Tell me about New York must see's

[GlummyMcGlummerson]

Next year I'm having a (child free) 5 day trip to New York with my best friend - hurrah!

We are planning to see:
Empire State Building
Ground Zero
Statue of Liberty
A picnic in Central Park
A Broadway show

So fairly obvious things - but what are the less obvious must-see's you lovely MNers can recommend? TIA

@Pinkpercy

Ellen’s stardust diner is amazing!! Don’t miss it and have a fab time :)

I was also going to suggest Ellen’s.

High Line;
Brooklyn Bridge;
Staten Island Ferry to see Statue of Liberty;
Top of the Rock;
9/11 memorial and museum;
Circle Line Ferry

Restaurants: Spotted Pig (used to be owned by Jay-Z) - their burger with blue cheese and flourless chocolate cake is amazing

Stanton Social - trendy tapas but not Spanish style - been there about 4 times!

Home Town BBQ in Brooklyn - voted one of best bbq restaurants in the world

Breakfast at Ess-a-bagel is excellent.

Definitely book the Statue of Liberty - if you can’t get tickets into the crown it’s perfectly fine at the level below.

Try & get tickets for a taping at NBC. We were able to get them as walk ins on the morning & saw Jimmy Fallon. It’s all done by 7/8pm so you can head to dinner afterwards.

Shopping must be pretty decimated as many of the big department stores have gone under, plus Century 21 has shut. If you want diamonds, the diamond district is 100x better than Hatton Gardens.

Disagree that Central Park is only interesting to New Yorkers. We used to live beside Hyde Park & still really enjoyed walking through it.

I disagree with a pp and would definitely go to the 9/11 museum and pay for a tour. Was amazing and very powerful.

Brunch in Tavern on the Green was worth it, go for the lobster benedict.

Lots of good suggestions here. One from me, when you change your money, make sure to get smaller notes as well for tips.

I'm super jealous. It's my favourite place in the world and I'd visit every year if I had the money to do it.
@jcurve I was going to suggest Ess-a-Bagel too. I would sell my granny for one of their fresh bagels with cream cheese right now.
Walk as much as you can or take the subway. Dont bother with taxis. Be careful with taxis at the airport. The last time I went I think we flew into JFK and there is an official taxi rank where you give your address and you get a ticket stating the exact fare. Inside there are plenty of people offering you a taxi ride but god knows what you could be charged.
Brooklyn bridge at night was stunning although I went once in late Jan which was quiet when I went again years later in Sept it was unbelievably busy and didnt have the same effect.
Follow some local accounts on Instagram. Some have great tips on up to date things to do and things that wouldnt be in the tourist guides. Especially in terms of food. New and interesting places are opening up all the time.
Have $1 pizza slice. They are all over the place. I lived on them and despite the price just as tasty as the super posh place we visited for our anniversary.
Soak in the atmosphere and leave your hotel window open. If you are up high enough you get to hear the amazing sounds of NY but without it being too hard to sleep.
And an odd one but the pharmacies on nearly every corner are like a mini supermarket but with lots of interesting drugs that you cant buy at home. I found it fascinating what you can get. But that's just my weird quirk. My DH did not find it interesting at all!

@KatherineJaneway

I disagree with a pp and would definitely go to the 9/11 museum and pay for a tour. Was amazing and very powerful.

Brunch in Tavern on the Green was worth it, go for the lobster benedict.

Lots of good suggestions here. One from me, when you change your money, make sure to get smaller notes as well for tips.

I’ve never suggested the 9/11 museum isn’t powerful and affecting — it is both, and I’m very glad to have gone — just that spending an hour or two looking at twisted, dust-coveted artefacts and thinking about mass death and terrorism doesn’t sit easily with immediately perking up and being serenaded in Ellen’s Stardust Diner, if the OP will be on a short trip with a tight schedule.

All I’m saying is to beware of just treating it like another tourist ‘must see’ like the Empire State Building, because it’s, predictably, harrowing.

Kate’s Diner, from When Harry Met Sally.
YY to Staten Island Ferry, rather than more costly SofL special tours.
I really enjoyed the Museum of Modern Art, and I’m not arty.

Our highlight was the ferry to Ellis Island and then on to the Statue of Liberty. We queued up early to get one of the first boats (it gets busy). Ellis Island was fascinating. We couldn’t get tickets for the crown (they sold out months/weeks before our trip) but it didn’t matter. I can’t remember if we paid extra for audio guides but that particular trip wasn’t expensive. The ferry leaves from Battery Park and when we returned we walked to Wall Street and Ground Zero.
The High Line is well worth doing. I agree that the famous stores are a disappointment. We thought that eating out In the evening was quite expensive, but we were travelling as a family of five. One night we had huge pizzas (on our huge hotel beds) and watched TV. Teenage DC loved it and we got a chance to relax.
We walked as much as possible, apart from getting the subway to Battery Park. Comfortable shoes are essential!

Definitely do the Natural History museum. It’s huge though so either make it an all-day thing or have a look at their guidebook/website before hand to decide what you want to prioritize.

In terms of the Statue of Liberty, don’t bother going to the Statue itself. We went on a boat tour that takes you past it instead, you get a much better view and pictures, and you get to the see the skyline of the city as well. It was much cheaper and there was no queue for it either (the boat to take you across to the Statue was right next to it but their queue was about two hours). This was a tip from a New Yorker who said it was pointless going to the Statue as there’s not much to see when you’re inside it, plus you spend the whole time craning your next looking up. Much better to go on a boat tour for better views.

Also the head of the Statue isn’t always open so that would be a bit disappointing also

We went to the Empire State when it opened (8am I think). Easy enough because you’ll be awake at 4am . It’s great going then because you have the place to yourself. The queues otherwise can be miserable.

Oh and to echo a PP, Central Park is definitely worth a visit. When I went we walked through the park to get to the Natural History museum so combined both together in one trip

Guggenheim
Chelsea Market
Whole Foods
Walk down through the Upper East Side and see the fancy buildings and people
Ground Zero

Walk EVERYWHERE! Don't get on one of those buses. You see so much, get to eat in local places you walk past, and really soak up the city.

You can use your subway pass for the Roosevelt Island cable car thing (I forget what its actually called) which we quite enjoyed for the novelty and the views We also watched a basketball game in Brooklyn at the Barclays Centre which was good fun. We also really liked Brooklyn for its views of Manhattan and the ice cream parlour and little beach near the end of the bridge.

High line
Top of rockerfeller for Empire State views
Cycle around Central Park

@TheBumbleNums

Definitely do the Natural History museum. It’s huge though so either make it an all-day thing or have a look at their guidebook/website before hand to decide what you want to prioritize.

In terms of the Statue of Liberty, don’t bother going to the Statue itself. We went on a boat tour that takes you past it instead, you get a much better view and pictures, and you get to the see the skyline of the city as well. It was much cheaper and there was no queue for it either (the boat to take you across to the Statue was right next to it but their queue was about two hours). This was a tip from a New Yorker who said it was pointless going to the Statue as there’s not much to see when you’re inside it, plus you spend the whole time craning your next looking up. Much better to go on a boat tour for better views.

I don't agree in regards to the statue of liberty, for me it was the highlight of my trip. You book a time slot for the tour so you're not queuing "for hours" . You can take loads of cool pictures when you're on liberty island and the tour normally includes a visit to Ellis Island historic immigration centre which was interesting.

Agree with everything milomonster says, we went in 2018, hands down my most favourite city in the world.
We did pretty much everything mentioned above but also thought about/googled films set in NYC and created our own walking tour to see key buildings/areas.
Walked >30,000 everyday, it is such an easily walkable city.
Enjoy!

I would recommend Ellis Island, I found it fascinating. I did an extra tour of the hospital, which is largely unrestored, that was very interesting. I did the audio tour round the base of the Statue of Liberty which I really enjoyed, but didn’t go up the statue.
I hate Times Square, it’s right up there with Plymouth Rock on my list of disappointing tourist sites. It’s sleazy, crowded and unpleasant.
Get tickets for a show at the ticket booth on Times Square, plays are a better deal than musicals, I think. I’ve seen a couple of amazing plays on Broadway for good prices. Do not, whatever you do, be tempted by the play that is sold as the New York equivalent on The Mousetrap, the longest running play. It is utter garbage, terrible acting, hopeless plot, like watching a very poor school production of a play written by 10 year olds but with an elderly lady playing a supposedly irresistible sexpot.

Virgin were offering Upper Class fares for £996 return if you wanted to treat yourself. As fares are normally £4K upwards you will feel like a film star. I have booked for late May. My very favourite city and have been many many times

Grand Central! Stunning place. Jordans now gone sadly. Find the lift up to the tennis courts

Chem! I saw it! I wanted to see a musical but DS wanted to choose. We were in the front row but that was because there were only 20 in total in the whole place!

How it manages to make a profit is a mystery

@Bathroom12345 please dont tell me that. I have always wanted to travel 1st class somewhere but have never had the funds to do it. Travel wont be possible for the next year or two for me so doubt the reduced price will still be available when we can go. Those damn pesky kids!

It's clear from this thread that people haven't noticed that New Yorkers don't use the term "Ground Zero" anymore. The 9/11 memorial is how it's referred to and if you ask for "Ground Zero" they will be quick to put you straight.

Ellen's is much like the rest of Times Square - grotty. Definitely avoid.

The Staten Island ferry is a great, free way to see the city and the Statue of Liberty. If you want to walk the Brooklyn Bridge walk back, not in the opposite direction to the city!

I like TriBeCa to walk around and the tavern is relatively cheap for lunch (ghostbusters fire station is pretty cool)

Walk the highline from Hudson yards and lunch at Chelsea market afterwards.

Bryant park is good, check online for events

The air train is what you want from JFK. Easy and cheap.

Take walking shoes!

Oh this thread has made me want to go back to New York.

@Oblomov20

Oh this thread has made me want to go back to New York.

me too!

I resisted going to New york for years in the grounds that I would hate it, even though DH kept trying to persuade me otherwise. We eventually went when the DC were 6 and 8. We did all the really touristy things and I loved it. Even Times Square was ok as the DC were so mesmerised by everything, especially the fact that ToysRUs was open until midnight.

As the dc got older we were able to do more interesting stuff. We were there one year when ds was studying "View From a Bridge" for GCSE. He was really keen to catch the subway to Brooklyn than walk back across Brooklyn Bridge to see where the play is set.

The last time we went was a few years ago. We did concerts in Bryant Park, some of the smaller museums and lots of walking.

We had flights booked to JFK for earlier this year and were debating doing a few days in NY at the end of our trip, although couldn't really afford it. The whole thing was cancelled anyway of course.