (circa 20%) or Tips (circa 20% also) and yes you really do HAVE to tip.
Personally I'd make use of the subway as much a possible and yeah there's plenty of time to get back to your hotel after a day out and get ready.
Ellis Island was something that I really enjoyed and the memorial at the twin towers sight is well worth a visit.
and yes you really do HAVE to tip
rules for tipping in US.
they spit in your face, you tip 10%
OK service, you tip 15%
Good service, you tip 20%
If art (or indeed architecture) are your thing, the Guggenheim Museum is worth a visit.
Ground Zero was worth a visit - even before they built the memorial.
Last time I was there for work, we did a "Treasure Hunt" around Greenwich Village - that was quite good fun, and the Village is definitely worth an afternoon wander.
On Bleecker St, drink in the Blind Tiger, eat at Fish, breakfast at Amy's bakery and jeans etc from Dave's (Ave of Americas).
Some favourite things -
wandering round Greenwich Village, Chinatown, Little Italy (obvious dining oportunities 🙂 )
Highline, Chelsea Hotel, Chelsea market
Empire State Building - yes, I know, but it is sort of special
Eating in one of the iconic Jewish delis - they are horribly rude but that's part of the entertainment
Grand Central Station plus or minus oyster bar
Strolling in Central Park, eating a bagel, reading the NYT and pretending you are in a Woody Allen film
The aircraft carrier is a must see.
It has a Blackbird.
Cheers so far people for the excellent replies that I was hoping for, will look them all up was thinking Central Park being much like any other park and possibly a waste of half a day?
was thinking Central Park being much like any other park and possibly a waste of half a day?
Probably - but an hour's people watching would be OK 🙂 Then you can go and drop all your cash in the Apple store.
Recently been for my honeymoon, things we enjoyed the most...
Empire state - way better than I expected
Rockefeller centre - fantastic at sunset
Walk over Brooklyn bridge (we thought the famous pizza place at the far end was decidedly average though)
Grand Central Station oyster bar - brilliant, we eat at the counters with the locals
Highline park and Chelsea market
9/11 museum
We used the subway to get around - cheap and easy (once you've figured out if you are going up town or down town!). Just buy a card and top it up at the machines.
We used the subway to get around -
We meant to but never needed it, you can pretty much walk the length and breadth of the island with stuff to look at every block.
Walk over Brooklyn bridge
Yes, forgot that
Plus we (MissJ and I) enjoyed the NYPD museum - just to buy sweatshirts as we're MYPD Blue fans 🙂
Also I enjoyed MOMA, and she didn't complain too much (21st birthday treat)
Its a pretty easy place to walk around. Not very pretty once you get into the back streets, very little greenery and quite messy, but interesting to see. I wouldn't "do" central park but you can walk across it on the way somewhere. Highline is a good walk too. Probably worth a trip on the subway just to have a go and saves walking the same bit twice. The public ferry is a good trip too. Nice views.We both like walking and this looks like the plan, or is this crazy and should we be using public transport to zip around?
You'll have a great time. I took my daughter there last September for her 18th birthday present and we had a ball.
NY pass is great, we also saw a game at Yankee Stadium, we had to do baseball as the hockey (our preference) season hadn't started yet. We used our NY pass to do "The Ride" which was really cheesy but brilliantly done. Guggenheim was the highlight for me, as said earlier Ellis Island is really interesting
Excellent restaurants all over, cheap by UK standards but you need to factor in tax & tips, we ate Japanese a lot as we don't have any Japanese restaurants near us.
Subway for longer distances, we walked a lot too.
Lots of it is walkable, but its a 5 mile walk from Times Square to Brooklyn...
Cheers all , Will have to start planning an itinerary as I think winging it may be a waste and I don`t really want to factor a 5 mile walk to get from A to B. Food menus look good for recommended eateries, looking at the tip tax situation I think I might as well double everything to be on the safe side!!
Avoid Time Square 😀
It's a good time to visit. Getting to grips with the subway means you'll see more. I like the ridiculous landscapes (buildingscapes?) oand you get some great views from Central Park. Brooklyn's good for a wander/night out.
Was there a couple of weeks ago with the family in similar area.
Don't bother with hotel breakfasts (especially at 30 bucks a head) - theres a great authentic deli on 45th near you called Dunhills - we had breakfast there most mornings before setting off. Great for wraps/sandwiches too if you want to take them with you.
If you're going to the SR71 and Intrepid then the Highline park is just beside it - it's an old subway line thats been redone as a bit of a park/walking stretch that is better than wandering though the streets. Dumps you out near Greenwich Village if you want to get hipster.
Whilst walking is fine, you can't really get a good pace on - the blocks are relatively small so you just end up stopping and waiting for lights every block. Worth hoping on the subway, honest! Some of the stations are really good as well (the one beside Twin Towers is amazing).
If you get bad weather then there are loads of museums etc. that are worth it, we enjoyed the Natural History one beside Central Park - spent all day in there and the entry fee is what you want to pay so could go for free if really being tight!
Central Park is, well, just a big park, but it has a load of nice bits to it - Alice In Wonderland, the zoos, etc. - fancy a trip round in a horse drawn carriage as a treat?!
Twin Towers memorial is worth a look, if you're not going to Statue/Ellis then there's no much around that area (though fairly close to Brooklyn Bridge).
Thought Ellis island was really interesting and Statue of Liberty is still the classic destination. None of the helicopters got anywhere near it (probably due to security fears) so might not get best view from the air.
Empire State building? Really expensive to get in (30+ bucks a ticket) to basically go up to a tall office block for 10 minutes and you can't see it when you're up it!
Throwing a couple of random ones in there - the Grand Central Station is close and a good look around, the Chrysler Buildings nearby to tick that off too. We really enjoyed wandering around the Central Library as well - again, right beside you.
The iconic Gridiron building worth a walk past too.
If you're flying into JFK and wandering about how to get into the centre - it'll probably be quicker to get a subway than getting a taxi in. Can't remember the fixed cost for taxis but the price basically covered the cost of a four day unlimited pass on the subway and to Times Square didn't take long. If its an option then shout up, theres a few hints that make the journey a lot smoother if first time in.
Great advice breatheeasy, was thinking a yellow cab from JFK so I could site see ??, it will be around 1pm ish, I am from up North so undergrounds aren`t my strong point , usually hang on to my London mates shirt tails and let him go at 100mph!! Ellis Island is on my to do list , that sounds disappointing on the helicopter rides. Jesus so much to see and so little time in which to see it!!
Central Park is best on weekends as roads are closed to through-traffic and you can hire a bike to ride around
Nothing in Times Square (its not even a square!)
Transit bus from airports to downtown in OK, but some services charge more going the opposite way!
The iconic Gridiron building worth a walk past too
Flatiron 🙂
As you are only there for 4 days staying on UK time will get you up and out before a lot of the city are on the move,so you can hit the popular spots before they get busy( and you are first at the Diners).
Gawd, yes, Flatiron, not Gridiron 😳
Mmm, just checked Google maps for route from.JFK to times Square. Not sure you'd get much sightseeing in. Not much in Queens to get excited about! But still more than sitting on a train in a tunnel I suppose 😛
Might be okay at one, they were saying rush hour trip from airport is two hours!!
I'd personally not go up The Empire State and go to the top of the Rockefeller Centre and then you actually get to see the Empire State.
Central Park being much like any other park and possibly a waste of half a day?
Just got back. Included in the pass you can do a bike tour/ hire bikes.
We missed the guided tour (arrive early) and went self-guided and it decided that it was probably lucky.
Then on the final morning got up early, took the citibike and ran round the resovoir with the locals. great way to see it; it beautiful in early light and no tourist at 7am.
if you have a sweet tooth go to the [url= https://www.cookiedonyc.com/ ]cookie dough bar.[/url]
I'd personally not go up The Empire State and go to the top of the Rockefeller Centre
empire state interior is amazing though. and rockafella centre was the worst experience we had in 2.5 weeks in the US just herded around needlessly queing for ages.
Cookie dough bar is on the list, going for the taxi from JFK as muggings here will have an extra 20kg case to pull and stress level will be off the scale!! Also we are going to do Rocker and Empire as that is Mrs S choice
Black pointy thing on Intrepid is an A-12 (nerd alert). The other really pointy thing is the fastest Concorde of them all Alpha-Delta and my once upon a time ride across the Atlantic. There is an SR71 at Duxford in the awesome American museum.
God I hate nerds!! Gutted , someone told me it had a SR-71 and a space shuttle on there!! Oh well still going to head there for a few hours, cheers
S'alright -A12 is faster!
Sat at Newark waiting for my flight after three weeks out here...ready for home!
Anyway - my picks. Deli called Frame on 7th and 39th is amazing - breakfast there if you can. Cookies at Culture are the best I’ve ever had - 38th and 6th
Walk to the intrepid as it’s mental walking down from Hell’s Kitchen and just seeing a massive war ship parked at the end of the street.
Grand Central is pretty cool, good cheesecake and oysters in the market
Juniors for the best cheesecake ever. One next to port authority and another on 45th and 7th
Ground Zero is pretty moving, worth going to.
Brooklyn is awesome and mental all at the same time. Just walk round, have drinks in bars and people watch. Metro card definitely worth it.
Central Park is ok, but massive and crowded. I work in a big tall building so didn’t bother with Empire State and similar.
Take plenty of money - it’s crazy expensive!
Cheers scuttler some reading for tomorrow!!
Have a pic instead
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At £1:$1.3 it's all expensive and I find Time Square somewhere to get out of as soon as possible (I was there last week and back next week).
The other posters have it about about spot on. Grand Central Oyster Bar is a favourite. Roof top bar at The Strand, Empire State (go to the very top and imagine getting off your Zeppelin there!) and walk round Wall Street and Central Park.
If in Grand Central pop in the the Campbell Apartments bar, rude not too.
There's a revolving restaurant / bar in Times Squre called View. Just have a drink and spend 30 mins watching the panorama. I wouldn't be fussed at food there though.
I liked Shake Shack for a burger next to the Flat Iron.
Following this thread with interest as Mrs T and I will have just arrived at JFK this time next week (11 pm GMT)
Go to Washington Sq Park on a Sunday, walk up to Canal Street buy a fake watch grab some lunch in Greenwich village
The High Line, an elevated subway track turned into a long skinny park/walk on the lower west side
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/parks/highline
Looks a somewhat different way to see the city.
The Highline is a must do. Just seeing the city from that position, and not having to cross the roads is a massive treat. There’s a great little coffee/ good thing under cover at the end.
For pizza in the village it’s Joes for a slice or Johns for a whole (pie) pizza.
See what’s on in Le Bain, a bar at the top of the Standard Hotel, with amazing views across the city and river, again feels like a film set. Take your passport everywhere to get into night life.
Walk from the metropolitan to the zoo in Central Park.
Cycle around the edge of manhattan on the blue hire bikes, and cycle over Brooklyn bridge.
Up town is shit.
Staten Island ferry is worth it.
You can walk up and around the big letters for cool photo ops.
Williamsburg Bridge is the one to walk over, above a river, road, railway and it wobbles. Williamsburg is hipster cool with a great clothing recycling place and the Brooklyn Brewery. I wouldn't risk the oysters in Grand Central, I've heard terrible stories of victims spending whole days of their holiday exploring the bathroom.
Cheers for more great tips overnight, much appreciated, We will not be touching an Oyster as we both despise shell fish!! there is stuff on the menu that we liked so probably give it a shot, a colleague says Ellens Stardust Diner is a must and is literally on our doorstep so this will probably be one nights entertainment. Will defo do the Highline probably after a visit to the Intrepid looking ata the map and Slaten Ferry. Do I seriously need my passport at 50 yrs old to drink!!
Why did you not start this thread tenfoot and save me a job, please add a detailed account on your return, enjoy 🙂
If you leg it around the port on Staten Island you can get the same ferry back (you're not meant to do this) and it makes for a nice free boat trip with views of the S o L and Manhattan.
Bookmarking as I'll be there for work in 2 weeks time
Almost completed our first day in New York.
We were up early and up the Empire State Building at 8am. From there down to WTC on the subway, a walk over brooklyn bridge for lunch then subway back to Highline. It's been so hot I got sunburnt.
A word of warning. We took 2 hours to get through JFK border control last night.
Appreciate that tenfoot, hope the rest has been good.Cheers