To ask for New York travel tips?

[ethelfleda]

DH and I are looking at planning a trip to New York. Problem is, we don’t know where to start!!
Whereabouts should we stay? Would 5 nights be enough? What is a ‘must do’ that’s also not too touristy? Not bothered about Statue of Liberty or Times Square - but do need to eat a hot dog from a stand and visit the museums!
What did you enjoy the most about New York?
Thinking of going next Autumn.

Agreeing with the pp to say five days isn't enough. You could spend a fortnight there and not touch the sides.

I have a list of recommendations. if you PM your email id he happy to send it

Definitely the High Line

I love sitting in Bryant Park (42nd between fifth and sixth), which has its own outdoor library section and many other charms.

There are lots of free walking tours.

Metropolitan Museum of Art of course.

Ex. Brit living in NY here (30 yrs +)

Check out Travelzoo for hotel deals - at that time of year you should find a bargain in Manhattan and avoid the travel time from staying in the outer boroughs.

Travelzoo will also have discounts on dining / some activities.

Download the TodayTix app for discounted theater tix. They have Book of Mormon which is a great musical, hilarious and fab music (if a bit irreverent).

Definitely recommend 9/11 museum . Did it for the first time this year and was very moved. Buy timed tix online beforehand to avoid the entry queue. Download the app/audiotour to your phone before you go in - awesome narration by Robert De Niro.

Other recommendations: the Met, the Frick, Circle Line boat tour, definitely use the subway (flat rate), or walk or Uber, The High Line (go from North to South and eat in the Meatpacking District at the end), walk down Wall St then walk on to China Town for a cheap eat, Top of the Rock (or Empire State), rent a rowboat in Central Park.

Have a drink at Benelmans.

Get a coffee in Cobble Hill. Or get another drink at Clover Club. Or both.

The Met for a minimum of an afternoon.

In October, go to a Rangers game. Or if, god willing, the Yankees make the postseason, find a decent sports bar and watch the fun. (Or get tix. Nothing like playoff baseball in NYC.)

Literally any cuisine you want at nearly any price point. I have tons of favorites but find your own. Currently still loving Frenchette and Sofreh.

If you're there in late October, La Bohème at the Met (opera not art).

Strand Bookstore.

Shopping on Mercer Street (If you're youngish), Bergdorfs (RIP Bender's), or Bedford Ave in Williamsburg (If you must).

Leaf peeping in Central Park.

Agree with Staten Island Ferry.

I can't do the 9/11 museum, fwiw. Too soon. But the Tenement Museum is amazing.

Moma, the Frick, and the Whitney. Also I love the Cloisters, though they're not the easiest to get to.

Jazz at the Top of the Standard for the views alone.

But those are just some of my favorite things. You could spend a lifetime and just scratch the surface. If it helps: what kind of vacation do you want? What do you like to do, in general?

Bemelmans! Weirdest autocorrect ever.

We did a food tour with a local which was brilliant a google ‘Eating with Ziggy’. A NYC forum highly recommended it and it was great!

Basketball game at MSG was also amazing fun.

Do top of the rock instead of empire state

I disagree. People are just parroting this but actually it's a shame not to go up the Empire State.

Yes you can see the Empire State from the Top of the Rock but you're missing out on such an iconic building with so much history and it's such a beautiful art deco building inside too.

You can get a city card that gives you both included.

We loved Empire State too, and combined it with shopping at Macy’s

Ellen’s stardust diner for breakfast was great fun and smaller queues than dinner

We went to Gotham comedy club which was a great night

Don't ignore the Statue of Liberty! She has an amazing history and the museum about immigration at Ellis island is fascinating. You get tickets that cover the entrance & ferries.

And I'm also one saying to go up the Empire State as well as the Rock. It's beautiful inside.

Grand Central Station for all those iconic movie scenes and eat at one of the food stalls below the main hall.

Don't expect a decent cup of tea anywhere.

We went in December for my 60th and because I wanted to see the Christmas Tree! It was wonderful! We had 5 nights and saw just about everything recommended up thread - walk over the Brooklyn bridge after dark and see Manhattan all lit up; ride the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty; we went to the 9/11 memorial and museum late in the day and there was no queue - it is a memorable experience; Tenement museum - you walk through Little Italy to get to it and we had lunch in the oldest pizza restaurant in NY!; and we chose the Empire State over Top if the Rock because it is iconic and DH loves ‘Sleepless in Seattle’!
We stayed near Central Park and Carnegie Hall which was a short walk to 5th Avenue and Times Square. Before we went we downloaded a walking tour which was great and meant we saw bits we probably wouldn’t have noticed otherwise - in fact we walked just about everywhere.
Also recommend - the Highline, Greenwich village, the Met, the Guggenheim, Central Park (it snowed!) and of course, because it was December the Christmas shop windows were fantastic!

Scott's Pizza Tour!!!!! It's a couple of hours eating the best pizzas in New York and a lot of fun. Plus if you go on one of the bus tours you get to ride round on a yellow school bus and see more of New York.

We didn't have much money so stayed at a b&b on Staten Island and got the ferry into Manhattan every day. Was good because it's really quiet (like staying in the suburbs) and we had an amazing view of the Hudson from our bedroom window, but a bit of a pain having to trek all that way home after a long day of site-seeing.

Oh and Katz Deli!

We stayed on the UWS at the Beacon on my second trip and it was fab. Big rooms, lovely neighbourhood with Trader Joe's opposite the subway station, easy stroll to Central Park and Levain's Bakery!

Thank you everyone!
For those that asked:
We haven’t really set a budget as such - I know you could spend tens of thousands in a city like NYC so we need a limit of some kind but it’s more value for money mixed in with a little opulence
The kinds of things we like to do - museums, parks, eating good food and just soaking up culture! Neither of us are in to shopping really, or anything majorly touristy... places we have travelled to before I have always preferred just taking in the general culture and have been a little disappointed with some major landmarks!

Also - I hate tea - I’m a coffee drinker

We've been a few times because we have family there. My favourite things are the Guggenheim and Met, Central Park (especially the Northern end), the High Line, Bleeker Street and Chelsea Market. A boat trip is a must - on our most recent trip we did the East River ferry for a change. To see the Brooklyn bridge it is fun to walk from Manhattan then take the subway back on whichever line goes over rather than under the river.

I'd stay on the lower east op and just soak it up. Check out Sleep No More. Interactive theatre thing.

I never understand people who visit parks on holidays/sightseeing trips. Yeah, Central Park is nice but you get the gist after about 10 minutes.

We stayed in an Air BnB, took around 20/30 min to walk to times square, was £700 for 5 or 6 nights. Best thing we did was go to a restaurant called Tao, still the best restaurant I've ever been to and I've eaten in amazing places all around the world. If you go to Empire State go ah night it's sunning! I did love NY but I wouldn't go back

I never understand people who visit parks on holidays/sightseeing trips. Yeah, Central Park is nice but you get the gist after about 10 minutes.

For Beatles/John Lennon fans, Strawberry Fields in Central Park is a virtually a pilgrim site!!

Not at all my cup of tea but it's a feature of the park. There are interesting statues and public art works in most public parks some of which are really worth seeing.

perrieryay we found the different parts of Central Park all quite different and interesting in their own right. We took the subway to the Bronx end where it is really quite wild, lots of trees and little woodland paths, not very many tourists at all. Then we walked past the softball pitches and watched a group if kids (maybe a softball team) practicing. Then on to the lake area and the boat house (the scene of many grisly gang executions before Central Park was taken back for the people) We Ice Skated at the Woolman rink, sat on the big rocks at the Manhattan end while the kids played in the maze of tunnels and ladders etc. Sometimes when you are sightseeing (especially with kids) it is nice to spend half a day or a day in a more relaxing environment. There are still plenty of sights to spot in Central Parkx especially if you know your movies.

The doors off helicopter ride is absolutely amazing.
We also had a meal at the top of the one world observatory. We booked it for an hour before sunset so got to see the view in daylight and dark.

Oh, ffs, Bendels not Benders! That was a bad autocorrect.

OP, if you like the culture of the place, I double down on Cobble Hill. Smith Street is delightful.

Browsing around the Village is less fun than it used to be, but St Marks is still worth it. Trinity Church is amazing for its history.

A trip to Harlem is also worth it. Studio Museum followed by lunch. Sylvia's is still the most famous, but Red Rooster is also great. Bill's Place for jazz.

As for why parks, walking around Central Park in the crisp autumn air with a cup of decent coffee is one of the great joys in life.

Try air bnb. We got a really nice studio apartment in Williamsburg for the same price as a hotel room.

Reserve a window table at the Top of the Standard for sunset cocktails.

Forgot to mention a wine bar to the side of the Rockefeller centre (Morrell’s? I think) - lovely deck outside where you can sip your wine and people watch. And there are lots of little squares and parks all with their own character - Go to Washington square where there are men (mostly) playing chess and one near the Flat Iron with a little market. And, of course, the Strand bookshop with miles (literally) of books.