NYC!

[Redsgirl]

Hi peoples, anyone got any hints, tips, must do's or don't bothers to share for a first time trip to the big apple?
5 night stay so reasonable amount of time to cram stuff in, budget lower than I'd like due to crappy exchange rate but then again anyone who is familiar with me knows I wasn't ever gonna be making it rain anyway 
Flying in on the 8th November which I just found out is Election day and staying in Times Square.

I have always found out some really useful stuff when I've posted like this before so thanks in advance Blondes!

[TightEnd]

- Ferry from battery park to the statue of Liberty and onto the Ellis Island immigration museum
- Ground Zero memorial +museum
- Empire state building. allow time for queues
- central park, try and allow some weekend time when its lively
- museums. depends on your taste but either side of central park you have MOMA, the metropolitan and the Natural history museum. first two if you like art etc.
- grand central train station. stunning.
- all the shopping stuff down fifth avenue etc
- south street seaport is good for smaller shops and places to eat. under the brooklyn bridge, and really good vibe


bus tour. you'd think they are a bit naff in London but in NYC they'll get you to parts of the city it would take you hours to get to and might not necessarily want to walk round, eg Harlem and the Bronx. well worth a couple of hours

boat tours are good too, again try battery park area

there are more, but i did most of that lot in 3 days and never stopped

[bobAlike]

As recommended by the Camel. It is a bit pricey but only just up from Time Square.

Gallaghers Steakhouse. Unbelieveable.

Fortunately I find this about 50 yds from my hotel

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Cheers Keith, well worth a visit even if a little pricey.

[bobAlike]

Top of the Rock, not quite as high as Empire State but high enough and a much bigger viewing platform.

https://www.topoftherocknyc.com/share/

[bobAlike]

And as Tighty says. bus tours are great in NYC and worth the money.

[Redsgirl]

- Ferry from battery park to the statue of Liberty and onto the Ellis Island immigration museum
- Ground Zero memorial +museum
- Empire state building. allow time for queues
- central park, try and allow some weekend time when its lively
- museums. depends on your taste but either side of central park you have MOMA, the metropolitan and the Natural history museum. first two if you like art etc.
- grand central train station. stunning.
- all the shopping stuff down fifth avenue etc
- south street seaport is good for smaller shops and places to eat. under the brooklyn bridge, and really good vibe


bus tour. you'd think they are a bit naff in London but in NYC they'll get you to parts of the city it would take you hours to get to and might not necessarily want to walk round, eg Harlem and the Bronx. well worth a couple of hours

boat tours are good too, again try battery park area

there are more, but i did most of that lot in 3 days and never stopped

Leaving Central Park 'til the weekend,  that's the kind of little gem of info I was hoping for. Pencilled that in for Saturday.
I have bought a Explorer pass this side for the bargain price of £88 that gets me into 5 tourist type things, the bus tour being one of them, so I'll definitely do that.
Cheers Tighty!

[Redsgirl]

As recommended by the Camel. It is a bit pricey but only just up from Time Square.

Gallaghers Steakhouse. Unbelieveable.

Fortunately I find this about 50 yds from my hotel

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Cheers Keith, well worth a visit even if a little pricey.

That looks amazing. We were looking for somewhere nice for a birthday dinner,  I will definitely suggest this.
Thanks Bob!

[TightEnd]

- Ferry from battery park to the statue of Liberty and onto the Ellis Island immigration museum
- Ground Zero memorial +museum
- Empire state building. allow time for queues
- central park, try and allow some weekend time when its lively
- museums. depends on your taste but either side of central park you have MOMA, the metropolitan and the Natural history museum. first two if you like art etc.
- grand central train station. stunning.
- all the shopping stuff down fifth avenue etc
- south street seaport is good for smaller shops and places to eat. under the brooklyn bridge, and really good vibe


bus tour. you'd think they are a bit naff in London but in NYC they'll get you to parts of the city it would take you hours to get to and might not necessarily want to walk round, eg Harlem and the Bronx. well worth a couple of hours

boat tours are good too, again try battery park area

there are more, but i did most of that lot in 3 days and never stopped

Leaving Central Park 'til the weekend,  that's the kind of little gem of info I was hoping for. Pencilled that in for Saturday.
I have bought a Explorer pass this side for the bargain price of £88 that gets me into 5 tourist type things, the bus tour being one of them, so I'll definitely do that.
Cheers Tighty!

I was in NYC on my own, flew in Fri and had til Mnday morning and work to myself. so on the sunday afternoon i found myself in central park and it was a great vibe

i sat down to watch a softball game, hundreds take place in the open spaces with the infield marked out etc etc

the ball was hit to me sitting on some bleachers and i threw it back

next i was asked if i wanted to join in and did so alongside lots of different nationalities and it was a fun couple of hours

maybe not your thing but just an example its much more fun at the weekend

[bergeroo]

I think the High Line is great. Don't think it was mentioned so far.

Basically an elevated park on an old railway tracks.
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/parks/highline

Also I ended up with a bike and cycling around Manhattan and over Brooklyn Bridge - wasn't nearly as scary cycling around NY streets as I expected!

[Jon MW]

We went last year and I went the year before that, obviously personal preferences make a big difference but I'd say:

- along the East River for sunrise

Click to see full-size image.

- Staten Island Ferry for sunset

Click to see full-size image.

- Empire State Building during the day

Click to see full-size image.

- One World Observatory at night (particularly as it's a lot less busy)

Click to see full-size image.

- The High Line and Central Park are both worth going to; unless it's quiet I think the High Line suits more of a walk rather than a sit down and rest though.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

Apart from that - Natural History Museum if you like Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art if you like art.

There are also a lot of things that are good to look at so walking around is highly recommended.


- If you liked the show Friends then the cafe at the bottom of where they filmed the apartment exterior serves a very nice brunch (http://www.thelittleowlnyc.com/)

NB. When I was doing research a lot of people on touristy forums advised against bus tours because they just get stuck in traffic - they were clearly referring to ones which only toured Manhattan but it might be worth bearing in mind the note of caution.

[AndrewT]

Top of the Rock, not quite as high as Empire State but high enough and a much bigger viewing platform.

https://www.topoftherocknyc.com/share/

Definitely this - the top of the Empire State is tiny and cramped, the Rockefeller is flat and much more open. Also, you can see the Empire State from it, which you can't do from the Empire State.

[MANTIS01]

Broadway show is a great night out after dinner/cocktails.

[nuros]

Broadway!

[DaveShoelace]

Top of the Rock, not quite as high as Empire State but high enough and a much bigger viewing platform.

https://www.topoftherocknyc.com/share/

Definitely this - the top of the Empire State is tiny and cramped, the Rockefeller is flat and much more open. Also, you can see the Empire State from it, which you can't do from the Empire State.

+2 I concur with this

[DaveShoelace]

John's Pizzeria near broadway

Make sure you have an Uber set up on your phone, the bizarrest thing about NYC is at around 4pm the daytime taxi drivers swap with the night time taxi drivers and there is a 30-40 mi n period where its hard to get a cab

Comfortable walking shoes is a must because you'll be walking way more than you think

I stayed at a cracking hotel called Casablanca in Times Square