A week in New York..

[tryingtosettle]

Its a milestone birthday next year for me and my partner. We've decided to go away for a week and NY is on the cards.

We've heard the Staten Island ferry is free and worth the trip as ypu get a great view of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We'd love to see a Broadway show and get tickets for a baseball game and/or ice hockey match.

Other than that.. not sure what to see! Want to make sure we see/experience as much as possible. We aren't fans of art, so probably not the Met.

We're looking at a budget now and know to factor in tipping, but how much is expected? Is 20% a good enough tip? Google throws up so many different answers that I don't want to offend anyone.

We wondered about flying into DC and spending two days there, seeing the white house, the mall, the Lincoln memorial.. then getting the train to NYC. Thoughts? We considered Boston instead for a few days but we're looking at going next Easter, the dates would fall over the Boston Marathon and hotels/flights would be more expensive plus a lot busier everywhere.

Any other tips and recommendations are appreciated!!

15% tip is standard, 20% tip is above average. I tipped 15% and that was fine!

I can highly recommend visiting Washington DC. I spent 4 nights there this month as well as 5 nights in Chicago and I was amazed at how much there was to do in Washington. Wish I spent longer. When do you plan to go? In July, New York and Washington DC are both unbearably hot and humid so would advise against going in July. (In 2012, I went to New York in July and then Jamaica after and Jamaica was actually cooler!)

All of the museums are free (except the private ones but there are only one or two) and it’s such a walkable city. Beware though, there were a lot of homeless people in Washington which I found slightly intimidating but they were never threatening - just sad to see.

If you’d like any recommendations of where to eat, stay or things to do in NYC or Washington DC then I can try to help!

Oh I see you’re going in Easter! The weather will be nice and not too hot.

Thank you that's amazing! Always in need of restaurant recommendations!

I spent a few days in DC and NYC as a teenager and I remember loving DC, so definitely hoping to tie it in.

DC is worth a visit for a week in its own right. re the White House the British embassy staffers are unable to facilitate tours to the White House (this has been the case for some years now sadly).

The Acela train runs between Union Station in DC and Penn station in NYC.

States island ferry is indeed free and you will get some nice views of the Statue of Liberty as it sails past. Empire Outlets is next door to the Staten Island ferry entrance on Staten Island.

NY Yankees baseball game is worth seeing if they have a home game on. You will enjoy it more though if you learn the basic baseball rules beforehand.

Thank you!

I went to NY a million years ago, but am always sad I didn't get to The Cloisters, would like to see that. I loved the Staten Island Ferry, walking over Brooklyn Bridge, and seeing the sights in Central Park. I went to Macy's briefly but was a bit terrified by the perfume sales gauntlet - at my current more advanced age I think I'd love it! I walked up Delancey Street and Wall Street and 5th Avenue, just loved it all.

Our top things to do were the Tenement Museum in the Lower East Side, the 9/11 museum and Ellis Island. Learnt so much. Also Ellen's stardust diner was a lot of fun but be prepared to queue for a long time!

I tipped 20%. I stayed at a swanky hotel so also tipped the doorman on arrival and left money each day for the cleaners.

If you have one meal out that's more expensive go to Tavern On The Green and order the Lobster Benedict, divine!

Personally the 9/11 museum was well worth it and very powerful to visit. I loved the Statue of Liberty and pre-booked a ticket to go up to the crown which was amazing. If you go to the Empire State Building, go as soon as it opens. It gets absolutely rammed.

Being a Ghostbusters fan I also went to see the Firehouse from the film!

Second the Brooklyn Bridge! I took the metro out and walked back to Manhattan. Simply breathtaking views.

train from DC to NY is about 3.5 hours and you can get it for about £50 if booked in advance from amtrak, theres 2 trains the acela which is a bit faster as well as the North East regionals - id book either depending on time leaving

2 days in DC isnt enough imo, but its a good time to see the national mall, whitehouse etc

NYC theres plenty to do, you can either book a broadway show beforehand if you have something specific in mind but you can always go to the TKTS booth on the same day and get cheaper tickets to some shows, i got tickets for moulin rouge for 80 quid and was 4 rows from the front

staten island ferry is great for views of the statute of liberty, but not so much for ellis island, to go to liberty island and ellis island its only about 15 quid for the tickets and you get access to the musuems on both islands and you can pay more to get access to the pedestal of the statute and the views are great

in new york you have the high line which will be a nice walk at easter and also little island as well a central park where i think you can spend days and still not cover it all

You guys are wonderful. Mumsnet is like TripAdvisor x1000 sometimes.

How much did everyone spend on cabs?

You don't need to use cabs. The subway is great and cheap and so it the bus system.

You can by a card for a week or 3 days or whatever.

new.mta.info

Cabs you will spend loads of time sat in traffic

Also if you want city photos with the Empire State Building in go to the Top of the Rock.

Or if you want to go up the Empire State Building you will get the view of the Too of the Rock

Two different view points over the city.

Walk the Brooklyn bridge from Brooklyn back towards Manhattan so you actually see the city rather than have it behind you.

Ferry to Brooklyn, Green Wood cemetery for amazing views of Manhattan, then back across Brooklyn Bridge. Jane's carousel in Dumbo.
We did a helicopter ride and loved it.
Grand Central for cocktails and people watching. Public library has an incredible gift shop
Mooch in Greenwich village...Big gay icecream shop.

We’ve just got back - went for 5 days for my 40th. It was amazing! We bought a 5 day New York pass for £170, which included every attraction that we went to. Air train and subway from the airport is the cheapest way. We stayed at a hotel that included breakfast (riu plaza Times Square) then ate a late lunch (mush restaurants are cheaper at lunchtime) and no dinner (or a snack if hungry) so saved money that way. Subway is cheap, can get a week pass. Walking is free and a great way to see the city. Our pass also included a day on the hop on hop off bus, which we used to get down to lower Manhattan. Our itinerary (all free or included in the pass) - Times Square, top of the rock, museum of sex, hop on hop off bus, 9/11 museum and memorial, one world observatory, Staten Island ferry, Brooklyn bridge, tour through Chinatown and little Italy, cycle hire in Central Park, Empire State Building, circle line harbour light cruise (evening), intrepid museum, high line, vessel, edge, museum of modern art.

Gallagher’s steak house is incredible and does a phenomenally good value ($29) 3 course lunch.

@Theyweretheworstoftimes

You don't need to use cabs. The subway is great and cheap and so it the bus system.

You can by a card for a week or 3 days or whatever.

new.mta.info

Cabs you will spend loads of time sat in traffic

Nothing. I bought a subway card and watched YouTube videos before I went to figure out how to use the subway.

Sorry quoted the wrong post

I recommend a tour booked with these guys

https://911tributemuseum.org/

Also Ellen's Stardust Diner.

We also did this... https://experiencetheride.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj7SO-vyf9gIVkO3tCh0ixQ8bEAAYASAAEgK7fDD_BwE

Which was very good fun

If you’re a walker then most things are very accessible on foot and a great way to see the city.

We went at Easter a few years ago and had every weather imaginable … walking around in t-shirts one day and waking up the next to find about five inches of snow

We went for 10 days in 2017 with 3 kids, 10,8 &3. 5 days in NY and flew to Washington for 5.
Highlights of NY-
Paying to go on the "skip queue" line for statute of liberty and Ellis island. Very interesting guided tour.
9/11 museum; powerful and our history:
Walking the high line/sky line
Central Park- spent hours walking about and sitting on rocks
Kids loved going into trump tower and hotel (we even saw Eric trump in the trump hotel in Washington). They loved the guns!
Again paid to miss queue up Empire State, was worth it.
Things I wouldn't do again-
Stadium tour of yankees , I think ... the subway station there was an experience in itself as people lived in the loos.
Brooklyn bridge- so busy but we maybe picked the wrong day or time.
M&m shop- smell made me feel sick and seemed to go up and down stairs for ages.

Washington-
Loved walking around the White House and around, grass areas , relaxed and quite a small area to cover.
Also loved the capitol building tour. Fascinating. Although didn't realise we had to dispose of drinks which was annoying as with small kids had numerous snacks and drinks on us.
Quite enjoyed the museums, the spy museum was good.
We did a bike tour , fun, cycled near pentagon etc
Arlington cemetery, very humbling and worth a visit.

Just pack light when out for the day... we quickly realised that to enter any museum, building you have to go through air port security and the less you are carrying the quicker you get through.

We went to NY in 2019. Our highlights were:
Ellis Island (we did this and the Statue of Liberty but spent far longer at Ellis Island). If you're interested in the history of NY and immigration the museum on Ellis Island is worth the cost of the official trip rather than just passing on the ferry.
Guided tour of the UN (not sure if they still do this post Covid)
Mets baseball game
Central Park

We walked for miles and took the subway for longer trips - the subway is really easy to use and felt far safer than I expected.

For cheap lunches the Food Hall in Grand Central Station is great. The station is a beautiful building too.

I stayed at Conrad Washington DC. Nice hotel and very central. In New York, I stayed at Hilton New York (sorry can’t remember the full name of it - it’s a big building) and enjoyed the rooms at both hotels.

Washington DC: would recommend dining at Jaleo. Really good food if you like Spanish food.

Walk the Highline in NYC and in DC one of my favourite memories is of dipping my feet in the memorial fountain pool on a blisteringly hot day (this was allowed!!).

To make it easier you could always fly into New York, and back from DC, very easy to book.
Rather than the statement island ferry, it's inexpensive to do the tour that goes to both Statue of Liberty and Ellis island. The museum on Ellis island with audio tours is very interesting