We've never been to New York City and we'd like to take a one week trip this summer. Can you suggest where we should stay and some of the places we shouldn't miss? How do one gets from place to place in NY? Which area should we stay away from? Thks
Definitely stay in Manhattan. I'm not sure about your budget, but two places I like there are the Mandarin Oriental and the Peninsula hotels. You can get around easily by taxi or the subway
Definitely not 5 star hotel. We can only afford 3 stars. Is the subway very safe? I guess with subway, I need to know the exact destination to go places? I am used to renting car when I go to other cities and wandering around a lot. I suppose that is not an option?
I'm assuming by "we" you mean you and a female. If she's into fancy hotels or historical hotels, the Waldorff is supposed to be really nice and has some good deals now. There are a ton of hotels in the Times Square area that are affordable that I'd recommend. Things to check on the hotels you want to stay at are air conditioning and construction in the area. Things to hit: if you like Pizza try one of the famous pizza places. I'm partial to Grimaldi's. if you want a romantic dinner go the River Cafe in Brooklyn. I'd also recommend Serendipity. My wife loves it. Broadway is always there. If you don't like plays, try something like Wicked. It isn't as chicky as the other ones. Don't spend time in the Bronx unless you are catching a Yankee game. The subway works great to get around. It's nothing like the old stereotypes other than the beggars on the train. I preferred the subway to the cab, but if you can afford to do it, car service is the way to go. Gray's Papaya is good for hot dogs. My worst experience in NY was the Statue of Liberty. Took forever to get through the boat line and then it was another long long line at the statue...blah. I'm a major historian so I wanted to see it, but I don't recommend it unless it's really important to you.
don't rent a car. I've rented cars in NYC before, and it's ok if you're in Queens or Brooklyn, but in Manhattan driving and especially parking are true nightmares. The subway is safe enough, but it gets pretty hot down there in the summer
If your sole concern is saving money, stay at the Econo Lodge in the Bronx. I did some pretty in-depth research before I went there last summer and that was the cheapest place I could come up with that had parking. $100/night. It was clean and nice, and had free breakfast.
Try the Courtyard Marriot in Times Square. It's important imo to stay in Manhattan, preferably Times Square. As for renting a car, you can, but I wouldn't recommend it. The subway is safe and cabs work fine. New York is a totally different animal to get around between the layout of the streets and the intense traffic. I would never recommend someone who doesn't live there to try and drive it. Parking would present you with a major problem at just about everything you wanted to do.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...imes_Square_South-New_York_City_New_York.html What is your exact price range on a hotel?
You don't want a car. The subway is safe. IF you are worried or the station isn't very crowded, ride in the front car. After a bit you will be abel to figure the subway out. Occasionally you may want to take a cab. The subway in itself will give a nice flavor of the city. If you can help it, try not to take the subway from 7AM-9:30AM or from 4:30PM-5:30PM. Those rush hours can be pains. Some places I like, that are less frequented are the Cloisters and Museum of Radio and Television. You can watch episodes from almost any series that's been on television. It's not a must see, but if you have time and want to do something different check it out. The Cloisters is really cool, and has great art stuff from the medieval and rennaisance periods. The building itself is terrific. I would also definitely check out the Met at least one day. There is a ton of great things to do in NYC.
yeah, outside of manhattan renting a car isn't too bad, especially if you want to head to the hamptons or something, but inside of manhattan forget about it.
As a tourist spending a few days, most of your time will be in Manhattan/Times Square and then taking trips off to various locations in Brooklyn, etc. A car is brutal there. Even if you weren't having trouble with traffic, the parking would RUIN a vacation.
I don't know a lot about NY but I heard enough to stay away from the Bronx. It's my wife, daughter and myself and sightseeing and things to do are more important to us than food.
Oh, if a daughter is going definitely go to Serendipity dude. The frozen hot chocolate will be a hit with the whole family. http://www.serendipity3.com/ I think someone mentioned the Met, that's awesome. How old is the daughter? Wicked is a great play (continuation of Wizard of Oz) that the whole family will enjoy. Empire State Building is a must for first time New Yorkers, especially younger kids who will get a kick out of the height and the story about it all. Central park tour during the day time in one of those horse drawn carriages is cool. Depending on age, FAO is good idea. Huge toy store.
I just went in March, I've gone the last 2 years. Last year was my first year, so I was a completely fresh tourist with no knowledge, this year however different story. Here is your to-do list: [BPriceline.com[/B] <----Get your hotel here. Last Year: I paid over $125-150 a night last time to stay in Manhattan, and got stuck in an average 3 star Hotel (don't even remember which one, just remember it was a block away from Times Square). This Year: I had Priceline.com look up hotels nearby, I used their "Quote Your Own Price" system (THIS IS IMPORTANT) and got a 4 STAR hotel for $95 a night. Right smack on 50th and Lexington, in midtown Manhattan, the center of Manhattan. Get a Subway/MTA pass - Unlimited one day is around $7.95 I believe. You can get anywhere you need to go on the NYC subway system, really well setup where everything (at least in the city) is not too far from a subway stop. Unless you go outta Manhattan and start exploring the Boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, etc then you might have to grab a cab to a subway station but if your stickin in Manhattan you should be fine. IF you take Taxis....be aware of rate jacking. Ask before you get in how much it'll be to get from place to place. ALSO (something that surprised me) the cabbies that I dealt with didn't exactly know places by their names, except for HUGE landmarks....so be sure to have at least the major cross-streets/intersection handy. We only took taxis way late at night. Must See/Do Times Square(47th & Broadway) SoHo Shopping District (South Houston Ave.) Comedy Clubs (Laugh Factory, Gotham, Citizens Brigade) Sports Games (Yankee Stadium is in Bronx, Mets Stadium in Brooklyn) Obvious Landmarks (Statue of Liberty, WTC Site, Empire State Bldg, Wall St., etc) Chinatown (interestin cheap fake knockoff stuff if your lookin for it....purses, shoes, clothes, jewelry, watches, electronics...some really decent stuff too) Central Park (Beautiful place during the day, don't know bout night time.) Trump Tower (not as overwhelming once inside, sorta disappointing) The Apple Mecca Store (it's an all glass cube apple store with 2 levels) Ed Sullivan Theater (David Letterman Show) - gotta stand in line from 9 am day of though Rainbow Room - NBC Towers - 30 Rockefeller Plaza (Great place to visit, also if you go I believe 5pm on Saturday, you can stand and wait for Saturday Night Live tickets) United Nations Building (Good for the kids, or if your interested in that kinda stuff) That's all I can think of for now, I'll let you know if I can remember anything else!
There are good and bad places in the Bronx. During the day you will be safe pretty much anywhere. Late at night, there are plenty of places in the Bronx you shouldn't be. One thing that is cool in the Bronx is the Bronx zoo. It is one of the best in the country, and I believe it does have the best Gorilla habitat in the country. Your daughter can be inches away from Gorillas and their babies. Only a wall of glass is separating you. If the schedule hasn't changed in the last six or so years the feeding time is somewhere between 2:50-3:50, and that is a good time to watch the Gorillas who will be a little more active then. It is pretty amazing to watch them. Check out the film first if you can. The Zoo like the Cloisters and TV Radio Museum aren't things you have to do, but they are fun things that are a little different than what other tourists will be doing.
MTA pass is a must he's right. http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm Correction though, Met's Citi Field is in Queens, not Brooklyn. 13 is a tough age to be honest. Spend some time shopping probably for sure. Rockefeller Center is popular with people (I don't get it...) and my wife personally loves the Madison Ave. stuff.
The Zoo is good yes. Bronx has some things worth checking out, but it's definitely a destination trip and then you leave. I would never recommend a family just wander around the Bronx sightseeing.
- the bronx zoo is overrated. it is a pain in the butt to get to and quite expensive (like $25). for being a famous major-city zoo, it was a disappointment. - i actually prefer the central park zoo (of Madagascar fame). yeah it is relatively small, but it is cute and very easy to get to since it is in the middle of the city. the bronx zoo will be an all-day trip whereas the central park zoo can be a quick 1-2 hour side-trip during your day. - chinatown is kind of neat i guess. overall, the food isn't much better than the chinatown in houston though. - try to catch a yankees or mets game if your daughter is up for it. it is pretty safe and easy to get to the stadiums by subway. - the Met it is one of the best art museums in the world but your kid might get bored and tired from walking around so much. - all tourists flock to the WTC site. it annoys the hell out of new yorkers but i guess i would do the same if i was a tourist. - go see a musical in times square. buy day-of discount tickets at TKTS. one is in times square and the other is downtown (less crowded). get there early like 9AM to get the best selection. - if you see the statue of liberty, make sure you get there early in the morning. i think starting at 8AM, they start giving out passes to enter the statue. there are a limited amount of passes and they will all be gone within 20-30 mins after the ticket office opens. inside the statue is also a guided tour and museum of how the statue was built. ellis island is also included in the trip i think and i thought it was well worth the visit.
