New York in March

[DogMamma]

4 months today in exactly half an hour (if there is no delays)i will be landing in JFK international New York (14:15 their time) I am so excited! I have never been to the US.
Have any of you lovely MN's been there in march before? any ideas on what to pack I am staying 4 nights, and I hear it's still quite cold still there,
what should i take ? i have only ever packed for summer climates!

I have my travel outfit sorted, its my go to every time (doesn't sound great but it actually ties together nicely...

• Black sports leggings, breathable and comfy, *slip on nike trainers, (no faffing at security)
• sports Bra, a thermal longline vest, a baggy Tee, *and a chunky cardi my mum made me years ago (which then doubles as a blanket).

My carry on bag (backpack for me) i have to down to a fine art after years of flying

i carry clean underwear and a set of clean clothes to change into before landing if flight is more than 3 hours.

usual junk passport,
purse with cash and card
pen,
notepad
fully charged kindle
Mobile Phone (and Cables)
Neck pillow (it has a clip i attach it to my bag it doesn't go in my bag)

*In my Liquids bag i have
Nivea Face Wipes
Toothpaste
Hydrating Eye mask
Nivea Face Cream
Hand Sanitizer & Lotion
Mascara
one of them refillable Perfume things

*then i have another pouch type thing that has
Comb
tooth brush
Lip balm (common misconception this is classed a liquid It isnt)
Eyemask
Ear Plugs
Stick Deodorant
Berocca
ibuprofen

Also anywhere other than the usual tourist spots I should go, or places to eat any info and suggestion would be gratefully recieved i am going with 5 other women MIL X2 Of DH aunties, his cousin and a friend of his family i am the youngest at 31
I've haven't flown without my DH since we got together 7years ago didn't take my first flight untill was 22....I'm not the best of fliers...I don't cry anymore though so thus good

If you have to queue up to get a table at a restaurant it's only for tourists and you'll be fed not great food (even though tourists swear by it) and bundled out.

Hell's Kitchen area full of restaurants. Bar nine has duelling pianos. Write a song down with a dollar and they'll play it. They knew everything we asked for. Such fun.

Go to soho , Chelsea , Greenwich. Go in the day and evening great atmosphere.

Chelsea market is amazing !

Tiramisu in little Italy.

Go to china town and eat traditional Chinese food. You walk into China in the middle of new York.

Bryant Park bear central station. Beautiful and they often have jazz playing.

Ride the subway it's another world.

Book attractions as queues can be horrendous.

Walk round the engagement ring floor at Tiffany's. The whole floor sparkles.

Maces etc is just like a big house of Fraser. Not worth it.

Eat in Delis and diners. The food is stunning if you go to restaurants that aren't chains.

Fabulous place.

There's a whispering arch in grand central station near the oyster bar. It's astounding!

Not been in March though, ha ha

We were In NYC this March. The airline rang with a weather warning so we changed our flight back from evening to morning. The flight was very delayed and we were pretty much the last flight out of JFK before it closed due to massive snow fall.
Previous day was brilliant sunshine, lovely spring day.
It was great, though

We were there at the end of March this year. It was bitterly cold, they'd had heavy snow two days before we arrived and it was still lying in places when we left over a week later. Having said that, we've been in November in the past and had decent weather yet they had snow earlier this week. You're probably best waiting until just before you go and checking a weather forecast to get an idea of what to expect.
When we checked in online there was a pop up asking for volunteers to give up their flight as the number of cancellations due to weather had left a lot of people needing flights home.

Try Hell's Kitchen for food and drinks. There's a great diner nearby where we always go for breakfast, and sometimes dinner, called Westway Diner, it's famous for being the birthplace of Seinfeld, the comedy show. It's around 44th and 9th I think and although you get queues outside (mainly of locals) they move quickly.

Ride the Staten Island Ferry, not only is it free but the views are excellent.

Eileen's Special Cheesecake shop near the Bowery is somewhere we always visit as we love proper NY cheesecake and this is the best.

Thank you for the replies!!! We are staying at the Parker W 56th a block or two from central park, I don't think hells kitchen is too far from there.
I read about the whispering arch i definitely want to go there. And just have to do the subway ti say i did it.

Did any one get the city pass while there? X

In March it's cold, usually bright and clear, sometimes snowy, always amazing

Yeah, Hell's Kitchen isn't too far.
With the Subway you can get a one week pass which costs around $30 for unlimited use, take the Subway to Coney Island and get a hotdog from Nathan's.

I think the passes can be worth it, I'd check the cost of what you want to do and weigh up if it's going to be cost effective. Often the Citypass allows you to bypass the ticket offices and go straight into places.

We've been loads of times and don't usually bother with them as we've done the touristy things on previous visits but in March we wanted to visit the 9/11 Museum and we always, always go up the Empire State Building (it's my favourite building in the world) so got a pass (a Citypass C3) which allowed us to use it for three attractions so we used it for those two and also Top Of The Rock (long story but my kids always take the piss out of me for not going out onto the terrace there because the wall looked low despite a lovely security guard doing his very best to persuade me and I wanted to prove once and for all that I could do it so I did and sent them a photo to show them where I was).

Anyway, that was around £55 at the time and it saved us some money.

@cushioncuddle I'm in nyc now! That's fab advice thank you! So look for non chain diners? Okay :)

Another tip, if you’re in Midtown and need the toilet, head for the ones in Bryant Park. There are fresh flowers and classical music playing.

I used to live in NYC. It will be cold in March, possibly snowing. Bring layers, sensible shoes and warm coats. Don't just stay in Manhattan- there are so many great neighbourhoods and restaurants to visit in the other boroughs (I lived in Brooklyn for over 2 years).

In terms of tourist stuff- don't spend all your time in midtown. Get a weekly Metrocard and explore. Walk on the High Line, eat brunch on the weekend, check out Williamsburg in Brooklyn (get the JMZ from Midtown), walk over the bridge to the LES/Chinatown, check out The Skint NYC website closer to the time for cool and cheap/free stuff to do.

If you want to do any shopping, the Jersey Gardens discount mall in Elizabeth, NJ is great and better value for money/closer than Woodbury Common. The bus takes 30 mins from the Port Authority Bus terminal.

If you haven't been to US before please remember your ESTA and holiday insurance!

I loved Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, walking High Line and just generally wandering around some of the neighbourhoods to soak up atmosphere. Definitely have a walk across the Brooklyn bridge but watch out for the cyclists!

so much great advice THANK YOU!!! I have just done my ESTA about 2 weeks ago and have insurance through my bank i do need to double check it for the states though.
thanks everyone!!!

I used to shepherd groups of A-level students around NY and DC in March. Much easier than France/Germany as establishments make pretty much everyone prove they're 21 before they'll serve booze.

Have you been to the US before?

If not, a couple of tips - the prices shown in most small stores (for a bottle of coke and the like) usually don't include sales tax so will ring up higher at the till.

Get breakfast - pancakes and bacon - from a mom and pop eatery. Will set you up for the day. And don't fear the hotdog / pretzel / gyros (chicken kebab type thing) carts.

You should tip table staff (including bar staff if you're at the bar) and those who hail cabs for you.

Greenwich Village is good for eating. Times Sq is overpriced and full of chain stores that are now in the UK anyway (but of you get decent exchange rate maybe worth grabbing a few bits). However, if you like chocolate, you need to visit M&M world - all 4 floors of M&Ms and M&M related tat memorabilia.
I found Top of the Rock better than Empire State, but that's just IMO.

Re tips, what we’ve noticed on our last couple of visits is that places are now showing the suggested tip amounts on the bill (they show a range of %s and the amount for each %) and it makes things much easier.

I went early March 2016. The week before had been single figure temps and light snowfall so we packed for winter. We got there and it was bright sunshine, only needed a cardigan/hoody in the day with all the walking around and a coat at night if we were out late. We left our ‘big coats’ in the car at Heathrow. I don’t think you can predict NY weather but we had a great time!

Sounds amazing... but I think I’d prefer to go in April when hopefully weather is more settled

We went for 8 days at the end of March and the last two days in April. It was freezing cold in March and the last two days we were wearing tee shirts!

If you're after a light diner after a long day go to Sako's pizza in Hells Kitchen.
A local recommended it. It looks nothing from the outside but it's the most incredible pizza I have ever tasted. There are a couple of tables at the back. I can't recommend it highly enough.