Museums and attractions in NYC

[N0rdicStar]

What not to miss, what would be ok to miss and how to save money?

Have booked Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as interested in history and want to track ancestors. Thought that was pricey enough. Just looked at One World prices

Will be in NYC 7 nights but got an admin day for one of those. Started making a list re what we want to do and we’ll struggle to fit it all in and a couple of things are v pricey. Are there any city cards you can get reductions with? Does a city card mean you’re stuck in lines( some online tickets seem to reduce line waiting).

Want to do SofL and Ellis, Top of the Rock, One World and 9/11 museum, Tenement Building, Moma( Starry Night and Warhol)The Whitney( fan of Edward Hopper), Natural History Museum..... and then all the free stuff( Central Park, Brooklyn, High Line, Staten Island ferry, Greenwich Village etc).

Met was in our list but the new prices are making me wonder if it will be worth dragging 3 teens round. Would teens be classed as students? Might be pushing my luck with the number of galleries and museums on our list.😬

Are the more expensive tickets to see One World neccesary? Thinking not.

The Ride was our favourite thing we did last year! It is brilliant fun. Have a look at it and see if you can squeeze it in.

We loved the NHM but my kids are younger than yours - I think I would give it a miss with teens tbh.

The High Line is definitely worth it - especially if it is a nice day.

Top of the Rock was ok but, for the money, I wouldn't do it again.

Otherwise, don't underestimate the attraction if just hanging out - its such a great place to just "be"!

Thanks for that, that’s really helpful. Will look out for it although I’m not sure my list can take any more.Might do The Whitney one evening, just with dp. Do you think it would be ok to leave 3 sensible teens 14 and 15 alone for a couple of hours in an apartment hotel in upper East side?

Does The Met still have a “pay what you can afford” day? It used to be a Thursday. That makes a shorter highlights trip worthwhile. Otherwise I think it’s exoensive.

If you leave DC at home, then they would be ok in an apartment hotel if you can trust them to stay in the room! If you know you cannot trust them, don’t do it. They might like chilling with the tv for a few hours though!

Hi N0rdicStar I found the different passes you can get very confusing but eventually found a link to a comparison site where you can select what you want to do and how many days and tells you the best one to go for. I then bought it (5 attractions pass) from Expedia where they had a special offer on and also used Quidco. It was much cheaper than buying through their website and also I spotted it has a cancellation option for up to 3 days before I think.

You are right though you have to be careful about the pre booking/queues - some you can’t pre book so worth checking the details for the attractions you are looking at on the pass website.

The Ride which Enid mentioned is included in some of the passes, as is The Tour which is the same company.

I found it - www.passcomparison.com/newyork/new-york-pass-comparison/

We paid £92.90 each for a 5 attraction pass and using Quidco got £9.29 back, so ended up being £83 ish.

For MOMA and the Whitney I think under 16s are free. The Whitney is closed on Tuesdays.

Unless there’s a pass which gets you some sort of fast pass access to the Statue Of Liberty, or even getting on the ferry, I wouldn’t bother. The last time we went over to the statue there was airline style security before boarding the ferry and then again before going into the statue itself, with long waits to pass through each. While I totally understand the need to do that, it took a lot of our time when we could’ve been seeing something else.

The boat to Ellis Island takes you past Liberty Island for photo opportunities anyway. Ellis Island is easily a whole day - take a picnic.

Is NHM free albeit with high pressure to make a donation? My kids are younger so I'm planning NHM, Transit Museum in Brooklyn, Central Park carousel and zoo, and lots of wandering around and shopping.

The Met is not to be missed. Look on their website for student rates and make sure that your children have student ID with them.

The Frick is wonderful

I think the beauty of the Statue of Liberty is seeing it rather than visiting it. Don’t try and pack in too much and allow for transport times. The Radio City Music Hall is a great building and there’s so much to see in NY just by looking around you.

Really confused as to what I’ve booked. Looked like you had to book both Ellis and SofL. Have booked very early timed tickets from Statue cruises to the Pedestal. Wasn’t keen on hiking up the crown. Can cancel them though.Not sure what to do.

What student Id do uk 25/14 year olds have? And what makes the Met so unmissable?

Have to admit it’s me wanting to do the Nat History Museum but presuming there would be something in it for the teens. The Black Hole stuff and IMAX?

If we were to drop one, what should it be? Would that many museums be too much?

15/14 year olds

Thanks Jenny for the info.

There is a new museum opening in May on Liberty island so kind of glad we’re getting off now. Pedestal ticket the same as the island so we’ll play it by ear on the day. Won’t have lost anything if we don’t go up it.

There is a huge new Starbucks opposite the Google offices near Chelsea market here. My teens loved it - very hipster!

They also liked Chelsea market.

You can download the sound guide app to the 911 museum and listen on your own headphones to avoid hiring the ones there. It's free and very good.

My kids would love that Starbucks

I'm sure when we went there is one evening a week that MoMA is free - you just have to queue and although it looks like a horrendous line it goes down very quickly.

MoMA is free on Friday nights, I think. It isn't huge, easy to do at the level teenagers will enjoy in a couple of hours. Starry Night is stunning and many other familiar pictures to see.

I have heard good things about the Intrepid Museum, I think they have a space shuttle.

I went to that Starbucks last month, it's super hipster

There’s also one afternoon or evening that the 9/11 museum is free - I think Tuesday perhaps?

I went in October with my two teens and I think I'd give Ellis Island a miss tbh. They just weren't that interested and it felt like a bit of a waste of a day.