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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Tell me about New York must see's

69 replies

GlummyMcGlummerson · 28/11/2020 22:51

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

OP posts:
mollscroll · 29/11/2020 10:32

We had fun at Ellen’s. Touristy and gimicky but we were tourists and wanted the full cheesey experience.

hobbyiscodefordogging · 29/11/2020 10:41

Walking everywhere is the best tip! You see so much more and find little things to spark your own curiosity. We stayed in the lower east side walked about 10 miles a day when we were there. I don't get people who visit and stay in Times Square so they don't have to walk anywhere 🤷🏻‍♀️

The Tenement Museum, Spyscape, Accomplice were among our favourites.

Oblomov20 · 29/11/2020 17:10

Based on this thread my 2 best friends and I are now currently planning our 50th birthday week to New York. Grin

AcornAutumn · 29/11/2020 17:16

@TheRubyRedshoes

Fraunces tavern, frick collection.
Second Frick Collection. Wonderful place. If you’re choosing between galleries, choose that over MOMA.
wowfudge · 29/11/2020 17:26

I agree with a pp that the SoL was the highlight of our trip. We did the crown tour and it was fascinating and we went on to Ellis Island, which was really interesting. If you have neither the time nor the inclination then yes the Staten Island ferry gets you a good view of it.

HelloMama · 29/11/2020 17:34

We did a fantastic food tour which I'd highly recommend, as we got try all the best bits in one go and have us a taste of a few places we ended up going back to for a full meal / coffee etc later in the week. On our tour we had pizza slice (from Joe's pizza), spaghetti meatballs, warm milk and cookies, cannoli's, arrancini balls.... It was great! We did the best of Greenwich tour and learnt so much about the neighbourhood, as well as enjoying the food, saw the famous apartment building from 'Friends' ...

I got a piercing at the New York Maria Tash store... It's pretty special and a nice memento of a great trip...

Agree with the others, book ahead and get a table at the Rainbow Bar at Top of the Rock to watch the sunset. Service is great, it's actually not too pricey and worth it for a couple of special cocktails. If you don't book, I think you can still get in, but you have to stand around and don't have priority at the bar. The views of the city were breathtaking.

We hired bicycles and cycled around Central park on our last day. It was wonderful for people watching on a hot sunny day and we loved it!

Iris1600 · 29/11/2020 17:36

We had a special anniversary dinner in the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park - highly recommended!

babbafett · 29/11/2020 19:25

@Oblomov20 Great idea and happy birthday in advance. When you are looking at hotels, same for you OP if you haven't already booked one, try find one that has a rooftop lounge. We did and it was bliss getting take away pizza and beers in the evening or our coffee and bagels in the morning in amongst the skyscrapers! Also helps cut down the cost of eating out for every meal as a PP said.

JennyWreny · 29/11/2020 22:53

Things that we particularly enjoyed were -

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge - we did both ways but if you only do one way then make it Brooklyn to Manhattan so you can see the skyline
Broadway Musical - Come From Away - was very expensive but we loved it
Empire State Building and Top of the Rock - we did ESB at night after the musical so there were no queues. We went to TOTR first thing in the morning - were there when they opened, again no queues.
Statue of Liberty - Crown - we had to book the crown tickets quite a way ahead. As PP have said, Ellis Island also good. I don't remember the queues being ridiculously long. I do remember trying to get tickets for as early in the day as possible so that we wouldn't have to queue in the hot sun for too long.
Circle Line cruise in the evening - I think it was called the sunset cruise or similar.
Public Library and Grand Central Station - beautiful buildings
Chelsea Market and then walking along the High Line to Hudsons Yard and we had tickets booked to The Vessel - had to book those tickets before we went I think although they were free.
Baseball Game to watch The Mets - a subway ride away but definitely worth the effort
Breakfast at Tiffanys - Not as ridiculously expensive as I thought it might be but hard to get reservations for as the cafe is so small. Think we had about 3 laptops ready to log on and book at the time when the tables were released for the day we wanted to go!
"The Tour" - It's a big tour coach with seats facing the side and very big windows. It's very gimmicky but was fun - we enjoyed it.

LocaNel · 30/11/2020 03:07

Few better places than New York for celebrating those birthdays that end in zeroWink So glad my landmark birthday trip came last year rather than this.
Agree with very many of the previous suggestions.
We had the best part of three days and amongst all the pavement pounding and bike-riding through Central Park, my favourite must-sees/must dos were:
Staten Island ferry;
Ellis Island with Tenement Museum later the same day as a counterpoint;
Brooklyn and then walking over the Bridge to Manhattan;
Revelling in the chance to visit the location of favourite films....
It's only when I went there that I realised how much it really does feature in my cultural hinterland. It just insinuates itself. Would go back tomorrow if I couldSmile

tentative3 · 30/11/2020 07:58

I believe Broadway is closed until May at least, just in case that changes anything for anyone.

We like to stay on the UWS. Close to Central Park and some of the big museums, plus Levain bakery which does incredible cookies. On our last visit we had a great time at Zabar's choosing bread and meats and things for a picnic lunch, I'd thoroughly recommend Zabar's for the experience. We stay at Hotel Beacon which is opposite a fairway and the subway stop is opposite a Trader Joe's. We love to eat out in NY but also love overseas supermarkets and the Beacon has kitchenettes in each room which is nice if you want to try all your goodies to assess whether you need more.

We also like to go to the Grand Bazaar on a Sunday morning and there was a green market on the same day we last went. That's something I would recommend, a green market - we've been to the union Square one a couple of times but there are plenty to choose from.

I echo those that say to just walk, if you are able to. You see so much that you'd miss if you were on a rigid itinerary based around the subway and rushing from one tourist 'highlight' to another. Whether it's to walk or not I'd definitely recommend leaving some time in each day unaccounted for in case you happen upon something interesting, want to stay longer somewhere or are just plain knackered.

GreekOddess · 30/11/2020 08:01

F

GreekOddess · 30/11/2020 08:02

There's some great tips on this thread! As this has been posted in chat it will disappear after 30 days. Could we get moved to travel do you think?

MrsMariaReynolds · 30/11/2020 08:56

Don't get your hopes up about a Broadway show if you want to go earlier in the year. All shows have been cancelled until at least the 31st of May.

KatherineJaneway · 01/12/2020 08:40

@GreekOddess

There's some great tips on this thread! As this has been posted in chat it will disappear after 30 days. Could we get moved to travel do you think?
That would be good. I went to New York for a week but barely scratched the surface and this thread lists so many new things to do!
SJaneS49 · 04/12/2020 14:51

I’ve been 3 times, last time was last year for DHs 50th.

Things I enjoyed when I was younger were definitely social scene bar & club related so probably not relevant. Last time as a family:

  • staying in an apartment in a historic area Brooklyn. Just a really nice contrast to Manhattan which can be a bit mad. Was great to ‘come home’ to a family safe area people lived in and eat out there. Our very nice apartment in a historic brownstone was the same price as the cheaper and nastier Manhattan hotels and the commute was 30 minutes.
  • Walking the High Line on a sunny afternoon, dawdling and looking at the art
  • Taking the free Staten Island ferry and my DD spotting Liberty
  • Eating in a traditional diner
  • Taking the city in bite size chunks and doing a lot of wandering. Plan ahead where you’re going each day
  • Broadway is shut but if you’re going when it’s re-opened, download the TodayTix app, change location to NY and you’ll find lots of discounts on shows. The TodayTix reps meet you outside the theatre with your tickets
  • Time Square is an absolute dive during the day but at nighttime is like something from Blade Runner!
MichelleBauble · 04/12/2020 16:20

Go and have a chocolate martini at Max Brenner.

If you are a meat eater then Peter Luger in Brooklyn is amazing.

Fedupofballs · 09/12/2020 23:03

Fabulous thread, we’ve just booked for October 2021 (were going to Toronto, but my desire to use avios for first class limited our options). We’ve booked the James Nomad. We’ve been once before with our then 3 and 7 year old. This time will just me me and DH for 6 nights.

calliealbert · 24/12/2020 07:25

Technically, the Chrysler Building is an office building open Monday through Friday, but you don't need to go inside to appreciate its aesthetic appeal. Recent visitors praised the building's unique architectural style. Built in 1930, the Chrysler had a short-lived run as the tallest building in the city, before it was usurped of its title by the Empire State Building.

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