Aibu to ask for your new York tips?

[MrsLaurac]

So im off to New York later in the year and am wanting to be organised as much as possible by making itineraries and budgets.
Thanks :-)
But there is just so much online! So wondering what recommendations and possibly tips people would have in regards to must dos and must avoids?
Also and I know this really is impossible for people to answer how much did you spend on food?
Also hubby is telling me shopping isnt that great out there what experience did you have?
Were stopping in the empire state area :-)

If going with adults, head to the roof bar at the H hotel - so nice, great cocktails

There’s also a very nice little hidden burger joint in the lobby of the Parker Meridien hotel - head for the neon burger sign.

If you like hidden things, the cocktail bar PDT which is accessed through a phone booth in a tiny hot dog place (and there’s lots of nice restaurants around it too).

Purl Soho is everything I dreamed it would be. I could have spent £10k in there, easily.

We thought Ellis Island was the best thing we saw in NY. Loved the Statue of Liberty, one day I'd like to travel over on a cruise ship to see it just how all those immigrants did when they arrived.

I know you said about your feet but if you do walk Brooklyn bridge then I recommend getting the subway over and walking back to manhattan for the views. Don’t forget to do janes carousel!

No, ignore the tax. When you get your bill it will separate them out.

If you need to take a tinkle at Bloomingdales, go to the fourth floor ladies room. Art Deco heaven.

We went November last year and I’m trying to remember any good tips... a few people said not to worry about dressing up too much, more for comfort, and it’s true. I’m fairlu smart most of the time but def Cindy shoes, good coat in case it rains etc. You won’t look out of place going restaurants/shows etc. We booked about 6 months in advance to go up to the top of the Statue of Liberty, that was my favourite thing. The view from top of the rock is good as your photos then have Empire State Building in, compared to if you go up the ESB. We mainly had bagels etc for breakfast, then pizza etc, there’s so many nice places to eat. I didn’t notice the prices massively different. I know lots of people talk about it for shopping and it wasn’t ok, I’m not a massive spender (like a bargain) and wasn’t really after anything so wouldn’t go just for that. If you’re going over thanksgiving, we arrived when the Macy’s day parade was on, remember to factor this in for the route to your hotel! Also, we found some of he restaurants were closed on the Thursday. However, I though Black Friday would be insane in the shops, we went to Time Sqyare about 8am and it was fairly quiet and had a lovely stroll through some of the shops. We went back about 2pm and it was nuts! Hope you have a brilliant time, I loved it! X

Argh, typing as I get my son to sleep, that’s meant to say comfy shoes! And the shopping was ok, I just wasn’t that taken with it! X

Sorry, 1 more:, if you take your passport into Macy’s, you can get a discount www.visitmacysusa.com/visitor-savings

We got back last weekend. It's our favourite place to visit.

The 9/11 Museum is definitely worth a visit.
As already said, get the Subway over to Brooklyn and walk back over the bridge for the views.
Take the Subway out to Coney Island and get a hotdog and fries from Nathan's.
Not sure how old you are but if you like certain music, you can visit CBGBs. It's now a posh clothes shop but parts of the club have been retained and you can go in and look.

We have a favourite diner, Westway Diner. It's on 9th Ave between W43rd and 44th. Breakfast was coming in at around $30 including a 20% tip and it pretty much kept us going until mid afternoon. The Tick Tock Diner on W34th is good too.

Re: tipping. We noticed this visit that quite a few places put the suggested tip on the bill (they don't add it on, just put a section at the bottom stating what amount a 10%, 15% and 20% tip would be). We found that very helpful and haven't noticed it before, not in NY or anywhere else in the US.

The High Line and Chelsea Market.
Junior's for grub.
Have a wonderful time.

Staten Island ferry to the Statue of Liberty, make the most of the free Ranger guided tours on the Island which give you loads of the history of the statue.
Central Park is huge and you could easily spend a whole day. Strawberry fields / John Lennon peace garden is worth a look. It's on the west side (I think) and no far from the apartment buildings where Lennon lived and unfortunately died. Yoko still lives there. At Columbus Circle on the edge of the park there is a huge Whole foods. The deli down stairs is huge and great to pick up food for a picnic in the park.
Grand Central station is beautiful.
Also the Met - check out all the Tiffany stained glass, silver and jewellery.
Open top bus definitely worth doing for an over view.

DD lived there for a year, so if you have any specific questions, do ask away.

First off, buy a pop out map, they're brilliant. Then start with a hop on hop off bus trip to get yourself acquainted with what's where. After that, its about what you want to do really. Definitely recommend the ferry out to Liberty Island/Ellis Island. Also the 9/11 museum which you could do on the same day as they are near each other.

Central Park is great, but huge - you could spend a day walking there, the zoo is depressing so I wouldn't bother with that. Unless you want to visit the M & M store with children, Times Square is a waste of time - loads of tourists milling around some billboards, nothing else to see!

We did the Empire State (pre-booked) last time, which gave us fantastic views, but I know others have said The Top Of The Rock is better. If you want to go to a show, you could get discounted tickets from one of the TKTS booths, although we were lucky enough to get some huge discounts with a coupon from the immigration officer who checked us at the airport!

Food is expensive, and most of the tourist traps aren't cheap and not great - eg Ellen's Stardust Diner, but if you head away from the most touristy areas, it isnt too bad. Lots of cheaper restaurants in Lower Manhattan. We tended to eat a big brunch and then again in the evening, didnt need lunch.

We used the subway to get about, it was fine (not very clean though), but we did come across some strange characters on the trains. Not in an unsafe way, just a bit unusual, all part of the fun of holidays though.

Am sure you'll have a fantastic time, am very jealous.

Sorry but I do not "get" shopping in New York
its the same stuff you can get anywhere else at pretty much the same price
plus an air fare

New York is an amazing, wonderful city
why waste your time there in dumps like Macy's ?

Best things to do in NYC massively depends on time of year
it has a continental climate
effing cold in winter
chuffing hot in summer

its a big city with more hills than most realise
and its best explored on foot

what interests you?
do that ....

arrietty for veggie food the happycow website lets you see a list, reviews, links to menus etc. a couple of our favorites are wild ginger in williamsburg (asian vegan, really good lunch offers); champs diner (vegan junk food, kitsch interior) and sea (thai, good veggie options, you can sit beside an indoor pond).

for art the moma is free on fridays 4-8pm with a giant queue to get in, but gets much quieter after 6 - a lot of people seem to queue, walk round not looking at anything then queue to get out. the artrabbit website lets you find smaller galleries.

markets - brooklyn flea is every sat & sunday, moving to a new summer location from this weekend so check where it is! there are lots of stores where you can trade in clothes for cash or credit today buy more, eg beacons closet in williamsburg. smorgasburg street food market is great but beside the river & can be cold.

for different ideas of things to do, there’s a list on the atlas obscura site which also lets you search by location once you’re there. the tenement museum looks amazing but we didn’t make it this trip, you can’t just turn up but need to pre-book a tour on their website.

we tube & walk everywhere, i’d hate those bus tours in traffic/bad weather and (i’m guessing) having to listen to commentary, plus what if you see something you’d like to explore but the bus isn’t stopping? a couple of new “modes” we tried this time were the river ferry (costs the same as a tube trip) and the cable car from manhattan to roosevelt island) - either would be good day or night.

The helicopter company were called Liberty Helicopters, I think. I've been twice, once on a snowy Xmas day, which was lovely (I'm cabin crew and get over there a lot). The first time I went I booked onto the shorter tour and because everybody else that day had booked longer tours they put me onto a longer one for no extra charge. I haven't done them for over a decade now, I looked at prices recently as I was thinking of taking my husband and they were expensive. Worth it though, they fly you over Central Park and around the Liberty statue, it's wonderful.

RE eating, there are delhi diner/takeaways everywhere, which do great food, but it often ends up more expensive than a meal in a restaurant.

Oh and Nov is a lovely time to go.

The 9/11 museum, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building/top of the rock (we did one during the day and one at night). Make sure you book in advance! Central Park is lovely anytime of year and Times Square is wonderful to wander around. Macy’s of course!

We ate breakfast at all you can eat buffet type places so we tips weren’t expected (as you help yourself) as the 15-20% is a killer! (We are cheap ). There a few in time square if I remember correctly.

But everywhere else restaurant wise remember to factor in a tip!

New York is fab you will have a great time!

Just wanted to say thanks for all your tips so far, with some where like new York there's so much info on Google I didn't even know where to start!
One thing hubby did mention is seeing a TV show being recorded, any tips on best place to look for this?

One thing hubby did mention is seeing a TV show being recorded, any tips on best place to look for this?
I have to ask ....
Why ?
London has stuff being recorded all the time.
Why go to New York for it?

In NYC do the things that are unique to that city - at least for the first couple of trips

when are you going?
How far can you walk?
what is your budget?
THEN you can decide what to do

It'd probably take nearly as long to get to London than new York! We are in the UK just not near London.

I'm pretty good with walking I.e don't have sticks etc but I ache quickly if ive been walking for days. Our budget is flexible that's why we are planning so far in advance to make sure we can do anything (within reason!) That we want to do. It's just something that interests him

Here's a link to NBC's ticket page, some shows listed are taped in LA though but there are things like Seth Meyers and Saturday Night Live in NY.
www.nbc.com/tickets/pages/tickets-and-nbc-studio-tour

www.nycgo.com/articles/tv-show-tapings

And this is gives you daily movie filming locations, it covers the whole US.
www.onlocationvacations.com/category/daily-filming-locations/

Even if you don't go and see a show recorded, if you walk a few blocks from Macy's/the Empire State/Times Sq to Penn Station/Madison gardens stadium there is a sports to studio where they film the presenters doing their show from a window, so you can watch a bit without having to commit a day. Same for the Good Morning America show (think it's that one, and I think they film in Time sq - they like interviewing people that come a long way, so if you had a Union Jack to wave they may come over!) Hotel concierges in NY are usually very knowledgeable on where to go for things too.

Uniquely New York :
Empire State
Grand Central station
Ground Zero
Ellis Island
High Line
Central Park
UN
Brooklyn Bridge
Times Square

Special Stores :
Barnes and Noble
Tiffany
Bergdorf Goodman
Macys
Bloomingdales

Get the vibe :
Times Square
Union Square Market
Central Park Zoo
ride the buses
ride the subway
get a yellow cab up Park avenue

Galleries / look at :
Guggenheim
Metropolitan Museum of art (and do not forget Cloisters)
MOMA
MoMath
Natural History Museum

Eating :
Go for the streets not the avenues
Esabagel
2nd Avenue ethnic
Greenwich village

and walk everywhere

You can get free tickets for the late night show - if you’re lucky!