We will be visiting NYC for 5 days in July. My list of places to visit include the usual:
Museum of Natural History Metropolitan Museum of Art Empire State Bldg Statute of Liberty United Nations Central Park (but what part?) Chinatown
Any other recommendations/non-recommendations? We will also be catching a musical one afternoon (Mamma Mia!). My party includes my mother (79y), my sister, and my daughter (14y). We're not into expensive restaurants, but like to sample something uniquely NY. We'll be staying on 42nd near the Grand Central. Thanks!
Posts: 215 | Location: Burbank, CA | Registered: 14 April 2006
I like the Tenement House Museum.Check out the website, it tells the story of immigrant life in nyc when people were coming through Ellis Island. If you do go, try and buy your tickets ahead of time online. The tours sell out and you often don't have many choices if you simply show up. And if you do go, there is an amazing gelato place on the block.
Be sure to go up on the roof if you get to the Metropolitan Museum. As for the Empire State building, the lines can be very long. A nice alternative is Top of the Rock. It is the observation level at Rockefeller Center. The lines are not nearly as long and as an added bonus you get to look at the Empire State Building as well as Central Park and so much more. I love it.
If you enter Central Park after your visit to the Metropolitan Museum you can wander south and go past the great lawn, Belvedere Castle, and down past the boat house and the lake and end up down on 59th street across from the Plaza Hotel. Bring a map if you can, it can get confusing in there. If you have one you will at least know if you are heading in the right direction in general.
If you let me know what types of food you like I can try and think of some restaurant recommendations. Hope this helps!
LES (Lower East Side) *The tenement museum is perfect for your group. There is something for everyone. I took my mother and granddaughter and they were both fascinated. *Economy Candy located at 108 Rivington Street, 2 blocks away from the museum, a New York icon. http://www.economycandy.com/ *The Essex Street Market is uniquely New York http://www.essexstreetmarket.com/
Union Square *A people watching place -- a place to see New Yorkers doing what new yorkers do best -- *Whole Foods – you can buy food in the supermarket ( very large take out section) and take your purchase to the second floor to eat and watch the action in Union Square *When well rested walk south on Broadway for stores that might interest your daughter – Broadway south of Union Square leads you to SoHo, Chinatown, Civic Center (City Hall Brooklyn Bridge), Financial District (Wall Street), Battery Park (ferry to Statue of Liberty)-- at any point you can hop on the M1 bus which travels down Broadway.
East Side MoMA is a lot of fun for a variety of ages Rockefeller Center Studio Tour & Top of the Rock St. Patricks Cathedral
Metropolitan Museum is in central park There is a small zoo in the park that is nice and manageable At 59th Street & Fifth Avenue is the Plaza Hotel (they still have the picture of Eloise near the Palm Room). Daughter might be a little old to be awed but I am sure it will evoke a smile.
Broadway shows that span across ages are: Billy Elliot Wicked South Pacific
"Something uniquely New York": These two come to mind--Katz Deli (www.katzdeli.com) and the Landmark Tavern (WWW.thelandmarktavern.org) Also,try the food from the trucks that line 5th Avenue in the 50's.
For your tour of Chinatown start at Broadway and Grand Street and walk east to the Bowery. Walk south to 28 Bowery to have lunch at Great NY Noodle Town. After lunch walk west on Bayard Street to Mulberry Street where you will turn right and walk to Canal Street. Take a taxi from there to your next stop.
The Food Hall in Grand Central Station is worth a visit since you are right there. There you can buy lots of delicious stuff to bring back to your hotel room.
I suggest you study some good guidebooks to get a good handle for those attractions that capture your attention. Time Out New York is ok and D&K Eyewitness Guide for NYC will help define your planning. There is just too much to list here.
Budget a good amount for taxi fares as taxis will help getting more out of your visit to NYC.
Peter
Posts: 1632 | Location: Essex Fells, NJ and Longboat Key, Florida | Registered: 21 July 2002
All of your choices are wonderful, w/my favorite being the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There's something for everyone. That said, it's very spread out and over several floors, so it might be too much for your mother.
Here are some Web sites to help you plan your trip:
1. CityPass - this is a way to save money on six popular attractions including all of the sites you listed that require paying for admissions.
2. Per Pecepe's suggestion, here is the Web site for "Time Out New York". The magazine comes out weekly. You can buy a hard copy at any newsstand, but there's a lot of info on their Web site. I think they list everything that's happening in NYC.
3. NYC Restaurant Week runs from July 12-31st. Every restaurant listed offers prix fixe lunch menus for $24.07 and dinner for $35.00. This isn't just restaurants that wouldn't get business otherwise. There are some great names, too, like 21.
4. If you plan on using public transportation (buses and subways) a lot, then an Unlimited Ride MetroCard might be for you. You can buy them at any automated machine at any subway station.
5. Chinatown restaurants that are inexpensive and very good are Green Bo Restaurant at 66 Bayard St. between Mott an Elizabeth Sts. (I don't think they have a Web site) for out-of-this world steamed dumplings and Shanghai Joe's for their famous soup dumplings. Go to both early because they fill up fast. FWIW, I've been told the Midtown branch of Shanghai Joe's isn't as good as the one in Chinatown. I've only been to the latter.
6. If you are a fan of dense NY cheesecake, follow Pecepe's suggestion and go downstairs at Grand Central Station for a slice of Junior's heavenly cheesecake.
7. Lastly, if you are into bagels that are big, fat, w/a chewy crust, then go up the street from your hotel on Third Ave. and 51st St. to Ess-A-Bagel. The bagels are made fresh every day in the back (you can have a look).
I hope you and your family have a fantastic trip. Would you pls. bring some sun with you!!
Posts: 159 | Location: NYC | Registered: 24 August 2007
Thank you all for the great suggestions and recommendations! Walking the neighborhood is something we like to do on trips and the Lower East Side sounds like our cup of tea. We are salivating over NY cheesecake and bagels. Making cheesecake is one of my daughter's specialties so she's excited about eating the authentic version. We do plan to take the public transportation a lot so the Unlimited Ride MetroCard sounds like a good deal.
Nothing like great tips from the locals! Thanks again! I hope to bring some sunshine when we arrive on the 18th; there's lots of it here in LA.
Posts: 215 | Location: Burbank, CA | Registered: 14 April 2006
If you do go to Union Square, try to make it on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday, when there's a terrific greenmarket (farmers market) there. It's open 8 am to 6 pm but is best in the mornings.
Posts: 821 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
Yeah, but they like it better in Manhattan. Seriously, it's way at the northern end of Manhattan, and it is indeed wonderful, though maybe a little far for you to fit into your visit. And speaking of the Bronx, and of sights a little far away, the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo are both world-class. Maybe not for your first visit, unless you have a special interest, but definitely work the trip.
BTW, New York in July can be pretty damn hot and humid, so bear that in mind when planning time outdoors.
Posts: 821 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
watch the weather before you come. it has not been an overly warm summer so far. and if you want specific restaurant recommendations, I'm happy to give some.
ps. if you head to the Bronx, you have to include the yankees in that list!
I have been checking the weather. The temperature forecast for July 18 and after for a few days is in the high 80s. That sounds hot... and humid. Thunderstorm is forecasted too. When it rains, does it rain for hours? We're bone dry here in LA and never worry about getting wet in the summer. This may sound silly, but what shoes would be comfortable to wear in the rain in the summer ...?
KellyC, we like ethnic food (Chinese, Korean, Japnese, Italian). We're not into $$$ restaurants; we prefer neighborhood joints. Do you know of any pizza restaurants that serve Rome style pizza (thin crust with unusual toppings - lettuce and tuna in mayo?) Where we're staying (Helmsley Hotel on 42nd) doesn't seem to offer much in that regard. It seems like we'll have to go out of the neighborhood for dining... Thanks.
Posts: 215 | Location: Burbank, CA | Registered: 14 April 2006
Flennie, usually when we get that type of weather, those thunderstorms will be in the afternoon - often after three or four and can be sporadic in nature (areas 10 miles apart - one may get hit, another not so much). But when it rains, it will rain. I find sandals the way to go because they dry out quickly and so do my feet. Also remember though, they're not very good at predicting the weather here five days out, let alone 10.
For pizza, Otto, Batali's place does a nice job but go for lunch - dinner gets crowded and loud. I'm trying to remember the name of the place where the Cowgirl Cure fund-raiser was - but it's slipping my mind at the moment - they had some good pizza/flatbread if I recall.
I like to head down to the West Village for meals, there are pots of great neighborhood restaurants of any ethnic persuasion and they are off the tourist radar. Plus it is a great area to scour with lots of very cool shops.
I don't mind John's in the theater district, but the one in the West Village was infested with mice about 2 years ago. Kim: you were at Co. I liked it but I liked Tonda in the East village much, much more. The cheese is amazing and the crust is pretty good too. The pizza guy was brought here from Naples.
If you like dim sum, Dim Sum Go Go is good. For a kind of fancy chinese, but very good I liked Chinatown Brasserie or you can just wander around Mott or Bayard Street. Everything down there is authentic and good. For homey Italian places, I like Max, Ralph's in Hells Kitchen at 862 9th Avenue is supposed to be good. I haven't been myself. I also like Malatesta in the West Village. It has been a long time standby of mine. Korean and Japanese, I just don't know. I don't eat sushi! Hope this helps.
If you decide to go to Central Park, I would recommend renting bikes. I did that during my visit, and felt like I got to see so much more of the park that way.
For something a little different: A short ferry ride to Governors Island from the Battery might offer a little relaxation to all. The island is a quiet chunk of real estate that's been used by the Army and Coast Guard since the beginning of the 19th century as one of the forts guarding NY harbor. It feels like you're in the country and it has some interesting old buildngs (Fort Jay, a prison - Castle Williams, various batteries, etc.).
Bring a picnic lunch from a deli on the Manhattan side and enjoy the view of lower Manhattan, Liberty and Ellis Islands and across Buttermilk channel to Brooklyn from any one of a number of lawns lined by old oak and elm trees.
KellyC was just telling us yesterday at our High Line GTG about Governor's Island as a nice getaway. Jeff failed to mention that he also wrote a very interesting trip report for us on his Army Brat reunion at the island, Army Brats Reunion - Governors Island, NYC.
Don't forget about Time Square that's always a biggie. Also I'd visit to Grand Central Station. It's just interesting to see with all the people flowing around. Anyways, those are my suggestions.
Thanks to all your suggestions, we are having a blast here! Can't believe the sea of people and incessant noise! We saw the view of NYC from the Empire State at night, from the water on harbor cruise, went to Grand Central where we had a cheesecake from Juniors (my daughter's cheesecake tastes just like theirs - so hers much be great too!), had wonderful bagels at Ess-A-Bagel, spent hours at museums, went to Chinatown, walked to Brooklyn Bridge, etc, etc. Tomorrow we'll catch a Broadway musical. Before arriving here, 5 days seemed like too much, but I don't think that will be enough. There is so much to see and do here. Those who live here, you are lucky!
Posts: 215 | Location: Burbank, CA | Registered: 14 April 2006
MOMA - Museum of Modern Arts is a must... also please be aware that the Statue of Liberty is now open for tourists to go up to the top. I don't think this has happened since around 9/11
Seriously, it's way at the northern end of Manhattan, and it is indeed wonderful, though maybe a little far for you to fit into your visit. And speaking of the Bronx, and of sights a little far away, the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo are both world-class. Maybe not for your first visit, unless you have a special interest, but definitely work the trip.
